mark butler - pet shop boys
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Taking it Seriously: Intertextuality and Authenticity in Two Covers by the Pet Shop BoysAuthor(s): Mark Butler
Source: Popular Music, Vol. 22, No. 1 (Jan., 2003), pp. 1-19Published by: Cambridge University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/853553Accessed: 16-02-2016 19:00 UTC
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PopularMusic (2003) Volume
22/1. Copyright t 2003 Cambridge
Umversity Press pp.
1-19
DOI:10.1017/S0261143003003015 Printed in the
United Kingdom
T a k i n g
i t
seriously
intertextu lityn d
uthenticity
i n t w o
c o v e r s
b y
t h e
P e t S h o p
B o y s
MARK
BUTLER
Abstract
Whenmusicians cover'
a previously
ecordedong, theyprovide n
intertextualommentaryn
another
musicalworkorstyle. Thispaper
onsiderseveral
ways n which uch
commentariesngage
constructionsf
authenticity,ocusingon two coversby
the Pet ShopBoys:
WhereheStreetsHave
No
Name',originally yU2, and 'Go
West', irstrecorded
y the VillagePeople. analyse he
musical
sound,
performancetyle,
andIyricalhemes f eachpairof
songs,as wellas thediscourse
urrounding
their
productionndreception. also
consider owscholars ave heorised
uthenticityn
the inter-
pretive raditions ngaged
by thesesongs.
I argue thatthe Pet Shop
Boys' versionof 'Where he
StreetsHaveNo Name' s subversive,oking un at certain ommonwaysof expressinguthenticity
in 1980s
rock,while heir over f 'Go
West' epositions
isco a genre hathaswidelybeen
onstrued
as
inauthentic as a typeof 'rootsmusic'
or thegaycommunity f the
1990s.
Music,
ike manyother ormsof
cultural
xpression,s oftenevaluated n
termsof
authenticity.
uthenticmusic s
said to 'ring rue', o be
believable r genuine, o
be the 'real thing'.l
When one
seeks to define the musical
and social properties
associatedwith authenticity,
owever,one
quicklydiscovers hat hey vary
widely
from one musicaltradition o another.Authenticitys constructed iscursively:
within
musical ommunities,ans,
criticsand performers
rgueaboutwhatconsti-
tutesauthenticity nd
why.
Furthermore,uchdiscourse s not
confined o individ-
ual
musicalcommunities, s
musicians ftenseek to define
themselves n relation
to
traditions nd
genresotherthan theirown.
This dialogicrelationships
exem-
plifiedby the
practice f
'covering' previously ecorded
ong. Likehip-hopre-
workingsof classic
soul riffs or Beethoven's
se of recitative n his
instrumental
works, covers
providean intertextual
ommentary n
anothermusicalwork or
style.In this paper
will consider ow such
commentaries
ngage ssuesof authen-
ticity, ocusingon
two coversby the Pet Shop
Boys: Where
he StreetsHave No
Name',originally ecordedby U2 in 1987,and 'Go West', irst recordedby the
VillagePeople n
1979.
One modernmusical
raditionn which
authenticitys particularly
mportant
is rock.
n fact,some authorshave
claimed hata particular
onstructionf authen-
ticity s the
defining eature f rock.
For nstance,
imonFrithwrites hat:
1
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2 Mark Butler
The rock aestheticdepends, crucially,on an argumentabout authenticity.Good music is the
authentic expression of something - a person, an idea, a feeling, a shared experience, a
Zeitgeist.
ad music is inauthentic; t expresses nothing. (Frith1987,p. 136)
Rock's emphasis on authenticity can be traced back at least as far as the 1960s. In
the first years of this decade, British bands such as the Beatles and the Rolling
Stones tried to prove themselves authenticby imitating the sounds of early rock 'n'
roll and the blues. By the late 1960s, however, many rock musicians no longer
thought of authenticity n terms of faithfulnessto a musical source or a sociological
community. Instead, rock aesthetics began to emphasise individual expression
(Weinstein 1998, pp. 140-2). In this context, being authentic meant being true to
one's unique artisticvision, even if expressing that vision was a struggle. As Deena
Weinstein has written
(ibid., .
142), 'the modern romanticnotion of authenticity-
creating out of one's own resources - became dominant over the idea that authen-
ticity constituted a relationship, hrough creativerepetition, o an authenticsource'.
As the individual came to the forefrontof rock 'n' roll, many musicians began
to view themselves as serious artists. At the same time, rock began to be seen as a
force for political and social change. In the 1980s, bands like U2 continued this
tradition of rock authenticity. In fact, U2's music from this era has been widely
interpreted as a return to the idealism of the 1960s in the face of contemporary
materialism. For example, Jay Cocks writes that 'the band's commitment, to its
audience and its music, sanctions and encourages the kind of social concernthat in
the Reagan '80s became unfashionable' (1987, p. 75). 'U2's songs speak equally to
the Selma of two decades ago and the Nicaragua of tomorrow'
(ibid., .
73).2The
members of the band have also perpetuated this image in interviews and other
public statements.In a 1987 nterview, for instance, ead singer Bono says, 'Thetime
we live in, nothing is taken seriously. Part of the yuppie ethic is "Let's not take
everything so seriously, man". (. ..) We are a very serious band about our work'
(Hewson 1987,p.57).3
Along with such affirmationsof seriousness have come repeated expressions
of a desire to keep U2's music authentic. Bono has explained their approach to
artisticcreationas follows: 'the most importantelement in painting a picture, writ-
ing a song, making a movie, whatever, is that it be
fruthful.. . .)
Rock 'n' roll, and
the blues, they're truthful' (Block 1989, p. 35; original emphasis). U2 express this
idea even more directly in their 1989 film
Rattle ndHum,
n which they declare
that they are armed with 'three chords and the truth' (quoted in Pond 1989,p.54).
While 'Where the Streets Have No Name' lacks the overt political message
found in many U2 songs, it does contain several features that might be understood
as signifiers of the serious. For example, its slow, chorale-like ntroduction,played
by the organ, suggests an atmosphere of spiritual contemplation.The organ also
returnsnear the end, thus framingthe entire song within this spiritualenvironment.
The twin themes of spirituality and environment are expressed even more clearly
in the song's lyrics, which use physical space as a metaphorfor spiritualtranscend-
ence. 'I want to tear down the walls that hold me inside', sings Bono (see Example
1). He longs for a place without particularities,a place where the streets have no
name. The desert, an environment evoked throughout the album, is a natural
symbol for this place. Against its transcendent reedom are juxtaposed threatening
elements such as dust clouds and 'poison rain' (lines 6 and 7), from which the
singer wants to escape.
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> j C j d ,0 4zX o
Taking t seriously 3
Verve:
Theay's aflood, ndour oves tO rust
15 We're eaten ndblownbydle wind, rampledn St
I11 howyoua placehighon the desert lain
Wherehe streets aveno na
G 2:
Wherehe streets aveno nsme
Wherehe streets aveno name
20 Stillbuildinghenburning own ove
Andwhen go there, go therewithyou...
It'sallI cando
(Extn)
Our ove urns tO tUSt
We're eaten ndblownby hewind...
