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Past PSB Survey Results - 2018 Surveys

This page presents the results of surveys I've conducted in the year 2018. The results of surveys conducted in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 , 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, and 2020 appear on separate pages.

The response in each survey that received the most votes is highlighted in bold red. I usually list the responses in descending order according to the number of votes, but in a few cases I've decided that the results may be clearer or more meaningful if I list them in some other order. Incidentally, I do vote in my own surveys—and, yes, I vote only once. More often than not, what I vote for doesn't come in first place. In the results below, the symbol ¤ appears after the item(s) that I voted for in each survey.

Survey 879 - Week of December 30, 2018
Is it now "all about money"? (376 voters)

One of my website visitors recently expressed the opinion, with regard to the Pet Shop Boys, "Let's face it, it's all about money for them now." Do you agree with this viewpoint?

45.7% - "No, certainly not! They're surely well off enough financially that they could retire very comfortably right now, so clearly other factors motivate them instead."
33.0% - "Money is undoubtedly a motivation for them (as it is for nearly all of us), but it's not as important to them as other factors, such as artistic expression and/or the appeal of fame." ¤
09.8% - "I wouldn't say it's all about money for them now, but that clearly seems to be among their primary motivations these days."
07.4% - "I don't feel qualified to express an opinion about this."
03.2% - "Yes, I do believe it's pretty much all about the money for them now."
00.8% - "I have a very different opinion from any of those expressed above."*

*I had trouble discerning any truly "different" opinions provided by voters within the "Comments" section except perhaps for one from a regular site visitor who was apparently so upset that I dared to ask this question that he said he would never visit my website again. Most regrettable. He may have also "unliked" my page via Facebook; its number of likes went down by one.

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Survey 878 - Week of December 23, 2018
The "PSB highlight" of 2018 (307 voters)

What, in your opinion, has been the "Pet Shop Boys highlight" of 2018?

42.3% - The reissue of the first six PSB studio albums (aka Catalogue), remastered, with their Further LIstening bonus discs
20.2% - The publication of Neil's book One Hundred Lyrics and a Poem
18.9% - The four-night return engagement in July of their Inner Sanctum show at London's Royal Opera House ¤*
08.1% - The Summer 2018 Super Tour shows in Europe
02.9% - PSB featured in the Dior Homme Summer 2018 campaign
02.9% - Something else not mentioned here**
02.6% - The publication of Annually 2018
02.0% - The U.S. premiere of their ballet The Most Incredible Thing

*Regarding my own vote - Although I didn't attend any of the shows at the Royal Opera House, I chose this because it was filmed, and the resulting DVD is scheduled to be released during the first half of 2019, thereby permitting us all to see it. Woo-hoo!

**Among the other highlights noted by voters:

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Survey 877 - Week of December 16, 2018
Favorite original Christmas pop song of the 1990s (289 voters)

Of the thirteen 1990s original (non-cover) Christmas songs listed below (twelve chosen by Us Weekly as the best, plus the PSB selection), which one do you think is the best, or at least which is your favorite?

40.1% - "It Doesn't Often Snow at Christmas" - Pet Shop Boys
28.0% - "All I Want for Christmas Is You" - Mariah Carey ¤*
18.7% - "I'm not familiar enough with any (or enough) of these songs to make a choice."
07.6% - "Actually, my favorite original Christmas song of the 1990s is something other than one of these tracks."**
01.0% - "Christmas Through Your Eyes" - Gloria Estefan
01.0% - "Hey, Santa!" - Carnie and Wendy Wilson
00.7% - "Grown-Up Christmas List" - Natalile Cole
00.7% - "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays" - *NSync
00.7% - "Sleigh Ride" - TLC
00.3% - "The Chanunka Song" - Adam Sandler
00.3% - "Everybody Knows the Claus" - Hansen
00.3% - "Put a Little Holiday in Your Heart" - LeAnn Rimes
00.3% - "This Gift" - 98 Degrees
00.0% - "Let It Snow" - Boyz II Men and Brian McNight
00.0% - "Christmas Time" - Backstreet Boys

*Regarding my own vote - As much as I love "It Doesn't Often Snow at Christmas," I have to say that I personally like two of the other songs in this list—the one I voted for, "All I Want for Christmas Is You" as well as "Hey Santa!"—even more as Christmas songs. I should also point out that, as I've noted elsewhere, "Grown-Up Christmas List" is my all-time least favorite Christmas song.

**Among the other original 1990s Christmas songs cited by voters:

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Survey 876 - Week of December 9, 2018
Current interest in "new music" (312 voters)

Which of the following statements comes closest to expressing your current feelings—not your feelings twenty years ago, ten years ago, or even a year or two ago, but your feelings right now—about exposing yourself to, listening to, and possibly even becoming a fan of "new music" (that is, music by artists that you're not already quite familiar with)?

33.0% - "I'm fairly open to 'new music' and will listen if the opportunity conveniently presents itself, but I don't actively seek it out."
29.8% - "I'm extremely interested in 'new music,' and I actively seek it out."
26.3% - "I'm occasionally open to 'new music' if there's something about it that links it to music I'm already devoted to, but otherwise I'm generally not very interested in it." ¤*
07.7% - "I know what I like and I like what I know. I'm really not at all interested in 'new music.'"
03.2% - "I find it difficult to generalize about the subject of 'new music' and my own feelings about it and/or relationship with it."
00.0% - "I have an opinion very different from any of those expressed above."

*I feel I ought to explain my own vote. My interest in "new" music has changed dramatically through the years. Back in my teens, twenties, and even early thirties, I was extremely interested in new music and actively sought it out. Then, by my mid- and late thirties, my interest in new music began to wane somewhat, although I still remained fairly open to it. By the time I reached my late forties and fifties, however, I had become only occasionally open to new music (my latter-day fandom of The Divine Comedy and Rufus Wainwright being among those occasional examples), and I would still describe myself in that way today. I hope I never get to the point where I'm never interested in new music, but history shows that I'm headed in that direction, and I'm a realist enough to know that I may indeed cross that threshold someday.

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Survey 875 - Week of December 2, 2018
The best "Further Listening" disc(s) (304 voters)

Which Pet Shop Boys studio album reissue has, in your opinion, the best "Further Listening" disc(s)?

28.6% - Release
12.2% - Very
10.9% - Behaviour
10.9% - Bilingual ¤
07.6% - "I'm not sufficiently familiar with the 'Further Listening' discs (or at least not with enough of them) to make this decision."
06.9% - Fundamental
05.6% - Nightlife
05.3% - Please
04.3% - Actually
03.6% - Introspective
02.6% - Yes
01.6% - Elysium

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Survey 874 - Week of November 25, 2018
Another predominantly "Latin" PSB album? (332 voters)

Bilingual is the only Pet Shop Boys album to date with a predominantly Latin American influence overall. Which of the following statements comes closest to expressing how you feel about the prospect of them recording another "Latin" album at some point?

