Super Book - Pet Shop Boys in Paris

SUPER
book
paroles
TRADUCTIONs
analyses
GIAC THE LAD
PET
SHOP
BOYS
Photographies: Joseph Sinclair
Après une
semaine de campagne
virale via une pub sur Youtube, des
affiches avec un logo spécifique collées
dans différents endroits à travers le monde et un
site dédié au nom de « What is Super ? », les Pet Shop
Boys ont annoncé le 21 janvier 2016 l’arrivée de leur
13ème album au nom de SUPER, programmé pour le 1er
avril et ce ne fut pas un poisson d’avril !
Il était présenté en amont par Neil comme le digne
successeur d’ELECTRIC, résolument dance, happy, up
tempo et toujours produit sous la houlette de Stuart
Price. C’est bel et bien leur album le plus house
depuis VERY. Mais malgré une musique énergique,
comme à leur habitude, les Boys y ont injecté de
paroles à la tonalité plus teintée. Au niveau
des thèmes, SUPER deale avec la superficialité : la recherche du bonheur (Happiness)
des Pop
Kids de vingt ans
(Twenty-something) et branchés
(Groovy), qui dans leur carré V.I.P. (Inner Sanctum) où ils s’éclatent toutes les nuits
(Burn) comme des dingues (Pazzo), pour fuir l’emprise amoureuse (Undertow, Say It To Me), dans une
époque «superficielle» (Sad Robot World) où des dictateurs divaguent (The Dictator Decides), rêvent pour finir
de se volatiliser (Into thin air).
À l’exception de The Pop Kids (qui a été initiée en 2011),
et Burn (1996), toutes les chansons furent écrites de
novembre 2014 à juillet 2015, entre Londres et Berlin.
25 chansons virent le jour et ils choisirent parmi les
plus dansantes (UP fut le mot d’ordre - adjectif
qu’on retrouve subtilement dans sUPer), puis
s’envolèrent pour les États-Unis les enregistrer dans le studio californien de Stuart Price.
Happiness
Tennant/Lowe
Bonheur
H.A.P.P.I.N.E.S.S.
H.A.P.P.I.N.E.S.S.
H.A.P.P.I.N.E.S.S.
H.A.P.P.I.N.E.S.S.
B.O.N.H.E.U.R.
B.O.N.H.E.U.R.
B.O.N.H.E.U.R.
B.O.N.H.E.U.R.
It’s a long way to happiness
a long way to go
but I’m gonna get there, boy
the only way I know
’Cause it’s a long way to happiness
a long way to go
but I’m gonna get there, boy
the only way I know
C’est un long chemin pour arriver au bonheur
Un long chemin à parcourir
Mais je vais y arriver mec,
De la seule façon que je connaisse!
C’est un long chemin pour arriver au bonheur
Un long chemin à parcourir
Mais je vais y arriver mec,
De la seule façon que je connaisse!
H.A.P.P.I.N.E.S.S.
H.A.P.P.I.N.E.S.S.
B.O.N.H.E.U.R.
B.O.N.H.E.U.R.
It’s a long way to happiness
a long way to go
but I’m gonna get there, boy
the only way I know
’Cause it’s a long way to happiness
a long way to go
but I’m gonna get there, boy
the only way I know
C’est un long chemin pour arriver au bonheur
Un long chemin à parcourir
Mais je vais y arriver mec,
De la seule façon que je connaisse!
C’est un long chemin pour arriver au bonheur
Un long chemin à parcourir
Mais je vais y arriver mec,
De la seule façon que je connaisse!
It’s a long way to happiness
and when we get there
is anybody’s guess
C’est un long chemin vers le bonheur
Mais quand est-ce qu’on y arrivera ?
C’est ce que tout le monde se demande !»
B.O.N.H.E.U.R.
B.O.N.H.E.U.R.
Vers le bonheur !
Vers le bonheur !
H.A.P.P.I.N.E.S.S.
H.A.P.P.I.N.E.S.S.
To happiness! To happiness!
Le morceau qui a la mission d’ouvrir l’album a été décrit par Neil comme « une affirmation
philosophique pleine de vérité ! » ou l’éternelle quête du bonheur par l’homme et les chemins
pour y arriver. La seule variation arrive à la fin quand il se demande quand il y arrivera, ce qui
assombrit un peu l’affirmation positive de base. Mais Neil affirma que ce n’était pas ironique.
Le style cowboy qu’adopte Neil sur la chanson vient d’une session où pour rire il imaginait le
groupe chantant une chanson de Leo Sayer, un artiste anglais qui s’était essayé à la country.
Musicalement, le morceau part dans tous les sens et fait le lien avec le précédent album,
ELECTRIC, le premier de la trilogie Stuart Price, parut 3 ans plus tôt.
The Pop Kids
Remember those days
- the early 90s?
We both applied for places
at the same university
Ended up in London
where we needed to be
to follow our obsession with the music scene
Wherever we went
whatever we did
we knew the songs
They called us the Pop Kids
’cause we loved the pop hits
and quoted the best bits
so we were the Pop Kids
I loved you
I loved you
They called us the Pop Kids
I studied history
while you did biology
To you the human body
didn’t hold any mystery
We were young but imagined we were so sophisticated
Telling everyone we knew
that rock was overrated We stayed out ’til late
five nights a week
and felt so chic
They called us the Pop Kids
’cause we loved the pop hits
and quoted the best bits
so we were the Pop Kids
I loved you
I loved you
They called us the Pop Kids
Tennant/Lowe
(Remember
those days?
Remember
those days?)
(Remember
those
days? Remember
those
days?)
It was a wet Wednesday night
We worried
that ano
one
would be going
It was
wet
Wednesday
night out
How wrong
were! that no one would be going out
Wewe
worried
When we How
turned
the corner
wrong
we were!
there wasWhen
already
queuethe
stretching
weaturned
corner down the street
We sweptthere
straight
and you
said: stretching down
wasinalready
a queue
«Ooh, I like
here!
theit street
Ooh, I love
Weit!swept straight in and you said:
Ooh, I like«Ooh,
it here!
I like it here!
Ooh, I love
it!
Ooh, I love it!
Ooh, I likeOoh,
it here!
I like it here!
Ooh, I love
it!
Ooh, I love it!
Ooh, I likeOoh,
it here!
I like it here!
Ooh, I amOoh,
never
going
I love
it! home»
Ooh, I like it here!
I loved you
Ooh, I am never going home»
They called
us the
Pop Kids
I loved
you
’cause we loved the pop hits
and quoted
thecalled
best bits
They
us the Pop Kids
so we were
the
Pop
Kids
’cause we loved the pop hits
I loved you
and quoted the best bits
so we were the Pop Kids
I loved you
Les enfants de la pop
Te souviens-tu de ces jours anciens
- le début des années 90 ?
On s’était tous les deux inscrits
à la même université
On a atterrit à Londres
Le lieu où il fallait être
Pour poursuivre notre obsession
de la scène musicale
Où qu’on allait
Quoi qu’on faisait
On connaissait les chansons par cœur
On nous appelait les Enfants de la Pop
Parce qu’on adorait les hits pop
On citait les meilleurs passages
On était vraiment les Enfants de la Pop
Et je t’aimais
Je t’aimais
On nous appelait les Enfants de la Pop
J’étudiais l’histoire
alors que toi c’était la biologie
Pour toi le corps humain
n’avait aucun mystère
On était jeune mais on pensait
qu’on était sophistiqué
On disait à tous ceux qu’on connaissait
que le rock était surévalué
On restait dehors jusque tard
Cinq nuits par semaine
Et on se sentait si chic
On nous appelait les Enfants de la Pop
Parce qu’on adorait les hits pop
On citait les meilleurs passages
On était vraiment les Enfants de la Pop
Et je t’aimais
Je t’aimais
On nous appelait les Enfants de la Pop
(Te souviens-tu de ces jours anciens ?
