German Film Star”
by Sam Taylor-Wood,
produced by Pet Shop Boys
(Kompakt Pop)
That’s an unwieldy credit line, isn’t it? Nevertheless, that’s how
this record is attributed, and it’s appropriate. Not only is this a Pet
Shop Boys record in all but vocal and cover shot, but its actual
singer, British artist and veteran PSB collaborator Sam Taylor-Wood,
sounds so much like a breathier, higher-pitched Neil Tennant that it
might as well be him—the way she sings the line “It’s a glamorous
world” as “It’s a glamorous wall,” for example.
The Pet Shop Boys choose their covers very carefully, whoever is
singing them, and this is a good choice. The Passions were London
post-punks, and this song was their one great shot: “I’m in Love with a
German Film Star” was a British No. 25 in early 1981. This languid
cover (it’s dreamlike even when at club tempo) gives PSB a way to
wallow in nostalgia for the period, while allowing the listener to
wallow in nostalgia for PSB as well. And not just the listener: It’s no
accident this came out via leading German techno label and distributor
Kompakt. It’s the culmination of a long-standing mutual admiration
society: Kompakt co-owner Michael Mayer is a massive PSB fan, while
Tennant included Dettinger’s remix of Closer Musik’s “One Two Three (No
Gravity)”—originally on Kompakt 100—on his half of
PSB’s Back to Mine volume. “German Film Star” is, in its way, an
event record.
So how is it? Pretty good. The CD version has five mixes: short,
long, and instrumental versions of PSB’s original mix; one by Mark
Reeder that doesn’t vary it enough; and Gui Boratto’s, whose infrared
bass tone updates it just enough, in ways PSB wouldn’t bother with.
That’s the privilege of being an institution.
“Another Way to Die”
by Jack White and Alicia Keys
(J/Third Man)
Speaking of events, collaborations, and institutions, this new Bond
theme is relatively lean: intrusive horns only here and there and not
throughout, as is the Bond trademark. It’s marginally more surprising
than either artist is capable of on his/her own. But it’s also a Bond
theme, meaning it’s an instant relic. 