28.6% - "No, I think they should stay away from albums with a single geographically or culturally based musical style."
24.1% - "I wouldn't mind if they put a few Latin songs on an upcoming album, but I wouldn't want that musical style to dominate the album overall."
19.6% - "I could take it or leave it. I have no strong feelings about it either way." ¤
12.3% - "No – been there, done that, shouldn't do it again. But I wouldn't mind it if they were to record an album with a different geographically or culturally based style, such as East Asian, Middle Eastern, or African."
09.6% - "Yes, I would love for them to put out another predominantly Latin album!"
05.7% - "I have very mixed feelings about it."

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Survey 873 - Week of November 18, 2018
Ranking the five "classic era" albums (391 voters)

How would you rank the five studio albums from what seems to be generally regarded by music critics as the Pet Shop Boys' "classic" or "golden" era (1986-1993)? Please rank the album that you consider the best of the five as #1, the second-best as #2, and so on, down to the "weakest" of the five as #5—although, to be sure, I firmly believe that most of us wouldn't actually consider any of them a truly "weak" album.

Full-results percentage table (red percentages are the highest for that rank; pink cells are the highest for that album):

 
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
Avg Rank
Please
8.1%
15.0%
19.1%
23.5%
¤ 35.2%
3.65
Actually
18.4%
21.8%
23.6%
¤ 26.4%
10.4%
2.90
Introspective
12.5%
19.7%
¤ 24.3%
18.8%
22.9%
3.14
Behaviour
36.9%
¤ 19.2%
15.7%
16.4%
11.5%
2.45
Very
¤ 24.2%
24.4%
17.3%
14.9%
20.1%
2.84

Ranking by average (ranking by the average rank per album; the lower the average rank, the better):

  1. Behaviour
  2. Very
  3. Actually
  4. Introspective
  5. Please

Ranking per rank (ranking by the plurality album for each rank):

  1. Behaviour
  2. Very
  3. Introspective
  4. Actually
  5. Please

Ranking per album (ranking by the plurality rank for each album):

  1. Behaviour
  2. Very
  3. Introspective
  4. Actually
  5. Please

It's well worth noting that, although Actually beats Introspective in terms of the average ranking, it falls below Introspective in terms of the plurality rank for each album and the plurality album for each rank. The reason for this seeming anomaly can be found in the extremes: fewer people ranked Introspective #1 than Actually, while far more (over twice as many) ranked Introspective #5 than Actually.

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Survey 872 - Week of November 11, 2018
"Unperformed" collaboration you'd most like to hear live (329 voters)

Of the individual songs (as opposed to entire albums) listed by the Pet Shop Boys on their official website's "Collaborations" page that they have not yet performed live on tour or during their occasional "residencies" (as opposed to sporadic "one-offs"), which one would you most like to hear them perform live in concert?

25.8% - Disappointed ¤
19.1% - Brick England
15.2% - Getting Away with It
07.6% - The Loving Kind
05.2% - The Crying Game
04.3% - In Private
04.0% - She's Madonna
03.0% - Sorry
02.4% - Read My Mind
02.2% - Don't Drop Bombs
02.1% - No Regrets
01.8% - Confidential
01.5% - Love Pains
01.5% - Walking on Thin Ice
00.9% - Falling
00.9% - Jerusalem
00.9% - Mope
00.6% - Love to Love You, Baby
00.6% - Some other collaborative track not listed here*
00.3% - Do the Right Thing

*The only other PSB collaboration specifically cited by voters was "The Patience of a Saint," which at least two other voters said was their choice.

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Survey 871 - Week of November 4, 2018
The single "most better" than its video and vice-versa (233 voters)

The following Pet Shop Boys songs are those that were released both as a single and as a music video. Consider the difference in quality (however you define it) between the song itself and its video. Which two do you believe showed the greatest difference in quality?

The song that is the "most better" than its video: The video that is the "most better" than its song:
23.2% - Left to My Own Devices
21.9% - Home and Dry ¤
05.6% - Winner
03.9% - A Red Letter Day
03.0% - Leaving
03.0% - Vocal
02.6% - Always on My Mind
02.6% - It's Alright
02.1% - Did You See Me Coming?
02.1% - Love Comes Quickly
01.7% - Heart
01.7% - Thursday
01.3% - Integral
01.3% - Liberation
01.3% - Love etc.
01.3% - Opportunities (Version 1)
01.3% - Paninaro '95
01.3% - Was It Worth It?
00.9% - All Over the World
00.9% - Before
00.9% - Can You Forgive Her?
00.9% - Domino Dancing
00.9% - How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?
00.9% - Invisible
00.9% - It's a Sin
00.9% - London
00.9% - Minimal
00.9% - Numb
00.9% - Paninaro
00.9% - Somewhere
00.9% - Twenty-something
00.9% - West End Girls
00.9% - Yesterday, When I Was Mad
00.4% - Absolutely Fabulous
00.4% - Being Boring
00.4% - DJ Culture
00.4% - Flamboyant
00.4% - I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Any More
00.4% - I Get Along
00.4% - I'm with Stupid
00.4% - Jealousy
00.4% - Opportunities (Version 2)
00.4% - Single-Bilingual
00.4% - So Hard
00.4% - Suburbia
00.4% - Together
00.4% - What Have I Done to Deserve This?
00.0% - Axis
00.0% - Go West
00.0% - I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing
00.0% - Miracles
00.0% - New York City Boy
00.0% - Rent
00.0% - Se A Vida E
00.0% - Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)
00.0% - You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk		 07.9% - I'm with Stupid
06.5% - Liberation
06.5% - Twenty-something
05.6% - Heart
05.6% - Single-Bilingual
04.7% - DJ Culture
04.7% - Winner
03.7% - New York City Boy
03.7% - Together
03.3% - Flamboyant
03.3% - Go West
02.8% - I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Any More
02.3% - Absolutely Fabulous ¤
02.3% - How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?
02.3% - London
02.3% - Numb
01.9% - Can You Forgive Her?
01.9% - Jealousy
01.4% - Before
01.4% - Being Boring
01.4% - Domino Dancing
01.4% - I Get Along
01.4% - Invisible
01.4% - Love etc.
01.4% - Paninaro '95
01.4% - Se A Vida E
01.4% - Somewhere
01.4% - Suburbia
01.4% - Yesterday, When I Was Mad
00.9% - A Red Letter Day
00.9% - Home and Dry
00.9% - Integral
00.9% - It's a Sin
00.9% - It's Alright
00.9% - Miracles
00.9% - Opportunities (Version 1)
00.9% - Opportunities (Version 2)
00.9% - Vocal
00.5% - Axis
00.5% - Did You See Me Coming?
00.5% - I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing
00.5% - Left to My Own Devices
00.5% - Paninaro
00.5% - Rent
00.5% - So Hard
00.5% - Was It Worth It?
00.5% - West End Girls
00.5% - What Have I Done to Deserve This?
00.0% - All Over the World
00.0% - Always on My Mind
00.0% - Leaving
00.0% - Love Comes Quickly
00.0% - Minimal
00.0% - Thursday
00.0% - Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)
00.0% - You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk

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Survey 870 - Weeks of October 21 and 28, 2018
The first "PSB product" you ever owned (478 voters)

What was the very first Pet Shop Boys/Tennant-Lowe "product" you ever bought (or owned after having received it, such as a gift)?

