Hippoi Athanatoi

For the last ... oh, hour or two, I’ve had 12 short clips from the upcoming Pet Shop Boys CD, Fundamental, on repeat. Yup, I’m addicted. Of course, that’s not news, I’ve been a fan since Please, but every new CD release gives it an extra boost. And after hearing these clips, my anticipation just got upped to a frustrating level. Some of the new songs are darn good.

• I’m With Stupid - Musically, its pretty good, but I am not so sure it was a good first single choice. The lyrics, however, are hilarious.
• Psychological - My least favourite so far. Too Kraftwerk for my tastes.
• The Sodom and Gomorrah Show - Supposedly, this should have been the first single, but record company nixed that idea due to the lyrics. Too darn bad. Its brilliant.
• I Made My Excuses and Left - A beautiful, bittersweet ballad.
• Minimal - Apparently this will be the second single. Its one of the stronger tracks, for sure.
• Numb - Written by Diane Warren rather than the boys themselves. Its not very PSB, but its a pretty nice song. Apparently a single candidate.
• God Willing - A little instrumental interlude.
• Luna Park - Another beautiful ballad, with a vaguely new-agey sound to it. Supposedly about the US.
• Casanova in Hell - One of my favourites. Lovely ballad about an ageing Casanova with a little problem.
• Twentieth Century - A good one too. Another uptempo song.
• Indefinite Leave to Remain - Another strong ballad on an unusual topic.
• Integral - This is a brilliant one. Another not-so-subtle piece of political commentary.
• Girl’s Don’t Cry - One of the B-sides for I’m With Stupid. Wow, just wow. What a song. Beautiful.
• The Resurrectionist - The other B-side. Only Neil Tennant would write a song about grave robbers in 19th century London. And what a brilliant piece of dance music this is.