Taking it Seriously: Intertextuality and Authenticity in Two Covers by the Pet Shop Boys

Author(s): Mark Butler

Source: Popular Music, Vol. 22, No. 1 (Jan., 2003), pp. 1-19
Published by: Cambridge University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/853553
Accessed: 16-02-2016 19:00 UTC

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/
info/about/policies/terms.jsp
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content
in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship.
For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Cambridge University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Popular Music.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 129.105.215.146 on Tue, 16 Feb 2016 19:00:37 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Popular Music (2003) Volume 22/1. Copyright t 2003 Cambridge Umversity Press pp. 1-19
DOI:10.1017/S0261143003003015 Printed in the United Kingdom

Taking
it seriously:
intertextualityand
authenticity
in
two
covers
by
the
Pet
Shop
Boys
MARK BUTLER
Abstract
Whenmusicians'cover'a previouslyrecordedsong, they providean intertextualcommentary
on
anothermusicalworkor style. Thispaperconsidersseveralwaysin whichsuchcommentaries
engage
constructions
of authenticity,
focusingon two coversby thePet ShopBoys:'Wherethe StreetsHave
No Name',originallyby U2, and 'GoWest',firstrecorded
by theVillagePeople.I analysethemusical
sound,performance
style,andIyricalthemesof eachpairof songs,as wellas thediscoursesurrounding
theirproduction
and reception.I also considerhowscholarshavetheorisedauthenticityin the interpretivetraditionsengagedby thesesongs. I argue that the Pet ShopBoys'versionof 'Wherethe
StreetsHaveNo Name'is subversive,pokingfun at certaincommonwaysof expressingauthenticity
in 1980srock,whiletheircoverof 'GoWest'repositions
disco- a genrethathaswidelybeenconstrued
as inauthentic- as a typeof 'rootsmusic'for thegay communityof the1990s.

Music,like manyotherformsof culturalexpression,is oftenevaluatedin termsof

authenticity.Authenticmusicis said to 'ringtrue',to be believableor genuine,to
be the 'realthing'.lWhenone seeks to define the musicaland socialproperties
associatedwith authenticity,
however,one quicklydiscoversthattheyvarywidely
from one musicaltraditionto another.Authenticityis constructeddiscursively:
withinmusicalcommunities,fans,criticsand performers
argueaboutwhatconstitutesauthenticityandwhy. Furthermore,
suchdiscourseis not confinedto individual musicalcommunities,as musiciansoftenseek to definethemselvesin relation
to traditionsand genresotherthantheirown. Thisdialogicrelationshipis exemplifiedby the practiceof 'covering'a previouslyrecordedsong. Likehip-hopreworkingsof classicsoul riffs or Beethoven'suse of recitativein his instrumental
works,covers providean intertextualcommentaryon anothermusicalwork or
style.In thispaperI will considerhow suchcommentaries
engageissuesof authenticity,focusingon two coversby the Pet ShopBoys:'Wherethe StreetsHave No
Name',originallyrecordedby U2 in 1987,and 'Go West',first recordedby the
VillagePeoplein 1979.
Onemodernmusicaltraditionin whichauthenticityis particularly
important
is rock.In fact,someauthorshaveclaimedthata particular
construction
of authenticityis the definingfeatureof rock.Forinstance,SimonFrithwritesthat:
1

This content downloaded from 129.105.215.146 on Tue, 16 Feb 2016 19:00:37 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

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.
Bad music is inauthentic;it expresses nothing. (Frith1987,p. 136)

Rock's emphasis on authenticitycan 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 imitatingthe sounds of early rock 'n'
roll and the blues. By the late 1960s, however, many rock musicians no longer
thought of authenticityin 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.,p. 142), 'the modern romanticnotion of authenticitycreatingout of one's own resources- became dominant over the idea that authenticity constituteda relationship,through creativerepetition,to an authenticsource'.
As the individual came to the forefrontof rock 'n' roll, many musiciansbegan
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 encouragesthe 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.,p. 73).2The
members of the band have also perpetuated this image in interviews and other
public statements.In a 1987interview, for instance,lead 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,writing 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 RattleandHum,in which they declare
that they are armed with 'threechords 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-likeintroduction,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 spiritualityand environment are expressed even more clearly
in the song's lyrics, which use physical space as a metaphorfor spiritualtranscendence. '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 transcendentfreedom are juxtaposedthreatening
elements such as dust clouds and 'poison rain' (lines 6 and 7), from which the
singer wants to escape.

This content downloaded from 129.105.215.146 on Tue, 16 Feb 2016 19:00:37 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Takingit seriously
Verw 1:

I wantto run;I wanttO hide

I wantto teardownthewallsthatholdmeinside
I wanttO reachOUt andtouchthe flarne
Wherethe streetshaveno name

Verve
2:
Theay's aflood,andourloves
tO rust
15 We'rebeatenandblownbydle wind,trampled
in iSt
I11showyoua placehighon the desertplain
Wherethe streetshaveno na
G

2:
Wherethe streetshaveno nsme
Wherethe streetshaveno name
20 Stillbuilding
thenburningdownlove
AndwhenI go there,I go therewithyou...
It'sallI cando

I wantto feelsunlighton ny face

I seethe dustdouddisappear
withoutatrace
I wantto takeshelterfromthepoisonrain
Wherethe streetshaveno name

(Extn)
Ourloveturns tO tUSt
We'rebeatenandblownbythewind...
25 Oh I seelove,see ourloveturnto rust
Andwe'rebeatenandblownbychewind...
Oh whenI go there,I go therewithyou...
It'sallI cando

al

Wherethestreetshaveno name
10 Wherethe streetshaveno narne
We'reStE biding thenburg downlove
AndwhenI go there,I go therewithyou...
It'sallI mn do

Example1. U2, 'Wherethe 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 expressedthrough
the persona of Bono, are foregroundedin several interestingways throughoutthe
song. The lyrics, as previously suggested, highlight the individual by contrasting
him with his environment.This contrastis 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, creating a wall of sound: a ground againstwhich a figure - the lead singer - eventually
emerges.4
Harmony also plays a role in creating this figure/ground distinction. In the
first thirty-ninemeasures of the song, repetition of the progression I-IV-I-IV-viV-I helps the instrumentalparts fade to the back of our minds. Then, four measures
before the vocal part begins, this harmoniccycle 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 individualityis 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,he 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

Verse 1:
"I want to run..."