16.7% - Actually
15.9% - One of their 1980s singles
15.7% - Please
12.3% - Discography ¤
06.3% - Very (or Very Relentless)
06.1% - Introspective
05.6% - Disco
04.6% - Behaviour
02.7% - PopArt
02.3% - One of their 1990s singles
01.7% - Bilingual
01.7% - Nightlife
01.3% - Fundamental
00.6% - Yes
00.6% - Elysium
00.6% - Electric
00.6% - A music video complilation (VHS/DVD)
00.6% - One or more live concert tickets
00.6% - "I've never bought or owned any PSB 'product'"
00.4% - Super
00.4% - Pandemonium
00.4% - One of their 2000s singles
00.2% - Disco 2
00.2% - Alternative
00.2% - Release
00.2% - Disco 3
00.2% - Format
00.2% - Ultimate
00.2% - Closer to Heaven
00.2% - A live concert VHS/DVD
00.2% - Some other type of PSB "product"
00.2% - "I have no idea—I simply don't remember"

The following items among the choices didn't receive any votes:

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Survey 869 - Weeks of October 7 and 14, 2018
Likeliest big U.S. hit under different circumstances (350 voters)

Assuming that the video for "Domino Dancing" was (as has often been theorized, including right here on this website) a prominent factor in wrecking the Pet Shop Boys' success as a major mainstream singles act in the United States (admittedly, a highly debatable point for which there can be no definitive "truth"), which of their subsequent singles through "the Nightlife era" do you think would have been their biggest U.S. hit single and/or would have stood the best chance of being a huge U.S. hit under other circumstances—that is, if the "Domino Dancing" video had NOT been released, or perhaps if it had been a different, less "homoerotic" video?

18.9% - Go West
12.0% - New York City Boy
10.9% - Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)
10.3% - So Hard ¤
06.9% - Left to My Own Devices
04.9% - Se A Vida E (That's the Way Life Is)
04.3% - Being Boring
04.3% - Can You Forgive Her?
04.0% - Before
03.7% - It's Alright
02.6% - I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing
02.6% - I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Any More
02.6% - You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk
02.3% - How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?
02.0% - Liberation
02.0% - Absolutely Fabulous
01.4% - Jealousy
01.1% - A Red Letter Day
00.9% - Single-Bilingual
00.6% - DJ Culture
00.6% - Was It Worth It?
00.6% - Paninaro '95
00.6% - To Step Aside
00.3% - Somewhere
00.0% - Yesterday, When I Was Mad

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Survey 868 - Weeks of September 23 and 30, 2018
Assessment of Very on its silver anniversary (505 voters)

Thursday, September 27, marks the silver (25th) anniversary of the release of the Pet Shop Boys' fifth studio album, Very. So now is a good time for a retrospective assessment. Which of the following statements comes closest to expressing your own overall opinion of this album at this time?

64.4% - It may not be their absolute greatest album, but I think Very is certainly one of their best.
17.4% - I think Very is the Pet Shop Boys' all-time greatest album! ¤
12.1% - While it's not fantastic by any means, Very is a good, above-average PSB album.
03.4% - Very is an average PSB album.
01.8% - While it's not awful by any means, Very is a comparatively weak, below-average PSB album.
00.8% - I'm not sufficiently familiar with Very to make any of these choices.
00.2% - I think Very is the Pet Shop Boys' all-time weakest album!
00.0% - It may not be their absolute weakest album, but I think Very is certainly one of their worst.

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Survey 867 - Weeks of September 9 and 16, 2018
Two questions about the inevitable (someday) final PSB album (434 voters)

Two questions regarding the inevitable (but hopefully still far-off) final Pet Shop Boys studio album* –

  1. Would you prefer the final song on the final PSB studio album to be an uptempo "stomper" or a quieter, more contemplative track?

    2. 53.5% - I would prefer an uptempo "stomper" to be the the final song on the final PSB album.
    44.0% - I would prefer the final track on the final PSB album to be a quieter, more contemplative song. ¤

  2. Would you prefer knowing in advance that the final PSB studio album is indeed their final album, or would you prefer discovering that only in hindsight, perhaps years later, as it becomes apparent that it had indeed been the last one?

    3. 52.8% - I would prefer knowing in advance that the final PSB album is indeed the final PSB album. ¤
    44.0% - I would prefer discovering only in highsight that the final PSB album had indeed been the last one.

*Note: The percentages for the responses to each question do not total 100% because some voters chose to answer only one question or the other, but not both.

One voter, incidentally, commented that "The most important thing is whether [the Pet Shop Boys themselves] know that they are doing their final album." That's an excellent point!

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Survey 866 - Weeks of August 26 and September 2, 2018
Favorite PSB-written song about lost love (455 voters)

What is your favorite Pet Shop Boys-written song dealing with the subject of lost love?

33.0% - The Way It Used to Be
09.9% - Love Is a Bourgeois Construct
09.7% - I Made My Excuses and Left
09.7% - Leaving
09.5% - To Face the Truth
05.3% - Hit and Miss
04.0% - Was That What It Was?
04.0% - King of Rome ¤*
03.1% - Love Is a Catastrophe
02.9% - I Get Along
02.6% - One in a Million
02.6% - You Choose
02.2% - That's My Impression
01.3% - "Some other song not listed here"**
00.4% - No More Ballads

*Regarding my own vote, although I slightly prefer "One in a Million" overall to "King of Rome," I don't think the former moves me as much as a song about lost love as the latter, if that makes sense. And KOR is simply more gorgeous. Therefore I picked the latter.

**The only other song specifically cited by a voter as his alternate favorite was "For All of Us." One other voter noted that "Postscript" and "Being Boring" were "close contenders," although his actual vote went to "Love Is a Bourgeois Construct."

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Survey 865 - Weeks of August 12 and 19, 2018
Which recent b-sides would have made the best studio album? (335 voters)

The following songs, listed here in alphabetical order, were first released by the Pet Shop Boys as b-sides/bonus tracks for their singles of the 2010s. But what if they had saved some of these recent uncollected songs for another studio album rather than release them as b-sides? Which 12 of these songs do you think would together have made the best additional PSB studio album of the 2010s? (Please select all that apply.)