25 Oh I see ove,see our ove urn o rust
Andwe'rebeaten ndblownby chewind...
Oh when go there, go therewithyou...
It'sallI cando
Verw 1:
I want o run; wantO hide
I want o teardown hewalls hatholdme nside
I wantO reach Ut and ouch he flarne
Where he streets aveno name
5 I want o feel sunlight n ny face
I seethe dustdoud disappear ithout trace
I want o take helterrom he poison ain
Wherehe streets aveno name
al
Where he streets aveno name
10 Wherehe streets aveno narne
We're tE biding thenburg down ove
Andwhen go there, go therewithyou...
It'sallI mn do
Example . U2, 'Wherehe StreetsHaveNo Name, Iyrics.
'Where the Streets Have No Name' also engages the concept of authenticity
as personalexpression.The individual and what he has to say, as expressed through
the persona of Bono, are foregrounded n several interestingways throughout the
song. The lyrics, as previously suggested, highlight the individual by contrasting
him with his environment.This contrast is in turn mirroredby the texture of the
song. The first two minutes of the song are devoted to the constructionof a sonic
environment,a backdropagainst which an image of the self can be projected.After
about forty-five seconds of the organ, a guitar gradually fades in, followed by
drums and bass. The instruments play continuously and their timbres blend, cre-
ating a wall of sound: a ground against which a figure - the lead singer - eventually
emerges.4
Harmony also plays a role in creating this figure/ground distinction. In the
first thirty-nine measures of the song, repetition of the progression I-IV-I-IV-vi-
V-I helps the instrumentalparts fade to the back of our minds. Then, four measures
before the vocal part begins, this harmonic cycle is broken by a flat-VIIchord, the
first chromatic harmony of the work, thus setting the stage for the upcoming
entranceof the solo voice (see Example2).
A third way in which individuality is expressed in this song is throughBono's
vocal performance.He does not allow himself to be confined by the regular pulse
articulatedby the instrumentalists,who play steady quavers and semiquavers.As
shown in Example3, his part is quite syncopated. Furthermore, e employs a great
deal of rubato,so that even when he does sing on the beat, he delays it by a fraction
of a second (as indicated by the backward-pointingarrows in the Example). In
addition, he varies his vocal timbre almost constantly.He does not simply sing: he
Keyboard
Electric Guitar
Bass Guitar
(whole note=4 bars)
Verse 1:
"I want to run..."
1V I 1V Vi V bVII
Example2. U2, 'Wherethe Streets Have No Name', mm. 2247, bass line reduction.
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+ ¢ S : r
I r
n r
n I r t r
u r
s
We're
beat-en
and
blown
by
thc
wind,_
tramp
-
led
in
dust.
4
"
$
ffi
W
t
t¢
S
|ry
I'll
show
you
a
place
high_on
the
des
-
ert
plasn,
[grwntl
4
Mark
Butler
Example
.
U2,
'Where
he
Streets
Have
No
Name',
measures
5-102
(Verse
2).
sighs;
he
moans;
he
grunts;
he
exhales
audibly;
he
allows
his
voice
to
crack.5
These
features
might
be
understood
as
markers
of
expression,
conveying
a
strong
personal
involvement
with
the
song.
They
also
suggest
a
certain
amount
of
exertion
on
the
part
of
the
performer.
Like
any
romantic
artist,
he
has
to
struggle
to
sing
his
song.
Such
displays
of
exertionare completely lacking in the Pet Shop Boys' 1991
cover
of
'Where
he
Streets
Have
No
Name'.
Lead
singer
Neil
Tennant's
vocal
deliv-
ery
is
remarkably
smooth:
he
avoids
noisy
elements
such
as
exhalations,
pro-
nounces
the
words
crisply,
and
rarely
varies
the
dynamic
level.
In
fact,
this
lack
of
exertion
has
been
a
dominant
theme
in
critiques
of
the
Pet
Shop
Boys'
music.
For
example,
one
concert
reviewer
writes,
'onstage
the
Pet
Shop
Boys
did
almost
nothing
that
might
have
generated
perspiration'
(Tannenbaum
1991,
p.
23).
Such
critiques
almost
always
mention
the
Pet
Shop
Boys'
use
of
synthesizers
and
drum
machines
as
well.
For
instance,
consider
the
following
statement
from
Mark
Peel:
LikeWham ,the Pets are the kind of group that drives frustratedaudiophilesto mutter,'I
could
do
that'.
The
trick
here
is
to
switch
on
the
Linn
drum,
hold
a
few
chords
on
the
synth,
and
let
Tennant
sing-speak
his
melancholy
yrics.
(Peel
1986,
p.
108;
original
emphasis)
These
comments
are
part
of
an
ongoing
discourse
on
the
role
of
technology
in
authentic
musical
expression,
a trope
that
was
especially
prevalent
in
the
1980s,
when
the
enduring
presence
of
synth
pop
seemed
to
threaten
the
dominance
of
rock
aesthetics.
Because
the
individual
performer
was
the
source
of
authentic
expression
in
rock,
it
was
important
that
he
or
she
be
seen
as
the
author
of
the
sounds
she
created;
displays
of
effort
were
a
way
of
highlighting
this
relationship.
In electronic dance music, however,
technology
often
obscures
the
relationship
between
music
and
its
creator
cf.
Frith
1986,
pp.
267-8).
In
some
cases,synthesizers
and
drum
machines
become
the
performers,
and
the
creator
of
the
sound
only
performs
once,
when
he
or
she
programmes
he
music.
While
U2's
version
of
'Where
the
Streets
Have
No
Name'
uses
technology
discreetly,
the
Pet
Shop
Boys'
cover
of
the
same
song
revels
in
it.
The
song
begins
with
a
sound
that
clearly
has
no
known
acoustic
analogue,
followed
by
a
drum
machine
and
sampled
crowd
noises.
The
instantaneous
arrival
of
these
sounds
con-
trasts
significantly
with
the
gradual
build-up
of
motion
and
texture
heard
in
the
U2
song,
creating
a
'switched-on'
effect
reminiscent
of
that
described
by
Peel.6
Giventhe problematic tatusof synthesisedsound in rockaesthetics, he delib-
erate
artificiality
of
the
Pet
Shop
Boys
recording
can
be
understood
as
a
critique
of
the
authenticity
expressed
by
U2.
Their
cover
also
subverts
the
original
song
in
several
other
interesting
ways.
For
example,
consider
the
form
of
the
U2
song
and
the
way
in
which
the
Pet
Shop
Boys
respond
to
it.
In
general,
the
U2
song
shows
careful
attention
to
formal
development.
The
shape
of
the
song,
which
has
one
primary
and
several
subsidiary
climaxes,
is
quite
clear.
The
gradual
textural
and
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Takingt
seriously 5
dynamicbuild-up of the opening
clearly leads to the entrance of the vocalist, who
then reaches the first majorhigh-point
of the song during Chorus 1
with the phrase
Xburning
own love', sung to the descending motive A-G-F#-D
(see Example 4a).
