[Introspective] PSB DJ mix by me

[Hugh Sharpe]

I have no idea how many people still read this list-- I'm a lurker 
myself and probably haven't posted anything on here since around the 
time of the Cubism tour in the fall of 2006.  Anyway, I've been a trance 
dj in my free time for about twelve years now and I was inspired after 
getting Disco 4 for Christmas to work on putting together a dj mix of 
Pet Shop Boys tracks.  In all my time spinning, I'd never really 
attempted this seriously.  I started compiling the tracks in December 
and stewed it over through the holiday and finally got behind the 
console in the middle of January.  After three weekends at work on it, 
I'm proud to announce that I have finished in what for me is record 
time.  I'm now offering it to you, my list mates, in two ways.

The mix is actually two complete sessions, 2.5 hours in total length and 
totaling 24 tracks on two compact discs.  I'm calling the set 'Disco 
Forever' and have even designed a cheeky sleeve with original artwork 
and disc labels and everything-- doing all I can to keep in accordance 
with our boys' high production values.  I'm offering this 2-disc set to 
you at cost of production plus shipping.  I'm a poor library worker by 
day and can't afford to ship free copies of this to you all.  The 
postage alone would kill me.  However, I'm not doing this to profit-- I 
just want to share these mixes with as many people as possible, 
especially you folks.  Each 2-disc set takes about $2 USD to produce 
with a gloss sleeve, jewel case and labeled discs.  Add another dollar 
for the padded envelope and I think $3 is about a fair price for a copy 
of this.  Say, $3, plus shipping via US Postal Service worldwide, with 
variable cost measured by their rate calculator.  On Monday I will go to 
the post office and weigh out a typical padded envelope with the mix in 
it and from there we can figure out how much to add to that $3 base 
price.  Send me a reply and let me know if you're interested and where 
I'll be shipping it and I can get back to you over the next week with 
costs and details on how to pay me via PayPal or, at worst, by check or 
money order.

The far cheaper, easier, though decidedly less-posh method to hear this 
mix is to check it out free online at:

http://www.mydjspace.net/mix/view/id_917/

Less posh?  Well, the mix isn't track-indexed on here like the discs 
are.  The site only allows me enough space to put one session up at a 
time, so in a week or so I'll take down part one and put up the second 
half.  You won't have a nice sleeve with all the track info on it, 
either.  And of course, while 160 kb bitrate mp3s sound perfectly fine, 
they don't hold a candle to the full resolution of a well-mastered 
compact disc.  You can, however, listen to the mix streaming live or 
download it for personal use on whatever you play mp3s, so that's pretty 
convenient.

If you're on the fence about shelling out a couple of clams for the CDs, 
check out the mix online and offer a comment or even cast a vote.  Dunno 
what the voting is all about, but a vote for me can't be a bad thing, I 
suppose.

Part one explores their electro-house sound and spans nearly their 
entire career in the 78 minute-long session.  I start right about where 
they do, with the original New York mix of 'Why don't we live together?' 
slipping from that into the 12" mix of Opportunities.  While this mix 
was eventually re-released on the Please 'Further Listening' set, some 
20 seconds or so is chopped out.  Not here, friends.  The one here is 
right from the original 12".  From there to the remix of 'Heart' from 
the 12RX release, to the Phil Harding remix of 'Always on my mind', the 
Shep Pettibone dub of 'What have I done...?', the 10" extended dance 
remix of 'It's alright'... back into 'Heart' but this time the disco 
mix, I think you get the idea.  Lots of rare mixes and presented in a 
continuous flow that is sure to please even the slightest fan of the 
dance floor. 

Part two delves more into the trance and progressive house side of 
things, with some of my favorite extended outtakes from the second half 
of their career (at least up to this point) with remixes by Trouser 
Enthusiasts, Jam & Spoon, and others.  The bpm is quicker and the songs 
more psychedelic and trance-inducing by nature, but mixed in with these 
are a couple of older classics, showing, I think, their timeless 
sensibility for what makes a good dance track and in picking some truly 
great remix producers. 

Anyway, give this first set a listen and feel free to share your 
thoughts with me about it either here or on the site.  I just looked 
across my huge PSB collection and realized that there was nothing like 
this attempted since Disco 2, and we all know how that turned out.  I 
hope this meets with a little better approval. 

Cheers,

Hugh