75.2% - In His Imagination ¤
74.9% - A Certain 'Je Ne Sais Quoi' ¤
59.1% - Listening ¤
52.8% - One Night ¤
46.3% - Hell ¤
44.2% - I Started a Joke
41.5% - In Bits
41.2% - A Cloud in a Box
40.6% - The Way Through the Woods ¤
39.1% - Wiedersehen ¤
37.6% - Baby ¤
36.1% - I Cried for Us*
33.7% - Inside
32.8% - No More Ballads ¤
31.9% - The White Dress
29.6% - The Dead Can Dance ¤
26.0% - One Hit Wonder
25.7% - Entschuldigung!
23.9% - Glad All Over* ¤
23.6% - Odd Man Out ¤
23.0% - Get It Online

*Actually, I much prefer the PSB rendition of "I Cried for Us" to their take on "Glad All Over." But I feel that a PSB studio album should ideally include no more than one non-original, and if I had to choose only one from among the covers in this list (the third being "I Started a Joke"), I felt that "Glad All Over" was preferable because it would add a little extra "punch" to a ballad-heavy album. In other words, the better song and recording isn't necessarily the better track to include on an album, at least in my estimation. So I chose "Glad All Over" rather than "I Cried for Us." And as good as it is, I personally don't feel that "I Started a Joke" would be preferable to either of those tracks as an album cut. Chalk it up to my idiosyncracy.

Note: Several voters noted in the "Comments" section that if I had offered an option for indicating that they felt that there weren't enough songs in this list to constitute a full-length studio album, they would have made that choice instead. But, no, I didn't offer any such option in this poll. It's worth noting, however, that voters could choose fewer than the maximum of 12 songs in this poll, and the average number of songs chosen by voters was only about 8.4, likely reflecting this apparent sentiment that the recent single b-sides have been somewhat weaker than in the past.

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Survey 864 - Weeks of July 29 and August 5, 2018
Are you buying Neil's new book? (404 voters)

Are you planning to buy Neil Tennant's new book (scheduled for release later this year), One Hundred Lyrics and a Poem? And, if so, have you already bought the now sold-out special limited edition offered for sale exclusively on the official Pet Shop Boys website?

28.7% - Yes, I'm planning to buy the standard edition, but I haven't placed an order.
27.5% - No, I'm not planning to buy it.
19.8% - I'm undecided as to whether I'm going to buy it.
12.4% - Yes – I've already placed my order, but only for the "standard" edition. ¤
11.6% - Yes – in fact, I've already placed my order for the special limited edition.*

*Note: Several voters noted in the "Comments" section that they would have placed an order for the special limited edition but it had already sold out before they were even aware of its availability—and they were none too happy about that, either.

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Survey 863 - Weeks of July 15 and 22, 2018
A PSB collaborations album? (373 voters)

Would you like for the Pet Shop Boys to record and release a "collaborations" album—maybe titled Collaborate or Collaborations (what else?)—in which all of the tracks are collaborations with various other artists? Which of the following statements comes closest to expressing how you feel about this idea?

27.3% - Yes, as long as it's all-new material written or at least co-written by the Boys. ¤
22.0% - Well, it depends on the artists with whom they decide to collaborate.
15.0% - No, I don't want that at all!
13.4% - Yes, and I wouldn't mind if the material weren't written by PSB as long as it's all new.
12.9% - Yes, and I wouldn't mind if it were to consist largely or even entirely of covers of old songs (their own and/or others'). 
07.0% - I really don't care about this one way or the other.
02.4% - I have a very different opinion about this from any of those expressed above.*

Among the alternate opinions shared by voters were:

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Survey 862 - Weeks of July 1 and 8, 2018
Favorite PSB studio album side (424 voters)

What is your all-time favorite studio album "vinyl side" (or "half-album") by the Pet Shop Boys?

Note that although Electric consisted of two vinyl discs and therefore four sides, each vinyl disc of Electric was treated as a "side" in this poll in order to make it more "equivalent" in this respect to all the other PSB studio albums.

14.2% - Actually Side 2
14.0% - Very Side 1 ¤
11.3% - Please Side 1
08.0% - Introspective Side 1
07.5% - Behaviour Side 1
05.9% - Behaviour Side 2
04.0% - Elysium Side 1
03.3% - Nightlife Side 1
03.3% - Super Side 2
03.1% - Please Side 2
03.1% - Bilingual Side 2
02.6% - Bilingual Side 1
02.6% - Fundamental Side 2
02.6% - Electric "Side" (Disc) 1
02.4% - Actually Side 1
02.4% - Very Side 2
02.4% - Yes Side 1
01.7% - Introspective Side 2
01.7% - Super Side 1
01.2% - Yes Side 2
00.9% - Electric "Side" (Disc) 2
00.7% - Fundamental Side 1
00.7% - Release Side 2
00.5% - Release Side 1
00.2% - Elysium Side 2
00.0% - Nightlife Side 2

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Survey 861 - Weeks of June 17 and 24, 2018
Should PSB release a Disco 5 album? (411 voters)

Should the Pet Shop Boys ever release a Disco 5 album?

Note: Because voters could make more than one choice if they chose "Maybe," the following percentages total to more than 100%.

48.2% - Yes, absolutely!
23.6% - Maybe, if it consists of new (never previously released) extended mixes of classic hit PSB hit songs that don't stray "too far" from the originals ¤
20.9% - Maybe, if it consists of mixes by Chris and Neil of their own songs
18.0% - Maybe, if it consists of mixes of non-single PSB songs that have never previously been remixed ¤
08.5% - No, absolutely not!
06.1% - Maybe, if it consists of new mixes by Neil and Chris of other artists' songs
05.6% - Maybe, if it consists of previously "unofficial" fan mixes that the Boys have judged to be especially good ¤
04.9% - Maybe, if it consists of previously released "classic" remixes (their all-time most popular and/or their own all-time favorites)
03.6% - Maybe, if it consists of tracks determined by some other criterion not listed here*

*Among the alternate criteria suggested by voters (edited and summarized by the webmaster):

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Survey 860 - Week of June 10, 2018
On the importance of "visual factors" to PSB success (329 voters)

In your opinion, which of the following statements comes closest to describing the importance of visual style or design—that is, graphics, artwork, clothes, costuming, staging, videos, and the like, as opposed to more purely musical factors—to the success of the Pet Shop Boys?

49.5% - It's been a significant defining characteristic for them, but I wouldn't say it's been a critical factor in their success. ¤
25.8% - It's been an absolutely critical factor in their success throughout their career.
14.3% - It was important for the first half or so of their career, but not so much in more recent years.
04.0% - It was very important at the start of their career, helping to set them apart and gain attention, but hasn't been very important ever since.
03.6% - It really hasn't been of very much importance at all.
01.2% - It wasn't very important early in their career, but has been much more important in recent years.
01.2% - I'm not sure or I really don't have much of an opinion about this.
00.3% - I have an opinion very different from any of those described above.*

*The only "other" opinion explicitly shared by a voter was:

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Survey 859 - Week of June 3, 2018
Favorite "Boys" band aside from PSB (343 voters)

Aside from the Pet Shop Boys, what is your favorite "Boys" band—that is, a musical act with the word "Boys" (or "Boyz," but not "Boy" singular) in their name?

