PET SHOP BOYS - BEING BORING

Publicació: 12 de novembre de 1990

Llistes: Regne Unit: #20

"Being Boring" és una cançó llançada com el segon senzill del quart àlbum d'estudi de Pet Shop Boys, "Behaviour". Malgrat l'elogi crític, només va arribar al número 20 de les llistes de senzills del Regne Unit, sent el primer senzill del duo que no assolia el top 10 des de "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" el 1986.

"Being Boring", liderada per la guitarra wah-wah de J.J. Belle enmarca un to melancòlic basat en un ritme de hip-hop gairebé imperceptible. La lletra parla de la nostalgia en un temps passat, dels amics devastats per la SIDA i de festes immortalitzades. Neil Tennant, el lletrista darrere de "Being Boring", va compartir una reflexió commovedora sobre la cançó durant una entrevista al programa britànic de TV The South Bank Show l’octubre de 1991. Va revelar: "Moltes cançons provenen d'experiències personals. 'Being Boring', que penso que és una de les nostres millors cançons... Em va recordar una festa que vam fer d’adolescents quan vivia a Newcastle, i citava la frase de Zelda Fitzgerald: 'No s'avorria mai principalment perquè ella no era avorrida.' Un amic meu d'aquella època, el meu millor amic realment, havia mort de la SIDA. Així que va ser una mena d'elegia per a ell, per la part de mi mateix a Newcastle, tots els meus amics a Newcastle quan vaig anar a Londres, i després el que feia jo llavors i ell no hi era. I així es va convertir en una cançó realment elegórica.

Tennant va reflexionar sobre les influències musicals darrere de "Being Boring", afirmant: "Aquest era just el període en què Kylie Minogue va fer els seus millors discos, ja saps, com 'Better The Devil You Know'. Per a mi, de fet, 'Being Boring' també va ser un intent de fer alguna cosa a l’estil Stock-Aitken-Waterman, creguis o no. Sempre ens va fascinar la manera com Stock-Aitken-Waterman canviaven de to per a les tornades de les cançons. No era un intent de ser madurs, en realitat era un intent de ser com Stock-Aitken-Waterman."

El vídeo en blanc i negre està ple de joves atractius divertint-se. Eagle-Eye Cherry, conegut pel seu èxit de 1998 "Save Tonight", és un d'ells. El vídeo va ser dirigit per Bruce Weber, un fotògraf de moda reconegut pel seu treball al vídeo de Chris Isaak "Wicked Game".

PET SHOP BOYS - BEING BORING

Released: November 12, 1990

Charted:  UK: #20 

"Being Boring" is a song released as the second single from their fourth studio album, “Behaviour”. Despite its critical acclaim, the song reached number 20 on the UK Singles Chart, marking the duo's first single to miss the top 10 since "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" in 1986. 

"Being boring”, led by the wah-wah guitar of J.J. Belle framed in a melancholic tone based on an almost imperceptible hip hop rhythm and whose lyrics speak of nostalgia in a past time, of those friends devastated by AIDS and those immortalized parties. Neil Tennant, the lyricist behind "Being Boring," shared a poignant insight about the song during an interview on British TV's The South Bank Show in October 1991. He revealed: "A lot of songs come from personal experiences. The song 'Being Boring,' which I think is one of our best songs... I was reminded of a party we had when I was living in Newcastle as a teenager, and it quoted the Zelda Fitzgerald quote: 'She was never bored mainly because she was never boring.' A very good friend of mine from that era, my best friend really, had died of AIDS. So it was kind of an elegy for him, for the part of myself in Newcastle, all my friends in Newcastle when I went to London, then what I was doing then and he wasn't there. And so it became a really elegiac song.

Tennant reflected on the musical influences behind "Being Boring," stating, "This was just the period where Kylie Minogue made her best records, you know, like 'Better The Devil You Know.' To me, actually 'Being Boring' was also an attempt to do a Stock-Aitken-Waterman thing, believe it or not. We were always fascinated about the way Stock-Aitken-Waterman would change key for choruses. It wasn't an attempt to be mature, it was actually an attempt to be like Stock-Aitken-Waterman."

The black-and-white video is filled with attractive young people who are far from being boring. Eagle-Eye Cherry, known for his 1998 hit "Save Tonight," is among them. The video was directed by Bruce Weber, a fashion photographer, renowned for his work on Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" video.