(whole note=4 bars)

>
I

,0

4zX

1V

1V

Vi

bVII

Example2. U2, 'Wherethe Streets Have No Name', mm. 2247, bass line reduction.

This content downloaded from 129.105.215.146 on Tue, 16 Feb 2016 19:00:37 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

MarkButler

Ir

n:r

and blown

by

+##S:r
We're beat-en

4 "$ ffir
7

I'll show

r r

you

:
W
place

thc

nIrtr

ur

wind,_

tramp - led in dust.

t tS r

high_on

r r r

|ry

the des - ert

plasn,

[grwntl

3. U2, 'Wherethe StreetsHaveNo Name',measures95-102 (Verse2).

Example

sighs;he moans; he grunts;he exhales audibly;he allows his voice to crack.5These

featuresmight be understoodas markersof expression,conveying a strong personal
involvementwith the song. They also suggest a certainamount of exertion on the
partof the performer.Like any romanticartist,he has to struggle to sing his song.
Such displays of exertion are completely lacking in the Pet Shop Boys' 1991
coverof 'Wherethe StreetsHave No Name'. Lead singer Neil Tennant'svocal delivery is remarkably smooth: he avoids noisy elements such as exhalations, pronouncesthe words crisply, and rarelyvaries the dynamic level. In fact, this lack of
exertionhas 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'(Tannenbaum1991, p. 23). Such
critiquesalmost always mention the Pet Shop Boys' use of synthesizers and drum
machinesas well. For instance, consider the following statementfrom MarkPeel:
Like Wham!,the Pets are the kind of group that drives frustratedaudiophiles to mutter, 'I
could do that'. The trickhere is to switch on the Linn drum, hold a few chordson the synth,
and let Tennantsing-speakhis melancholylyrics. (Peel 1986,p. 108;originalemphasis)

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. Frith1986,pp. 267-8). In some cases, synthesizers
and drum machines become the performers,and the creator of the sound only
performsonce, when he or she programmesthe 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 instantaneousarrivalof these sounds contrasts significantlywith the gradualbuild-up of motion and textureheard in the U2
song, creatinga 'switched-on'effect reminiscentof that describedby Peel.6
Given the problematicstatus of synthesised sound in rockaesthetics,the deliberate artificialityof the Pet Shop Boys recordingcan be understood as a critiqueof
the authenticity expressed by U2. Their cover also subverts the original song in
several other interestingways. 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

This content downloaded from 129.105.215.146 on Tue, 16 Feb 2016 19:00:37 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

_+z7

,?.

r r r r r r l

Takingit seriously

dynamic build-up of the opening clearly leads to the entranceof the vocalist, who
then reachesthe first majorhigh-point of the song during Chorus 1 with the phrase
Xburningdown love', sung to the descending motive A-G-F#-D (see Example4a).
The A4 at the top of the motive, the highest note in the song, is always associated
with a carefullypreparedclimacticpoint; 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 occurs onlyin this particularmotive. Subsequentappearancesof
the motive, while employing differentwords, 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 twoand-one-halfbeats in measure 124 and then to three-and-one-sixthbeats in measure
126,while at the same time the instrumentalparts reacha peak of rhythmicactivity.
Instead of reserving the A-G-F#-D motive for the highpoint of the song, the
Pet Shop Boys state it immediately at the beginning, where they turn it into a
back-up vocal, a catchy ditty that is sung almost absent-mindedly.7They also disrupt the structuralintegrity of the original song by combining it with the tune
'Can'tTake My Eyes off You', a teen-pop ballad first recordedby FrankieValli and
later turned into a disco version by the Boystown Gang. Their interpolationsfrom
this song are shown in boldface in Example5. In comparisonto the spiritual tone
of the U2 song, the new materialis 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 'Wherethe 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 substitutiondiminishes
the status of the U2 song, showing that one of its key motives is not really so unique
after all.9Furthermore,in their second excursionfrom 'Wherethe StreetsHave No
1.5

f9##,, ; We're still

beats

Ir
build - ing

then

F#

burn

5:

fr

rl:

ing

down

love,

$ |

Example4a. U2, 'Wherethe StreetsHaveNo Name',A-G Ft-D motive,fzrstmajorclimax.

A

$4#

blown

wind

2.5beats

L2DTby

Oh

F# D

3.167beats

__f

tbe wind_

and

3_

blown

I see

love,

see

our love

F#

by

the

turn

to

Example4b. U2, 'Wherethe StreetsHaveNo Name',A-FF#-D motive,climaxof entiresong.

This content downloaded from 129.105.215.146 on Tue, 16 Feb 2016 19:00:37 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

i^-

^-

MarkButler
(Buriingdownlove)
(Buriingdownlove)
Verw 2

Ve7se 1:

I wantto nJn;I wantto hide

I wantto breakdownthewallsthatholdmeinside
I wantto reachoutandtouchtheflarne
Wherethe streetshaveno name
5

Thecifs aflood,andourlovetumsto rust

We'rebeatenandblownbythewind,trampled
in dust
20 I showwu a phceEgb on thedesenp
Wherethe streetshaveno nane
C>ZLS
2:
Wherethe streetshaveno nane
Wherethe streetshaveno name
We'restillbuildingochen
buniingdownlove
25 AndwhenI go there,
It'sal}I cando
Wherethe streetshaveno nane
(:an'ttakemy eyes offyou

I wantto feelsunon nDrface

I seethe dustclouddisappear
withouta trace
I wantto takeshelterfrompoisonrain
Wherethe streetshaveno name

1:

Wherethe streetshaveno name

10 Wherethe streetshaveno name
We'restillbuilding
thenbursiing
downlove
AndwhenI go there,I go therewithyou...
Wherethe streetshaveno name
Can'ttake my eyes offyou

Loveyou, baby,let me love you

30 Wherethe streetshaveno name
Wherethe streetshaveno name
Wherethe streetshaveno name
Wherethe streetshaveno name

1S I love you, baby,and if it's quite altikht

I need you, baby,to warma lonelynijht
So let me love you, baby;let me love you

(Ihe streetshaveno name)

Example5. Pet ShopBoys, 'Wherethe StreetsHave No Name (I Can'tTakeMy EyesoffYou)',

lyrics.

