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I'm here. I turn on the TV, even though I have little desire to do so. I patiently wait to see one of the programs I prefer, part of that something decent broadcast from inside a square box.
Suddenly...silence. The broadcasts have been interrupted. Complete with colored bars, reminiscent of the SMPTE brand. Yet those bars, in the form of a rainbow, are not about to calibrate what comes into contact with a film reel but are ready to present something that seems to be much more than entertainment. Something captivating and thrilling. An inner journey, within myself, and also within the Pop world. And it's no coincidence it's called "Introspective".
It's like a train, and the conductors are them, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe. Before my eyes, the dance opens thanks to a string sequence (handled by Richard Niles) embodying one of their leading singles, "Left To My Own Devices", with the assistance of Trevor Horn.
"I could leave you
say goodbye
or I could love you
if I tried
and I could
and left to my own devices I probably would"
Neil Tennant is less dark than Dave Gahan, less provocative than the Prince of many years ago, but he is not at all inferior to the aforementioned. He is not someone to be underestimated, capable of more than excellently reviving a song already given to the Eight Wonder and Patsy Kensit ("I'm Not Scared", a real spectacle, among orchestras, electronic bases, and guerrilla-like voices) or of making an Elvis Presley song more captivating ("Always On My Mind", here in a wild medley with "In My House"), up to declaring his being a dog lover over an electronic base entrusted to none other than Frankie Knuckles ("I Want A Dog").
Not to mention the Latin-flavored atmospheres of that leading single named "Domino Dancing", with a video full of joy and melancholy at the same time, or that slightly gospel and slightly "stadium-like" choir accompanying the closing "It's Alright".
Everything ends, I no longer hear anything. Perhaps what I listened to was indeed one of the programs I prefer, and I didn't immediately realize it. More than an interruption of broadcasts. They were continuing, in a way different from usual.
That program was "Introspective". Perhaps the essence of what the Pet Shop Boys actually are and will always be. A group that always resists the passage of time. Even at 50 years old (listen to albums like "Fundamental" or "Release" for proof). "Not" young, but with a talent in no way wasted. What they are. "Not young" making songs for everyone, grown-ups and not just. And I'm one of the latter.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
02 I Want a Dog (06:17)
I want a dog, a Chihuahua
When I get back to my small flat
I want to hear somebody bark
Oh, you can get lonely
I want a dog
Don't want a cat
scratching its claws all over my habitat
giving no love and getting fat
Oh, you can get lonely
and a cat's no help with that
Bulldog, hound and pug and labrador
Collie, retriever and Doberman pincher
Husky, Dalmatian, Saint Bernard und Dachshund
Mongrel, beagle, Cocker spaniel
I want a dog
to walk in the park
When it gets dark
my dog will bark at any passers-by
Oh, you can get lonely
I want a dog
I want a dog, a Chihuahua
When I get back to my small flat
I want to hear somebody bark
Oh, you can get lonely
06 It's Alright (09:26)
Dictation being forced in Afghanistan
Revolution in South Africa taking a stand
People in Eurasia on the brink of oppression
I hope it's going to be alright
I hope the music plays forever
Forests falling at a desperate pace
The earth is dying, and desert taking its place
People under pressure on the brink of starvation
I hope it's gonna be alright
(Alright Alright Alright)
'Cause the music plays forever
('Cause it goes on and on and on and on and on)
I hope it's gonna be alright
(On and on and on and on, forever)
And the music plays forever
(Alright Alright)
Generations will come and go (will come and go)
But there's one thing for sure
Music is our life's foundation
And shall succeed all the nations to come
(Alright Alright Alright)
'Cause the music plays forever
('Cause it goes on and on and on and on and on)
I hope it's gonna be alright
(On and on and on and on and on)
(On and on and on and on)
And the music plays forever
The year three thousand may still come to pass
But the music shall last
I can hear it on a timeless wavelength
Never dissipating but giving us strength
(It's alright)
I think it's gonna be alright
(It's gonna be alright)
(Alright Alright Alright Alright)
'Cause the music plays forever
(Eeh-oh-oh-eeh)
(Gonna be alright)
If the music plays forever
(It will be alright)
If the music plays forever
(I think it's gonna be alright)
It's gonna be alright
(If the music plays)
It's all - alright
It's alright
(For it goes on and on and on and on)
(On and on and on and on)
07 I Get Excited (You Get Excited Too) (05:36)
(Tennant/Lowe)
--------------
(Excited)
(Excited)
(Excited Excited Excited Excited)
(Excited Excited Excited Excited)
(I get excited)
(I get excited)
We're both in the gutter, that's no surprise
What does it matter, when I look in your eyes?
We've lost all our money, we're thrown out of bars
We're lying in the gutter, but we're looking at the stars
I get excited, you get excited too (Excited) (I get excited)
I get excited, you get excited too (Excited) (I get excited)
I hear the sound of the subway, the sigh of the heat
The click of the visitors' heels on the street
The rattle of the taxi, the scream of the cars
The clatter of the dustbin and the beat of my heart
I get excited, you get excited too (Excited) (I get excited)
I get excited, you get excited too (Excited) (I get excited)
I don't know why, I don't know why (I get excited)
I don't know why, I don't know why
(Excited Excited Excited Excited)
(Excited Excited Excited Excited)
You're in my soul
My body moves to your control
Baby, I've been thinking about you
All night long, and the neighbours are talking
I don't know why, I don't know why (Excited) (I get excited)
I don't know why, I don't know why
(Excited) (I get excited)
We're both in the gutter, that's no surprise
What does it matter, when I look in your eyes?
We've lost all our money, we're thrown out of bars
We're lying in the gutter, but we're looking at the stars
I get excited, you get excited too (Excited) (I get excited)
I get excited, you get excited too (Excited) (I get excited)
I don't know why, I don't know why (I get excited)
I don't know why, I don't know why
(Excited Excited Excited Excited)
(Excited Excited Excited Excited)
(Ooooooooh)
I get excited, you get excited too (Excited) (I get excited)
I get excited, you get excited too (Excited) (I get excited)
I don't know why, I don't know why (I get excited)
I don't know why, I don't know why (I get excited)
I get excited, you get excited too
11 Your Funny Uncle (06:09)
(Tennant/Lowe)
--------------
A windy day
The cars in slow formation
Not far away
A final destination
One mother's son
His father's distant gaze, regretting
Where they went wrong
He always found it too upsetting
Me and my friend
We lived our lives completely
From start to end
You and your friend, so sweetly
With strength and pride
In spite of everything, and swimming
Against the tide
To obstinately hope of winning
And at the end
Your funny uncle staring
At all your friends
With military bearing
And stopped to stand
To smile and speak of you directly
Goodbye, shake hands
Like you did everything correctly
To wipe away the tears
No more pain, no fear
No sorrow or dying
No waiting or crying
These former things have passed away
Another life begins today
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