Te souviens-tu de ces jours anciens ?)
C’était un mercredi soir pluvieux
On avait peur que personne ne sorte
On avait tout faux !
Une fois arrivé,
Il y avait déjà une queue qui s’étendait tout le
long de la rue
On s’est faufilé jusque devant et tu as dit:
« Oh j’aime cet endroit
Oh je l’adore
Oh j’aime cet endroit
Oh je l’adore
Oh j’aime cet endroit
Oh je l’adore
Oh j’aime cet endroit
Oh je ne rentrerai plus jamais à la maison»
Je t’aimais
On nous appelait les Enfants de la Pop
Parce qu’on adorait les hits pop
On citait les meilleurs passages
On était vraiment les Enfants de la Pop
Je t’aimais
L’histoire de « The Pop Kids » a été inspirée à Neil par un ami d’enfance qui dans les années 90
aimait tellement sortir en boîte avec sa fiancée de l’époque qu’ils se faisaient appeler « Les Enfants
de la Pop » car ils connaissaient les tubes par cœur.
La musique « house » rappelle celle de ces années-là mais, malgré un ton euphorique, il se dégage
de ce titre un côté nostalgique mais aussi quelque chose de non-exprimé, souligné par la répétition
des « Je t’aimais » au temps passé. Grâce à la version maxi « The full story », on retrouve les
protagonistes de nos jours et on comprend qu’ils ne sont plus ensemble.
Ce titre a ses origines lors de la tournée que les Boys ont effectuée avec Take That ; effectivement
Chris en avait composé la musique à Munich et l’avait appelé simplement « Munich ».
Bien qu’ « Inner Sanctum » soit sorti en avant-première, c’est bien « The Pop Kids » qui a été choisi
comme premier single de l’album SUPER.
Twenty-something
Twenty-something
good as new
Expectations
got a few
Find an issue
get ahead
Got it sorted like you said
You’re twenty-something
Join the queue
Twenty-something
in the mix
Always that
ironic twist
Got a start-up
good to go
when the money starts to flow
Oh, Twenty-something
up to tricks
That’s how you are
or have to be
in a decadent city
at a time of greed
You can make believe
that it’s all you need
Sometimes it’s hard
day to day
to pay your way
Twenty-something
Quite a catch Think you’ll ever
meet your match?
You’ve always been somewhat choosy
but you’ll love her for the length
of a good movie
Oh, Twenty-something
Call her back
Tennant/Lowe
That’s how you are or have to be
in a decadent city at a time of greed You can make believe
that it’s all you need
Take your smart phone
and make your way home
on your own
Twenty-something
Hard to beat
Check your reflection
walking down the street
Thirty’s calling
round the bend
Will your ideas
ever trend?
Oh, Twenty-something
feel the heat
Find an issue
get ahead
Got it sorted like you said
You’re twenty-something
and so to bed
That’s how you are
or have to be
in a decadent city
at a time of greed
You can make believe
that it’s all you need
Sometimes it’s hard
day to day
to pay your way
Vingt ans et quelques
Vingt ans et quelques
Comme neuf
Des attentes
Tu en as quelques unes
Trouver un plan
Aller de l’avant
Ca va le faire
Comme tu l’as dit
Tu as vingt ans et quelques
Rejoins la queue
Vingt ans et quelques
Dans la masse
Et il y a toujours
Ce tournant ironique :
Tu fondes une start-up
Car il faut foncer
Et quand l’argent coule à flot
Tu as vingt ans et quelques
Et plus d’un tour dans ton sac
Tu es ainsi
Ou c’est comme ça qu’il faut être
Dans une ville décadente
Où l’on a besoin de fric
Tu peux faire croire
Que c’est tout ce dont tu as besoin
Mais des fois il est dur
Au jour le jour
De subvenir à tes besoins
Vingt ans et quelques
Tu es un bon parti
Tu penses que tu vas
Rencontrer l’âme sœur ?
Tu as toujours été quelque peu difficile
Mais tu l’aimeras le temps
D’un bon film
Oh tu as vingt ans et quelques
Et tu la rappelleras
Tu es ainsi
Ou c’est comme ça qu’il faut être
Dans une ville décadente
Où l’on a besoin de fric
Tu peux faire croire
Que c’est tout ce dont tu as besoin
Prends ton smartphone
Et rentre à la maison
Seul
Vingt ans et quelques
Difficile de faire mieux
Tu réfléchis à ton parcours
En marchant dans la rue
La trentaine
N’est pas loin
Tes idées verront-elles
Un jour le jour ?
Oh tu as vingt ans et quelques
Et tu ressens la pression
Trouver un plan
Aller de l’avant
Ca va le faire
Comme tu l’as dit
Tu as vingt ans et quelques
Il est temps d’aller au lit
Tu es ainsi
Ou c’est comme ça qu’il faut être
Dans une ville décadente
Où l’on a besoin de fric
Tu peux faire croire
Que c’est tout ce dont tu as besoin
Mais des fois il est dur
Au jour le jour
De subvenir à tes besoins
« Twenty-something » parle de la difficulté qu’éprouvent les jeunes d’aujourd’hui de vingt ans à trouver
un emploi, se loger, et vivre décemment dans la ville de Londres, jugée « décadente » par Neil.
Le style musical est fortement inspiré du reggaeton, musique populaire en Amérique du Sud
et que les boys affectionnent durant leurs voyages. La mélodie est aussi empruntée au
répertoire classique, « The Cold Song » tiré du Roi Arthur (qui a aussi inspiré « Love is a
bourgeois construct ») d’Henry Purcell.
« Twenty-something » a été choisi comme deuxième single de l’album et contrairement à
« The Pop Kids » a eu droit à son propre clip où par contre l’action se situe en Califonie,
dans une famille latino-américaine qui peine à joindre les deux bouts.
Groovy
Look at me
I’m just so…
Look at me
I’m just so…
Look at me I’m just so groovy
Tennant/Lowe
I’m just so…
Look at me I’m just so groovy
Sensass Regardez-moi
Je suis si…
Regardez-moi
Je suis si…
Regardez-moi
Je suis si sensass !
Feeling good
In the mood
That’s the state I’m in
Always will
dress to kill
Let the show begin
I’ve earned the moment
I’ve got to be seen
I’m gonna go out
and live beyond the dream
Je me sens bien
Dans le mood
C’est l’état dans lequel je suis
Mes tenues seront
toujours mortelles
Que le show commence !
Je l’ai gagné ce moment
Je dois être vu
Je vais sortir
Et vivre la vie de mes rêves ! Look at me
I’m just so…
Look at me
I’m just so…
Look at me I’m just so groovy
Regardez-moi
Je suis si…
Regardez-moi
Je suis si…
Regardez-moi
Je suis si sensass !
Oh yeah!
Oh oui !
When they see
the latest me
people stop and stare
I don’t mind
I’m on cloud nine
I can walk on air
I’ve earned the moment
I’ve got to be seen
I’m gonna go out
and live beyond the dream
Look at me
I’m just so…
Look at me
Quand ils voient
Mon dernier look
Les gens s’arrêtent pour regarder
Ça m’est égal
Je suis sur mon petit nuage
Je pourrais marcher dans les airs
Je l’ai gagné ce moment
Je dois être vu
Je vais sortir
Et vivre la vie de mes rêves !