Name't the Pets overthrow the supremacyof the climacticA4t climbingblithely 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, referencinginstead the pastiche-likestructurecreated by DJs in dance-club
mixes.

Given these subversive responses to key elements of U2's songJit 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.:tttn a MS higber
thansognding
pitub)

4##.-

7rpi:3:r:

1-

rrrlr

Where the streetshave no name

:=:

Can'ttake my

eyes

off of you

Example6a. Pet Shop Boys, 'Wherethe Streets Have No Name (I Can't TakeMy Eyes off You)', end
of first chorus [transcriptionby author].
f.B.: ustten a MS higherthansounding
pitch)
n

o.

0\

Bachp

1!

(Xv

01t

e io

I II l z

Ooh

$ - I 87

Aah
; -

4^:rr

; -

r
by,

>

I q

let

me

lMr

-r
love

you-

vocals

;_

-r l-7Hr Zar
Wherethe

L_

Mr

Love you, ba -

rC :

steets have no name

Example6b. Pet ShopBoys, 'Wherethe StreetsHaveNo Name (I Can'tTakeMy EyesoffYou)',

3:37-3:54.

This content downloaded from 129.105.215.146 on Tue, 16 Feb 2016 19:00:37 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Takingit seriously

ticity. 'You'regaining fame and claiming credibility',the Pets sing. 'You'rean intellectual giant, an authority to preach and teach the whole world about ecology.
You're another majorartist 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
Tennantin 1989:
It would be interestingto analyse the reviews of U2's RattleandHum.Rockcriticsliked Rattle
andHumbecause they want a returnto the traditionalrock values. Whatthey 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 pastiches [his voicerises]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 StarlightExpressif
you ask me. (Heath 1990,p. 178)1

The Pet Shop Boys have said that their cover of 'Wherethe StreetsHave No
Name' turns 'a mythic rock song into a stomping disco record'(Tennantand Lowe
1991). As we have seen, this transformationinvolves 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 transformationlies the core of their critique of the original
song's authenticity,for disco has been widely construed as anathemato the spirit
of rock 'n' roll.ll It has been criticisedfor its commercialnature,for its use of synthesised 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'
album Actually:
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,the masterproducerof the late, unlamenteddisco era. (Hiltbrand1987,p. 29)

Although the Pet Shop Boys' music generally sounds rather different from
1970sdisco, this reviewer clearlysees their music as a continuationof that tradition.
And while he views this as an irredeemablefault, 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 transformingits genre, their cover of 'Go West' amplifies and
expands the characteristicsof the original song.
One of the most striking features of the Village People song is its representation of community. As shown in Example8, '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

This content downloaded from 129.105.215.146 on Tue, 16 Feb 2016 19:00:37 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

7heRermc Albmn (1986)

Mark Butler
iitles
Album

7he>ie
DiRwroy:

Disco2 (1994)

So Cz

(1991)

Songtitles
(l?iqr7ky1991)
DJC@ture'
Mix)'(1994)
DanceMusic
([)ullSoulless
Fabulous
'Absolutelr
(Biliwl 1996)
sDiscoteca'
Forever'
(Bilil 1996)
'SaturdaySlght
Lyncs
I taketothestage?
I wtiteabook,orshould
age.Would
1 wasfacedwithachoiceatadifficult
andDebussyto a discobeat'.
feet,CheGuevara
distant
ButinthebackofmyheadI heard
1988)
Dences'(In
-from lbefttoMyOwrl
youdanceto discoandyoudon'tlikerock'
because
made
yousomekindoflaughingstock,
'She's
2,inwhichthe
1993).
Seealsothere ofthissongonDisa)
Her?'
(Ve7y
YouForgive
-from sCan
throughout.
andrepeated
isextracted
'dance
tO disco'
phrase
outonthefloor'
withothers
ffiere wasI?Lg downthelaw,dancing
(Bisl 1996)
-from EMetamorphosis'
Other
(Disco Very)
calledl)iscoveryt
forVery
Tour
Example7. Somedirectrefrencesto discoin thePet ShopBoys'work.

fully achieved. This reading becomes even more apparentwhen 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 significancefor Americangay men during this era ('SanFrancisco [You've Got 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 interaction and identificationof the individual with a
community. Virtuallyevery 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',then soloist Victor Willis responds with a longer line. See Example8, in
which vocals sung by the group are in parentheses.Here the group can be understood as representingthe 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, transformingit into a sixteen-membermen'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 Example 9). 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 political activism.The climacticreferenceto the 'promised land' in line 32 takes the song to a new level, invoking the 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

This content downloaded from 129.105.215.146 on Tue, 16 Feb 2016 19:00:37 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Takingit seriously
Verse

1:

3:
(Iknav that)therearemawrways
(Tolivethere)inthe sunorshade
wewillfinda place
35 trogether)
tTosettle)downandlivewithspace
Verse

Cogether)wewillgo ourway
wewillleavesomeday
(Together)
gogether)yourhandin myhand
gogether)wewillmiketheplans
wewillfiyso high
5 (Together)
goodbye
tellourfFiends
(Together)
we willstaxtlifenew
(Together)
thisis whatwe11do
(Together)

the)busypacebackeast
(Wlthout
of the feet
rustling
tRhehusding)
a knav I'm)reaZto leavetoo
40 (Sothisis)whatwe'regoingto do
3:
there
(GoWest)lifeis peaceful
(GoWest)in theopenair
(GoWest)to beginlikenew
(GoWest)thisis whatweNldo