40.2% - "Actually, I can't say I like any 'Boys' band aside from Pet Shop Boys"
24.8% - Beach Boys ¤
14.6% - Beastie Boys
08.7% - Backstreet Boys
04.1% - Vengaboys
02.9% - Some other "Boys" band not listed here*
01.5% - Boys Town Gang
01.5% - Boyzone
00.3% - Boyz II Men
00.3% - Bullet Boys
00.3% - Girls Against Boys
00.3% - Los Lonely Boys
00.3% - Oak Ridge Boys **

*Among the "some other 'Boys' bands" cited by voters as their favorites are:

**I had also listed the following "Boys" bands among the choices in this poll, but they didn't receive any votes:

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Survey 858 - Week of May 27, 2018
PSB's Christmas song: their best of the '90s? (388 voters)

In the Nightlife reissue booklet, Neil says that "It Doesn't Often Snow at Christmas" is "the best song we wrote in the 1990s." Regardless of whether you believe he was being totally serious when he said this—and, speaking only for myself, I do—do you agree with this assessment?

68.6% - No. It's not one of the worst, but it's certainly not one of the best, either. ¤
14.4% - Maybe it's not the very best of the 1990s, but I would say it's one of the best—say, in the top five.
11.6% - No. In fact, I would say it's one of the worst PSB songs of the 1990s.
03.4% - I can't say because I'm not sufficiently familiar with the song.
02.1% - Yes, I do!

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Survey 857 - Week of May 20, 2018
Should PSB participate in Eurovision? (318 voters)

Should the Pet Shop Boys participate in the Eurovision Song Contest?

44.0% - No, absolutely not!
16.7% - Yes, they should, but only as songwriters—not as performers.
13.5% - It may have been a good idea at one time, but not anymore. ¤
10.7% - Yes, they should, as both performers and songwriters.
08.8% - I have no opinion about this one way or the other.
05.3% - I have very mixed feelings about it.
00.9% - I have a very different opinion from any of those described above.*

*Among the "other opinions" expressed:

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Survey 856 - Week of May 13, 2018
Favorite PSB song with "You" in the title (411 voters)

What is your favorite officially released PSB-composed song that includes the word "You" in its title?

38.0% - Can You Forgive Her?
15.8% - I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Any More
12.2% - You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk
09.0% - Did You See Me Coming?
07.5% - I Get Excited (You Get Excited Too)
07.5% - How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously ¤*
05.4% - You Know Where You Went Wrong
01.9% - I Want You Now
01.5% - You Choose
01.2% - The Night Is a Time to Explore Who You ARe

*As I've noted elsewhere, I'm especially fond of the Brothers in Rhythm video mix of "How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously," which is one of my all-time favorite PSB tracks. If it weren't for that remix, I probably would have voted with the plurality and gone for "Can You Forgive Her?"

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Survey 855 - Week of May 6, 2018
Your current "musical diet" (348 voters)

Which of the following statements comes closest to accurately describing your current overall "musical diet" as it relates to both the Pet Shop Boys and other artists? (By "current" I mean now and over the past couple of months.)

58.3% - "It consists of music by PSB, other similar artists, and still others that are stylistically quite different." ¤*
11.8% - "The other choices don't apply to me because I can't really 'pin down' PSB to any particular style of music. PSB is just one of many artists I listen to, period."
09.5% - "It consists primarily of music by PSB and certain other artists that strike me as stylistically similar."
08.9% - "It consists of music by PSB but little if any by other stylistically similar artists, with most other music I listen to being very different from PSB. (In other words, PSB is a stylistic "anomaly" in my musical tastes.)"
04.9% - "It consists almost exclusively of PSB music and little if anything else."
03.7% - "I really don't listen to very much PSB music at all, although I do listen to a lot of other music."
02.9% - "I don't listen to very much music at all, period, including PSB."

*As for me, over the past few weeks I've been on a real kick of listening, in addition to PSB, to music by Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, the Moody Blues, Procol Harum, and Donna Summer—a fairly diverse crop.

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Survey 854 - Week of April 29, 2018
The funniest PSB music video (349 voters)

What, in your opinion, is the Pet Shop Boys' funniest (that is, most amusing) music video?

Please note: All of the Boys' music videos were listed as choices in this poll, but those that didn't receive any votes—nearly half of them—aren't listed below.

24.1% - I'm with Stupid
16.9% - Single-Bilingual
11.2% - Flamboyant
08.3% - I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing
07.4% - Heart
06.6% - Absolutely Fabulous ¤*
04.9% - Can You Forgive Her?
04.3% - Yesterday, When I Was Mad
02.3% - DJ Culture
01.7% - Go West
01.4% - A Red Letter Day
01.4% - Home and Dry
01.1% - Always on My Mind
01.1% - How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?

The following videos each received 00.6% (2 votes):

The following each received 00.3% (1 vote):

The remaining videos didn't receive any votes.

*The reason for my choosing the "Ab Fab" video? Well, I find the Boys' white baker/dervish costumes hilarious—in my opinion, the funniest of the entire Very era—and the ad-libbed moment when "Edina" lifts Chris's fez, spurring a shocked (but amused) reaction from him as he quickly grabs it back, is priceless.

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Survey 853 - Week of April 22, 2018
Which of my favorites are your least favorites? (338 voters)

Which of my favorite tracks on the Pet Shop Boys' albums are your least favorite tracks on those albums? (Select all that apply.)

Please note that, because voters could make more than one choice, the following percentages total to more than 100%.

40.5% - "Actually, none of these songs is my least favorite from its respective album!"
15.1% - Release - "Birthday Boy"
14.5% - Elysium - "Give It a Go"
11.8% - Yes - "King of Rome"
10.9% - Super - "Into Thin Air"
06.5% - Bilingual - "To Step Aside"
06.2% - Relentless - "One Thing Leads to Another"
05.6% - Closer to Heaven - "Out of My System"
05.3% - Format - "I Didn't Get Where I Am Today"
05.0% - Please - "Tonight Is Forever"
04.4% - Electric - "Vocal"
04.1% - Actually - "What Have I Done to Deserve This?"
03.8% - The Most Incredible Thing - "The Clock 4/5/6"
03.6% - Alternative - "Shameless"
03.6% - Disco 3 - "Somebody Else's Business"
03.6% - Disco 4 - "Hallo Spaceboy"
03.3% - Very - "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing"
03.0% - Behaviour - "Being Boring"
03.0% - Fundamental - "Integral"
02.7% - Introspective - "Left to My Own Devices"
02.4% - Nightlife - "Closer to Heaven"
01.8% - Battleship Potemkin - "No Time for Tears"

¤ By the very nature of the question, it didn't make sense for me to place any votes in this poll.