Regardez-moi
Je suis si…
Regardez-moi
Je suis si…
Regardez-moi
Je suis si sensass !
Au niveau des paroles, « Groovy » se rapproche de la face B « Shameless » de l’époque VERY
ou encore de « Ego Music » sur ELYSIUM. Il pourrait être le générique d’une émission de téléréalité où tous les candidats sont avides de célébrité. On ne sait pas pourquoi ils sont célèbres,
ils accèdent juste à la notoriété du fait d’être vus.
Neil utilise ironiquement le terme « Groovy » qui n’est pas si neuf, il date en fait des années 20
dans le milieu du jazz mais a été populairement réintroduit dans la culture américaine par Simon
et Garfunkel (« Feeling groovy ») dans les années 60.
L’adjectif sonne cliché et ringard depuis les années 80 et comme en français, « être sensass »
pour une starlette d’aujourd’hui, c’est paraître déjà « has-been ».
The Dictator Decides
Will someone please say the unsayable?
Will someone please tell me I’m wrong?
I live every day
like a sad beast of prey
for I have to appear to be strong
and that’s wrong
I’m too weak to be strong
Today I met with the generals
and the head of my secret police
discussing conspiracies
and prison facilities
for opponents I can never release
and there’ll be no peace
until they’re released
Tennant/Lowe
The generals’ll go barmy
at the thought of a takeover bid
Oh please will somebody put me
Out of my misery?
This sad old dictator
must sooner or later
flee so that you can be free
If you get rid of me
we can all be free
Le dictateur décide
Quelqu’un dira-t-il l’imprononçable?
Quelqu’un me dira-t-il combien j’ai tort ?
Je vis tous les jours
comme une triste bête de proie
alors que je dois me montrer fort
et c’est faux
Je suis trop faible pour être fort
Aujourd’hui j’ai rencontré les généraux
Et le chef de ma police secrête
On a discuté de conspirations
et d’établissements pénitentiaires
des opposants que je ne peux libérer
et il n’y aura jamais de paix
tant qu’ils ne seront pas libérés
Of course I’m in league with the army
It’s not like I’ve got any choice
They officially adore me
and my father before me
but gunpoint has a firm voice
Bien sûr, je suis lié à l’armée
Ce n’est pas comme si j’avais le choix
Officiellement, ils m’adorent
et avant moi, pareil pour mon père
mais l’arme qu’on pointe sur moi a une voix ferme
The joke is I’m not even a demagogue
Have you heard me giving a speech?
My facts are invented
I sound quite demented
So deluded it beggars belief
It would be such a relief
not to give another speech
La farce c’est que je ne suis même pas un
démagogue
Est-ce que vous m’avez entendu donner un
discours ?
Mes faits sont inventés
J’ai l’air assez dément
Can someone please say the impossible?
Crowds should be out on the street
I’ve lost any will
to threaten and kill
I’ll be easy for you to defeat
And at any resistance I meet
I’ll beat a retreat
I’d rather that you didn’t shoot me
But I’d quite understand if you did
Watch out for the army
Si illusionné qu’on demande à me croire
Ce serait un soulagement
de ne pas donner un autre discours
Quelqu’un dira-t-il l’impossible ?
La foule devrait manifester au-dehors
J’ai perdu toute volonté de menacer ou tuer
Ma défaite vous sera facile
Et je battrai en retraite
Toute résistance
que je rencontrerai
Je préfèrerai que vous ne tiriez pas sur moi
Mais je comprendrai que vous le fassiez
Prenez garde à mon armée
Les généraux vont devenir fous
A l’idée d’un coup d’état.
Quelqu’un pourra-t-il me sortir de ma misère ?
Ce vieux dictateur triste
devra bien fuir
un jour ou l’autre
pour que vous deveniez libres
Si vous vous débarrassez de moi
Vous serez tous libres !
Les paroles sont chantées à la première personne, du point de vue d’un dictateur, qui sous
forme de confessions, avoue ne plus vouloir garder le pouvoir car il se sent lui-même prisonnier
de son « régime » et rêve de fuir ses fonctions pour rester vivant.
Kim Jong-un, l’actuel leader de la Corée du Nord et Bashar el-Assad, président de la Syrie, ont
servi d’influence au personnage.
Le morceau contient un segment de musique classique d’Antonio Vivaldi (« Introduzione al
miserere – Filae Maestae Jerusalem)
Pazzo!
Tennant/Lowe
Dingo !
Pazzo!
You’re crazy
You’re crazy
That’s insane!
Dingo !
Tu es fou
Tu es fou
C’est dément !
Do you want to?
Do you want to?
Do you want to?
Do you want to?
Do you want to?
Do you want to?
Do you want to go pazzo?
Do you want to?
Do you want to?
Do you want to go pazzo?
Est-ce que tu veux ?
Est-ce que tu veux ?
Est-ce que tu veux ?
Est-ce que tu veux ?
Est-ce que tu veux ?
Est-ce que tu veux ?
Est-ce que tu veux devenir dingo ?
Est-ce que tu veux ?
Est-ce que tu veux ?
Est-ce que tu veux devenir dingo ?
That’s insane!
Pazzo!
C’est dément
Dingo !
« Pazzo » est l’un des trois pseudo-instrumentaux de l’album après « Happiness » et avant
« Inner Sanctum ». Le titre se réfère au surnom que des amis italiens donnent à Chris (« Pazzo »
signifiant « dingue » en italien).
Musicalement, il est l’assemblage de plusieurs morceaux sur lesquels ils travaillaient (dont l’inédit
« Monkey Business ») et le résultat est un titre assez répétitif mais fun.
Pour info, c’est la voix de Neil qu’on entend tout le long de la chanson, méconnaissable car
passée à la moulinette électronique.
Inner Sanctum
In the inner sanctum
you’re a star
The girls, the guys
they all know who you are
Tennant/Lowe
Inner Sanctum
Dans le sanctuaire privé
Tu es une star
Les filles et les garçons
Savent tous qui tu es
L « Inner Sanctum » est cet endroit privé dans un club de nuit, communément appelé « carré
V.I.P. » où se côtoient stars et jeunesse dorée de la jet set.
Musicalement, le morceau rappelle ces tubes house et trans qu’on entendait dans les clubs des
années 90 (le remix d’« Age of Love » de Jam & Spoon de 1992, par exemple).
« Inner Sanctum » fut disponible en digital en avant-première comme teaser de l’album, comme
pour annoncer la tendance « club » qui s’en dégagerait.
Undertow
There’s an undertow pulling me to you
There’s an undertow dragging me down
There’s an undertow
I’ve got to pursue you
There’s an undertow
whenever you’re around, around, around
Nothing has been spoken of this
Neither of us has said
anything to anyone
But nonetheless I’ve felt
danger when you cross my path
or walk into the room
I cannot escape this fate
It’s my approaching doom
There’s an undertow pulling me to you
There’s an undertow dragging me down
There’s an undertow
I’ve got to pursue you
There’s an undertow
whenever you’re around, around, around
Tennant/Lowe
There’s an undertow
I’ve got to pursue you
There’s an undertow
whenever you’re around, around, around
I know that there’s trouble coming
I know that there’s trouble coming
I know that there’s trouble coming
and it’s coming soon
There’s an undertow pulling me to you
There’s an undertow dragging me down
There’s an undertow
I’ve got to pursue you
There’s an undertow
whenever you’re around, around, around
There’s an undertow
There’s an undertow
Reflux
Il y a un reflux
qui me ramène à toi
Il y a un reflux
qui me tire vers le bas
Il y a du reflux
Je dois te poursuivre
Il y a du reflux
quand tu es là, quand tu es là, quand tu es là
Rien n’a été dit à ce sujet
Aucun de nous
N’en a rien dit à personne
Néanmoins j’ai senti du danger
Quand ton chemin a croisé le mien
ou quand tu es entré dans la pièce
Je ne peux pas empêcher le destin
C’est la fatalité qui gagne du terrain
Il y a un reflux
qui me ramène à toi
Il y a un reflux
qui me tire vers le bas
Il y a du reflux
Je dois te poursuivre
Il y a du reflux
quand tu es là, quand tu es là, quand tu es là
Oh, où est mon ange gardien
quand j’en ai tant besoin ?
