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PETA - at it again...

As long as they continue to convince cute actresses and athletes to pose naked, PETA is okay with me.
 
Another in the long list of stupid things PETA is concerned about:

PETA has asked the Pet Shop Boys to change the band's name to Rescue Shelter Boys.
The People for the Ethical Treatment for Animals (PETA), sent a letter to Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe acknowledging that its request, at first blush, might appear "bizarre."
But, by changing its name, the band could raise awareness at every tour stop of the "cramped, filthy conditions" that breeders keep animals in before selling them to pet stores.

Here is a link to the entire article: http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/04/10/peta.pet.shop.boys/index.html

:wtf:

Yes, because a band that's been around for over 20 years and has the current #3 album and #8 single on the European Billboard chart is going to change its name...

I didn't know the Pet Shop Boys were still around.

You are dead to me.

(* bops to "Love etc." *)

It boggles my mind sometimes that they get so little notice in North America, considering that stars such as Kylie Minogue and Madonna have both publicly proclaimed their love for them. (Kylie has performed on one of their albums, and they remixed one of Madonna's songs.) And where do you think David Tennant got his stage name? (His real name is David McDonald.)

I repeat... current #3 album, #8 single. (And yet, for some reason, I can't seem to find a copy of the two-disc version of their new album here despite its release date having been over a week ago. :scream: My local record store got one copy of the one-disc version, which was no longer on the shelf when I went in today.)
 
I thought they were a one-hit wonder band from the 80s.

Sorry. :alienblush:

Say what?!?

West End Girls
Suburbia
It's A Sin
What Have I Done To Deserve This
Always On My Mind
Domino Dancing
Left To My Own Devices
Being Boring
Where The Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)
Go West

Al hits...
 
They're not idiots, this type of thing is perfect for getting their name and message out there. It doesn't matter whether or not Pet Shop Boys does what they ask because they get media attention anyway and then people like us talk about and spread it more. Silly idea (name change-wise) but marketing goodness.

Bingo.

Week after week I hear people on this board calling them "idiots". Does anyone really think 100% of the things they do are serious? That they're all just a bunch of out of touch ecstasy-heads issuing hysterical press releases every week? Did any of them really think they'd change their name? Of course not. But we're all talking about PETA. And if 100 people are talking about PETA and 10 of those people start to have a serious conversation about animal rights, PETA has done it's job.

Not to say that there aren't some wackos working in PETA. But like most organizations it's not fair to paint them all in one broad brush. And like it or not they have done a lot for animal rights. Their lobby is behind many animal abuse legislations and they've exposed a lot of cruel practises in the food industry that I don't think anyone agrees with. They're like Greenpeace: love them or loathe them, their positive contributions probably outweigh the negatives.
 
They should change their names to PETA Can Suck Our Boys. :)

Everyone running PETA should be in jail for being terrorists.
 
Al hits...
"West End Girls" is the only one I know, I think. :alienblush:

Go West was a sort of comeback for them...

What were they coming back from? ;)

("Go West" was on their fourth studio album, so it was relatively early in their career. The new album, "Yes", is their 10th studio album and their 20th all told; the others are an album of previously recorded but unreleased B-sides, a soundtrack to the silent film "Battleship Potemkin", the cast recording of their musical "Closer To Heaven", four albums of remixes, two "greatest hits" albums and a live concert album.)

Yes, I have them all, as well as a couple of EPs that were released only in Japan. I'm a fan. Get over it. :p
 
"West End Girls" is the only one I know, I think. :alienblush:

Go West was a sort of comeback for them...

What were they coming back from? ;)

("Go West" was on their fourth studio album, so it was relatively early in their career. The new album, "Yes", is their 10th studio album and their 20th all told; the others are an album of previously recorded but unreleased B-sides, a soundtrack to the silent film "Battleship Potemkin", the cast recording of their musical "Closer To Heaven", four albums of remixes, two "greatest hits" albums and a live concert album.)