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Survey 852 - Week of April 15, 2018
Which of my least favorites are your favorites? (371 voters)

Which of my least favorite tracks on the Pet Shop Boys' albums are your favorite tracks on those albums? (Select all that apply.)

Please keep in mind that just because a song is my "least favorite" on an album doesn't mean I don't like it; I simply like all the others even more. Honestly, there are only three of these songs that I don't like. Also please note that, because voters could make more than one choice, the following percentages total to more than 100%.

39.9% - "Actually, none of these songs is my favorite from its respective album!"
18.1% - Disco 3 - "Try It (I'm in Love with a Married Man)"
15.4% - Introspective - "Always on My Mind/In My House"
13.7% - Release - "Love Is a Catastrophe"
13.2% - Behaviour - "Only the Wind"
07.0% - Relentless - "We Came from Outer Space"
06.2% - Actually - "Hit Music"
05.7% - Disco 4 - "Hooked on Radiation"
05.7% - Yes - "Legacy"
05.7% - Electric - "Shouting in the Evening"
04.6% - Nightlife - "Boy Strange"
04.6% - Super - "Pazzo!"
03.8% - Alternative - "The Sound of the Atom Splitting"
03.5% - Bilingual - "Electricity"
03.5% - Elysium - "Ego Music"
03.0% - Fundamental - "God Willing"
02.7% - Very - "Postscript"
02.4% - Please - "Opportunities (Reprise)"
02.4% - Format - "The Former Enfant Terrible"
01.6% - Closer to Heaven - "K-hole"
01.3% - Battleship Potemkin - "To the Shore"
00.5% - The Most Incredible Thing - "Physical Jerks"

¤ By the very nature of the question, it didn't make sense for me to place any votes in this poll.

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Survey 851 - Week of April 8, 2018
Favorite "post-millennial" PSB studio album (422 voters)

What is your favorite post-millennial Pet Shop Boys studio album—that is, from among those released after 2000?

28.9% - Yes
26.1% - Electric
23.9% - Fundamental ¤
08.8% - Super
07.3% - Elysium
05.0% - Release

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Survey 850 - Week of April 1, 2018
Questions about PSB tribute bands (309 voters)

A multi-part question concerning Pet Shop Boys tribute bands –

  1. Have you ever seen a Pet Shop Boys tribute band?

    68.0% - No, I've never seen a PSB tribute band either "live" or on video.
    27.5% - I've seen video recordings of one or more PSB tribute bands, but never one "live." ¤
    04.2% - Yes, I've seen one or more PSB tribute bands perform "live."

  2. If so, do you think they were good at paying tribute to PSB?

    63.8% - Not applicable – I've never seen a PSB tribute band.
    18.8% - Yes, I think they were good at paying tribute to PSB. ¤
    08.7% - No, I don't think they did a very good job of paying tribute to PSB.
    04.2% - I've seen more than one PSB tribute band. One or more of them were good at it, but not all of them.

  3. With which of the following statements do you agree with regard to PSB tribute bands?

    87.1% - There's no "should" about it when it comes to patronizing a PSB tribute band. Fans should do whatever they want to do. ¤
    04.5% - PSB fans should not patronize PSB tribute bands, but should stick exclusively with "the real thing."
    02.9% - PSB fans should patronize PSB tribute bands.

    39.5% - A PSB tribute band should "mix it up," performing some songs as much as possible like PSB, but also throwing in something new and different at times. ¤
    25.2% - A PSB tribute band should strive to look and sound like PSB as much as possible.
    20.1% - A PSB tribute band should play PSB songs, but shouldn't try to replicate their look and sound, but instead do something different with the songs.

    Please note that the percentages in each group do not total to 100% because voters were free not to respond to certain questions while answering others.

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Survey 849 - Weeks of March 17 and 24, 2018
The three sexiest PSB music videos (390 voters)

What, in your opinion, are the Pet Shop Boys' three sexiest music videos?

63.3% - Domino Dancing ¤
52.3% - Being Boring ¤
24.1% - Paninaro '95 ¤*
22.8% - Se A Vida E (That's the Way Life Is)
10.5% - Jealousy
09.0% - Heart
06.7% - Love Comes Quickly
05.1% - Together
04.6% - So Hard
04.6% - I Get Along
04.1% - You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk
03.3% - Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money) - Version 2
03.3% - Paninaro
03.1% - Minimal
02.8% - West End Girls
02.8% - It's a Sin
02.6% - What Have I Done to Deserve This?
02.6% - Was It Worth It?
02.6% - New York City Boy
02.3% - Rent
02.3% - Home and Dry
02.3% - Miracles
02.1% - How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?
02.1% - Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)
02.1% - I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing
02.1% - Flamboyant
01.8% - Left to My Own Devices
01.8% - Before
01.5% - Can You Forgive Her?
01.5% - Did You See Me Coming?
01.3% - Single-Bilingual
01.3% - Twenty-something
01.0% - Love etc.
01.0% - Axis

The following videos each received 00.8% (3 votes):

The following each received 00.5% (2 votes):

The following each received 00.3% (one vote):

The following videos didn't receive any votes:

*It's most unusual that, in a poll in which we could place multiple votes, all of my own choices happened to coincide precisely with the majority/plurality outcomes.

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Survey 848 - Week of March 11, 2018
Which "1 Has 2 Go"? (416 voters)

Let's play 1 Has 2 Go – "the game of impossible choices" – with what are arguably (or at least often regarded as) the Pet Shop Boys' three most widely acclaimed albums among fans and critics alike, generally considered to be their stone-solid essential classics: Actually, Behaviour, and Very. Your challenge is to pick two to keep, with the understanding that you then have to "discard" the other one. To put it another way, you have to choose the "loser," at least compared to the other two. So which 1 has 2 go?

35.3% - Actually ¤
35.3% - Very
29.3% - Behaviour

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Survey 847 - Week of March 4, 2018
When did you last "evangelize" for PSB? (339 voters)

To the best of your recollection, when was the last time that you "evangelized" for the Pet Shop Boys—in other words, actively tried to convince one or more non-fans (friends, family members, co-workers, or maybe even total strangers) of how good they are or perhaps even convert them into fans themselves? If you're not sure, please take your best guess.

22.4% - Within the past year
18.9% - "I've never actually tried to convince someone else of how good they are or to convert them into fans!"
14.2% - Within the past 5 years
13.6% - Within the past month
11.8% - More than 10 years ago
10.6% - Within the past week
05.0% - Earlier today, in fact!
03.5% - Within the past 10 years.