Qui sera mon ange gardien
quand le danger n’est si loin?
Il y a un reflux
qui me ramène à toi
Il y a un reflux
qui me tire vers le bas
Il y a du reflux
Je dois te poursuivre
Il y a du reflux
quand tu es là, quand tu es là, quand tu es là
Je sais que les ennuis arrivent
Je sais que les ennuis arrivent
Je sais que les ennuis arrivent
et qu’ils arrivent vite Il y a un reflux
qui me ramène à toi
Il y a un reflux
qui me tire vers le bas
Il y a du reflux
Je dois te poursuivre
Il y a du reflux
quand tu es là, quand tu es là, quand tu es là
Save me
I can’t help it I’m sinking
Help me get away
But even as I speak these words I know I’m gonna stay
Oh where is my guardian angel
when I need him most?
Who’ll be my guardian angel
with danger so close?
Sauve-moi
Je ne peux m’empêcher de me noyer
Aide-moi à m’enfuir
Mais au moment-même où je dis ces mots
Je sais bien que je vais rester
There’s an undertow pulling me to you
There’s an undertow dragging me down
Ce thème a déjà été abordé sur ELYSIUM avec « A face like that » où là il utilisait cette fois la
terminologie de l’orage et du tonnerre pour exprimer son attirance irrésistible.
Il y a du reflux
Il y a du reflux
Ici la métaphore qu’utilise Neil pour dépeindre la relation qu’il a avec l’objet de son affection est
celle du courant sous-marin qui irait à l’encontre du nageur et qui lui serait dangereuse.
Musicalement, ce morceau est du pur PSB intemporel, si bien qu’on ne saurait dire de quel
album il provient. « Undertow » est prévu comme troisième single de l’album.
Sad Robot World
Tennant/Lowe
Triste monde de robot
Sad robot world
They can manufacture
what you want to capture
in a robot world
Management decisions
Technical provisions
Triste monde de robot
Ils peuvent fabriquer
ce que vous voulez capturer
Dans un monde de robot
Il y a des décisions de gestion
Des approvisionnements techniques
It can take your breath away
the silent dedication
A mechanical ballet
of slow deliberation
Ca peut vous couper le souffle
ce dévouement silencieux
Ce ballet mécanique
de lente délibération
Sad robot world
taking a position
of their own volition
in a robot world
Greeted with indifference
but they’re always with us
Triste monde de robot
ils prennent une position
par leur propre volonté
dans un monde de robot
On les traite avec indifférence
Mais ils sont toujours avec nous
There’s no sleep, no food, no pay
doing as commanded
24 hours every day
whatever is demanded
Il n’y a ni sommeil, ni nourriture, ni paye
ils font ce qu’on leur ordonne
24 heures par jour
tout ce qui est demandé
Sad robot world
where you ponder leisure
created for your pleasure
Sad robot world
Machinery is sighing
I thought I heard one crying
Triste monde de robot
où on réfléchit au loisir
qu’ils créent pour notre plaisir
Triste monde de robot
Les machines soupirent
J’ai cru en entendre une pleurer
La seule balade de SUPER fut inspirée à Neil lors d’une visite à l’usine Volkswagen à Francfort
en Allemagne. Des robots lavaient des voitures et il y vit comme une sorte de ballet mélancolique.
Dans la chanson, il pousse l’anthropomorphisme au point d’entendre l’un des robots pleurer
à la fin.
Les robots étant des machines, elles ne peuvent avoir de sentiments, ce sont donc les siens que
Neil ou le narrateur projette sur ces machines. Ce qui peut être triste finalement c’est que justement
ces robots qui accomplissent toutes ces tâches quotidiennement soient tels des esclaves dénués
du pouvoir de ressentir.
Say It To Me
My predicament is simply this:
you’re an enigma even when you kiss
You won’t tell me what or when or how What do you want from me? Just tell me now
Say it to me
Say it to me
(Tell me something)
Tell me want you from me
I could give you all you need
(Tell me something)
I’ll tell you what you mean to me
Tell you how it feels for me
(Tell me something)
A deeper feeling not a distant smile
You’re like a drug, a dream that lasts all night
an unknown territory to explore
Is there something that you’re longing for?
Say it to me
Say it to me
(Tell me something)
Tell me want you from me
I could give you all you need
(Tell me something)
I’ll tell you what you mean to me
Tell you how it feels for me
(Tell me something)
What do you want?
What do you need?
Your distant smile won’t tell me when or how What do you want from me? Just tell me now
Say it, say it, say it
Say it to me
Say it, say it, say it
Tennant/Lowe/Price
Say it to me
(Tell me something)
Tell me want you from me
I could give you all you need
(Tell me something)
I’ll tell you what you mean to me
Tell you how it feels for me
(Tell me something)
(Tell me something)
You’re an enigma even when you kiss
Dis-le moi
Mon malheur c’est simplement que
tu es une énigme même quand on t’embrasse
Tu ne me diras jamais
ni quand ni comment
Tu voudras de moi, dis-le moi à présent
Je te dirai ce que tu représentes à mes yeux
Je te dirais ce que je ressens
Dis-le moi
Dis-le moi
Ton sourire distant ne me dira pas quand ni
comment ?
Que veux-tu de moi ? Dis-le moi à présent
(Dis-moi quelque chose)
Dis-moi ce que tu désires de moi
Je pourrais te donner tout ce que tu veux
(Dis-moi quelque chose)
Je te dirai ce que tu représentes à mes yeux
Je te dirais ce que je ressens
Que veux-tu ?
De quoi as-tu besoin ?
Dis-le, dis-le, dis-le
Dis-le moi
Dis-le, dis-le, dis-le
Dis-le moi
Un sentiment profond pas un sourire distant
Tu es comme une drogue, un rêve qui aurait duré
toute la nuit
un territoire inconnu à explorer
Y a-t-il quelque chose dont tu as très envie ?
(Dis-moi quelque chose)
Dis-moi ce que tu désires de moi
Je pourrais te donner tout ce que tu veux
(Dis-moi quelque chose)
Je te dirai ce que tu représentes à mes yeux
Je te dirais ce que je ressens
Dis-le moi
Dis-le moi
(Dis-moi quelque chose)
Tu es une énigme même quand on t’embrasse
(Dis-moi quelque chose)
Dis-moi ce que tu désires de moi
Je pourrais te donner tout ce que tu veux
(Dis-moi quelque chose)
« Say it to me », dans la même veine que “Undertow”, voit le protagoniste de la chanson sous
l’emprise du sentiment amoureux mais qui demande cette fois-ci à l’intéressé de lui signifier si
c’est réciproque.
La musique répétitive et house donne un sentiment puissant à sa demande jusqu’au refrain où il
se lâche au niveau de ses sentiments.
L’intro très réussie, qu’on retrouve au milieu de la chanson, fut l’un des trois teasers sur le site
« whatissuper ». A noter que c’est la seule chanson où Stuart Price est mentionné dans les
crédits de composition.