1:

10

there
(GoWest)lifeis peaceful
(Go West)in theopenair
(GoWest)tObeginlikenew
(GoWest)thisis whatweNldo

(GoWest)suninwintetiime
(GoWest)we willdojustfine
15 (GoWest)wherethe skiesareblue
(GoWest)thisandmorewell do

45 (Go West)suninwinterome

Verse2:

)+t/Fv;

gogether)wewilllovethebeach
we willlearnandteach
(Iogether)
changeourpaceof life
(Together)
wewillworkandstnve
20 (Together)

(GoWest)lifeis peacefulthere
50 (GoWest)in theopenair
(GoWest)to beginlikenew
(GoWest)thisis whatwell do

(GoWest)wewilldojustfine
(GoWest)wheretheskiesareblue
(GoWest)thisandmoreweNldo

(Iloveyou)I knowyouloveme
(Iwantyou)happyandcarefree
(Sothat'swhy)I haveno protest
(Whenyousay)youwantto gowest

go on ourway
togetherweXll
(GoWest)+ Together,
we11leaveheretoday
together
(GoWest)+ Together,
55 (GoWest)wherethe skiesareblue
(GoWest)thisandmorewell do

as 2:
there
25 (GoWest)lifeis peacefiul
(GoWest)lots of openair
(GoWest)to beginlikenew
(GoWest)thisis whatwell do
(GoWest)suninwinterame
30 (GoWest)wewilldojustfine
(GoWest)wheretheskiesareblue
(GoWest)thisandmoreweNldo
Example8. Village People, 'Go West', Iyrics.

the original song as well. The 'Go West' of 1993 is still a song meant for dancing 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 authorshave suggested that such experiences
are essential to the Pet Shop Boys' music. For example, Simon Watney writes:
To understandthis music it is necessaryto understand(and respect,and probablylove) 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
(Watney1993,pp. 8-9)

By referencing this sense of community, the Pet Shop Boys' cover of 'Go West'
provides a commentarynot only upon the original song, but also upon the whole
era in which it was produced. As the decade in which gay liberationfirst flowered,
the 1970s have tremendous cultural significance for gay men, and disco, which
originated in gay dance clubs in the early 1970s (Szatmary1996, pp. 216-17), can

This content downloaded from 129.105.215.146 on Tue, 16 Feb 2016 19:00:37 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

10

Mark Builer
Int

Comeon,comeon, comeon, comeon

Verw 1:

gogether)wewillgo ourway
Cogether)we willleavesomeday
gogether)yourhandin myhand
gogether)we willmskeourplans

Bridge:
Therewherethe airis free
30 We'llbe (We'llbe) whatwe wantto be
Now if we malsea stand
We'llfind(We'llfind)ourpromisedland

Verw3:
(Iknowthat)therearemanyways
go livethere)in thesunorshade
5 gogether)wewillflrso high
35 trogether)
wewillfinda place
Cogether)tell allourfriendsgoodbye
go settle)wherethere'sso muchspace
gogether)wewillstartlifenew
Cogether)thisis whatwe11do
(Without
rush)andthepacebadkeast
ghe hustling)
rusding
jUSt tO feed
1:
(IknowI'm)rea tO leavetOO
(GoWest)lifeis peacefulthere
40 (Sothat'swhat)we aregonnado
10 (Go West)in theopenair
(GoWest)wheretheskiesareblue
CEs 3:
(GoWest)thisis whatwe'regonnado
(Whatwe'regonnado is GoWest)Lifeis peacefulthere
(GoWest)Therein theopenair
Verw2:
(GoWest)Wheretheskiesareblue
gogether)wewilllovethebeach
(GoWest)lRhisis whatwe'regonnado
gogether)wewilllearnandteach
15 gogether)change
ourpaceof life
45 (Lifeis peaceful
there)
gogether)wewillworkandstrive
GoWest(Intheopenair)
GoWest(Babyyou andme)
(Iloveyou)I knowyouloveme
GoWest(Thisis ourdestiny)+ Comeon,comeon...
(Iwantyou)howcouldI disagree?
(Sothat'swhy)I makeno protest
20 (Whenyousay)youwantto gowest
(>tus 4:
(GoWest)suninwintexiime
Cks 2:
50 (GoWest)we willfeeljUSt fine
(GoWest)lifeis peacefulthere
(GoWest)wheretheskiesareblue
(GoWest)in theopenair
(GoWest)thisis whatwe'regomado
(GoWest)babyyou andme
(Comeon,comeon,comeon)
(GoWest)this is ourdestiny
(GoWest)
25

(GoWest)suninw.intetiime
C^/F
(GoWest)we willdojUSt fine
55 (Go,ooh,go,yeah)
(GoWest)wheretheskiesareblue
(GoWest)
(GoWest,thisis whatwe'regonnado)
(Go,ooh,go,yeah)
(GoWest)
(Go,ooh,go,yeah)
:

Example9. Pet ShopBoys,'Go West',Iyrics.

