Looking forward to "banging and lasers," the Pet Shop Boys' own description of their Electric tour. Thanks to Craigslist I'm going to see their concert in DC tonight!
Nobody knows who they are, but these guys are my favorite. Why?
- They've been making records for almost 30 years straight. Not a reunion.
- They've pioneered the sound and trends that a lot of artists have followed. For instance: remixes.
- They use a lot of electronic sounds. I heart vocoder.
- They use a lot of other sounds: orchestral, choral, guitars, horns, sound effects. There's a harpsichord on their latest pop single.
- Their focus is on composition: they've scored a ballet, performed a silent movie soundtrack, written music for a solar eclipse. They nick chord changes from classical composers for their songs.
- Super-interesting tunes. Songs are just as likely to be a Russian history lesson, or a story about dictators in hell, as about love.
- Intelligent. In the lyrics of their latest album: bolshy, bourgeoisie, doss, oligarch, schadenfreude. It’s dictionary meets dancefloor.
- Prolific. Lots of non-album b-sides. Two full albums out in the last 12 months. It's great for fans.
- They're very British.
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