From psbfan at earthlink.net Thu Apr 3 21:00:05 2014 From: psbfan at earthlink.net (Wayne Studer) Date: Thu, 3 Apr 2014 21:00:05 -0700 Subject: [Introspective] Poll ends soon on unreleased and "unheard" PSB songs Message-ID: Hey there! Tomorrow (Saturday) is the last full day of my current poll, which asks which of several unreleased and unheard songs written by the Pet Shop Boys you would, based on the bits of information available about them, most like for them to complete and release. If you haven't voted yet, please take a few moments to visit my "Commentary" site at http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm and make your choice right there on my home page. (I provide the known info about each song right there where you vote.) On Sunday I will end this poll, post the final results, and launch a new survey for the week ahead. Thanks to everyone who has already voted! And I hope you all have an enjoyable weekend! Wayne http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm From psbfan at earthlink.net Sat Apr 5 22:11:28 2014 From: psbfan at earthlink.net (Wayne Studer) Date: Sat, 5 Apr 2014 22:11:28 -0700 Subject: [Introspective] Final results of poll on unreleased and unheard PSB songs Message-ID: <7995BE0241894BAB8425FAA87F45E0A1@COMP8> The final results are in for my poll this past week, in which I asked my site visitors which of several unreleased and "unheard" Pet Shop Boys songs they would (based on the information available about these songs) most like for them to complete and release. And the song that received the largest number of votes was: * "I Can Always Rely on You to Let Me Down," which was chosen by a whopping 41.0% of the voters -- more than the next three runners-up combined! To see the complete results, please visit my "Commentary" site at http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm and select one of the "Past Survey Results" options in the top navigation area or the appropriate link on my "What's New?" page. My new poll for the week ahead is inspired by the fact that the Pet Shop Boys haven't scored a Top 20 hit in their native U.K. -- where they are, after all, the most successful duo in pop history -- since 2009. As generally acknowledged, this is largely the result of ageism in the world of pop music, especially pop radio. (Other artists their age similarly don't get played much on the radio, and their recent singles haven't fared well, either.) So that makes me wonder about the singles they've released since 2010. Which of these recent PSB singles do you think would have been the biggest pop hit, or the one most likely to have been a major pop hit single at all, if the Pet Shop Boys had been a young band (say, in their 20s) just starting out? Please mull this over and, when you're ready, make your choice right there on my home page. In the meantime, thanks to everyone who voted in last week's survey! And I hope you all have a superb week ahead! Wayne http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm From psbfan at earthlink.net Thu Apr 10 21:12:43 2014 From: psbfan at earthlink.net (Wayne Studer) Date: Thu, 10 Apr 2014 21:12:43 -0700 Subject: [Introspective] Poll ends soon on which recent PSB single would have been the biggest hit if they were younger Message-ID: <1DE30D60099B425E88CB212EBDBC0145@COMP8> Hey there! Tomorrow (Saturday) is the last full day of my current poll, which is based on the idea that the Pet Shop Boys' fortunes on the singles charts have declined in recent years largely on account of the ageism inherent in pop music (it being a "young person's game"). After all, most other major artists of their age have similarly had difficulty scoring major hit singles in recent years. At any rate, I'm asking which of the Pet Shop Boys' singles released in the current decade you believe would have proved the biggest hit -- or would have had the best chance of being a big hit at all -- if they were a young band (say, in their 20s) just starting out? If you haven't voted yet, please take a moment to visit my "Commentary" site at http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm and make your choice from the options provided right there on my home page. On Sunday I will end this poll, post the final results, and launch a new survey for the week ahead. Thanks to everyone who has already voted! And I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Wayne http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm From psbfan at earthlink.net Sun Apr 13 16:44:45 2014 From: psbfan at earthlink.net (Wayne Studer) Date: Sun, 13 Apr 2014 16:44:45 -0700 Subject: [Introspective] Final results of poll on PSB singles of 2010s... Message-ID: After about 48 hours without internet service (a massive outage with my ISP, affecting thousands of their customers), I'm finally back online! Woo-hoo! So I've *finally* posted the final results of my poll this past week, in which I asked my site visitors which of the Pet Shop Boys' singles of the 2010s they believe would have been the biggest hit (or most likely to have been a big hit at all) if PSB were a young band, pretty much just starting out. And the song that received the most votes was: * "Thursday," chosen by 34.9% of the voters. To see the complete results, please visit my "Commentary" site at http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm and click one of the Past Survey Results options in the top nav bar or click the appropriate link on my "What's New?" page. My new poll for the week ahead is inspired by recent speculation about the future of the Pet Shop Boys' official Fan Club and/or its periodic publication "Literally." Some fans whose time it was to renew their subscriptions have reportedly been told that the future of the Fan Club and "Literally" is currently being re-evaluated. So I'm wondering how you feel about the prospect of the end of the Fan Club and/or "Literally." Please check out the options I've provided there on my home page and choose the one that comes closest to matching your own feelings. And thanks so much to Josie for suggesting this excellent question! Thanks as well to everyone who voted in last week's survey -- and to everyone who has expressed concern about my having temporarily "vanished" on account of my ISP troubles or who may have been inconvenienced in any way. (I'll be responding to individual emails shortly.) I really appreciate