Burn
Tennant/Lowe
Mettre le feu
All the stars are flashing high above the sea
and the party is on fire around you and me
We’re gonna burn this disco down before the morning comes
We’re gonna burn this disco down before the morning comes
We’re gonna burn this disco down before the morning comes
We’re gonna burn this disco down before the morning comes
Toutes les étoiles scintillent fort au-dessus de la mer
et la fête bat son plein autour de toi et moi
On va mettre le feu dans cette boîte jusqu’au petit matin
On va mettre le feu dans cette boîte jusqu’au petit matin
On va mettre le feu dans cette boîte jusqu’au petit matin
On va mettre le feu dans cette boîte jusqu’au petit matin
It feels so good
It feels so good
It feels so good
It feels so good
On se sent si bien
On se sent si bien
On se sent si bien
On se sent si bien
Before the morning comes
Before the morning comes
Jusqu’au petit matin
Jusqu’au petit matin
There’s a full moon glowing red above the sea
and I feel the sudden heat between you and me
La pleine lune est rouge écarlate au-dessus de la mer
et je ressens cette tension soudaine entre toi et moi
We’re gonna burn this disco down before the morning comes
We’re gonna burn this disco down before the morning comes
We’re gonna burn this disco down before the morning comes
On va mettre le feu dans cette boîte jusqu’au petit matin
On va mettre le feu dans cette boîte jusqu’au petit matin
On va mettre le feu dans cette boîte jusqu’au petit matin
(Before the morning comes)
(Jusqu’au petit matin)
We’re gonna burn this disco down before the morning comes
We’re gonna burn this disco down before the morning comes
On va mettre le feu dans cette boîte jusqu’au petit matin
On va mettre le feu dans cette boîte jusqu’au petit matin
« Burn » est le morceau hédoniste par excellence et le plus caractéristique de cet album où la
house et la fête priment, il ne traite que de la joie de danser et invite quiconque à s’éclater en
discothèque, comme « Vocal » sur ELECTRIC, ou « Saturday Night Forever » sur BILINGUAL.
La demo de « Burn » date de 1996, elle a ensuite été retravaillée à l’époque NIGHTLIFE sous
le titre « Nu Sleaze » avant d’être abandonnée, pour réapparaître 20 ans plus tard sous la forme
qu’on lui connait.
Into Thin Air
Too much ugly talking
Too many bad politicians
We need some practical dreamers
and maybe a few magicians
Shall we get away from here
where no one can find us?
The north wind will blow us away
We’ll leave this all behind us
We’ll vanish No one will know where
Tennant/Lowe
(Only us two)
Into thin air
(Lighter and new)
No one will ever know
No one will ever know
No one will ever know No one will ever know
No one will ever know
No one will ever know
No one will ever know where
Se volatiliser
Trop de vilains discours
Trop de mauvais politiciens
Nous avons besoin de rêveurs tangibles
et peut-être quelques magiciens ?
Et si on fuyait d’ici
où personne ne nous trouvera ?
Le vent du nord nous chassera
Nous laisserons tout cela derrière nous
On se volatilisera
Personne ne saura où cela
Into thin air
Into thin air
Into thin air
Into thin air
Dans l’air fin
Dans l’air fin
Dans l’air fin
Dans l’air fin
No one will ever know
No one will ever know
No one will ever know where
Personne ne saura
Personne ne saura
Personne ne saura où cela
We’re different from the others
No one understands us here
Imagine how free we will be
if we disappear?
We won’t even pack a case
just cash in all that we own
Create two new identities
and fly into the unknown
We’ll vanish No one will know where
Nous sommes différents des autres
Personne ne nous comprend ici
Imagine-toi comment nous serons bien
quand on disparaîtra
On n’aura même pas à faire nos valises
juste tirer profit de tout ce qu’on possède
Créer deux nouvelles identités
et voler vers l’inconnu
On se volatilisera
Personne ne saura où cela
Into thin air
Into thin air
Into thin air
Into thin air
Into thin air
(Clouds floating by)
Into thin air
(A painterly sky)
Into thin air
Dans l’air fin
Dans l’air fin
Dans l’air fin
Dans l’air fin
Dans l’air fin
(les nuages flottant autour)
Dans l’air fin
(un ciel pictural)
Dans l’air fin
(rien que nous deux)
Dans l’air fin
(plus légers et neufs)
Personne ne saura
Personne ne saura
Personne ne saura
Personne ne saura
Personne ne saura
Personne ne saura
Personne ne saura où cela
Pour clore l’album SUPER, Neil et Chris nous proposent de nous faire à l’idée de leur départ. Ils
rêvent de ne plus faire partie de ce monde et d’un coup de baguette magique avoir la possibilité
de se dématérialiser, se volatiliser.
Ce dernier morceau se singularise par son rythme midtempo et dénote avec l’ambiance
générale, positive et uptempo de l’album, comme pour annoncer peut-être l’album suivant et le
dernier de la trilogie Stuart Price, qui se voudrait plus sombre et downtempo.
Super Credits
Mastered At Metropolis Mastering
Published By Cage Music
Published By Kobalt Music Publishing
Published By Elodine Songs Ltd
Published By Warner Chappell Music Ltd.
Phonographic Copyright (p) x2 Recordings Ltd.
Copyright (c) x2 Recordings Ltd.
Licensed To Kobalt Label Services
Design, Art Direction: Farrow, PSB
Engineer [Engineering]: Pete Gleadall, Stuart Price
Management: Angela Becker, Becker Brown
Management [Press]: Murray Chalmers PR
Mastered By Tim Young
Performer, Programmed By Pet Shop Boys
Producer, Mixed By Stuart Price
Programmed By [Additional Programming]: Stuart Price
All songs published by Cage Music/Kobalt Music Publishing,
except ‘Say it to me’ published by Cage Music/Kobalt Music
Publishing/Elodine Songs Ltd/Warner Chappell Music Ltd.
© 2016 x2 Recordings Ltd under exclusive licence to
Kobalt Label Services.
www.petshopboys.co.uk
www.petshopboysinparis.forumactif.org
Super Book Designed By Philippe Carini
www.pcdd.fr
Photography: Joseph Sinclair
Super Items
Design and art direction: Farrow/PSB
Super
CD Single
01 April 2016
Super
White Vinyl
01 April 2016
The Pop Kids
CD Single
18 March 2016
The Pop Kids
White Vinyl
27 May 2016
Pet Shop Boys Interview
At the end of 2015 Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant answered some questions about the new
album, Super, which comes three years after the
brilliant success of Electric, their highest-charting
album in the UK and USA for 20 years.
You toured your last album Electric for a long
time – when did you start to write Super? Neil
We started to write this album in London in 2014.
The first song we wrote was (the single) “The Pop
Kids”…
Chris That was actually started on tour with Take That.
Neil I didn’t know that…!
Chris It was started in Munich. Hence it was originally called “Munich”. Neil On the tour with Take That,
Chris had a little keyboard set-up.
Chris After the shows I quite often don’t want a drink
or even to go to the hotel bar – so rather than go to
the hotel bar for one last drink I would switch the gear
on and have a little go at writing some songs, without
any thought of what they would be used for. But as I
was doing this one (“The Pop Kids”) I did think it was
rather good – so when we started writing for the album in Berlin I dug it up.
What inspired the lyrics for “The Pop Kids”?
N It is sort of a true story. You may have noticed that
the lyrics say: “Remember those days, the early 90s?
We both applied for places at the same university.”