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 homosexuality,l6claim 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 threatof AIDS.18This sort of nostalgia does play
a role in the Pet Shop Boys' version of 'Go West', as lead singer Neil Tennanthas
explained: 'Therewas something poignant about singing that song; it was such a
pre-AIDSsong with all the gays moving to San Franciscoand it had such an innocence' (Tennant1996A). Tennant'scomments also shed light on some of the differences
between the two versions of 'Go West'. For example, in the later version there
is a subtle transformationin the interactionbetween group and individual, which
is expressed musically throughchanges in textureand timbre.In the Pet Shop Boys'
versionthere is a pronouncedtimbralcontrastbetween soloist and group. Whereas

This content downloaded from 129.105.215.146 on Tue, 16 Feb 2016 19:00:37 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Takingit seriously

11

the membersof Village People, including soloist VictorWillis, sing with a hearty,
robust tone, Neil Tennant'scharacteristicallynasal tenor stands in stark opposition
to the choiraccompanyinghim, and he does not join the choir in singing the imperative 'go west'. Victor Willis, on the other hand, seems to be inspired by 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 relationshipbetween individual and
community:the individual, inspired by the community's enthusiasm,reaches new
levels of joy. In the cover version, however, this interactionseems to be much more
formal, a carefully negotiated interchange.This musical difference resonates with
Tennant'sdescriptionof his post-AIDSperspective: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 protagonistsdo eventually achieve a greater degree of freedom. As the
song progresses, the choir's singing becomes more rhythmicallyenergetic, while
Tennant'sinteractionwith the group becomes more casual. Near the climax of the
song, the roles of community and individual are briefly reversed as Tennant and
chorus sing each other's parts. (See Example 9, lines 46-8; note the change in the
location of the parentheses.)This progressiontoward a more fluid interactionsuggests that the Pets' encounterwith disco has been productive, and that the poignancy associated with this 'pre-AIDS'song has been transformedin a positive way.
This transformationseems to support Walter Hughes' assertion that many l990s
disco covers function as a way of working through collective grief:

all

If the AIDS epidemic almost killed disco in the late 1980s, the same crisis seems to have
broughtabout its determinedresurgencein the early 1990s.The revival is not simply nostalgia, but an applicationof the discourse of disco to a new end. Recent songs celebratethe
pleasurablediscipline of self-exhaustionwith the all [sic] brashnessof early disco, unintimidated by the inevitableresonancesset off by the epidemic. (Hughes 1994,p. 156)

Some of the formal differences between the two versions of 'Go West' also
suggest a change in perspective. The form of the first version, indicated by the
headings in Example8, is quite simple, consisting primarilyof three verses, each of
which is followed by the same chorus. In general, there is 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 basically the same afterthis point. The second and third choruses are virtuallyidentical
to the first - not only lyrically,but also in terms of instrumentationand accompanimental lines. In addition, the song remainsin 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-barintroduction, in which the theme of the chorus is played in two-partcounterpointby muted
horn and string sounds. The first two verse/chorus alternationsare then essentially
the same as those of the earlierversion, except that an instrumentalfill 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 during the bridge. They eventually returnto C major,but soon take the song up anothernotch, moving to D major
at the beginning of the third chorus. Shortly thereafterthey arrive at the climax of

This content downloaded from 129.105.215.146 on Tue, 16 Feb 2016 19:00:37 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

sololfl
Sll+( z z f f rLfi Lrlnr <l c fqrl
2>JaJ

I JS=lrL:I J } n

(N.B.:wrztten
a semitone
loaver
thansoundingpitch)

(Go West) life is peace-fil1

there (Go West) in the o-pen air (Go West) to be - gin like

f $

J |

Chorus 4(

(Go West)

Chorus

f $

I-

(Go West)

I J

I_

(Go West)

West) sun in win-ter-time(Go We-est) Wewill doJUSt

fine (Go We-est)wherethe skiesareblue

W West)

(Go West)

(Go We'est)

Example10. Village People, 'Go West', Chorus 1.

IntroduciionVerse
1

M
F:

1-16
CM

17-32

Chorus
1

3340

InstrumentM
FM
4148

Verse
2
49-64

Chorus

Bndge

2
65-80

81-88

CM

Am3V7/CM

Example11. Pet Shop Boys, 'Go West',formal plan.

This content downloaded from 129.105.215.146 on Tue, 16 Feb 2016 19:00:37 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Ver
3
89-1
GM

Takingit seriously

i{'s
CM:I

1s

Io

[z.

Io

1}

vi

iii

IV

ii

Io

13

11

Example12. Pet Shop Boys, 'Go West', accompanimentalstring line.

the song, where the choir reaches its highest note, A4, while sustaining a D major
chord for an entire measure.The song then winds down with an instrumentalcoda
over a tonic pedal.
These changes ultimately serve as intensificationsand elevations of the song's
central themes, as most of them coincide with importantpassages 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
dominant of C majorreturns.In addition, both the modulation to D majorand the
climactic A4 coincide with statements of the title phrase. At the same time, other
features allude to the 'seriousness'of classicalmusic - for instance,the symphonic
introduction,and a recurringstring line that recalls Pachelbel'sCanon in D)l9 (see
Example 12). In general, then, the Pet Shop Boys' treatmentof 'Go West' suggests
that they view the song not as a kitschy reminder of an embarrassingera, but as
an authenticexpression of an importantmusical and culturaltradition.
Thus far my analyses have suggested two ratherdifferentapproachesto authenticity in the Pet Shop Boys' music. On the one hand, I have claimed that their
cover of 'Wherethe StreetsHave No Name' underminescertainideals of rock authenticity.At the same time, I have argued that their cover of 'Go West',despite being
part of a genre that is often regarded as the pinnacle of inauthenticity,is meant to
be understood as an authenticcontinuationof a shared tradition.
Tension between these two views is quite apparentin much of the scholarly
writing on the Pet Shop Boys. Some authorscharacterisetheirmusic
journalistic
and
as self-consciouslyinauthentic,an ironiccelebrationof artifice,while others position
it as authenticwithin the contextof contemporarygay culture.The formerapproach
is particularlywell represented among academics. Simon Frith, for example, has
claimed that 'the Pets' musical "authenticity"was certainly not an issue' in the
reception of their music, which is 'all surface and no depth' (Frith 1988B).2O Stan
Hawkins, writing more recently, claims that 'elements of charm,superficialityand
banality' seep from 'every musical moment of their songs'; furthermore,'one constantly perceives the Pet Shop Boys' theatrical, camp and satirical gestures of
expression as a confession of inauthenticity'(Hawkins 1997, P.131).21
RichardSmith, paraphrasingthis 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-modernand clever
and camp and ironic, aren't they?"' (Smith 1995, P. 200). Smith, however, subsequently rejects each of these labels, claiming instead that 'however much Neil
Tennant loved 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 interpretthe 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 maintainthat we're completely misunderstood 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