¤ I decided against voting in this poll (rare for me) because I wasn't at all sure how I should vote. In one sense, I "evangelize" for PSB virtually every single day through this website. On the other hand, the last time I did so in any other way—talking to a non-fan about the Boys—was, I believe, more than a year but less than two years ago; in other words, "Within the past 5 years."

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Survey 846 - Week of February 25, 2018
Why didn't "Being Boring" do better as a single? (366 voters)

"Being Boring" is one of the most highly regarded Pet Shop Boys songs among fans—if not the most highly regarded. Yet it somewhat "under-performed" as a single, reaching only #20 on the U.K. singles chart. Although there may be various reasons for this occurring, what one factor do you think most accounts for this relative lack of success as a single?

25.1% - It didn't sound very much like the Pet Shop Boys that people had come to know and expect. ¤
22.7% - Its melody and/or arrangement didn't appeal to the singles-buying public.
10.4% - The Boys had come to the end of their "imperial phase" and an averse pop-culture reaction was setting in. The relatively poor charting of the song reflected this fact.
10.1% - Radio programmers didn't embrace it (for whatever reason).
08.7% - Its lyrics and subject matter didn't appeal to the singles-buying public.
05.5% - It was included on the already-released album Behaviour, and people didn't want to buy a single that wasn't very different from the album version (just a shorter edit).
04.6% - It was poorly promoted and marketed.
04.6% - For some other reason not listed here.*
04.4% - Although it's highly regarded by most fans, I'm not among them. I think it's overrated, so its under-performance as a single doesn't surprise me one bit.
03.8% - Its video (with its flashes of nudity and few appearances by the Boys) didn't receive much airplay and/or didn't appeal to the public.

*Among the other reasons sugggested by voters (briefly summarized by me):

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Survey 845 - Week of February 18, 2018
Fadeouts or cold/hard endings? (391 voters)

Do you tend to prefer for recordings of the Pet Shop Boys' songs to end with fadeouts (such as "West End Girls," "Love Comes Quickly," and "Se A Vida E") or with cold/hard endings (such as "It's a Sin," "Can You Forgive Her?" and "Hey, Headmaster")?

38.9% - It depends on the song.
38.4% - I tend to prefer cold/hard endings. ¤*
17.1% - It doesn't make much of any difference to me.
05.6% - I tend to prefer fadeouts.

*I wish to add, however, that this is certainly not a strong preference on my part. In fact, I came very close to choosing "It doesn't make much of a difference to me." And I also agree that it largely depends on the song. When you get right down to it, I could easily have found myself voting for any of these options.

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Survey 844 - Week of February 11, 2018
Favorite PSB song with "love" in its title (397 voters)

What is your favorite Pet Shop Boys song—that is, a song that they themselves wrote, both performed, and/or are both credited as co-performers—that has the word "love" (or some inflection of it) in its title?

30.5% - Love Comes Quickly
14.9% - Love etc.
13.6% - Love Is a Bourgeois Construct
13.1% - You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk
07.3% - I Want a Lover
04.3% - The Loving Kind
04.0% - Love Is a Catastrophe
03.0% - Forever in Love
02.8% - Try It (I'm in Love with a Married Man)
01.8% - Break 4 Love
01.5% - If There Was Love ¤*
00.8% - The Night I Fell in Love
00.8% - Love Life
00.8% - Only Love
00.5% - If Love Were All
00.5% - I'm in Love with a German Film Star

*Yes, this is my favorite from among these songs. But as marvelous as Liza Minnelli's rendition of it is, it's not because of her performance that I like it so much. It's just so great a song, period—words and music. I only wish there were a PSB-performed version of it available for our listening pleaseure.

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Survey 843 - Week of February 4, 2018
Only one album to listen to (353 voters)

If you had to go a very, very long time (certainly more than a year, probably many years, and maybe even the rest of your life) able to listen to only one album—a studio album as opposed to a hits collection, live album, compilation, or boxed set—and no other music at all, would you prefer a Pet Shop Boys album or an album by some other artist of your choice? And if it's the Pet Shop Boys, which of their studio albums would you choose?

30.0% - "I would choose an album by someone other than the Pet Shop Boys."

It's important to note of course that, although the plurality vote went to albums by artists other than PSB, the large majority of voters (70%) picked some PSB album as opposed to other artists' albums. The album-by-album breakdown was:

18.7% - Behaviour
11.9% - Very ¤*
08.5% - Actually
05.7% - Introspective
05.1% - Please
04.5% - Fundamental
03.1% - Bilingual
03.1% - Electric
02.8% - Yes
02.0% - Elysium
02.0% - Super
01.7% - Nightlife
00.8% - Release

*I ended up surprising myself with my choice. If someone had asked me about this out of the blue, without giving me time to think about it, I would probably have said, "I would choose an album by someone other than the Pet Shop Boys," with an album by the Beatles or the Beach Boys being my likely choice. But then when I actually sat down and started comparing my favorite albums—not just by the Beatles and Beach Boys but by all of my other favorite artists—to my favorite PSB album, Very, I found that, although in a few (a very few) cases I considered the others to be "better" albums (yes, I consider Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Pet Sounds, Innervisions, Rumours, The Dark Side of the Moon, and Bridge Over Troubled Water to be "better" albums than Very), I simply couldn't say that I would prefer any of them as my sole "listening companion" for a very long time. I surprised myself in picking Very in every single instance—although, surprising myself once again, Bridge Over Troubled Water came close.

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Survey 842 - Week of January 28, 2018
Live show or DVD? (365 voters)

Based on your present circumstances (such as your financial situation, where you live, and whether you've already seen PSB perform live on one or more occasions), 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 (or streaming if that's a viable option)—which of course you could watch as often as you like—which would you prefer?

79.5% - I would prefer the live show.
20.5% - I would prefer the DVD/Blu-ray ¤*

*Surprised by my choice? My rationale is this – If I had never seen the Pet Shop Boys "live" before, or even if I hadn't seen them perform live for, say, a decade or more, then I would definitely choose the live show. But as I've noted elsewhere, I'm not a big fans of live concerts in general. I tend to prefer video recordings on DVDs and the like because (1) I can watch it as often as I want, (2) I can watch it in the comfort of my own home, (3) I can conveniently share it with friends, (4) I get much better views of the performers, (5) the sound quality is, at least from my perspective, much better, and, last but certainly not least, (6) it doesn't cost nearly as much. To me, it's a no-brainer—again, assuming that I have seen them "live" recently, as I indeed have. But that's just me (well, and about 20% of the other voters). It's clearly not the large majority. wink Needless to say, of course, if I could have both, that would be my ultimate preference. I'm sure that's true for virtually everybody here.

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Survey 841 - Week of January 21, 2018
The most "earwormy" PSB single (326 voters)

What is the Pet Shop Boys' most "earwormy" single—the one that's hardest to get out of your head either after hearing it or, by contrast, if you haven't heard it for a while but for some reason you think of it and then can't stop thinking of it? (This could be true now or at some point in the past. If there's more than one, please try to settle on the one that strikes you as the most "earwormy.")