The A4 at the top of the motive, the highest note in the song, is always associated
with a
carefullypreparedclimactic
point; for example, the melody of the first verse
sets up A4 by moving through all the
scale degrees leading up to it. Furthermore,
the
climacticpitch occursonly n this particularmotive. Subsequent
appearancesof
the motive,
while employing different
words, heighten the importanceof this A by
increasing
its length. Compare Example 4b, which shows the
high point of the
entire
song, with Example 4a. Here
the climactic pitch is lengthened first to two-
and-one-halfbeats in measure 124 and
then to three-and-one-sixth eats in measure
126, while
at the same time the
instrumentalparts reach a peak of rhythmicactivity.
Instead of reserving the
A-G-F#-D motive for the highpointof the song, the
Pet Shop Boys state it immediately at the beginning, where they turn it into a
back-upvocal, a catchy ditty that is
sung almost absent-mindedly.7They also dis-
rupt the
structural ntegrity of the original song by combining
it with the tune
'Can't
Take My Eyes off You', a teen-pop ballad first recordedby
FrankieValli and
later turned into a disco version by
the Boystown Gang. Their
interpolations rom
this song
are shown in boldface in Example 5. In comparisonto
the spiritual tone
of the U2
song, the new material s surprisingly personal and
sexual: while Bono
wants to break down the walls that
hold him inside, the second singer implores his
baby to warm his lonely night. In
fact, the juxtaposition of the two songs' title
phrases
suggests an implicit referenceto cruising. As the place
'where the streets
have no name' becomes associatedwith a distinctly physical love, new possibilities
for its
location are suggested.8
Some interesting musical
features support these lyrical
differences. For
instance,
in the two transitionsfrom 'Where the Streets Have No
Name' to 'Can't
Take My Eyes off You', the Pet Shop
Boys keep the pitch material basically the
same while subtly altering the
rhythm, thus replacing the title phrase of the first
song with that of the second (see
Example 6a). This facile
substitution diminishes
the statusof the U2 song, showing that
one of its key motives is not really so unique
after all.9
Furthermore,n their second excursion from 'Where he
Streets Have No
1.5
beats
A G
F# D
¢f9##,,
;
- r
: f r
r l $ |
We're still build - ing then burn
- ing down love,
Example a.
U2, 'Wherehe StreetsHaveNo Name',A-G Ft-D motive, zrst
major limax.
A 2.5beats G F# D
A 3.167beats G F#
$4#
t
L D T
_ _ f
3_
blown by tbe wind_
blown
by the
_
wind Oh and I
see love, see our love
turn to
Example b. U2, 'Wherehe StreetsHaveNo
Name',A-FF#-D motive, limaxof entire ong.
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Example . Pet ShopBoys, 'Where he
StreetsHave No Name (I Can't TakeMy Eyes
off
You)',
lyrics.
Name't the Pets overthrow the supremacy of the climacticA4t climbing blithely
up
to a high tonic note (D) in anothersnippet of back-upvocals (see Example6b). Such
disruptions turn the formal unity and teleological growth of the U2 song
on its
head, referencing nstead the
pastiche-like structure created by DJs in
dance-club
mixes.
Given these subversive
responses to key elements of U2's songJ t should come
as no surprise that the B-side of
the Pet Shop Boys' twelve-inch version of 'Where
the Streets Have No Name'
contains the song 'How Can You Expect to Be
Taken
Seriously?',which directly
questions the right of a rock musician to claim authen-
(N.B.: ttn a MS higberhan ogndingitub)
4##.- 7rpi:3:r: 1- rrrlr
:=: {
0\ (Xv I I I l
z I q $ - I 87 S
Bachp
Ooh Aah
vocals
Love you, ba -
^ ^ ; - ; - ; *
4 ^ : r r r
-r l-7Hr Zar r C :
6 MarkButler
(Buriing own ove)
(Buriing own ove)
Ve7se 1:
I want o nJn; want o hide
I want o break own hewalls hatholdme nside
I want o reach ut and ouch he flarne
Wherehe streets aveno name
5 I want o feelsunon nDrface
I see the dustclouddisappear ithout trace
I want o take helterrompoison ain
Wherehe streets aveno name
1:
Wherehe streets aveno name
10 Wherehe streets aveno name
We're tillbuildinghenbursiingown ove
AndwhenI go there, go therewithyou...
Where he streets aveno name
Can't ake my eyes offyou
1S I love you, baby,and if it's quite altikht
I need you, baby, o warma lonely
nijht
So let me love you, baby; et me love
you
Verw 2
Thecifs aflood, ndour ovetums o rust
We're eaten ndblownbythewind, rampledn dust
20 I showwu a phce Egb on the desenp
Wherehe streets aveno nane
C>ZLS:
Wherehe streets aveno nane
Wherehe streets aveno name
We're tillbuildingochenuniing own ove
25 AndwhenI go there,
It'sal} cando
Wherehe streets aveno nane
(:an't ake my eyes offyou
Loveyou, baby, et me love you
30 Wherehe streets aveno name
Wherehe streets aveno name
Wherehe streets aveno name
Wherehe streets aveno name
(Ihe streets aveno name)
Where the streetshave
no name
Can't ake my eyes off of you
Example6a. Pet Shop Boys, 'Where he
Streets Have No Name (I Can't TakeMy Eyes off You)', end
of first chorus [transcriptionby author].
f.B.: ustten a MS higherhan oundingitch)
n ^ o. 1 01t t
e
io >
;_ _ . L_
by, let me love
you-
Wherethe steets have no name
Example b. Pet ShopBoys, 'Where he
StreetsHave No Name (I Can'tTakeMy Eyes
off
You)',
3:37-3:54.
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Taking t seriously 7
ticity. 'You'regaining fame and claiming credibility', he Pets sing. 'You'rean intel-
lectual giant, an authority to preach and teach the whole world about ecology.
You're another major artist on a higher plane. Do you think they'll put you in the
Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame?' While this song does not mention anyone by name,
these lines resonate strongly with other comments made by the Pet Shop Boys
about U2 in particular.For example, consider the following remarksmade by Neil
Tennant n 1989:
It would be interesting o analyse the reviews of U2's Rattle ndHum.Rockcritics iked Rattle
andHumbecause they want a return o the traditional ock values. What they basicallywant
is for it to be like 1969 again. It's this thing where British- or in U2's case Irish - groups
discover the roots of Americanmusic. U2 have discovered this and they're just doing pas-
tiches [his voice rises] and it's reviewed as a serious thing because 'Dylan plays organ' on
some song and B. B. King plays on some throwawaypop song 'WhenLove Comes to Town'
that could have been written by Andrew Lloyd Webber.It could be in StarlightExpress f
you ask me. (Heath 1990, p. 178)1°
The Pet Shop Boys have said that their cover of 'Where the Streets Have No
Name' turns 'a mythic rock song into a stomping disco record' (Tennantand Lowe
1991). As we have seen, this transformation nvolves several different domains,
including instrumentation the pervasive use of synthesised sound), song structure
(the pastiche-like organisation),and lyrical themes (the turn toward more sexual
content). And in this transformation ies the core of their critique of the original
song's authenticity,for disco has been widely construed as anathema to the spirit
of rock 'n' roll.ll It has been criticisedfor its commercialnature, for its use of syn-
thesised sound, for the anonymity of many of its performersand composers, and
especially for its reliance on a heavy, insistent beat.l2While such complaints first
came to the fore during the 'disco sucks' movement of the late 1970s,they resonate
strongly with critiques of electronic dance music in the 1980s and 1990s. For
example, consider the following comment from a review of the Pet Shop Boys'
albumActually:
If the Pet Shop Boys, a BritishEuro-discoduo, were a disease, they would be consumption,
as in used up. (...) The beat goes on, but not much else is happening. It's a tea party for
drum machines.(. . .) The Pet Shop Boys' best dance efforts (. . .) sound like dry-icedversions
of Paul Jabara, he masterproducerof the late, unlamenteddisco era. (Hiltbrand1987,p. 29)
Although the Pet Shop Boys' music generally sounds rather different from
1970s disco, this reviewer clearly sees their music as a continuationof that tradition.