This content downloaded from 129.105.215.146 on Tue, 16 Feb 2016 19:00:37 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

14

MarkButler

wasn't meant to be camp. Actually real camp is when something is totally sincere.
There'sno 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 clearlyengaged values of rock authenticityin an oppositional
way, and it is just this stance that authors characterisingtheir music as artificial
seem to be celebrating.Hawkins, for example, writes that 'while the musical rhetoric 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 catalystagainst 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 associatedwith each category ('authenticity'
is still mapped onto rock and 'artificiality'onto pop), even as it reverses their valuations ('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 reception and creation of the Pet Shop Boys' music, a more thorough examination of
their work shows that it has clearly moved beyondrock's values to construct an
authenticityof its own. In order to understandhow 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.24In the Pet Shop Boys' music, sound, gesture, and other modes
of expression vary markedly from those most commonly associated with authenticity 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 characteristicoften
cited as proof of their inauthenticity- is essential to establishingtheir authenticity
among a community that values alternativemasculinities:'Lackingthe direct, sincere 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,in no less prominenta place than his own coming-outstatement:
I do think that we have contributed,throughour music and also throughour 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 authenticity, 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 characteristicestab-

This content downloaded from 129.105.215.146 on Tue, 16 Feb 2016 19:00:37 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Takingit 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 critiquea version of authenticitycommonly associatedwith rock music.
While their transformationof the song from rock into disco plays a majorrole in
this critique,issues of technology and performancestyle also come into play. The
Pets further subvert the values of the original song by disrupting its structural
integrity and sense of growth. Theircover of 'Go West', on the other hand, imbues
the song with a clearershape and a strongersense of growth, thus preservingand
amplifying its centralthemes. And while their cover of 'Wherethe StreetsHave No
Name' stands in complete opposition to the culturaland musical traditionsof rock,
their version of 'Go West' continues the traditionsof disco and thus can be understood as a type of roots music. By connectingto their roots in this manner,the Pet
Shop Boys bring authenticityto a genre that has been widely construed as inauthentic, suggesting that perhaps it should be taken seriously after all.

Copyright acknowledgements
Can't Stop Music. All rights reserved.
'Go West' (C)1979
Blue MountainMusic Ltd.
'Wherethe StreetsHave No Name' (C)1987

Acknowledgements
Earlierversions of this paper were presented at the IASPM(UK)Conferenceat the
University of Surrey (July2000) and at the Society for Music TheoryConferencein
Toronto (November 2000). The author wishes to thank all those who have read
and/or commented upon the paper; special thanks are due in particularto Sue
Tuohy, MarianneKielian-Gilbertand Fred Maus.

Endnotes
1. Cf. Thornton(1996,p. 26).
2. See also Szatmary(1996,pp. 169-70).Forcritical analyses of the political and religious
dimensions of U2's music and image during
this time, see Bradbyand 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 consultthe articleby Fast(2000),which
contains musical and contextual analyses of
both 'Sunday,BloodySunday'(1983)and 'Zoo
Station' (1991). In the third decade of their
career - as evidenced by critical reaction to
their new album All That You Can't Leave
Behindand its accompanying tour (see, for
example, Pareles 2000) - U2 seem to have
reclaimedtheir earnestpersonas.
4. These comparisons between musical texture
and social organisationwere inspiredby those
found in Tagg (1994).

5. One passage in which these elements are particularly 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. 'Electricity', 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 surrounding 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,26 November 1990, p. 67).

This content downloaded from 129.105.215.146 on Tue, 16 Feb 2016 19:00:37 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

16

Mark Butler

7. See the lines precedingverse 1 in Example5.

In the Pet Shop Boys' cover, the pitches of the
'A-G-F#-D' motive are actually F, Eb, D and
Bb, as they transposethe song down a major
third to B-flatmajor.I will refer to and transcribe their version in D major,however, for
the sake of easier comparison with the U2
song.
8. I would like to thankMarianneTatomfor suggesting this possibility.It is also interestingto
note that the first album (1981) by the Boystown Gang - the first group to cover 'Can't
Take My Eyes off You' - was entitled Cruisin'
the Streets (emphasismine).
9. In the FrankieValli and Boystown Gang versions of 'Can't Take My Eyes off You', the
rhythmof the title phraseis also sharedby the
line that precedes it - namely, 'you'rejust too
good to be true'. While this line is not
explicitlypresent in the Pet Shop Boys' cover,
those familiar with either of the earlier versions may make such an association, thus
adding anotherlayer of meaningsubversively
referencingrock'sclaims to 'truth'.
10. See also Heath (1990,pp. 176-7, 321, 331) for
additional referencesto U2; and for general
commentsby the Pet Shop Boys on the problematic relationshipbetween their music and
While
the rock tradition(pp. 210,285,313-14).
various authors (e.g., Frith 1988BS PP. 94-101)
have argued that the proliferationof synthpop groups in the 1980S renderedrock's construction of authenticityirrelevant,it should
be clear from this statement and the others
included here that the ideals associated with
this constructionclearly played a role in the
receptionof 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. Theirinterpolationof 'Can'tTakeMy Eyes off
You' also uses genre in a criticalfashion,juxtaposing 'serious' rock with excerpts from a
teenybopperlove song (or from the Boystown
Gang's disco cover of that song).
12. See Dyer (1990), Hughes (1994), Krasnow
(1993) and Tetzlaff (1994) for further discussion of reactionsto disco.
13. Also worth mentioningis 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.(ThePet Shop Boys' 1997 cover of