08.3% - Always on My Mind
06.7% - It's a Sin
05.8% - Go West
04.9% - Domino Dancing
04.0% - Suburbia
04.0% - Left to My Own Devices
03.4% - West End Girls
03.4% - What Have I Done to Deserve This? ¤*
03.4% - Single-Bilingual
03.1% - Love etc.
02.8% - Can You Forgive Her?
02.8% - I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing
02.5% - Being Boring
02.5% - Flamboyant
02.1% - Love Comes Quickly
02.1% - Heart
02.1% - I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Any More
02.1% - Minimal
02.1% - Did You See Me Coming?
01.8% - Paninaro '95
01.8% - The Pop Kids
01.8% - Love Is a Bourgeois Construct
01.5% - So Hard
01.5% - New York City Boy
01.5% - Leaving
01.5% - Vocal
01.2% - DJ Culture
01.2% - Se A Vida E (That's the Way Life Is)
01.2% - Memory of the Future

The following singles each received 00.9% (3 votes):

The following each received 00.6% (2 votes):

The following each received 00.3% (one vote):

The following singles didn't receive any votes:

*A personal anecdote concerning my own vote – Not only have there been many times when that little opening keyboard riff of "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" (you know, the one that chimes "dee-dee, dee-dee, dee-dee-dee-dee") has become lodged in my brain, but I recall a specific incident about 25 years ago at work. I had been playing PSB songs quietly of my office computer for a while that morning, loud enough only so that someone immediately passing by might hear them. A short while after "What Have I Done to Desrve This?" had played, one of my colleagues poked his head in and said with a grin, "Thanks—now I'm not going to be able to get that song out of my head for the rest of the day."

"Which one?" I asked.

He then chanted, with inflections closely matching Neil's in the song itself, "What have I, what have I, what have I done to deserve this?"

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Survey 840 - Week of January 14, 2018
Selections for an imaginary PSB Ballads album (361 voters)

Let's say you've been given the task to put together a 12-song Pet Shop Boys compilation album titled Ballads. Yes, a collection of their greatest ballads, though limited to songs that they wrote (or co-wrote) themselves; no covers allowed. Which 12 PSB songs would you choose for this compilation?

Note that because voters could make multiple selections, the percentages total to considerably more than 100%.

62.6% - Being Boring ¤
54.8% - King's Cross
46.2% - Jealousy
42.4% - Dreaming of the Queen ¤
41.6% - It Couldn't Happen Here ¤
41.6% - Do I Have To?
41.4% - It Always Comes as a Surprise ¤
36.8% - You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk
36.6% - Only the Wind
34.1% - Later Tonight ¤
33.8% - Liberation ¤
33.5% - King of Rome ¤
32.7% - Your Funny Uncle ¤
32.7% - Always
31.9% - Miracles ¤
31.9% - I Made My Excuses and Left
31.0% - To Speak Is a Sin
28.8% - To Face the Truth
26.0% - Invisible
25.8% - Nervously
23.5% - The Survivors
23.3% - So Sorry, I Said
19.7% - Here
18.8% - Hey, Headmaster
18.0% - Friendly Fire ¤
17.2% - Love Is a Catastrophe
17.2% - Indefinite Leave to Remain
15.5% - A New Life
14.4% - I Get Along
14.1% - Decadence
14.1% - London
13.9% - You Choose
13.6% - Breathing Space
13.3% - For All of Us
13.0% - Footsteps
13.0% - No Time for Tears ¤
12.7% - Birthday Boy ¤
11.6% - Sad Robot World
10.2% - The View from Your Balcony
10.2% - Bright Young Things
09.7% - Confidential
09.1% - The Only One
08.9% - Wiedersehen
08.3% - Listening
08.0% - One Night
07.5% - You Know Where You Went Wrong
06.4% - Jack the Lad
06.4% - Some other song not listed here*
05.5% - No More Ballads
05.3% - The Calm Before the Storm
04.4% - Boy Strange
04.2% - Silver Age
03.9% - Postscript
03.3% - Searching for the Face of Jesus
03.3% - Hold On
02.8% - Run, Girl, Run
02.2% - The Dead Can Dance
01.9% - Night Song
01.9% - Odd Man Out
00.8% - Inside

*Among the "some other songs" cited by voters were:

At least one voter also mentioned "Numb," but that's disqualified because it wasn't written or co-written by Tennant-Lowe, as stated in the question.

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Survey 839 - Week of January 7, 2018
The single that has reached your "lifetime hearing quota" (356 voters)

Which one of the following Pet Shop Boys singles has reached your "lifetime hearing quota"? In other words, you've heard it so often (or you never much cared for it to begin with) that you would just as soon never hear it again, or at least not for a very long time. If there's more than one, which one has entered most deeply into that realm—the one you wish least to hear again? And if none of them have (which I suspect may be the case for most of you), which one do you think is most in danger of achieving this dubious status at some point?

09.6% - Go West
09.3% - West End Girls
09.0% - Winner
08.7% - It's a Sin
06.7% - New York City Boy
04.8% - Twenty-something
03.9% - Before
03.7% - Always on My Mind ¤*
03.7% - Se A Vida E (That's the Way Life Is)
03.7% - Beautiful People
02.5% - Somewhere
02.2% - Break 4 Love
02.0% - Absolutely Fabulous
02.0% - I Get Along
02.0% - Numb
01.7% - Suburbia
01.4% - Heart
01.4% - Domino Dancing
01.4% - Thursday
01.1% - DJ Culture
01.1% - Liberation
01.1% - I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Any More
01.1% - I'm with Stupid
01.1% - Together
01.1% - She's Madonna

The following singles each received 00.8% (3 votes):

The following each received 00.6% (2 votes):

The following each received 00.3% (one vote):

The following singles didn't receive any votes:

*Regarding my own vote for "Always on My Mind" – Don't get me wrong, I do indeed like it. But it's never been among my favorite covers by the Boys. I chose it in this poll because it's indeed one of the most frequently played PSB songs on the radio where I live, surpassed in that respect only by "West End Girls" and maybe "It's a Sin." But I have to confess I find that fact mildly irritating considering that so many far superior (in my opinion) Tennant-Lowe originals of roughly the same period—such as "Left to My Own Devices," "Being Boring," and "Jealousy"—are all but completely ignored here in States. When I hear it on the radio, I sometimes growl to myself, "Oh, no, that again! Why not something else?" I can't say that about any other PSB track I hear on the radio. I console myself, however, that at least it's something by the Pet Shop Boys. Incidentally, if this poll question had asked about Tennant-Lowe songs that have reached our "lifetime hearing quota" of being covered by other artists, it's no secret that my choice would easily be "It's a Sin." It dwarfs all other contenders.

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