Mark Farrow (PSB designer) thought it was autobiographical. [Both laugh.] He said, “You’ve knocked a
few years off there!” Actually, it’s about a friend of mine
who moved from Birmingham to go to Kings College
in London to study History and he made friends with
a girl there. They both loved pop music and they used
to go clubbing all the time and because of that they
were known as the pop kids. I remember him telling
me this and at one point I just wrote down the title
“The Pop Kids” because I thought it sounded like a
good song title. And when Chris dug out “Munich”,
it made me think of “The Pop Kids” for some reason.
C And also, it’s very early 90’s sounding.
What’s the club on a Wednesday? Was that based
on somewhere specific?
N No, I just made that up. But I do know that this
person who inspired the
song is the kind of
person who would
sweep to the front
of the queue to
get into a club
and just get in.
C Yes I’ve always really admired people
like that. We’ve
always
just
joined the back
of the queue.
[Laughs.]
So going back
to the start of the
album, can you talk
about when you wrote
everything else?
N Everything else started in
November 2014. We have a little
studio in Berlin that we
use and we go there to write. We also have a
studio in London but a lot of the time we worked in
Berlin. We started going over there for two or three
weeks at a time, and just writing, and over this period,
which would be from November 2014 to July 2015,
we wrote about 25 songs. So 11 of them are on the
album.medication packaging, with each of the 12
songs contained in their own three-inch CD. These
had to be popped through foil in a vacuum formed
tray in order to play it, so it was literally like taking a
headache pill. Ideas can come from anywhere.
Would it be fair to say you were re-energised by
Electric?
N I don’t think we ever really feel not energised when
we’re writing music.
C But we did know that we were going to work with
Stuart Price again, so we knew the sort of record
that we would all enjoy making together. So we were
sort of aiming towards that goal. And then Neil at one
point said “we want to make it Electric but more so”.
So it was going to be even more electric than Electric. That was the idea.
Published on 22nd March 2016 in Interviews by F.O.T.F
So do you think that’s
what it is? Or then
what happened?
set up in LA but it could be anywhere really. Musically
it doesn’t make any difference at all.
Because you didn’t write it there?
N Stuart came
over to our studio in London in
July and we listened through
to everything
we’d
written
and made a
decision to go
with the more
electronic/dancey ones, including darker songs,
like “Sad robot
world”. We had ones
which were more conventionally “pop” that we
decided not to put on, but
maybe might be on the next
album. We wanted to make an
album that had a very strong electronic mood all the way through it. It felt
like Electric had been a sort of “rebooting” of the
Pet Shop Boys, reminding ourselves that we came into
this whole thing because we liked electronic music.
Until this album and the previous album we’ve never
been electronic purists – there have always been
other instruments and orchestras and things like that.
Whereas this album and Electric are purely electronic
albums.
When do you decide who’s going to be the producer, or had you already decided that?
C Well I don’t know if Stuart knew this but Neil had
already announced that it was going to be a trilogy
of albums produced by Stuart Price! But Stuart said
a really nice thing – before we even worked with him
– that he would work with us, but that we just didn’t
know it yet.
Is there any weird juxtaposition between writing
the music in Europe and then going to Los Angeles to record it, because I think you’ve got quite
strong feelings about Los Angeles as a place?
C Not at all – really in this case it’s because Stuart is
N No and also writing in Berlin; your classic writing
in Berlin means you’re looking at the Berlin Wall or
something and of course it’s not like that anymore. So
writing in Berlin now, if there’s an influence, it’s the
fact that you’re in a very clubby kind of place.
C Yeah when we were making the track “Inner sanctum”, and producing it with Stuart, we definitely kept
thinking this should work well in Berghain, in that big
cavernous power station. I mean you can imagine that
even though you’re not in Berlin – even though you’re
in Beverly Hills at the time!
Where did the album title “Super” come from?
C I was walking to the studio one day and I kept imagining Germans saying “super”, because they say
‘super’ in a certain way – “SUPER, JA! ” – and they
say ‘super’ a lot… and I just thought “Oh, super!” Because we’d been through a few titles, hadn’t we?
N And “Super” is an international word. It’s a Latin
word in fact.
C Also I could always imagine doing a “Super Hits
Tour”.
Can you talk a little about “Twenty-something”
and “Groovy”, where everyone’s doing a start-up
and everyone’s groovy?
N Well “Twenty-something” is in the Pet Shop
Boys tradition of observing. It’s just looking around
in Shoreditch or Soho and seeing what everyone’s
like, and also it’s about people you might meet. And
also there’s this anthropologist side of me, looking at
people and just seeing how we behave, and how interesting it is and how different people are from the
way they were 20 or 30 years ago. It’s meant to be a
sympathetic song because the basic message is that
if you’re twenty-something it’s quite hard to get a decent job, and it’s quite hard if you do get a job to get
paid enough money, and then it’s quite hard to get a
flat in London. So it’s about being twenty-something
in London specifically.
Pet Shop Boys Interview
Musically it’s quite interesting because it was inspired by Chris going to a club in Columbia.
C We were on tour all around Latin America, and
we were hearing reggaeton everywhere. But there
was this one night where we went to this great club
in Bogota. On the top floor they weren’t playing
house music and everyone in there was smiling and
dancing to this reggaeton music. And on the way
to our gig we were listening to a reggaeton radio
channel and we were a bit obsessed with it really.
What is “reggaeton” ?
C [Reads] “Reggaeton is a music genre with roots
in Latin and Caribbean music. It blends musical
influences of Jamaican dancehall and Trinidadian
soca with those of Puerto Rico such as salsa” – oh,
imagine all of this on our record! – “salsa, bomba,
Latin American hip hop and electronica. Vocals include rapping and singing – lyrics tend to be in a
hip hop style.
N But not in this song! [Laughter.] • “The dictator
decides”
Do you want to say whom it’s about?
N Obviously we have several dictators in the world
at the moment. What I hope is interesting about it
is that in the song the dictator wants to be free as
well. He’s sick of oppressing people and really he
wants to give up and flee and live on the beach in
the Mediterranean. I don’t even know why I thought
of this, but it came to my head – the idea of a dictator wanting to give up, the dictator feeling trapped.
“Pazzo! ” means crazy doesn’t it?
N Yes, in Italian.
C We’d done a track, and we were just about to
finish working in the studio and I kept all the sounds
from this previous song and wrote this. It was just
such a throwaway thing. Quite often that’s the case
when you’re not actually trying to do anything and
that’s all that was; it was done very quickly.
N On this album there are three almost instrumental
tracks – “Happiness”, “Inner sanctum” and “Pazzo! ”– and I think they make the album breathe a
bit. Also I like the instrumental electronic quality of
them in the same way I liked David Bowie’s instrumental electronic tracks in the 70s.
“Inner sanctum” made me think of an updated
“Sound of the atom splitting” or something
crazy in that way…
N Yes it’s very expansive, the sound of it and of
course it’s an EDM idea, “Inner sanctum”.
We’ve been to clubs in Las Vegas
and you think, oh, this is the inner
sanctum – this is where you’re
drinking champagne with the
DJ.
Do PSB want to be in the
inner sanctum or would
you rather be outside?
C No, more like the
outer sanctum.
N None the less, its
trying to capture, in an
un-cynical way, the excitement of getting into
the inner sanctum and
how you’re enjoying it and
thinking you’re where it’s at
and for many people there is
an excitement and thrill about that
– and quite rightly so. So it’s sort of
celebrating life.
It does seem very celebratory this record, even
though a lot of it is lyrically reflective.
N I think so too. I mean, opening with “Happiness”
which is a sort of truthful, philosophical statement –
“ It’s a long way to happiness but I’m going to get
there…”
When you are making a record, at what point do
you start to think how we are going to perform
it or does that come afterwards?
N I don’t think there’s an influence as you’re writing
it but we might say to each other “Oh, this might
sound good in concert” or “This could be the opening track of the new show”.
Published on 22nd March 2016 in Interviews by F.O.T.F
And obviously there is a long string of amazing
collaborators on live productions in your past.
Do you want to talk about the process of collaboration on a live show?
N Well on the new shows, and on the last tour,
and the tour before, we worked with Es Devlin and
on the last two with Lynne Page. And they know
from working with us that the conventions of the
pop/rock concert don’t have to be observed
– apart from the practicality that we can
get the show in a venue and get it
out again. Also with our shows
there’s not a story line but
there is a sort of through line
that links the whole and
Lynne is particularly good
at achieving that with the
choreography. And we
like working with dancers. With this show,
we will play the Royal Opera House and
then a tour in probably
2017, with maybe some
dates later in 2016.
Why the Royal Opera
House?
N The Royal Opera House
came about ages ago because,
like all opera houses in the world, in
the summer months, their regular opera
and ballet companies aren’t doing performances and so the opera houses are rented out to
touring opera or ballet companies. The Royal Opera
House has been quite keen to broaden the audience that comes into it. For instance, a few years
ago Rufus Wainwright did a series of shows there
in the summer that worked very well and the ROH
approached us to see if we wanted to do something
similar. We thought it would be exciting, when you
have a new album coming out, to have a big event
and to play four nights at the ROH, a venue a lot
of people won’t have been to, the grandest theatre
in London with amazing facilities and all the rest
of it. There is actually a creative tension between
an institution like the ROH and electronic dance
music and I think that we’re hoping that will prove
to be a rather fruitful tension because it’s exciting
to take electronic music into a venue that doesn’t
normally have it.
So in terms of the production, will that be informed by the venues, because this is a show
that you are going to have to take on tour? Or it
is going to be especially for the ROH?
N I think there will be elements of it that will go into
the next tour but with the ROH it’s an extraordinary
space you’ve got. I think there will be a site-specific
element to it.
And you’re working with Es Devlin again.
N Es has worked there quite a lot designing opera
and she knows the ins and outs of the ROH and
how the space works so she’ll have some great
ideas.
Will people be able to stand up and dance? It’s
not restricted?
N Yes, people will be able to stand and dance, albeit in a seated venue. I think it’s going to be exciting because it’s both a very glamorous place and
an enormous cultural space which will be filled with
electronic music. But at the same time we do feel a
bit at home there – we have written a ballet, we did
perform at the Proms last year at the Royal Albert
Hall. It brings together different strands of what
we’re doing.
And of course you played many nights at The
Savoy Theatre.
N Yes, that’s probably the most similar thing to it,
actually.
N I think its old Pet Shop Boys mixed with new Pet
Shop Boys.
C It’s super, isn’t it?
Interview by Murray Chalmers/MCPR
Photographies by Pelle Crépin
Management: Angela Becker/Becker Brown
©2016 Pet Shop Boys Partnership Ltd.
Mark Farrow Interview
You’ve worked with bands, brands and all types of
companies and people. But how did you start out as
a designer?
I was always drawn to the way things look. This began to
manifest itself as a teenager when I really started to enjoy
music. I was never going to be a musician but that couldn’t
stop me from designing record covers for them.
I grew up in Manchester which is hundreds of miles from
London, where the music business was. My chances of
getting to work with musicians were pretty slim in theory,
but I was lucky because Punk happened. It was short-lived
but Punk’s spirit of independence meant that bands and
small labels appeared up and down the country, and I had
what I believed was the best one of all to aim for: Factory
Records.
I was about eighteen years old then and working for small
ad agencies and design companies doing dull work. But at
the weekend I worked in a small record store, the unremarkably named Discount Records. It was a tiny shop with walls
covered in home-spun indie record sleeves. Small as it was
the shop was kind of the centre of the universe for anyone
into music then. Tony Wilson, who founded Factory Records, along with Rob Gretton who managed Joy Division
(later new Order), as well as designers Peter Saville and
Malcolm Garrett all used to frequent the place, so it was a
real hotbed for me as a kid. I had formed friendships with
lots of the ‘customers’ (we were all just hanging out really)
and a bunch of them formed a band, The Stockholm Monsters. They were offered a deal with Factory so they asked
me to design the cover for their first single, Fairy Tales, and
that was it, I was up and running!
You’ve worked with Pet Shop Boys on their new album, and have worked on many of their previous albums and tours. How did you end up working with
them?
The work I was doing for Factory was an amazing experience and gave me a real sense of freedom and a belief
that I could achieve anything I wished, given the opportunity. But at the same time there wasn’t enough work to
sustain a career. I hated what I was doing at my day job
and realised I had to move to London to be able to get the
work I wanted. So I applied for a job with a London-based
design company called XL. They were hot at the time de-
signing for the ZTT label and Frankie Goes
To Hollywood.
My folder of flyers, posters and Factory single sleeves did enough
to get me the job and I moved
to London. XL was an interesting set up inasmuch
as it had three divisions:
design, film and music
management.
The latter was run by
Tom Watkins and he
had recently signed a
band called Pet Shop
Boys. He felt they would
like the minimal aesthetic of my work, and he
was right. The first thing
I worked on for them was a
10 inch remix sleeve for “West
End Girls”, which went on to reach
number one in the charts (not because
of my sleeve I hasten to add).
Obviously music is a very important part of your personal life. How important is listening to music in your
creative process?
Music’s constantly playing in the studio, so it’s very important in that respect – I’m not sure we’d manage without it!
In terms of it relating to a project we are working on, it’s
always good to hear what it is that you’re designing for. A
concept for an album’s design can come from the music
but it’s just as likely to come from the album’s title or a
conversation with the artist. When we did the pac kaging
for the Spiritualized album, Ladies And Gentleman We
Are Floating In Space, the idea came from something
Jason Pierce from the band said in our first meeting: that
music was medication for the soul.
We designed the album to resemble oversized prescription medication packaging, with each of the 12 songs
contained in their own three-inch CD. These had to be
popped through foil in a vacuum formed tray in order to
play it, so it was literally like taking a headache pill. Ideas
can come from anywhere.
London, March 2016, photo: Elliot Kennedy
How does working with musicians and
performers differ from other projects
you’ve worked on?
it’s great to work with them. We also work with one of the
best contemporary art galleries in London, Sadie Coles
HQ.
Different types of project will always present different sets of
problems and we deal with
those appropriately. Music
projects are the same as
they have a unique set
of problems, just like all
other projects.
I suppose the biggest
difference is the egos!
Working with musicians
can, on occasion, be
problematic. If they have
direction and you are being
pushed as a designer then
that’s good, but if it’s somebody
just disappearing up their own backside then that’s a problem. For
the most part I’m pleased to
say that isn’t the case. Pet Shop
Boys are a good case in point, they
often arrive with an idea, but if we
have a better idea then that is
the one that we go with (or vice
versa). It’s all about the strongest
idea, not whose idea it was.
Could you tell us some specific top memories behind
the Super project.
There’s three of you working
together here. How important is
collaboration in your work?
It’s important on every level. It starts in
the studio. There’s three of us – Gary Stillwell, Fred Ross and myself. We’re a small setup
but prolific considering our size. Again, the best idea wins,
not who thought of it.
