From psbfan at geowayne.com Thu Feb 1 21:39:54 2018 From: psbfan at geowayne.com (Wayne Studer) Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2018 21:39:54 -0800 Subject: [Introspective] Poll ends soon on choice between live PSB and DVD Message-ID: Hey there! Tomorrow (Saturday) is the last full day of my current poll, an unusually simple one (at least for me) with only two choices: if you *had* to choose between buying tickets for and attending in-person a live Pet Shop Boys concert or buying a DVD/Blu-ray of the same show (which of course is much cheaper, and you can watch it over and over again), which would you prefer? 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 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 wish you all a wonderful weekend! Wayne http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm From psbfan at geowayne.com Sat Feb 3 21:54:57 2018 From: psbfan at geowayne.com (Wayne Studer) Date: Sat, 3 Feb 2018 21:54:57 -0800 Subject: [Introspective] Final results of poll on choosing between PSB live or on DVD Message-ID: <1c008c05-18d2-b17c-c924-97431cb291f7@geowayne.com> The final votes are in for my poll of the past week, in which I asked my site visitors whether, if they *had* to choose (and couldn't have both), they would prefer buying tickets for and attending a live Pet Shop Boys concert or buying a DVD/Blu-ray of the same show that they could then watch as many times as they wish. And the choice that received the greater number of votes by far was: * "I would prefer the live show," picked by a whopping 79.5% of the voters. Normally at this point I suggest that if you want 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 bar or click the appropriate link on my "What's New?" page. Only this time, of course, you should already know the complete results since there were only two choices. But there's still a great reason to visit my site, and that's to vote in this week's new poll. It's inspired by a lengthy conversation I heard on the radio just a few days ago in which people were discussing a bizarre scenario in which they could have only one rock/pop studio album (no hits compilations, live albums, or boxed sets permitted) to listen to for the rest of their lives, and no other music but that. Under such extraordinary circumstances, which album would they choose? So I'm asking you pretty much the same question. If you were faced with such a difficult decision, do you think you would pick a PSB studio album -- keeping in mind that it would be the *only* music you could listen to for a very long time -- or would you prefer an album by somebody else of your choice? And if you would choose PSB, which studio album would you pick? So please take some time to contemplate this question 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 really great week ahead! Wayne http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm From psbfan at geowayne.com Thu Feb 8 21:45:51 2018 From: psbfan at geowayne.com (Wayne Studer) Date: Thu, 8 Feb 2018 21:45:51 -0800 Subject: [Introspective] Poll ends soon on one studio album for a very long time Message-ID: Hey there! Tomorrow (Saturday) is the last full day of my current poll, in which I've suggested a scenario in which the only music you can listen to for a very, very long time -- more than a year, perhaps several years, maybe even for the rest of your life -- is a single studio album (not a hits collection, not a live album, not a boxed set), would you choose a Pet Shop Boys album or one by some other artist? And if you would pick a PSB studio album, which one? 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 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 superb weekend! Wayne http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm From psbfan at geowayne.com Sat Feb 10 22:11:43 2018 From: psbfan at geowayne.com (Wayne Studer) Date: Sat, 10 Feb 2018 22:11:43 -0800 Subject: [Introspective] Final results of poll on only one album to listen to for a very long time Message-ID: The final results are in for my poll of the past week, in which I asked my site visitors, if the only music they could listen to for a very, very long time (perhaps even the rest of their lives!) was just one studio album (not a hits compilation, not a live album, not a boxed set), would they pick a Pet Shop Boys album -- and, if so, which one? -- or would they choose an album by some other artist. And the choice that received the most votes was: * "I would choose an album by someone other than the Pet Shop Boys," picked by 30.0% of the voters. Despite this being the plurality choice, however, a large majority (70%) chose *some* album the Pet Shop Boys. The PSB album that received the largest number of votes was: * "Behaviour," selected by 18.7%. 