Yes, I have them all, as well as a couple of EPs that were released only in Japan. I'm a fan. Get over it. :p

Well, it gave them a big hit and put them more in the public eye again after interest in them had waned a bit...
That's why i said "a sort of"...
 
Interesting. I didn't know any of that. I sometimes wonder what becomes of bands and artists from the past, if they've quit the business or if they keep producing music that never gets any airplay....
 
Interesting. I didn't know any of that. I sometimes wonder what becomes of bands and artists from the past, if they've quit the business or if they keep producing music that never gets any airplay....

Well, a couple of months ago one of my colleagues read that ACDC would be performing in Arnhem, IIRC...
He also went: "They still around?!?"
I think their last big hit in Holland was Thunderstruck IIRC, almost 20 years ago...
And there are plenty of other artists and bands that still make music but aren't todays "taste"...
 
Interesting. I didn't know any of that. I sometimes wonder what becomes of bands and artists from the past, if they've quit the business or if they keep producing music that never gets any airplay....

Well, a couple of months ago one of my colleagues read that ACDC would be performing in Arnhem, IIRC...
He also went: "They still around?!?"
I think their last big hit in Holland was Thunderstruck IIRC, almost 20 years ago...
And there are plenty of other artists and bands that still make music but aren't todays "taste"...

AC/DC is still one of the biggest touring bands in the world, routinely selling out 50,000+ seat venues. They headlined the largest North American concert in history 6 years ago, half a million people in Toronto. Their latest album Black Ice hit No. 1 in Canada, France, Italy, Australia, Ireland, Switzerland, Austria, France, Italy, Australia, Ireland, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, Norway and Portugal.

Since 1991 when SoundScan started keeping track of things, they've sold more CDs in America than the Michael Jackson and Madonna. Believe it or not, they're second only to the Beetles.

Just because you and your friend don't like AC/DC doesn't mean there aren't a heck of a lot of people who do. Quite frankly, it shows a pretty big amount of ignorance in music to say "they're still around?" unless you live in some kind of cave, even in Holland.
 
Interesting. I didn't know any of that. I sometimes wonder what becomes of bands and artists from the past, if they've quit the business or if they keep producing music that never gets any airplay....

Well, a couple of months ago one of my colleagues read that ACDC would be performing in Arnhem, IIRC...
He also went: "They still around?!?"
I think their last big hit in Holland was Thunderstruck IIRC, almost 20 years ago...
And there are plenty of other artists and bands that still make music but aren't todays "taste"...
Coincidentally, I just saw an AC/DC commercial on TV. I wonder if they're coming here. My brother mentioned to me, I think, that they have their own Satellite Radio station.

You're probably right about the artists just not being in fashion; I should Google some old bands from the 70s and 80s and see what they're up to. Come to think of it, I remember the Guess Who just performed in Boston a couple of Summers ago.
 
They're not idiots, this type of thing is perfect for getting their name and message out there. It doesn't matter whether or not Pet Shop Boys does what they ask because they get media attention anyway and then people like us talk about and spread it more. Silly idea (name change-wise) but marketing goodness.

Bingo.

Week after week I hear people on this board calling them "idiots". Does anyone really think 100% of the things they do are serious? That they're all just a bunch of out of touch ecstasy-heads issuing hysterical press releases every week? Did any of them really think they'd change their name? Of course not. But we're all talking about PETA. And if 100 people are talking about PETA and 10 of those people start to have a serious conversation about animal rights, PETA has done it's job.

Not to say that there aren't some wackos working in PETA. But like most organizations it's not fair to paint them all in one broad brush. And like it or not they have done a lot for animal rights. Their lobby is behind many animal abuse legislations and they've exposed a lot of cruel practises in the food industry that I don't think anyone agrees with. They're like Greenpeace: love them or loathe them, their positive contributions probably outweigh the negatives.

