LONDON — Chicken Kiev, AI-generated press releases and the hassle of fan selfies during performances – there was a lot on fans’ minds. Pet Shop Boys as the iconic British duo prepared to release a new album.
His 15th studio album, Nonetheless arrived on platforms this Friday, 26 — 40 years (and 50 million record sales) after Neil Tennant It is Chris Lowe became famous with the song West End Girls. Bands with any longevity — especially one this long — are often asked the cliché question: “How do you stay relevant?” For them, it’s about never trying to be cool.
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“That’s something a lot of people try to do, to be somehow cool, and it ends up being completely unattractive because they’re trying too hard,” Tennant recently told the Associated Press. “So we just followed our own instincts.”
“We will always be relevant in our world,” Lowe added, laughing.
Proof of this relevance? Classic Pet Shop Boys hits were used as plot points in two cult films last year: a karaoke scene in Saltburn presenting Rent and an important Christmas scene in All of Us Strangers with the soundtrack of Always on My Mind.
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This is light years from Hollywood’s past, where, according to Tennant, It’s a Sinhas always been overused for the young man entering a gay nightclub “reducing us to this kind of gay disco cliché”.
Nonetheless remains optimistic despite being written in the UK during the coronavirus pandemic, when most people were in lockdown at home.
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“Well, the weather was nice, wasn’t it?” jokes Lowe.
“It was a very productive time,” adds Tennant, noting that the cancellation of his tour eased the pressure. “I think that’s why it sounds quite optimistic in some ways, because life was different. It was a different life, no pressure, except for not trying to catch the virus,” he says.
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The first single, Loneliness, addresses the social isolation of the pandemic, but was written as a positive message. Another lockdown themed track, Why Am I Dancing?was Tennant asking himself, “Why are you enjoying this situation of being alone so much so you can actually dance?”
“And I’m probably cooking at the same time,” he quickly adds.
“Cooking and dancing, now that’s an idea for a little podcast, right?” jokes Lowe. And while Lowe says he would be putting a finished pie in the oven, Tennant would be preparing dal, brown rice and vegetables or a chicken Kiev.
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“You have a good story for that,” says Tennant, looking at his bandmate.
“I wrote to the British supermarket Marks & Spencer asking them to change the spelling of chicken Kiev to chicken Kyiv because of the war,” says Lowe. They ended up changing.
Despite undergoing major changes in the way music is consumed, the band remains philosophical. Despite new ways of listening to and discovering music, “music is still music”.
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And when it comes to Spotify, even though Lowe says it’s helped him discover a lot of new music, they both hate the app’s recommendations.
“With us, The Pet Shop Boys, he’ll say, ‘If you like that, maybe you like Duran Duran,’ so he thinks you’re all ’80s,” explains Tennant. “And if you’re us, you say, ‘You might like the electronic pop music of Years and Years or Kraftwerk before us.’”
“Sometimes they might just think, ‘Well, you’re gay, so you might like Boy George because he’s gay too.’ It’s very, very stupid,” he says.
The Pet Shop Boys will perform five special performances at London’s Royal Opera House in July, but please don’t rush to the front of the stage and then turn your back to take a selfie.
“I just walk away on purpose. Sorry to be a party pooper, but I think it’s very, very rude,” says Tennant. However, cell phone users are not entirely detrimental to business.
“Now you know when something is working because all the phones are activated,” explains Tennant. “Cigarette lighters are replaced by cell phones in a club, it looks really beautiful, it’s really exciting,” he adds.
Artificial intelligence is changing the industry, but the band has no plans to use it anytime soon — well, at least not in their music.
When their publicist called asking for a quote about the album for a press release, they turned to ChatGPT, who described the album as “a celebration of the unique and diverse emotions that make us human.” They accepted.
“It’s a great quote,” admits Tennant. “We kind of agree with that. Normally we make some flippant comment, whereas ChatGPT gave us this very honest description that is actually accurate.”
Nonetheless, by Pet Shop Boys
Tags: Pet Shop Boys secret staying relevant cool duo releases album
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