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What's New? – Recent Updates & Additions

November 3, 2019

Thanks to Michael from Kassel, Germany for letting me know that snippets of "Shopping" were repeatedly used during a segment of the October 30 episode of the German TV comedy Mario Barth räumt auf ("Mario Barth Cleans Up"). I've noted this in the entry for that song at #12 in my list of Pet Shop Boys songs that can be heard in "non-musical" films and TV shows. Michael also pointed out that the 2006 documentary Hochhaussinfonie ("High-Rise Symphony"), newly but only temporarily available for streaming, focuses on the July 20, 2006 performance by the Boys of their Battleship Potemkin score with the Dresden Symphony Orchestra. I'm not sure at this time whether and, if so, how to note this documentary on my website (though the concert itself is already cited on my "On This Day in PSB History" page whenever that day rolls around). I'm too preoccupied with other personal matters right now to devote very much attention to it, but I'll try to give some thought to it as time permits in the days and weeks ahead.

October 27, 2019

Although I had already noted in my list of Pet Shop Boys songs used in non-musical films and television shows that "It's a Sin" can be heard in the recent film Blinded by the Light, I had neglected to include that movie in my "flipside" list of feature films that include PSB music. Thanks to Walter McIntosh for alerting me to this oversight, which I've now rectified. And thanks to Walter's tip-off, I'm also able to add that movie to my list of feature films that mention the Pet Shop Boys by name.

October 26, 2019

I've made a few edits and added some annotations to my new entries for the songs "An Open Mind" and "No Boundaries." And I've now also added mixes info for "Dreamland" while also updating my pages devoted to the Pet Shop Boys' remixers and their own work as remixers with the pertinent information.

October 25, 2019

With the official release today of the "Dreamland" physical single, I'm able to update my entries for its two bonus songs, "No Boundaries" and "An Open Mind." I strongly encourage you to purchase these tracks—support your favorite artists!—but in the meantime you can listen to them online on Spotify.

Thanks so much to Martin Kavka for letting me know that the popular French singer Étienne Daho's cover of "You Choose"—which has remained "in the can" for more than 15 years—has finally seen the light of day. I've made note of this in a new entry for that song on my page devoted to remakes of Tennant-Lowe songs.

Octrober 12, 2019

Thanks to Steve N. for writing to suggest a more "literal" interpretation of the song "Dreamland," which I've used to post two new bullet-point annotations (now the first two) to my commentary on the song.

October 7, 2019

Thanks so much to John McFadden for sharing some statements made by Neil during his appearance this past Saturday at the Manchester Literature Festival. These include such revelations as:

Thanks as well to Rory Simpson for letting me know (with supporting evidence) that British author, journalist, and political commentator Jonathan Isaby is a fellow fan of the Pet Shop Boys, thereby earning him a spot in my list of celebrity PSB fans outside of the field of music.

Ocotber 6, 2019

I've posted the final results of my "ratings" poll of the past two weeks, in which I asked my site visitors to rate the five most recently released Tennant-Lowe songs—the new ones from Musik as well as the new single in collaboration with Years & Years, "Dreamland"—on a scale of 0 to 10 as they compare with all other PSB songs. I've also added these new ratings to my "Rating Project" page so that you can see how they "fit in" with all of the previous ratings.

You've almost certainly already noticed that, for the first time in a very long time, I'm not posting a new survey. As I explain on my home page, this is only a temporary halt to my polling, although it may last for as much as two months or so. It's also part of the first phase of a two-phase temporary reduction in my work on this website. For the next few weeks, I'll still be making occasional updates, but only occasionally, and only those that I regard as especially important.

Then, when "Phase 2" hits, probably sometime in November, I won't be able to make any updates at all. This website should still continue running on its own and remain fully functional, but there just won't be any changes for a while. In fact, there will probably be a period when I won't even have email access and I'll go "silent." But as soon as we're settled into our new home and I have full internet and website access again, I'll resume work—including polling—and things should go back to normal, knock on wood.

So I hope you'll all bear with me during this transitional period. Thank you for your understanding and patience!

October 4, 2019

Happy birthday to Chris Lowe, who turns 60 today! Regardless, he'll always be a boy—a Pet Shop Boy, of course—to us!

 

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