Thursday, May 28, 2009

That's Classic: "What Have I Done To Deserve This?"

I love me some Pet Shop Boys. For twenty-five years they've made smart, catchy electro-pop that's accessible yet still somehow indie-sounding. Fifty-six singles, ten proper albums; and my iPod is full of them... gems like "Suburbia" "Always On My Mind" (my favorite version of this oft-covered song) "Domino Dancing" "It's Alright" "Home And Dry" "Did You See Me Coming" ... the list goes on.

But perhaps the pinnacle of their catalog is their duet with the sultry-voiced Dusty Springfield on "What Have I Done To Deserve This?" The song actually became Springfield's biggest US hit reaching #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and revived interest in her music. The 12" versions of the song are excellent too. Their 1991 Greatest Hits package, Discography: The Complete Singles Collection is a must have as far as I'm concerned.

I don't think the Pet Shop Boys get enough credit for their contribution to pop music, though thankfully it seems more artists are starting to recognize them. Recent songs like Robbie Williams' "We're The Pet Shop Boys" and The Killers and Lady GaGa performing with them on stage recently at the Brit Awards are nice things to see. So here, for your (and my) listening enjoyment is "What Have I Done To Deserve This?" and a couple others just because one just isn't enough :)