RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, collectively known as Pet Shop Boys, have been creating music together since 1981. Throughout this time, the British music duo have never strayed too far from their original sound: electronic dance music. Pet Shop Boys have just announced their upcoming fifteenth studio album, "Nevertheless", due out in April. With producer, James Ford, the Boys continue to explore the diverse emotions that makes us human through dance-oriented beats and their sound has expanded to include orchestral string arrangements. The first single, "Loneliness" from the album takes me back to the time of their breakout song, "West End Girls" which will be celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the original dance club version with the song re-recorded two years later and becoming a worldwide pop music smash.



Here is a collection of recent dance songs which includes the latest from Charli XCX (with a wild, crazy music video that I love); the inspired pairing of Sia and Kylie Minogue; another sexual, dance-floor ditty by Kim Petras from her recent EP, "Slut Pop Miami", a sequel to her 2022 release; Olly Alexander of Years & Years just dropped a romantic, beat heavy track and the latest dance anthem from the queer performer, Vincint.

Miley Cyrus has dropped a new song yet it's not actually new. Back in 2013, Cyrus teamed up musician, Pharrell Williams during the recording of her "Bangerz" album where the pop star played with a more musically funky style. An outtake from those sessions, "Doctor (Work It Out)" has just been released. Why is this song seeing the light of day at this particular moment in time? Who knows and who really cares because "Doctor" sounds just as fresh as if it were recorded yesterday. For the music video, Cyrus seems to be channeling  Las Vegas showgirls who stomped on the casino stages like Ann-Margaret and Lola Falana (look 'em up) back in the '70's, right down to the choreography. 

Frankie Goes to Hollywood burst on to the music scene back in 1983 with the song, "Relax" which not only topped the charts in their native Britain but became an international sensation. But what made this band really stand out beyond their popular music was that they were unapologetically queer, which was not at all common by pop artists to reveal at this time. Two following singles, "Two Tribes" and "The Power of Love" impressively also reached number one on the UK pop chart . Not long after this incredible success, Frankie Goes to Hollywood imploded and went their separate ways in 1987. In the recent film, "All of Us Strangers", filmmaker, Andrew Haigh effectively uses Frankie's ballad, "The Power of Love" to close out his deeply moving dramatic fantasy about loss and acceptance. Haigh has stated that this song was an important part of his music playlist from his youth in the '80's during a time when he was trying  to come to terms with love and his identity as a gay teenager.