First of all, my most sincere apologies. I’ve got notes and stuff here, but as I said in my last post, it’s been hellacious around VeryPSB headquarters. Here’s some bullet points.

• Pet Shop Boys , as I typed this, are doing the Battleship Potemkin thingwith the BBC Radio Orchestra at the Barbican. A text from a reader who attended stated just this: “Beautiful. Tears. This movie, this music.” I really hope we see a proper release of the film with their score, as the CD release has been truncated and it doesn’t fit the film properly. Here’s a link to the program for the event and another link to the Time Out interview with Tennant that, once the chestnuts about pop irony are shoved aside, offers a few new anecdotes about the Potemkin events.

• There are some new demos available for your perusal on the official site. I can’t link directly, but if you go to the Product section and click on “Exclusive Tracks,” you’re all set.

• Beloved (at least by me) cover act West End Girls have a second album on the way according to the wags at Pop Justice. One of the singles released before Shoplifters streets will be a version of “Little Black Dress,” a song best known as “One of the ones that didn’t get into the musical that nobody saw.”

• You need to buy the headphones pictured below and listen to Concrete. Trust me.
  

Sorry about the delays in getting new content up; I’ve been starting a new consulting gig. Worry not, though, we’ll be back real soon now with my overview of “It’s a sin” and a discussion of stuff and goings on.

Did anyone else get their Christmas card?

From Tennant at the official site (which, again, should have a damned RSS feed):

Victoria, not true. We had a drink with Damon just a few weeks ago after seeing his “Monkey” opera in Manchester…(And we didn’t request permission to put “Girls and Boys” on Disco 4.)

As I said earlier: “Ah, The Sun!” It’s amusing that whenever they run an item about Pet Shop Boys, there’s either an official denial or confirmation.

Albarn blocks Pet Shop Boys remix.

Gorillaz founder Damon Albarn has blocked the Pet Shop Boys from releasing a remix of the Blur single ‘Girls and Boys’, say reports.

The ‘West End Girls’ duo are releasing new album Disco 4, which will feature songs by The Killers, Madonna and David Bowie and wanted to include a reworking of the popular Blur track.

However, Albarn has apparently placed a ban on the song’s release, claiming that the remixed version was too good.

A source told The Sun: “Damon complained that they had made the song sound like their own.

They added: “He was also annoyed when he heard Neil Tennant supported Oasis in their 90s chart battle with Blur. Neil said Damon was pretentious.”

Ah, The Sun.