'Somewhere'from WestSideStoryshould also

be mentioned in this regard.)And while it is
much easier to see the liberationreferredto in
'Go West' as specifically gay, such an
interpretationcannotbe excludedfrom the U2
cover either, especially if we recall how the
transformativeuse of 'Can'tTakeMy Eyes off
You'imbuedthe song's 'place'with new erotic
possibilities. The shift in genre from rock to
disco also makes a homoeroticreading more
plausible, as subsequent discussion will
reveal.
15. In the context of the article, 'we' and 'us'
clearlyreferto gay men.
16. For the interview in which Neil Tennantfirst
publicly came out, see Burston (1994). Since
that first official statement,the Pet Shop Boys
have performedat numerousGLBTevents (for
example,the 2000Marchon Washington).The
otherPet Shop Boy,ChrisLowe, has not made
any official statement about his sexuality.
Since Lowe avoids almost all public statements, however, Tennantgenerally functions
as the band's primaryspokesperson.
17. The term 'rootsmusic'is more commonlyused
to describemusic that has (or claims to have)
some sort of connectionto 'traditional'genres
such as the blues. It is certainly possible to
extend the concept to include other types of
music, however; and it is interestingto note
that the conceptof 'rootedness'can 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 discussion in Redheadand Street(1989, PP. 17981), which notes several different ways in
which an artistcan claim authenticityby demonstrating 'rootedness'. According to the
authors,this rootednesscan be situatedin several differentdomains:in a core group of fans,
in a musical tradition,or in a socio-economic
class. While the Pet Shop Boys' use of disco
does involve at least two of these domains (by
invokinga musicaltraditionthatmany of their
fans know and love), it also suggests a usage
not mentioned by Redhead and Street:establishing rootedness (and authenticity)through
the use of music as a symbol of a common
sexual identity.
18. For example,see Watney(1993, P. 9).
19. Neil Tennanthas also said that the Pet Shop
Boys 'triedto emphasize the classicalaspects'
of 'Go West' (Tennant1996A).
20. See also Frith (1988A),in which he describes
the Pets as 'just another British pop group,
showroom dummies with electronic equipment and a memory bank of old club and
disco riffs' (p. 146). Significantly,these assessments appear early in the Pet Shop Boys'

This content downloaded from 129.105.215.146 on Tue, 16 Feb 2016 19:00:37 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Takingit seriously
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 contention that 'the only possible claim to authenticity [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

17

one's music might enhance a performer's

credibility,Grossberg'sassertionthat authenticity is largely irrelevant to contemporary
audiences is problematic:despite ascribing
views on an extremely broad level, he provides virtually no evidence that musicians or
fans actuallythink this way.
22. Thisis but one of a numberof statementsfrom
the Pet Shop Boys' that challenge interpretations of theirmusic as insincereand artificial;
see also Burston(1994)and Tennant(1996A).
23. Cf. Frith(1988B,p. 4).
24. For an example of popular music studies
addressing authenticityin music other than
rockand folk, see Thornton(1996).The broadest range of approaches, however, can be
found in ethnomusicology, where scholars
have consideredthe topic within a myriad of
differenttraditions.

ReferenCeS
Balfour, I. 1991. 'Revolutions per minute or the Pet Shop Boys forever', Surfaces,1/2,PP.5-21
Block, A. 1989.
'Pure Bono', Mother Jones, May
Bradby, B. 1989.
'God's gift to the suburbs?', Popular Music, 8/1,PP.109-16
Bradby, B., and Torode, B. 1984.
'To whom do U2appeal?', Crane Bag, 8/2,PP.73-8
Burston, P. 1994.
'Honestly', Attitude, 1/4
Cocks, J. 1987.
'Band on the run', Time, 27April
1988.U2explores America', Time, 21November
Coleman, M. 1988.
Review of Introspective,by the Pet Shop Boys, Rolling Stone, 1 December
Collard, J. 2000.
'Pet Shop Boys', Out, January
Considine, J.D. 1993.
Review of Very, by the Pet Shop Boys, Rolling Stone, 25November
Currid, B. 1995.
"'We Are Family": house music and queer performativity', in Cruising the Performative:
Interventions into the Representationof Ethnicity, Nationality, and Sexuality, ed. S.-E. Case, P. Brett and
S.L. Foster (Bloomington, IN), pp. 165-96
Diehl, M. 1997.
'The making of U2/S
The Joshua Tree', Rolling Stone, 15 May
Dyer, R. 1990. 'In defense of disco', in On Record:Rock, Pop, and the Written Word, ed. S. Frith and A.
Goodwin (New York), pp. 410-18
Fast, S. 2000.
'Music, contexts, and meaning in U2/,
in Expressionin Pop-RockMusic: A Collectionof Critical
and Analytical Essays, ed. W. Everett (New York), pp. 33-57
Frith, S. 1986.
'Art vs. technology: the strange case of popular music', Media, Culture, and Society, 8,PP.

263-79
1987.'Towards an aesthetic of popular music', in Music and Society, ed. R. Leppert and S. McClary
(New York), pp. 133-49
1988A.
Music for Pleasure:Essays in the Sociology of Pop (New York)
1988B.
'Pet Shop Boys: the divine commodity', The Village Voice, 5 April
1996.
PerformingRites: On the Value of Popular Music (Cambridge, MA)
Gill, J. 1995.
Queer Noises: Male and FemaleHomosexuality in Twentieth-CenturyMusic (London)
Grossberg, L. 1993.
'The media economy of rock culture: cinema, postmodernity and authenticity', in

Sound and Vision: The Music Video Reader,ed. S. Frith, A. Goodwin and L. Grossberg (New York),

PP.185-209
Hawkins, S. 1997.
'The Pet Shop Boys: musicology,

masculinity and banality', in Sexing the Groove:Popular

Music and Gender,ed. S. Whiteley (New York), pp. 118-33
Heath, C. 1990. Pet Shop Boys, Literally(New York). Reprint 1992
(New York)
Hewson, P. 1987.
Interview by D. Breskin, Rolling Stone, 8 October
Hiltbrand, D. 1987.
Review of Actually, by the Pet Shop Boys, People Weekly,9 November
Hoyskyns, B. 1996.
Review of Bilingual, by the Pet Shop Boys, Rolling Stone, 31October

