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DJ Culture (Blank
"DJ Culture" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their first greatest hits album, '' Discography: The Complete Singles Collection'' (1991). It was released on 14 October 1991 as the album's lead single, peaking at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart. Another version of the song, remixed by the Grid and entitled "Dj culturemix", was also released as a single and reached number 40 on the UK Singles Chart. The B-side was "Music for Boys". According to the singer Neil Tennant, the song concerned the insincerity of how President George H. W. Bush's speeches at the time of the First Gulf War utilised Winston Churchill's wartime rhetoric, in a manner similar to how artists sample music from other artists. The music video alternately features Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe as a pair of doctors, a pair of soldiers in desert combat dress, a judge presiding over Oscar Wilde (the line "And I my lord, may I say nothing?" is a close paraphrase of Wilde's comment after being s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music history in the 1999 edition of ''The Guinness Book of Records''. Pet Shop Boys have achieved 42 top 30 singles, including 22 top-10 hits on the UK singles chart, including four UK number-ones: "West End Girls" (also number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100), "It's a Sin", a synth-pop version of "Always on My Mind#Pet Shop Boys version, Always on My Mind", and "Heart (Pet Shop Boys song), Heart". Other hit songs include a cover of "Go West (song)#Pet Shop Boys version, Go West", and their own "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)", and "What Have I Done to Deserve This? (song), What Have I Done to Deserve This?" in a duet with Dusty Springfield. With five US top 10 singles in the 1980s, they are associated with the S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwrights in London in the early 1890s. Regarded by most commentators as the greatest playwright of the Victorian era, Wilde is best known for his 1890 Gothic fiction, Gothic philosophical fiction ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'', as well as his numerous epigrams and plays, and his criminal conviction for gross indecency for homosexual acts. Wilde's parents were Anglo-Irish intellectuals in Dublin. In his youth, Wilde learned to speak fluent French and German. At university, he read Literae Humaniores#Greats, Greats; he demonstrated himself to be an exceptional classicist, first at Trinity College Dublin, then at Magdalen College, Oxford. He became associated with the emerging philosophy of aestheticism, led by two of his tutors, Walter Pater and Jo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
How Can You Expect To Be Taken Seriously?
"How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their fourth studio album, ''Behaviour'' (1990). It was released in the United Kingdom on 11 March 1991 as a double A-side with " Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)", serving as the third single from ''Behaviour''. For the single, Brothers in Rhythm remixed the track. The song was released as a solo single in the United States and France; it peaked at number 93 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Background and composition "How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?" is a "satire of late-eighties rock stars relentlessly saving the planet", according to lyricist Neil Tennant. The song addresses those who take on fashionable causes and trivialise them. In an interview for ''Record Mirror'', Tennant was asked if it was written specifically about Sting; he replied that it was not about any one person but that he had several people in mind. Pet Shop Boys were ins ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
So Hard
"So Hard" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released in September 1990 as the lead single from their fourth studio album, ''Behaviour'' (1990). The song is about "two people living together; they are totally unfaithful to each other but they both pretend they are faithful and then catch each other out". It peaked at 4 in the United Kingdom and reached the top three in at least seven European countries, including Finland, where it reached No. 1. Background "The original was harping back to Giorgio Moroder with loads of all these retro instruments", recalled Chris Lowe. "Then David Morales took the chord progression from the middle section and made this classic pumping house track. It's quite funny, because we did this gig in Los Angeles and Frankie Knuckles played this track at the party afterwards. Neil came over and said, 'Why don't we make records like this?' I said, 'Neil, it ''is'' us.' So that's how much we know about dance music!" Critical reception Larr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opportunities (Let's Make Lots Of Money)
"Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their debut studio album, '' Please'' (1986). It was released as a single in 1985 and re-recorded and reissued in 1986, gaining greater popularity in both the United Kingdom and United States with its second release, reaching number 11 on the UK Singles Chart and number 10 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. After the song was featured in a Super Bowl ad in February 2021, it re-entered the charts, claiming the number one spot on ''Billboard's'' Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales. Background The song was written during the Pet Shop Boys' formative years, in 1983. According to Neil Tennant, the main lyrical concept came while in a recording studio in Camden Town when Chris Lowe asked him to make up a lyric based around the line "Let's make lots of money". Composition The lyrics describe, in Tennant's words, "two losers". The song is written from the perspective of a man who describes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Being Boring
"Being Boring" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released in November 1990 by Parlophone as the second single from their fourth studio album, ''Behaviour'' (1990). The song was written by Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant, and produced by them with German producer Harold Faltermeyer. It reached number 20 on the UK Singles Chart, marking the duo's first single to miss the top 10 since "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" in 1986. Its music video was directed by fashion photographer Bruce Weber. Background and composition The song is concerned with the idea of growing up and how people's perceptions and values change as they grow older. The title originated from a Japanese review that accused the duo of being boring, in reference to their "famously deadpan presentation". The phrase reminded Neil Tennant of a 1922 quotation by Zelda Fitzgerald, "she refused to be bored chiefly because she wasn't boring", which had been paraphrased on a party invitation from his f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
It's A Sin
"It's a Sin" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their second studio album, '' Actually'' (1987). Written by Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant, the song was released on 15 June 1987 as the album's lead single. It became the duo's second number-one single on the UK Singles Chart, spending three weeks atop the chart. Additionally, the single topped the charts in Austria, Denmark, Finland, West Germany, Ireland, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Zimbabwe, while reaching number nine on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It remains one of Pet Shop Boys' most popular songs with 40 million streams in the UK. Background "It's a Sin" was written in 1982 at Ray Roberts' studio in Camden, where Lowe and Tennant worked on songs in their early years. Their original demo was one of the songs Tennant brought to his meeting with New York record producer Bobby Orlando. Pet Shop Boys made another demo with Orlando in 1984, but it was never released. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Altern-8
Altern 8 is a British electronic music act, comprising Mark Archer and Chris Peat, until Peat left the group in 1994. Best known in the early 1990s, their trademark was electronic rave music with a heavy bass line. Notable Altern 8 tracks included "Activ 8", "E-Vapor-8", "Frequency", "Brutal-8-E", "Armageddon", "Move My Body", "Hypnotic St8" and "Infiltrate 202". On stage and in music videos, (such as the music video for "E-Vapor-8"), Altern 8's members wore their signature fluorescent yellow dust masks and green MK3 chemical warfare suits. The band signed with Network Records based in Stratford House, Birmingham, England. History Nexus 21 Formed in 1989, by Mark Archer and Chris Peat, Nexus 21 was a British techno duo from Stafford, England. The group was signed to the Blue Chip record label, owned by former Wigan Casino DJ Kev Roberts, under which they released ''(Still) Life Keeps Moving'': a vocal techno tune, and ''The Rhythm Of Life'', an LP album strongly influenc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Musical Express
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a " rock inkie", the ''NME'' would become a magazine that ended up as a free publication as well as a webzine, and the brand has also been used for their NME Awards show, the NME Tours and the former NME Radio station. As a "rock inkie", ''NME'' was the first British newspaper to include a singles chart, adding that feature in the edition of 14 November 1952. In the 1970s, it became the best-selling British music newspaper. From 1972 to 1976, it was particularly associated with gonzo journalism then became closely associated with punk rock through the writings of Julie Burchill, Paul Morley, and Tony Parsons. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s and 1990s, changing from newsprint in 1998. The magazine's website NME.co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suburbia (song)
"Suburbia" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their debut album, '' Please'' (1986). It was re-recorded with producer Julian Mendelsohn for release as the fourth single from the album. Peaking at number eight on the UK Singles Chart, "Suburbia" was the band's second top 10 hit after "West End Girls", and in their view it saved them from becoming a one-hit wonder. Background and recording The song's primary inspiration was the 1983 Penelope Spheeris film ''Suburbia'', and its depiction of violence and squalor in the suburbs of Los Angeles. The recent events of the Brixton riots of 1981 and of 1985 were another influence. The lyrics convey the boredom of suburbia ("I only wanted something else to do but hang around") and the underlying tension among disaffected youth. The music is punctuated by sounds of suburban violence, riots, and smashing glass, along with barking dogs—a motif derived from scenes in Spheeris's film. "Suburbia" was written in 1985 at T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West End Girls
"West End Girls" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. Written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, the song was released twice as a single. The song's lyrics are concerned with class and the pressures of inner-city life in London which were inspired partly by T. S. Eliot's poem ''The Waste Land''. It was generally well received by contemporary music critics and has been frequently cited as a highlight in the duo's career. The first version of the song was produced by Bobby Orlando and was released on Columbia Records' Bobcat Records imprint in April 1984, becoming a club hit in the United States and some European countries. After the duo signed with EMI, the song was re-recorded with producer Stephen Hague for their first studio album, ''Please (Pet Shop Boys album), Please''. In October 1985, the new version was released, reaching number one in the United Kingdom and the United States in 1986. In 1987, the song won Best Single at the Brit Awards, and Best Internat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melody Maker
''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publication) ''New Musical Express''. 1920s–1940s It was founded in 1926 by Leicester-born composer and publisher Lawrence Wright as the house magazine for his music publishing business, often promoting his own songs. Two months later it had become a full scale magazine, more generally aimed at dance band musicians, under the title ''The Melody Maker and British Metronome''. It was published monthly from the basement of 19 Denmark Street in LondonPeter Watts. ''Denmark Street: London's Street of Sound'' (2023), pp. 30-31 (soon relocating to 93 Long Acre), and the first editor was the drummer and dance-band leader Edgar Jackson (1895-1967). Jackson instigated a jazz column, which gained in credibility once it was taken over by Spike Hughes in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