And while
he
views this as an irredeemable ault, many Pet Shop Boys songs and
albums celebrate the disco tradition and their place within it (some of these are
listed in Example 7). Their 1993 cover of the Village People song 'Go West' is a
perfect example of this trend.l3While their U2 cover subverts the values of the
original song by transforming ts genre, their cover of 'Go West' amplifies and
expands the characteristics f the original song.
One of the most striking features of the Village People song is its represen-
tation of community. As shown in Example 8, 'Go West' is sung almost entirely in
first-personplural. The exceptions, such as lines 214, suggest a sense of 'we' that
refers to partners in a relationship, but the overall theme of the song implies a
larger antecedent for the pronoun, a 'we' that refers to an entire community - in
this case, the gay community. In this sense, the song describesthe migrationof gay
men to the West coast of America in the 1970s, a time when gay liberation- and
disco - were in full bloom. It presents the West as a utopia where freedom can be
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8 Mark
Butler
Albumitles
DiRwroy:
he ie
So Cz (1991)
Disco
(1994)
Songitles
DJ
C@ture'l?iqr7ky 991)
'Absolutelr
abulous
[)ull oullessance
MusicMix)'1994)
sDiscoteca'Biliwl
1996)
'SaturdaySlght
orever'Bilil 1996)
Lyncs
1
was aced ith
choice ta difficult
ge.Wouldwtite book,
rshould
takeothe tage?
Butn heback
fmyhead
heardistanteet,Che
GuevarandDebussy
o a disco
beat'.
-from
lbefto
MyOwrl ences'In
1988)
'She's adeou ome ind f aughingstock,ecauseoudanceo discoandyoudon'tike ock'
-from sCan
ouForgiveer?'Ve7y
993).ee lso
he e ofthis ong
nDisa), nwhichhe
phrasedanceO
disco's extracted
nd epeatedhroughout.
ffiere
was ?
Lg downhe aw, ancing
ith thersuton
he loor'
-from
EMetamorphosis'
Bisl 1996)
Other
TourorVery
alled)iscoveryt
Disco Very)
Example . Some
directrefrences
o disco n the Pet
ShopBoys'work.
fully achieved.
This readingbecomes
even more apparent
when
we recall that
the
themes
of almost all Village
People
songs deal with
topics related to
1970s urban
gay culture: either
icons
of masculinity ('Hot
Cop', 'Macho
Man') or locales
that
had social
and erotic significance
or American
gay
men during this era
('SanFran-
cisco
[You'veGot Me]',
'Key West',
'FireIsland', 'Y.M.C.A.').
While the
texture
of the U2 song foregrounds
the individual,
the texture
of
'Go
West' emphasises
the interactionand
identificationof
the individual
with a
community.Virtually
every line
of the song
is sung in a call
and response format:
first all the members of Village People sing a short word or phrase such as
'together',
hen soloist
Victor Willis responds
with a longer line.
See
Example 8, in
which vocals
sung by the
group are in parentheses.
Here the
group can
be under-
stood as representing
the community
and
the soloist the individual.
The Pet Shop
Boys preserve
this feature
in their cover;
in fact, they actually
increase
the size of
the responding
group, transforming
t into a sixteen-member
men's chorus.
Another
way in which the
Pet Shop Boys amplify
the
original version of
'Go
West'
is through
the addition of
several new portions
of text
to the song - portions
that make the
theme of
place as liberation
much more explicit
(see
the boldface
passages
in Example9).
The most
significant of these
sections is the
bridge, lines
29-32, where both music and text are new. Here the phrase 'we'll be what we want
to be'
(line 30) speaks
of freedom
to express personal
identity,while
line 31, 'now
if we
make a stand', implies
politicalactivism.
The
climacticreference
o the 'prom-
ised
land' in line 32 takes
the song to a new
level, invokingthe
weight
of a familiar
biblical
image to suggest
that the West is
not just
a nice area in which
to live, but
also
a place where an oppressed
group can
be free.l4
The Pet
Shop Boys' version
of 'Go West' continues
the
musical traditions
of
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Taking
t
seriously
9
Verse
1:
Cogether)
e willgo
ourway
(Together)
e will
eave
omeday
gogether)
our
hand
n myhand
gogether)
we willmike
he plans
5 (Together)
e will
iyso high
(Together)
ellour Fiends
oodbye
(Together)
e will
taxt ifenew
(Together)
his s
what
we11 o
1:
(Go
West)ife s
peacefulhere
10
(Go West) n the
open
air
(GoWest)
O
begin
ikenew
(GoWest)
his s what
weNl
o
(GoWest) un nwintetiime
(Go
West)we
willdo just ine
15 (GoWest)
where
he skies
reblue
(Go
West) his
andmore
well do
Verse :
gogether)
we
will ove he
beach
(Iogether)
e
will earn nd
each
(Together)
hange
urpace
of life
20
(Together)
e willwork
nd
tnve
(I ove
you)I knowyou
oveme
(Iwant
ou)
happy nd
carefree
(So hat'swhy) haveno protest
(When
ousay)
ou
want o go
west
Verse 3:
(I
knav that)
here
remawrways
(To ive
here)
n thesun
or shade
35 trogether)
ewill
inda place
tTo
settle) own
and ive
with
space
(Wlthout
he)busy
pace
back ast
tRhe
usding)
ustling
fthe feet
a knav I'm)
eaZ
to leave oo
40
(So his
s)what
we're oing
o do
3:
(Go
West) ife
s peaceful
here
(Go
West)
ntheopen
air
(Go
West)
o begin
ikenew
(GoWest)
his s what
weNl
o
45 (Go
West) un nwinterome
(Go
West)
we will
do just ine
(GoWest)
where
heskies
reblue
(Go
West)
hisand
moreweNl
o
)+t/Fv;
(Go
West)
ife s peaceful
here
50
(GoWest)
n
theopenair
(Go
West)
o begin
ikenew
(Go
West)
his s
whatwell do
(GoWest)
+ Together,
ogetherweXll
o on ourway
(GoWest)
+ Together,
ogether
e11
eavehere
oday
55
(GoWest)where heskies reblue
(GoWest)
his
andmore
well do
as 2:
25 (Go
West)
ife s peacefiul
here
(Go
West)
ots of open
air
(Go
West)o begin
ikenew
(Go
West) his s
whatwell
do
(Go
West) un
n winterame
30
(Go
West)we
willdo just
ine
(GoWest)
where
he skies
areblue
(GoWest)
his
andmore
weNl o
Example
8. Village
People,
'Go West',
Iyrics.
the
original
song
as well.
