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Episode 124: Dave Weigel / Pet Shop Boys

Scot and Jeff discuss Pet Shop Boys with Dave Weigel.

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Summary

Scot and Jeff discuss Pet Shop Boys with Dave Weigel.

First published

07/06/2023

Genres

music history

Duration

170 minutes

Parent Podcast

Political Beats

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Episode Description

<p><strong>Introducing the Band:</strong><br />Your hosts Scot Bertram (<a href="https://twitter.com/ScotBertram" target="_blank">@ScotBertram</a>) and Jeff Blehar (<a href="https://twitter.com/EsotericCD" target="_blank">@EsotericCD</a>) are joined by guest Dave Weigel. Dave is a founding reporter at <i>Semafor</i>, where he covers the 2024 campaign and writes the <i>Americana</i> newsletter. Check his work out <a href="https://www.semafor.com/author/david-weigel" target="_blank">here</a> and find him on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/daveweigel" target="_blank">@daveweigel</a>.</p><p><strong>Dave’s Music Pick: Pet Shop Boys</strong><br />Opportunities are knocking: I've got the brains, and you've got the looks, so let's make lots of money as we use the post–July 4 week to celebrate the United Kingdom's most famous '80s/'90s synthpop dance-music duo! Of course, Pet Shop Boys -- a two-man collaboration that began in 1981 when rock critic Neil Tennant ran into bedsit-room synths-and-sequencers muso Chris Lowe at a record shop -- are much more than that besides. They managed the trick of being one of the United Kingdom's most commercially dominant chart acts while <i>also</i> being one of its cleverest and most tasteful, the result being that their classic run of albums beginning with <i>Please</i> (1986) have not dated even as they helped create and define the sound of '80s and '90s pop, club, and dance music. Neil Tennant's knack for melody and endlessly clever lyrics relating stories of heartbreak, ennui, and urban adventure from a then still-hidden subculture (gay London of the '80s and '90s) matched perfectly with Lowe's preternatural ability to layer keyboards hooks and sequenced percussion into compulsive radio fodder: The Pet Shop Boys scored 22 top-ten singles in the U.K. and ten over here in the United States, and you'll be surprised how many of them you knew without realizing you did.  So press play, get ready to dance, enjoy a real treat. By the end you may be asking yourself: "What have I done to deserve this?" </p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.</p>

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