I agree, all PETA are trying to do is raise awareness for an issue (that getting pets from rescue shelters is better than getting them from pet shops), they are not being snotty about it.

If you read the letter they wrote to the Pet Shop Boys it is quite reasonable and probably a lot of it is very true, and the PSBs have posted it on their website and offered their support to PETA and PETA have thanked them for acknowledging the issue on their own website.

Here's the letter:

"Dear Neil and Chris,
You have many loyal fans of the Pet Shop Boys here at PETA. We have a request that may at first seem bizarre, but we hope that after considering the following facts, you will understand why we are asking this of you: will you please consider changing your name from the Pet Shop Boys to the Rescue Shelter Boys?

Most dogs and cats sold in pet shops are sourced from profit-hungry breeders who may have bred them in cramped, filthy conditions. With an emphasis on quantity rather than quality, unmonitored genetic defects and personality disorders pass from one generation of puppies and kittens to the next. Many animals end up with abnormalities that result in both heartbreak and high veterinary bills for the unsuspecting people who buy them. For every bird who reaches a pet shop, three others have died during capture, confinement and transportation. Hamsters, mice and other rodents are often bred by the pet shops themselves, leading to inbreeding, genetic weaknesses, physical deformities and behavioural disorders.

Most pet-shop animals are kept in cages or runs that are far too small for their needs. Exercise is minimal, and they often never leave their cages until the day that they are sold. Nocturnal animals are displayed throughout the day under glaring lights. Predators, such as snakes, may be displayed alongside their prey. No screening is done to ensure the suitability of prospective guardians.

By agreeing to change your name to the Rescue Shelter Boys, you would help raise awareness about the cruelty involved in the pet trade and encourage your millions of fans to consider giving a home to an abandoned or unwanted animal from an animal shelter. So, what do you say?"
I find this sad on 2 fronts, firstly that people are so keen to assume that there can't be any truth to it that they are not prepared to give the perfectly reasonable idea that getting a pet from a shelter is a better thing to do that get one from a pet shop a fair shake, secondly that PETA have evidently blown their wad entirely with a few high profile nutcase campaigns and destroyed their public image and now when they have a light hearted take on a serious subject everyone just waaaahs about them.

Either way, most people haven't really considered this issue on it's own merits and are just railing against PETA for the hell of it.
 
Interesting. I didn't know any of that. I sometimes wonder what becomes of bands and artists from the past, if they've quit the business or if they keep producing music that never gets any airplay....

Well, a couple of months ago one of my colleagues read that ACDC would be performing in Arnhem, IIRC...
He also went: "They still around?!?"
I think their last big hit in Holland was Thunderstruck IIRC, almost 20 years ago...
And there are plenty of other artists and bands that still make music but aren't todays "taste"...

AC/DC is still one of the biggest touring bands in the world, routinely selling out 50,000+ seat venues. They headlined the largest North American concert in history 6 years ago, half a million people in Toronto. Their latest album Black Ice hit No. 1 in Canada, France, Italy, Australia, Ireland, Switzerland, Austria, France, Italy, Australia, Ireland, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, Norway and Portugal.

Since 1991 when SoundScan started keeping track of things, they've sold more CDs in America than the Michael Jackson and Madonna. Believe it or not, they're second only to the Beetles.

Just because you and your friend don't like AC/DC doesn't mean there aren't a heck of a lot of people who do. Quite frankly, it shows a pretty big amount of ignorance in music to say "they're still around?" unless you live in some kind of cave, even in Holland.

Well, i don't have any of their albums, but i like them enough to get the Rock Band AC/DC expansion...
And i don't think my friend doesn't like them, but it's more a "i like some of their songs, but not enough to keep tabs on them" kinda thing...
But i was at the time already aware of the fact they released a new album, which i mentioned to my colleague...
Heck, i have a feeling my colleague would've said something similair about ZZ Top and even i know they still tour extensivly...
 
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