The 'Go
West' of
1993is
still a song
meant
fordancing
in
a club,
a ritual
that
has
helped
create
a sense
of community
among
gay men
for at
least
thirty
years
now.
In fact,
several
authors
have
suggested
that such
experiences
are
essential
to
the Pet
Shop
Boys'
music.
Forexample,
Simon
Watney
writes:
To understand
his
music it is
necessary
to understand
(and
respect,
and
probably
ove)
the
sensation
of
being one
among
hundreds
of
others
on a
packed
dance-floor,
dancing
because
dancing is what we enjoy most, and because dance music (like sex) binds us intimately.l5
(Watney
1993,
pp.
8-9)
By referencing
this
sense
of community,
the
Pet Shop
Boys'
cover
of
'Go West'
provides
a commentary
not
only
upon the
original
song,
but
also
upon
the whole
erain
which
it was
produced.
As
the
decade in
which
gay
liberation
irst
flowered,
the
1970s
have
tremendous
cultural
significance
for gay
men,
and
disco,
which
originated
in gay
dance
clubs
in
the early
1970s
(Szatmary
1996,pp.
216-17),
can
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10
Mark
Builer
Int
Come
n,
come
on,
come
on,
come
on
Verw 1:
gogether)
we will
go
our
way
Cogether) ewill eave omeday
gogether)
our
hand
n
my
hand
gogether)
we
will
mske
our
plans
5
gogether)
we
will lr
so
high
Cogether)
ell
allour
riends
oodbye
gogether)
we
will
startife
new
Cogether)
his s
what
we11
o
1:
(Go
West)
ife s
peaceful
here
10
(Go
West) n
the
openair
(Go
West)
where
he
skies
are
blue
(GoWest)his swhatwe're onna o
Verw :
gogether)
we
will
ove he
beach
gogether)
we
will
earn
nd
each
15
gogether)
hange
ur
pace
of life
gogether)
we
will
work
and
trive
(I
ove
you)
know
ou
oveme
(I
want
ou)
how
could
disagree?
(So
hat's
why)
make
o
protest
20
(When
ou
say)
ou
want
o go
west
Cks 2:
(Go
West)ife
s
peaceful
here
(Go
West)
n the
open
air
(Go
West)
baby
you
andme
(Go
West)
his is
our
destiny
25
(Go
West)
un
n
w.intetiime
(Go
West)
we
will
do
USt fine
(Go
West)
where
he
skies
are
blue
(Go
West,
his s
what
we're
onna
o)
Bridge:
There
where
he
air s
free
30
We'll
be
(We'll
be)
whatwe
want
to
be
Now
ifwe
malsea
stand
We'll
ind
(We'll
ind)
our
promised
and
Verw
:
(I
know
hat)
here
re
manyways
go
live
here)
n
the
sunor
shade
35
trogether)
e
will
inda
place
go
settle)
where
here's
o
much
pace
(Without
ush)
nd he
pace
badk
ast
ghe
hustling)
usding
USt
tO
feed
(I
know
'm)
ea tO
leaveOO
40
(So
hat's
what)
we are
gonna
o
CEs
3:
(What e're onna o isGoWest)Life speacefulhere
(Go
West)
Theren
the
open
air
(Go
West)
Where
he
skies
re
blue
(Go
West)
Rhiss
what
we're
onna o
45
(Life
s
peaceful
here)
Go
West In
he
openair)
Go
West
Babyyou
and
me)
Go
West
This
s
our
destiny)+
Come
on,
come
on...
(>tus
4:
(GoWest) un nwintexiime
50
(Go
West)
we will
eel
USt
fine
(Go
West)
where
he
skies
re
blue
(Go
West)
his
s
what
we're
oma
do
(Come n,
come
on,
comeon)
(Go
West)
C^/F
55
(Go,
ooh,
go,
yeah)
(Go
West)
(Go,
ooh,go,
yeah)
(Go
West)
(Go,
ooh,
go,
yeah)
:
Example
.
Pet
Shop
Boys,
Go
West',
yrics.
function
as a
symbol
of
this
era.
By
establishing
a
connection
with
this
tradition,
the
Pet
Shop
Boys,
whose
lead
singer
has
publicly
expressed
his
own
homosexu-
ality,l6
claim
disco
as a
type
of
'roots
music'
for
the
gay
community
of
the
l990s.l7
Furthermore,
many
gay
men
now
look
back
upon
this
period
nostalgically,
viewing
it
as
a
time
free
from
the
threat
of
AIDS.18
his
sort
of
nostalgia
does
play
a
role
in
the
Pet
Shop
Boys'
version
of
'Go
West',as
lead
singer
Neil
Tennant
has
explained:'Therewas something poignant about singing that song; it was such a
pre-AIDS
ong
with
all
the
gays
moving to
San
Francisco
and
it
had
such
an
inno-
cence'
(Tennant
1996A).
Tennant's
comments
also
shed
light
on
some
of
the
differ-
ences
etween
the
two
versions
of
'Go
West'.
For
example,in
the
later
version
there
is a
subtle
transformation
n
the
interaction
between
group
and
individual,
which
is
expressed
musically
through
changesin
texture
and
timbre.In
the
Pet
Shop
Boys'
version
there
is
a
pronounced
timbral
contrast
between
soloist
and
group.
Whereas
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Taking t seriously
11
all the
membersof Village People,
includingsoloist Victor
Willis, sing
with a hearty,
robust tone,
Neil Tennant'scharacteristically
asal tenor
stands in stark
opposition
to the choir
accompanyinghim,
and he does
not join the choir in singing
the impera-
tive 'go west'. Victor Willis, on the other hand, seems to be inspiredby the group;
he sings
with them throughout
most of the
song, and often improvises
a descant
above their
repeated interjections,
as shown in Example
10. This easy interaction
between soloist and
group suggests
a similar relationship
between individual and
community:
the individual,
inspired by the
community'senthusiasm,
reaches new
levels of
joy. In the cover version,
however,this interaction
eems to
be much more
formal,a carefully
negotiated interchange.
This musical
difference resonates with
Tennant'sdescription
of his post-AIDS
perspective:even
as the Pet Shop Boys'
use
of disco
evokes the
sexual freedom of the
1970s, it reminds us that
the innocence
of this
era has been
lost.
At the same time, other featuresof the l990s version of 'Go West'suggest that
the song's
protagonists do eventually
achieve a greater
degree of freedom.
As the
song progresses, the
choir's singing
becomes more rhythmically
energetic,while
Tennant's
nteraction
with the group becomes
more casual.Near the
climax of
the
song, the
roles of communityand
individual
are briefly reversed
as Tennantand
chorus
sing each other's
parts. (See Example
9, lines 46-8; note the
change in the
location
of the parentheses.)This
progression
toward a more fluid interaction
ug-
gests that the Pets'
encounterwith disco has
been productive,
and that the poign-
ancy associated
with
this 'pre-AIDS' ong has
been transformed n
a positive way.
This transformation
eems to support
Walter
Hughes' assertion that
many l990s
disco covers functionas a way of working throughcollectivegrief:
If the AIDS
epidemic
almost killed disco in the
late 1980s, the same crisis
seems to have
brought
about its determinedresurgence
n the early
1990s.Therevival is not
simply nostal-
gia, but an application
of the discourse of disco
to a new end.
Recent songs celebrate
the
pleasurable
disciplineof self-exhaustion
with the
all [sic] brashnessof early
disco, unintimi-
dated by
the inevitableresonances
set off by the epidemic. (Hughes
1994,p.
156)
Some of the formal
differencesbetween
the two
versions of 'Go West' also
suggest
a change in
perspective. The form
of the first version, indicated
by the
headingsin Example8, is quite simple, consistingprimarilyof threeverses, eachof
which is
followed
by the same chorus. In general,
thereis no clearly
defined focal
point, and
the song does little to
foster a sense
of growth. While there
is a modest
textural
crescendo leading up to
the first chorus,
the intensity level
remains basi-
cally the
same after this point.
The second and third choruses
are virtually
identical
to the first- not only
lyrically,
but also in termsof instrumentation
nd accompani-
mental
lines. In addition,the song
remains
in the home key throughout.
The
Pet Shop Boys' version
of 'Go West',
on the other hand,
has a very clear
shape, which is summarised
in Example 11.
It begins
with a sixteen-bar ntroduc-
tion, in which the theme
of the chorus is played
in two-part
counterpointby muted
horn and string sounds. The firsttwo verse/chorus alternationsarethen essentially
the same
as those of the earlier
version, exceptthat an instrumental
ill replacesthe
vocal part in the second
half of
the first chorus, thus
creating a greater sense
of
momentum
when the full chorus
finally appears.After
the second
chorus the Pets
raise the
intensity level
by modulating to A
minor duringthe bridge.
They eventu-
ally return
to C major,but soon
take the song up another
notch, moving
to D major
at the beginning
of
the third chorus. Shortly
thereafter hey arrive
at the climaxof
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(N.B.:
wrztten
semitoneoaverhan oundingpitch)
2
(Go West)
life is peace-fil1
here (Go
West) in the o-pen air
(Go West) to be
- gin lik
Chorus (
f $ ¢ f $ ¢ $
_
(Go West)
(Go West)
(Go West)
|
West) sun in
win-ter-time Go We-est) We
will do JUSt
ine (Go We-est)
wherehe skies reblu
Chorus I X F $ |
$ J I
W
West)
(Go We
Example
10. Village People,
'Go West', Chorus 1.
'est)
(Go West)
S IntroduciionVerse
1
M : 1-16
17-32
F:
CM
i
Chorus
1
3340
InstrumentM
FM
4148
Verse
2
49-64
Chorus
2
65-80
CM
Example
11. Pet
Shop Boys, 'Go West',
formal plan.
Bndge Ve
3
81-88 89-
Am3V7/CM G
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Taking
t seriously
13
i{'s
1° 1s
Io
[z. Io
1}
Io 11
CM:
V
vi
iii
IV
I
ii
V
Example
12. Pet Shop
Boys, 'Go
West',accompanimental
tring line.
the
song, where
the
choir reaches
its highest
note, A4,
while
sustaining
a D major
chordfor
an entire
measure.
The song
then winds
down
with an
instrumental
coda
over
a tonic
pedal.
These changes
ultimately
serve
as intensifications
and elevations
of the song's
central
themes, as
most of them
coincide
with
important
passages in
the text.
For
example,
it is
during the
newly
composed
bridge that
the
first modulation
occurs;
at
the culmination
of this
section,
as the
lyrics refer
to the
Promised
Land, the
dominantof C majorreturns.In addition,both the modulationto D majorand the
climactic
A4 coincide
with statements
of the title
phrase.
At the
same time,
other
features
allude to the
'seriousness'
of classical
music
- for instance,
the symphonic
introduction,
and
a recurring
string
line that recalls
Pachelbel's
Canonin D)l9
(see
Example
12).
In general,
then,
the Pet Shop
Boys'
treatment
of 'Go West'
suggests
that they
view the
song
not as a kitschy
reminder
of
an embarrassing
era,
but as
an
authentic
expression
of an
important
musicaland
cultural
tradition.
Thus
farmy
analyseshave
suggested
two
ratherdifferent
approaches
o
auth-
enticity
in the
Pet
Shop Boys'
music. On
the
one hand, I
have claimed
that their
coverof
'Where he
Streets
Have No
Name' undermines
certain deals
of rock
auth-
enticity.At the same time, I have arguedthattheir coverof 'GoWest',despitebeing
part
of
a genre that
is often regarded
as the
pinnacle
of inauthenticity,
s meant
to
be understood
as
an authentic
continuation
of
a shared
tradition.
Tension
between these
two
views is
quite apparent
n much
of
the scholarly
and
journalistic
writing
on the
Pet Shop Boys.
Someauthors
characterise
heirmusic
as
self-consciously
nauthentic,
an ironic celebration
of
artifice,while
others
position
it
as authentic
within the
contextof
contemporary
gay
culture.The
former
approach
is
particularly
well
represented
among
academics.
Simon
Frith,
for example,
has
claimed
that
'the Pets'
musical
"authenticity"
was
certainly
not an
issue' in the
receptionof their music, which is 'all surfaceand no depth' (Frith
1988B).2O
Stan
Hawkins,
writing
more recently,
claims
that 'elements
of charm,
superficiality
and
banality'
seep
from
'every musical
moment
of their
songs';
furthermore,
one con-
stantly
perceives
the Pet Shop
Boys'
theatrical,
camp and
satirical
gestures
of
expression
as
a confession
of
inauthenticity'
Hawkins
1997, P.131).21
Richard
Smith,
paraphrasing
his
view of
the Pet Shop
Boys,
writes: 'The
duo
collects
labels the
way lesser
groups
collect gold
discs.
(. . .) Usually
the line
goes
something
like - "Ooh
those Pet
Shop
Boys, they're
ever so
post-modern
and
clever
and
camp
and ironic,
aren't
they?"' (Smith
1995,
P. 200).
Smith, however,
sub-
sequently
rejects
each of
these
labels, claiming
instead
that
'however
much Neil
Tennantloved artifice,most of what he said and sang wasn't a sneer but utterly
sincere'
(ibid., p.
204).
And Smith
is not
the only author
to
interpret
the Pet Shop
Boys'
music
as genuine;
additional
examples
include
Textor 1994),
Watney (1993)
and Maus
(2001).
In the
end, though,
the strongest
support
for
this reading
comes
from
the Pet
Shop Boys
themselves.
'I always
maintain
that we're
completely
mis-
understood
anyway',
says Neil
Tennant.
'People
often say
"it's wonderful
it's so
camp",
and I just
smile
politely because
I'm
a bit disappointed
really because
it
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14 MarkButler
wasn't meant to be camp. Actually real camp is when something is totally sincere.
There's no cynicism or trying to be clever' (quoted in Smith 1995, pp. 201-2).22
As my analyses suggest, I believe that each of these seemingly contradictory
readings - the artificialand the authentic - has its place. On the one hand, the Pet
Shop Boys' music has clearly engaged values of rock authenticity n an oppositional
way, and it is just this stance that authors characterising heir music as artificial
seem to be celebrating.Hawkins, for example, writes that 'while the musical rhet-
oric of the Pet Shop Boys might be perceived as intentionally tacky and banal, I
consider it pop at its best; it stands as a strong catalyst against the chauvinist styles
of heavy metal, rap, and cock rock' (Hawkins 1997, p. 131). Such characterisations,
however, still seem to be based on a binary opposition between rock and pop - one
that continues to preserve the qualities associated with each category ('authenticity'
is still mapped onto rock and 'artificiality' nto pop), even as it reverses their valu-
ations ('superficial'pop is celebrated for its ability to break down an oppressive
myth of rock authenticity).23
While it is undeniable that a rock/pop duality has played a role in the recep-
tion and creation of the Pet Shop Boys' music, a more thorough examination of
their work shows that it has clearly moved beyond ock's values to construct an
authenticityof its own. In order to understand how this works, scholars must also
move beyond fixed notions of rock as 'authentic'and pop as 'inauthentic'and focus
more broadly on the strategies involved in constructing authenticity in diverse
musical traditions.24n the Pet Shop Boys' music, sound, gesture, and other modes
of expression vary markedly from those most commonly associated with authen-
ticity in popular music studies, but the strategies employed are not so radically
different. Like many other musicians in a wide variety of genres, the Pet Shop
Boys create authenticityby establishinga connectionwith the musical and cultural
traditionsof a particularcommunity.
This premise is, in fact, centralto currentreadings of the Pet Shop Boys' music
as authentic.Textor and Watney, for example, argue that the affective force of the
Pets' music hinges upon its ability to speak to the experiences of gay men. Maus
argues that the way in which the Pets express themselves - a characteristic ften
cited as proof of their inauthenticity is essential to establishing their authenticity
among a community that values alternativemasculinities: Lacking he direct, sin-
cere self-expression normally associated with authenticity, they offer, instead, a
veiled, inhibited expressiveness that can, nonetheless, be taken as an emblem of a
community. They achieve a queer kind of authenticity' (Maus 2001, p. 390). And,
finally, Neil Tennant himself makes this connection between the personal and the
communalexplicit, n no less prominenta place than his own coming-outstatement:
I do think that we have contributed, hroughour music and also through our videos and the
generalway we've presentedthings, rathera lot to what you might call 'gay culture'.I could
spend several pages discussing the notion of 'gay culture',but for the sake of argument,I
would just say that we have contributeda lot. And the simple reason for this is that I have
written songs from my own point of view. (. . .) What I'm actually saying is, I am gay, and
I have written songs from that point of view. (Burston1994)
Thus, both of the covers examined in this paper engage the issue of authen-
ticity, although they do so in dramaticallydifferent ways. We can theorise these
differences most effectively by highlighting the various traditions of authenticity
invoked by each song and its network of intertextualrelationships.By thinking of
authenticitynot as a fixed quality of one genre, but ratheras a characteristic stab-
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Taking
t seriously
15
lished in
relation to
other
traditions
and
styles, we
can fully grasp
the layers
of
meaning
suggested
by each song.
In 'Where
the Streets
Have
No Name',
the Pet
Shop
Boys critique
a version
of authenticity
commonly
associated
with
rock music.
While their transformationof the song from rock into disco plays a major role in
this
critique,
issues
of technology
and
performance
style also
come into
play.
The
Pets further
subvert
the values
of
the original
song by
disrupting
its structural
integrity
and
sense of growth.
Their
coverof 'Go
West',
on the other
hand, imbues
the song
with a clearer
shape
and a
stronger sense
of growth,
thus
preserving
and
amplifying
its
central
themes.
And while their
cover
of 'Where
he Streets
HaveNo
Name'
stands
in complete
opposition
to the
culturaland
musical
traditions
of rock,
theirversion
of 'Go West'
continues
the traditions
of
disco and thus
canbe
under-
stood as
a type of
roots
music. By connecting
to
theirroots
in this
manner,the
Pet
Shop
Boys bring
authenticity
to
a genre that
has
been widely
construed
as inauth-
entic, suggesting that perhapsit should be taken seriouslyafterall.
Copyright
acknowledgements
'Go West'
(C)1979an't
Stop Music.
All rights reserved.
'Where
the Streets
Have No Name'
(C)1987
lueMountain
Music Ltd.
Acknowledgements
Earlier
versions of
this paper
were presented
at
the IASPM
UK)Conference
at the
Universityof Surrey(July2000)and at the Societyfor Music TheoryConference n
Toronto
(November
2000).
The author
wishes
to thank
all those
who have
read
and/or
commented
upon
the paper;
special thanks
are due in
particular
to Sue
Tuohy,
Marianne
Kielian-Gilbert
nd
Fred Maus.
Endnotes
1.
Cf. Thornton
1996,
p. 26).
2.
See also Szatmary
1996,
pp. 169-70).
For criti-
cal
analyses of the
political and
religious
dimensionsof U2's music and image during
this time,
see Bradby
and
Torode(1984)
and
Bradby
1989).
3.
In the
l990s, however,
U2 turned
away
from
this image,
instead exhibiting
a newfound
emphasis
on irony
and the theatrical.
While
this paper focuses
on the 1980s
U2, readers
interested
in comparing
the two
periods
should consult
the articleby
Fast(2000),
which
contains
musical and
contextual
analyses
of
both 'Sunday,
Bloody
Sunday'(1983)
and 'Zoo
Station'
(1991).
In the third
decade of
their
career- as evidenced by critical reactionto
their
new
album All That
You Can't
Leave
Behind
and its accompanying
tour
(see,
for
example, Pareles
2000) -
U2 seem
to have
reclaimed
heir
earnestpersonas.
4. These
comparisons
between
musical texture
and social organisation
were
inspired
by those
found
in Tagg(1994).
5. One
passage in
which these
elements
are par-
ticularly
noticeable
is the
first chorus.
6. The Pet
Shop Boys' cover
of 'Where the
Streets
Have No Name' is certainly not their only
song
to engage
issues of technology.
'Elec-
tricity',
from the 1996
album
Bilingual,
addresses
such
matters
directly. In this
song a
female impersonator
sings
about her act,
which
uses tapes
as its musical
source:
'Call it
performance,
call it art.
I call
it disaster if the
tapes don't
start.
I've put all
my life into live
lip-sync.
I'm an
artist, honey;
you gonna
get
me a drink?'
Although
these lines
are sung by
a
constructed
'character',
they
resonate
strongly
with much
of the discourse
surround-
ing the Pet Shop Boys' own live performances.
For
example, consider
the following
comments
from
a review
of a 1990
concert: 'This
was the
Pet
Shop
Boys' first live
appearance
- sort of.
Except
for the vocals
by
Neil Tennant
and his
backup singers
and Chris Lowe's
synthesizer,
all
of the
music was taped' (Variety,
6 Nov-
ember 1990,
p. 67).
