Classic synthpop duo Pet Shop Boys have had a storied career - hits, awards, accolades…the list is endless. And they recently reached the very pinnacle of awesomeness… by winning spot #79 on Marc’s Top 200 with the great song “Opportunities"!
I remember hearing “West End Girls” on NY New Wave radio station WDRE when it won “Screamer of the Week” honors in November 1984. It’s OK, but I prefer their more upbeat tunes like “It’s a Sin” and “Always On My Mind”. But my favorite song of theirs and this week’s Awesome Song, has to be the one that solidified with a bear stranglehold their status as long-standing premiere gay dance icons. The timeless anthem known as … “Go West”!
The song, originally by the inimitable Village People, is a soaring hymn of open frontier, new life and endless opportunity. The video is mind-blowing too, with CGI effects and primary color cold war imagery interlaced with muscular flag bearers in spandex & wife-beater shirts, their buttocks patriotically clenched, as they march up the stairway to socialism. Never did figure out what it all means … but it does seem to work.
Much as I like the Pet Shop Boys and their Go West …. I have to admit … I like the Village People’s original version of the song better! Total guilty pleasure…. I am not that much of a fan of their other music, but something about their Go West is just amazing. Let’s enjoy both versions of this superb song!
-WAS
Truly an Awesome New Wave song of the week! I am a big Pet Shop Boys fan, I regret not seeing them when they played in Halifax but the ticket price ($90 each) scared me off. It was on their "Yes" tour a few years back. I bought the DVD later and I regretted not seeing the amazing show. Please tell me you like "Love, etc.", which was their hit at the time. I added the video to my song #79 entry, but I think it was a few weeks after I posted it so you might not have seen it there.
ReplyDeleteLike the song... LOVE the video ... it's mesmerizing, makes the song even better! Despite the lack of communist lycra clad boy toys, LOL
ReplyDeleteWell...ya gotta have that, right?!
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