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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.







> 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


al


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.







+ ¢ 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







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.







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


5 I want o feelsunon nDrface

I see the dustclouddisappear ithout trace

I want o take helterrompoison ain


1:


10 Wherehe streets aveno name

We're tillbuildinghenbursiingown ove

AndwhenI go there, go therewithyou...


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:



We're tillbuildingochenuniing own ove

25 AndwhenI go there,

It'sal} cando


(:an't ake my eyes offyou

Loveyou, baby, et me love you

30 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.








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







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)

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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







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







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







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







(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







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







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-







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).







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'








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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