Pet Shop Boys: PopArt

Although the CD version of this collection separates their hits into two discs -- "Pop" and "Art" -- the Pet Shop Boys have always been unabashedly pop. From their mid-'80s glory years injecting satire and political commentary into hugely successful Euro-disco ditties to their later status as hopeful elegists of the AIDS generation, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe have relished both the absurdities and the advantages of the MTV era's star-making machinery. Coming, as it does, after many previous video collections, PopArt therefore offers only one novel pleasure: the ubiquitous DVD commentary track. The erudite Tennant and the taciturn Lowe, who became pop stars in their thirties, are more than willing to make fun of the ridiculous getups, dated production values, and horrific dance moves of their video oeuvre. The result is a hilarious history of British pop silliness from the Thatcher '80s to the Blair millennium. Ironically, the Pet Shop Boys' videos became more personal as the artists themselves grew older and deigned to spend less time on-camera. Bruce Weber's gorgeous homoeroticism fuelled several memorable videos at a time when Tennant was first fessing up to his sexual orientation. By the time hipster photographer Wolfgang Tillmans set "Home and Dry" to footage of rats scurrying around the London Underground in 2001, the group's videos had finally begun to reflect their artistry as well as their pop accessibility. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide