I was working on some 1/12 scale miniatures this summer, and in the background, I listened to a pretty steady diet of late 80s/early 90s Pet Shop Boys - one of my, along with my sister's, favorite musical groups.
They fused fragile humanity with the muscular aural language of 80s synth pop and created a unique combination that is so quintessentially proper and very evocative for me. It always brings me back to the white linen hallway outside my sister's old bedroom, hearing the rolling bass lines on their landmark 1993 album Very pumping through the walls.
One such track is "Can You Forgive Her?," whose video is enriched with some terrific art direction & costumes by theatrical producer/artist David Fielding. It's a drama-laden track, which makes me think of its spiritual cousin, the stone cold 1987 classic "It's A Sin." The two songs address closeting one's feelings to avoid shame, rejection and ultimately the devastation of one's soul. Each character in the song is haunted by their past, the former by his repressed homosexuality, the latter by his oppressive Catholic upbringing.
Through it all, I just love the fact that both Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe are dressed like nightmare candy corn while they sing about psychic torment. Such a bold choice at a pivotal shift in the band's trajectory, all the while fully realizing their marriage of orchestral sound with programmed synthesizers that would come to define them for the next decade.
Give it a listen, enjoy those fantastic pointy hats, wish you had some & have a look around. I'm glad you're here.
-Sean (8/21/16) *The first of what he hopes to be many posts.