We’ve had long-standing collaborations in music with Pet
Shop Boys, Manic Street Preachers and Spiritualized,
which has led to some great work. Right now a lot of our
work is outside music but we still get to collaborate with
some great people from the industrial design field with Jasper Morrison, Marc Newson, Ross Lovegrove and Terence
Woodgate. These are people at the top of their game so
It’s particularly exciting when a new Pet Shop Boys project
starts. Not least because Neil and Chris are probably the
most fun its possible to have in a meeting.
It’s never just an album cover we work on – it’s singles and
the advertising, all of which is often followed by a world
tour, which means apparel, tour book, posters and so on.
So its quite an undertaking. That it has to be strong, simple
and memorable is a given, not least now that a lot of music
lives on a tiny mobile screen.
When we first met with Neil and Chris about this album
I think they had three possible titles. Of those we liked
Super straight away and that seemed to persuade them
that it was the title to go with. Neil described this album as
feeling a little “unhinged”. Chris said he wanted the cover
to be brash. For the last album, Electric, we created what was almost a piece of op-art, a
geometric pattern that messes with your
eyes when you stare at it. This time
we went pop art, a fluorescent circle
containing the word “SUPER” in
a contrasting fluorescent colour.
Then each format, CD, LP and
digital, was given its own fluorescent colour scheme. The different
music streaming services even
have their own colour schemes.
These colour schemes then come
together in an animation of clashing colours used for online advertising and digital
poster sites. Unhinged and brash, yes, but it also
feels considered and complete as a campaign.
I heard the other day that Pet Shop Boys have sold 50 million records worldwide. That means an awful lot of people
have come in to contact with our work because of the Pet
Shop Boys, which is super in itself.
http://journal.beoplay.com/journal/2016/4/1/meet-markfarrow-designer-for-the-pet-shops-boys
Pet Shop Boys: Symposium
Why the Pet Shop Bots are worthy
of academic consideration
24/25 March 2016,
Edinburgh College of Art,
University of Edinburgh
petshopboyssymposium.tumblr.com
@psbsymposium
and experimental videos with the hard business
of flogging records (more than 50m worldwide
since 1986) with the ease that the Pet Shop
Boys have. It’s why they deserve an academic
conference in a way that Oasis, say, never will.
We invite proposals for 20-minute papers, as
well as pre-constituted panels of 3 or 4 papers,
on any aspect of the career of the Pet Shop
Boys.
To mark the 30th anniversary of the release
of their debut album Please, the University
of Edinburgh is pleased to announce that it
will host a two-day symposium on the history
and work of the Pet Shop Boys. Despite their
prolific contributions to popular culture over
the last thirty years – including music, theatre,
cinema, books, and film soundtracks – very little
scholarly work has been produced on the band.
This symposium aims to begin to rectify this
omission: the organisers hope to produce an
edited collection of essays based on the talks at
the symposium.
This could include:
-Analyses of particular songs, albums, videos
or tours
-Pet Shop Boys and fashion
-Packaging and aesthetics: Pet Shop Boys
and Farrow Design
-Pet Shop Boys and producers, from Stephen
Hague to Stuart Price
-Pet Shop Boys and divas, from Dusty
Springfield to Madonna
-Pet Shop Boys and Englishness
-Gender and sexuality in the songs and videos
of the Pet Shop Boys
-Pet Shop Boys and the art of the interview
-Pet Shop Boys and disco, including the
Disco albums
Keynote speakers at the symposium will include
Professor Stan Hawkins (University of Oslo)
and Lucy O’Brien (Senior Lecturer, UCA). The
event will also include: additional guests (tbc);
screenings; domino dancing.
The Pet Shop Boys Symposium branding + identity was designed in collaboration with Bond Studio. Working
alongside Lecturer Glyn Davis to create materials for advertising the event to the public.
The concept was continuing the same minimalistic Mark Farrow aesthetic. The idea revolved around
celebrating the 30 year of Pet Shop Boys through the evolution of the costuming, in particular their hats.
This was a collaboration with Bond Studio, with myself as the leading Creative Director overseeing the
project for the duration of the academic year.
For the past three decades, Pet Shop Boys
Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe have – uniquely –
written chart-topping music that’s as comfortable
between the whistling lips of a milkman as
booming from the speaker in a leather bar. Now,
the electronic pop duo can add academia’s
rarefied halls to that list. A two-day symposium
in Edinburgh next week aims to celebrate and
dissect their catalogue and influence, including
talks on Disco Pastiche And The Haunting Of
Aids and Musical Desire And Frustration In Two
Early Songs. Happily enough, it all concludes
with a disco.
Academic conferences around music are not
exactly new (at one devoted to the Fall, notorious
control freak Mark E Smith sent his mum along
to keep an eye on proceedings) but often feature
geeky fans earnestly discussing their vinyl
collections over pints of mild. However, PSB
symposium organiser Glyn Davis has a different
take. “We wanted to focus attention on a band
that was more ‘pop’,” he says, “but which had
been equally pivotal to British culture of the last
few decades.”
Indeed, there are few bands who’ve managed to
combine the high art of elaborate stage shows
A former music critic, Tennant has always been
an acute observer of pop’s DNA, well placed to
subvert it using other art forms. Take the rousing
song It’s A Sin, with its video by director Derek
Jarman. Controversially, it used Catholic imagery
in a radical and defiant rejection of religious
moralising in a more homophobic age than now.
Every PSB tour, meanwhile, has been a theatrical
extravaganza – with choreography, complicated
sets and costumes – rather than a mere gig.
The Pet Shop Boys are still taking this hugely fun,
collage approach, raiding both art and pop in the
name of hits. Recent track Love Is A Bourgeois
Construct, offers much to chew over, featuring
EDM-inspired brash beats, Auto-Tune, a melody
taken from 17th-century composer Henry Purcell
and lyrics about “taking tea like Tony Benn”. And
their new album Super will be followed by a
residency at the grandiose Royal Opera House.
Ever ahead of the curve, the Pet Shop Boys
point to a future in which more pop acts will have
their work discussed by academics. Arguably,
the signs are already there in the endless think
pieces that spring up every time Beyoncé
releases a video or Kanye boils an egg. In the
future, perhaps we’ll finally be able to get our
heads around the Bataillean implications of Lady
Gaga’s meat dress.
Luke Turner, Friday 18 March 2016
Photography: Joseph Sinclair
theguardian.com/music/2016/mar/18/pet-shopboys-academic-symposium
“The legendary
British electro-pop duo
are still kicking—and
celebrating their third
decade together with this
ebullient new album.”
ENTERTAINMENT
WEEKLY
“Pet Shop Boys
are still peerless
in the electropop
realm”
THE ONION
A.V. CLUB
“Thirty years after
‘West End Girls’
catapulted them to
superstardom, the
Pet Shop Boys
are still super”
ADVOCATE
“The pair blend
the romantic and
the satirical.”
USA TODAY
“On their latest,
Super, they recall
their own past with
trademark arch wit.”
PITCHFORK
“What drivesSuper
is the duo’s overarching
vision, which helps the album
flow together like a night at a
club: one that Pet Shop Boys
exist inside and above,
simultaneously.”
THE BOSTON GLOBE
“[‘The Pop Kids’
is] eminently
danceable and
has just the right
amount of pop.”
USA TODAY
“[‘Happiness’
is] a pounding
dance jam.”
STEREOGUM
“[‘The Pop Kids’
Remix is] designed
to send club-goers
into a dance trance.”
VICE/NOISEY
“firmly planted well
within the heart of
the dance floor”
CONSEQUENCE
OF SOUND
“The iconic British
duo have made an
indelible mark on
popular music”
IDOLATOR
“One of the
most prolific acts
in electronic pop”
POPCRUSH
Photography: Pelle Crépin