Monday, August 29, 2011

Last Monday in August Music: Not going left, not going right


I saw Follies last Thursday (review to come), and now, what, four days later, I can't help but think that one of our modern follies is Disaster Panic, that damned-if-you do damned-if-you-don't state of mind where you prepare for the absolute worst and then get peeved when it doesn't happen.  The movie analogy for this state of mind is perfectly expressed in the following exchange from Philadelphia Story, where Tracy Lord, who thinks she got drunk and did the dirty deed with Mike Connor, hears Mike explain what really happened:

MIKE CONNOR: Kittredge, it may interest you to know that the so-called “affair” consisted of exactly two kisses and a rather late swim. All of which I thoroughly enjoyed, and the memory of which I wouldn't part with for anything. After which I deposited Tracy on her bed in her room, and promptly returned down here to you two--which doubtless you'll remember.
GEORGE KITTREDGE: You mean--you mean to say that’s all there was to it?
MIKE CONNOR: I do.
TRACY LORD: Why? Was I so unattractive?

Or in Irene terms:

NEW YORK: Oh Irene--you passed me over for Philadelphia?!?  Why? Was I so unattractive?

Or in Sondheim terms:

NEW YORK:  Oh Irene--you said you wanted me!  Or were you just being kind?

Heh.  Yeah--guess what song I've been listening to all weekend?  But not the original.  And not even the gloriously insane Liza Minnelli cover of the original.  No--I've been listening to the Pet Shop Boys' demo of the gloriously insane cover that they produced for Liza Minnelli. Along with a lot of other PSB songs, because they make me happy and they make me want to dance, two things you should always do when a hurricane is on its way.

So here's that demo, along with an extended version of "Jealousy" (the spoken quote is from Othello, which makes for a great trivia question), along with another demo of a song they wrote for Kylie Minogue (which is my all-time favorite Pet Shop Boys song), along with the hoot-and-a-half AbFab number they did after getting plastered with Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley (true story).

Be happy and dance, people.

Losing my mind


Jealousy (extended version)


Falling (Demo for Kylie)


Absolutely Fabulous