This content downloaded from 129.105.215.146 on Tue, 16 Feb 2016 19:00:37 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

MarkButler

18

Fiends:YouthMusicand
Hughes, W. 1994.'In the empireof the beat:disciplineand disco', in Microphone
YouthCulture,ed. A. Ross and T. Rose (New York),pp. 147-59
Jones, S. 1995. 'Recastingpopular music studies' conceptionsof the authenticand the local in light of
Bell's theorem',in PopularMusic- Styleand Identity,ed. W. Straw,S. Johnson,R. Sullivan and P.
Friedlander(Montreal),pp. 169-72
Krasnow,C. 1993. 'Fearand loathing in the 70s: race, sexuality,and disco', StanfordHumanitiesReview,
3/2, pp. 3745
Laski,A. 1993. 'The politics of dancing:gay disco music and postmodernism',in TheLastPost:Music
ed. S. Miller (Manchester),pp. 110-31
afterModernism,
Maus, F. 2001. 'Glamourand evasion: the fabulous ambivalenceof the Pet Shop Boys', PopularMusic,
20/3 (specialissue on Genderand Sexuality),pp. 379-93
10 August
Mirkin,S. 1996. 'Pet Shop Boys reopen on Atlanticwith Bilingual',Billboard,
Moses, M. 1988.Review of Actually,TheNew Yorker,14 March
Pareles, J. 2000. 'U2: divinely and romantically,embracing a higher love', The New York Times,
7 December,available from http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/07/arts/07IRVI.html (30 August
2001)
Peel, M. 1986.Review of Please,by the Pet Shop Boys, StereoReview,September
1990. 'Pop for pop's sake', Esquire,December
Pond, S. 1988. 'U2 on location',RollingStone,11 February
1989. 'Now what?'RollingStone,9 March
StereoReview,March
Puterbaugh,P. 1989.Review of Introspective,
1991.Review of Behavior,StereoReview,April
1993.Review of Very,StereoReview,December
Redhead,S., and Street,J. 1989. 'Have I the right? Legitimacy,authenticity,and community in folk's
politics',PopularMusic,8/2, pp. 177-84
Rogers,R. 1996.Review of Bilingual,Out,September
Sinfield,A. 1998.GayandAfter(London)
Essayson GayMen andPopularMusic(London)
Smith,R. 1995.SeducedandAbandoned:
Street,J. 1995. '(Dis)located?Rhetoric,politics, meaning and the locality',in PopularMusic- Styleand
Identity,ed. W. Straw,S. Johnson,R. Sullivanand P. Friedlander(Montreal),pp. 25543
Szatmary,D. P. 1996.A Timeto Rock:A SocialHistoryof RockandRoll(New York)
Tagg, P. 1994. 'Fromrefrainto rave:the decline of figure and the rise of ground',PopularMusic,13/2,
pp. 209-22
Tannenbaum,R. 1991.Concertreview of the Pet Shop Boys, Radio City Music Hall, New YorkCity, 9
April 1991,RollingStone,30 May
Tennant,N. 1991. 'Justhow gay are the Pet Shop Boys? Neil Tennantdances around questions of sex
and politics',interviewby RichardLaermer,TheAdvocate,21 May
1993. 'Neil Tennantof the Pet Shop Boys', interviewby Rob Tannenbaum,RollingStone,9 December
19934. 'Pet Shop Boys, frankly',interviewby LarryCloss, Out, December/January
1996A.Interviewby Lisa Robinson,TheNew YorkPost, 6 September,reproducedon 'Pet Shop Boys',
Page,availablefrom http://wWw.shu.edu/ martelfr/contents/music/index.html
MIDI/RealAudio
(10 November 1997)
1996B.'Neil Tennant',interviewby Alan Frutkin,TheAdvocate,17 September
Tetzlaff,D. 1994.'Musicfor meaning:readingthe discourseof authenticityin rock',Journalof CommunicationInquiry,18, pp. 95-117
Textor,A.R. 1994.'A close listening of the Pet Shop Boys' "Go West"',PopularMusicandSociety,18, pp.
914

Thornton,S. 1996.ClubCultures:Music,Media,and SubsulturalCapital(Hanover,NH)

U2. 1988.RockScore(Margate,Kent)
Variety.1990.Concertreview of the Pet Shop Boys, MayanNightclub,Hollywood, 6 November1990 [no
authorgiven]
Walser,R. 1993.RunningwiththeDevil:Power,Gender,andMadnessin HeavyMetalMusic(Hanover,NH)
Watney,S. 1993. 'How to have sax [sic]in an epidemic',Artforum,32, pp. 8-9
Weinstein,D. 1998. 'Thehistory of rock'spasts throughrock covers',in MappingtheBeat:PopularMusic
Theory,ed. A. Herman,J. Sloop and T. Swiss (Malden,MA), pp. 137-51
and Contemporary

Discography
Boystown Gang, Cruisin'theStreets.Moody Dick Records,231. 1981
EMIRecords,CDP 7-94310-2. 1990
Pet Shop Boys, Behaviour.
This content downloaded from 129.105.215.146 on Tue, 16 Feb 2016 19:00:37 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Takingit seriously
Discography:the CompleteSingles Collection.EMI Records, CDP 597097. 1991
Very. EMI Records, CDP-589721. 1993
Bilingual. Atlantic Recording Corporation, 82915-2. 1996
Nightlife. Sire Records, 31086-2. 1999
U2, The Joshua Tree. Island Records, I2 42298. 1987
Frankie Valli and the 4 Seasons, Anthology. Rhino Records, R2 71490. 1988
Village People, Go West. Casablanca Record and Filmworks, NBLP 7144. 1979
The Best of Village People. Polygram Records, 314 522 039-2. 1994

This content downloaded from 129.105.215.146 on Tue, 16 Feb 2016 19:00:37 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

19