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16 Mark
Butler
7. See
the lines preceding verse
1 in Example
5.
In
the Pet Shop Boys' cover,
the pitches
of the
'A-G-F#-D'
motive are actually F, Eb,
D and
Bb, as they transpose
the song down
a major
thirdto B-flat major.I will refer to and tran-
scribe their version
in D
major,however, for
the
sake of easier
comparison with
the U2
song.
8.
I
would like to
thankMarianneTatom
or sug-
gesting
this possibility.It
is also interesting o
note
that the first album
(1981) by the
Boys-
town Gang -
the first group
to cover 'Can't
TakeMy Eyes
off You' - was entitled
Cruisin'
the Streets
(emphasis
mine).
9. In
the Frankie
Valli and Boystown
Gang ver-
sions of 'Can't
Take My Eyes off
You', the
rhythmof the title phrase s also sharedby the
line
that precedesit - namely,
'you're ust too
good to be
true'. While
this line is not
explicitly
present
in the Pet Shop Boys'
cover,
those
familiar with either
of the earlier
ver-
sions
may make such
an association, thus
adding
another
ayer of meaning subversively
referencing
ock'sclaims to
'truth'.
10. See
also Heath
(1990, pp.
176-7, 321, 331) for
additional
references
to U2; and for
general
commentsby
the Pet Shop
Boys on the prob-
lematic relationshipbetween their music and
the
rock tradition pp.210,285,313-14).
While
various
authors
(e.g., Frith
1988BS PP. 94-101)
have
argued that the proliferation
of synth-
pop groups in
the 1980S renderedrock's
con-
struction
of authenticity
rrelevant, t
should
be
clear from
this statement and the
others
included here
that the ideals
associatedwith
this
construction
clearly played a role
in the
reception
of both the Pet
Shop Boys' and
U2'S
music,
and that the Pets
were well aware of
these values and
sensitive to their application.
11. Their nterpolation f 'Can'tTakeMy Eyes off
You'
also uses genre in a
critical ashion, jux-
taposing
'serious'
rock with excerpts
from a
teenybopper
ove song (or
from the Boystown
Gang's
disco cover
of thatsong).
12.
See
Dyer (1990), Hughes
(1994),
Krasnow
(1993) and Tetzlaff
(1994)
for further dis-
cussion
of reactions o disco.
13. Also
worth mentioning s
the song 'New York
City Boy' from
the Pet Shop
Boys' most recent
album,
Nightlife (1999).
This
song is strikingly
similar
to
Village People hits
such as
'Y.M.C.A',not
only in its
lyrical content (a
young
man having fun in
the city), but also in
its overall sound.
14. In
fact, the theme of place
as liberation is
prominent in
'Where the Streets
Have No
Name
(I Can'tTakeMy Eyes
off You)' as well,
thus suggesting
another
possible intertextual
connection.
The Pet Shop
Boys'1997
cover of
'Somewhere'
rom WestSideStory
hould
also
be mentioned in this
regard.)
And while it is
much
easier to see the liberation
eferred o in
'Go
West' as specifically
gay, such
an
interpretationannotbe excludedfrom the U2
cover either, especially
if we
recall how the
transformative
se
of 'Can'tTake My Eyes
off
You' mbued the song's
'place'
with new erotic
possibilities.
The shift in genre
from rock to
disco also makes
a homoerotic
readingmore
plausible,
as subsequent
discussion
will
reveal.
15. In the
context of the article,
'we' and 'us'
clearly
refer to gay men.
16. For the
interview in which Neil
Tennant
first
publicly
came out, see Burston
(1994).
Since
that first official statement, he Pet Shop Boys
have performedat
numerous
GLBT vents (for
example,
he 2000 Marchon
Washington).
The
other Pet
Shop Boy,
ChrisLowe, has not
made
any official
statement about
his sexuality.
Since Lowe avoids
almost
all
public state-
ments,
however, Tennant generally
functions
as the band's primary
spokesperson.
17. The term
'rootsmusic' s more
commonlyused
to describe
music that has (or
claims to have)
some sort
of connection
o 'traditional' enres
such as the blues. It is certainlypossible to
extend
the concept
to include other types
of
music,
however; and it is interesting
to note
that the
conceptof
'rootedness' an be applied
to genres that have
often been
regarded as
inauthentic
such as disco). My
understanding
of 'roots' music is
based in
part on the dis-
cussion in Redhead
and Street
1989, PP.
179-
81),
which
notes
several different ways
in
which
an artistcan claim authenticity
by
dem-
onstrating 'rootedness'.
According to
the
authors,
his rootednesscan be
situated n sev-
eral differentdomains: n a coregroup of fans,
in a musical tradition,
or in a socio-economic
class.
While the Pet Shop Boys'
use of
disco
does involveat least
two of these domains
(by
invoking
a musicaltradition hat
many of their
fans know and love),
it also suggests a usage
not mentioned
by Redhead and
Street:estab-
lishing
rootedness
(and authenticity) hrough
the use
of music as a symbol
of a common
sexual
identity.
18.
For example,
see Watney
1993, P. 9).
19. Neil Tennant
has also said that
the Pet Shop
Boys 'tried
to emphasize the classical aspects'
of 'Go West' (Tennant
996A).
20. See also
Frith (1988A),
n which he describes
the Pets as 'just
another British
pop group,
showroom
dummies with electronic
equip-
ment
and a memory
bank of old club
and
disco riffs' (p.
146). Significantly,
hese assess-
ments
appear early
in the Pet Shop
Boys'
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Taking t seriously 17
career; in fact, the essay reprinted in Frith
(1988A) was originally published in 1986, the
year of their first single, 'West End Girls'. A
decade later, Frith's views seem to have
changed: he clearly takes their music much
more seriously, and no longer refers to their
'pretentions' and 'poses' (see Frith 1996, ch. 1).
21. Ironically, Hawkins ultimately concludes that
this 'confession of inauthenticity' actually
helps the Pet Shop Boys' music construct its
own kind of authenticity. He does not explain
how this reversal occurs, however, but instead
simply quotes Lawrence Grossberg's conten-
tion that 'the only possible claim to authen-
ticity [in the postmodern world] is derived
from the knowledge and admission of your
inauthenticity' (Grossberg 1993, p. 206). While
it does seem plausible that being forthright
about the theatrical and commercial aspects of
one's music might enhance a performer's
credibility,Grossberg'sassertion that authen-
ticity is largely irrelevant to contemporary
audiences is problematic: despite ascribing
views on an extremely broad level, he pro-
vides virtually no evidence that musicians or
fans actuallythink this way.
22. This is but one of a numberof statements rom
the Pet Shop Boys' that challenge interpret-
ations of their music as insincereand artificial;
see also Burston 1994)and Tennant 1996A).
23. Cf. Frith 1988B, . 4).
24. For an example of popular music studies
addressing authenticity n music other than
rock and folk, see Thornton 1996).The broad-
est range of approaches, however, can be
found in ethnomusicology, where scholars
have consideredthe topic within a myriad of
different raditions.
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Taking t seriously 19
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