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 bar or click the appropriate link on my "What's New?" page. Seeing as how Valentine's Day occurs this coming week, I figured my new survey for the week ahead should have a distinct "love connection." So I've listed all of the Pet Shop Boys songs (that is, songs that they have written, recorded, and/or been listed as co-performers) that include the word "love" (or an inflection of it) in the title, and I'm asking you to pick the one that's your own personal favorite of the bunch. So please take a few moments to check out the list right there on my home page and choose your favorite. In the meantime, thanks to everyone who voted in last week's survey! And I wish you all a perfectly lovely week ahead! Wayne http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm From psbfan at geowayne.com Thu Feb 15 21:09:44 2018 From: psbfan at geowayne.com (Wayne Studer) Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2018 21:09:44 -0800 Subject: [Introspective] Poll ends soon on your favorite PSB song with "love" in its title Message-ID: Hey there! Tomorrow (Saturday) is the last full day of my "Valentine's Week" survey, in which I'm asking you to pick your favorite Pet Shop Boys song that contains the word "love" (or some inflection of it) in its title. 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 right there on my home page. On Sunday I will end this poll, post the final results, and launch my new survey for the week ahead. Thanks to everyone who has already voted! And I hope you all have a fantastic weekend! Wayne http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm From psbfan at geowayne.com Sat Feb 17 22:04:55 2018 From: psbfan at geowayne.com (Wayne Studer) Date: Sat, 17 Feb 2018 22:04:55 -0800 Subject: [Introspective] Poll ends soon on favorite PSB song with "love" in the title Message-ID: <9947df6d-c19d-3602-b565-130480e669ab@geowayne.com> The final results are in for my poll of the past week, in which I asked my site visitors to choose their favorite Pet Shop Boys song with the word "love" in its title. And the song that received the most votes was: * "Love Comes Quickly," picked by 30.5% of the voters. 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 bar, or click the appropriate link on my "What's New?" page. My new poll for the week ahead asks whether you tend to prefer for recordings of the Pet Shop Boys' songs to end with a fadeout (such as "West End Girls," "Love Comes Quickly," and "Se A Vida E," among many others) or with what's commonly referred to as a "cold" or "hard" ending (such as "It's a Sin," "Can You Forgive Her?' and "Hey, Headmaster," again among many others). Or maybe it doesn't make much of any difference. Whatever the case, please take a moment to make your choice right there on my home page. And thanks to Danny Rizzio for suggesting this question. Thanks as well to everyone who voted in last week's survey! And I hope you all have a delightful week ahead! Wayne http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm From psbfan at geowayne.com Thu Feb 22 21:11:58 2018 From: psbfan at geowayne.com (Wayne Studer) Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2018 21:11:58 -0800 Subject: [Introspective] Poll ends soon on PSB song fadeouts vs. hard/cold endings Message-ID: Hey there! Tomorrow (Saturday) is the last full day of my current poll, which asks whether you tend to prefer recordings of Pet Shop Boys songs to have fadeouts (like, for instance, "West End Girls") or, by contrast, what's commonly referred to as a "hard" or "cold" ending (like, for instance, "Can You Forgive Her?")? 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 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 terrific weekend! Wayne http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm From psbfan at geowayne.com Sat Feb 24 22:00:14 2018 From: psbfan at geowayne.com (Wayne Studer) Date: Sat, 24 Feb 2018 22:00:14 -0800 Subject: [Introspective] Final results of poll on fadeouts vs. hard/cold endings in PSB songs Message-ID: The final results are in for my poll of the past week, in which I asked my site visitors whether they tended to prefer Pet Shop Boys songs with fadeouts or with cold/hard endings. And the choice that received the most votes was: * "It depends on the song," picked by 38.9% of the voters. To see the complete results -- including a *very* close second-place finisher -- 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 bar or click the appropriate link on my "What's New?" page. My new survey for the week ahead is somewhat unusual. It starts with the observation that one of the Boys' most highly regarded songs -- if not *the* most highly regarded PSB song, at least among both die-hard fans and the critical community -- is "Being Boring." Yet for all of this apparent respect and acclaim, it proved to be a comparatively "poor performer" when it was released as a single back in late 1990, reaching no higher than #20 on the U.K. singles chart. For the record, it was their lowest-charting single since their big #1 hit version of "West End Girls" five years prior -- a total of 13 bigger hits beforehand. And it was hardly the "beginning of the end," either, since no fewer than 20 PSB singles after "Being Boring" charted higher. So why? In short, I'm asking you to speculate on the reason for "Being Boring" not faring better as a single. Of course, maybe there's more than one reason, in which case I'd like for you to choose what you believe to be the primary or "biggest" explanation for its relatively low chart showing -- the largest nail in its proverbial coffin, so to speak. I'm eager to find out what you think. So please take a moment to make your choice from the options I've provided right there on my home page. And thanks so much to porkchopkid for suggesting this most intriguing question! Thanks as well to everyone who voted in last week's survey! And I hope you all have a marvelous week ahead! Wayne http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm