Few duo's are talented enough to have a career as lengthy as Pet Shop Boys have - let alone have as many b-sides worthy of such a compilation. 'Format' is essentially the follow up to the 1995 double cd release called 'Alternative' - which collected the duo's b-sides from 1985 to 1994 - as it covers their b-sides and bonus tracks released between 1996 and 2009. All 38 tracks are remastered and the cd booklet will feature an interview with Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe by Jon Savage - author of 'England's Dreaming' and 'Teenage'. You can pre-order 'Format' now from their official website here: http://www.petshopboysshop.co.uk/
And here's some even better PSB news - the gentlemen are currently at work on their eleventh studio album which is due for release next fall! Here's the cover art and tracklisting for 'Format':
Tracks
| CD1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The truck driver and his mate | |
| 2 | Hit and miss | |
| 3 | In the night (1995) | |
| 4 | Betrayed | |
| 5 | Discoteca (New Version) | |
| 6 | How I learned to hate rock 'n' roll | |
| 7 | The calm before the storm | |
| 8 | Confidential (Demo for Tina) | |
| 9 | The boy who couldn't keep his clothes on | |
| 10 | Delusions of grandeur | |
| 11 | The view from your balcony | |
| 12 | Disco potential | |
| 13 | Silver age | |
| 14 | Screaming | |
| 15 | The ghost of myself | |
| 16 | Casting a shadow | |
| 17 | Lies | |
| 18 | Sexy Northerner | |
| Tracks | ||
|---|---|---|
| CD2 | ||
| 1 | Always | |
| 2 | Nightlife | |
| 3 | Searching for the face of Jesus | |
| 4 | Between two islands | |
| 5 | Friendly fire | |
| 6 | We're the Pet Shop Boys | |
| 7 | Transparent | |
| 8 | I didn't get where I am today | |
| 9 | The Resurrectionist | |
| 10 | Girls don't cry | |
| 11 | In private (7-inch mix): Pet Shop Boys with Elton John | |
| 12 | Blue on blue | |
| 13 | No time for tears (7-inch mix) | |
| 14 | Bright young things | |
| 15 | Party song | |
| 16 | We're all criminals now | |
| 17 | Gin and Jag | |
| 18 | After the event | |
| 19 | The former enfant terrible | |
| 20 | Up and down | |
Here's one of my more recent favorite PSB b-sides - this is 'Blue On Blue' - originally the b-side of their 2006 single 'Minimal' (and soon to be track 12 on disc two). It's production is very old school - reminiscent of their early pre-'Please' recordings with legendary New York producer Bobby Orlando... Enjoy!
Bonus Track! 'It Doesn't Often Snow At Christmas' (New Version) As much as I love many different types and styles of music, truth be told I'm not much of a fan of Christmas music. I find most of it quite terrible, and some of it even borderline offensive!
I feel the same way about Christmas itself - if it was just one day a year of related good times that would be awesome - but it's two full months of relentless advertising and whoopla every single flipping year. THAT'S ONE SIXTH OF OUR LIVES people - for one day. It should only be 1/365th of our lives - pehaps a titch more in leap years :) I think a lot more humans would actually enjoy it if it was. So if you plan on living to be 100 like myself, you'll likely be hearing about Christmas for 16.666 years of your life - sounds a bit (dare I say it) evil - doesn't it? I don't get why more people don't full on rebel against the ridonkulousness of it's relentless overhyping. No offence of course if you love every minute of it.
Consequently, when I started seeing some bloggers posting Christmas music last month I felt that they should have been hung up by their collective sacs. So it may not surprise you then that I posted a mere three Christmas songs last year - and I'm thinking I'll stick with that (tradition) this year. A trio is plenty - and as it's only two days away now, I figure that it's a reasonable time (for me) to begin to acknowledge the holiday's existence.
'It Doesn't Often Snow At Christmas' was first released as a fan club only single in 1997, but it was later remixed for an official release on their 2009 'Christmas' EP. I particularly like this as a Christmas song lyrically speaking because it takes a pretty realistic snapshot of the holidays, and I truly love snow - but despite all the dreams of white Christmas'szzz, in reality that seldom happens in many parts of the world. But it's not a sad song - it's a happy one! Vancouver's annual odds are one in 10 - I looked it up - so I'm hoping!
This is the 2009 'New Version' of 'It Doesn't Often Snow At Christmas'... Enjoy!
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