your understanding and patience. (And, yes, I'm going to be shopping soon for a possible new ISP.) I hope you all have a terrific week ahead! Wayne http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm From psbfan at earthlink.net Thu Apr 17 21:32:33 2014 From: psbfan at earthlink.net (Wayne Studer) Date: Thu, 17 Apr 2014 21:32:33 -0700 Subject: [Introspective] Poll ends soon on feelings about possible discontinuation of Fan Club and Literally Message-ID: <68350EF8388648E3B55ADD4F8DBA996F@COMP8> Hey there! Tomorrow (Saturday) is the last full day of my current poll, which asks how you would feel if the Pet Shop Boys' official Fan Club and/or its publication "Literally" were discontinued. (This has been recently rumored, but even more recent statements on the PSB website suggest that those rumors are, at least for the time being, false.) If you haven't voted yet, please take a moment to visit my "Commentary" site at http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm and make your choice from the options provided right there on my home page. On Sunday I will end this poll, post the final results, and kick off a new survey for the week ahead. Thanks to everyone who has already voted! And I hope you all have a marvelous weekend! And, to those of you who observe the holiday, I wish you a very Happy Easter! Wayne http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm From psbfan at earthlink.net Sat Apr 19 22:08:32 2014 From: psbfan at earthlink.net (Wayne Studer) Date: Sat, 19 Apr 2014 22:08:32 -0700 Subject: [Introspective] Final results of poll on feelings about possible end of PSB Fan Club/Literally Message-ID: The final results are in for my poll this past week, in which I asked my site visitors which of various statements came closest to expressing how they would feel if the Pet Shop Boys were to discontinue their official Fan Club and/or its publication "Literally." And the choice that received the most votes was: * "I'm not a member, but I still think it would be very unfortunate," picked by 38.4% of the voters. To see the complete results, please visit my "Commentary" site at http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm and click one of the "Past Survey Results" options in the top navigation area or the appropriate link on my "What's New?" page. My new survey for the week ahead may prove another of my more controversial ones. One of my regular site visitors wrote to me a few days ago expressing his surprise at the recent announcement by the Pet Shop Boys that they would, on May 9, bring their Electric Tour to Dubai, one of the member states of the United Arab Emirates. He noted that, despite the UAE being in many ways one of the more "progressive" nations in the Middle East, it nonetheless has extremely stringent, repressive laws against homosexuality and offers no apologies for its lack of support for LGBT rights. In light of this, he was wondering how other PSB fans feel about their willingness to perform there. So that's my poll question this week: how do *you* feel about the Pet Shop Boys' decision to perform in Dubai? Please take a moment to make your choice from the options provided on my home page. And thanks so much to Oliver Topham for suggesting this provocative question! Thanks as well to everyone who voted in last week's survey! Happy Easter to those of you who observe the holiday, and I wish you all a superb week ahead! Wayne http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm From psbfan at earthlink.net Thu Apr 24 22:38:41 2014 From: psbfan at earthlink.net (Wayne Studer) Date: Thu, 24 Apr 2014 22:38:41 -0700 Subject: [Introspective] Poll ends soon on PSB performing in Dubai Message-ID: <087408C01C194222B4F3575611275972@COMP8> Hey there! Tomorrow (Saturday) is the last full day of my current poll, which asks, considering that the United Arab Emirates prohibits LGBT rights and punishes homosexuals with long jail sentences (and sometimes worse), what do you think of the Pet Shop Boys' decision to perform at the Sandance Festival in Dubai, UAE, on May 9? If you haven't voted yet, please take a few moments to visit my "Commentary" site at http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm and make your choice from the options provided right there on my home page. On Sunday I will end this poll, post the final results, and start a new survey for the week ahead. Thanks to everyone who has already voted! And I hope you all have a splendid weekend! Wayne http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From psbfan at earthlink.net Sat Apr 26 22:06:33 2014 From: psbfan at earthlink.net (Wayne Studer) Date: Sat, 26 Apr 2014 22:06:33 -0700 Subject: [Introspective] Final results of poll on PSB performing in Dubai Message-ID: <9FDC0F3FFDFE4E51A0920F82799E0A69@COMP8> The final results are in for my poll this past week, in which I asked my site visitors how they feel about the Pet Shop Boys being scheduled to perform in Dubai on May 9 despite that nation's repressive policies toward LGBT persons. And the response that received the most votes was: * "I think it's OK. After all, why should their fans in the region be denied a chance to see them 'live' just because of their government's policies?" chosen by 33.8% of the voters. To see the complete results, please visit my "Commentary" site at http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm and click one of the "Past Survey Results" options in the top navigation bar or the appropriate link on my "What's New?" page. My new poll for the week ahead concerns the notion of a "concept album": an album with a unifying theme or concept. Concept albums have long been a staple of pop music, and the Pet Shop Boys have done some themselves. So I'm wondering which, in your opinion, of the Pet Shop Boys' twelve studio albums is the best concept album in terms of *being* a "concept album"? That is, not necessarily the album that's the best overall, but the one that does the best job of conveying and maintaining a unifying theme or concept. Please mull this over and, when you're ready, make your choice right there on my home page. And thanks so much to Matthew from London for suggesting this question! Thanks as well to everyone who voted in last week's survey! And I hope you all enjoy not only the concept but, more importantly, the actuality of a great week ahead! Wayne http://www.petshopboys.co.uk