Two Sides of the Same Coin

In my 11/25/08 post, I explained that Depeche Mode is not my favorite band, even though people from my youth always seem to make that connection in their minds. Ask my brothers what band reminds them of me and they'll tell you the Pet Shop Boys. Most people would put those two bands together because they both played synth pop in the '80s, even if one's darker and the other's lighter in style. Coincidentally, both bands are releasing new albums today and I'm using the occasion to present my personal favorites from each (excluding songs from Depeche Mode's Violator album, which is one of my all-time favorites and would otherwise take up half the top 20 list below if it were included):

My Top 20 Depeche Mode Songs
1. "New Life" (1981) from the album, Speak & Spell
2. "Now This Is Fun" (1982) B-side of the single, See You
3. "Two Minute Warning" (1983) from the album, Construction Time Again
4. "(Set Me Free) Remotivate Me" (1984) B-side of the single, Master and Servant
5. "It Doesn't Matter" (1984) from the album, Some Great Reward
6. "Sometimes" (1986) from the album, Black Celebration
7. "Never Let Me Down Again" (1987) from the album, Music for the Masses
8. "Pleasure, Little Treasure (Live)" (1988) from the album, 101; my absolute favorite DM song
9. "Death's Door" (1991) from the soundtrack for the movie, Until the End of the World
10. "Judas" (1993) from the album, Songs of Faith and Devotion
11. "Get Right With Me" (1993) from the album, Songs of Faith and Devotion
12. "One Caress" (1993) from the album, Songs of Faith and Devotion
13. "The Bottom Line" (1997) from the album, Ultra
14. "Insight" (1997) from the album, Ultra
15. "Only When I Lose Myself (Gus Gus Long Play)" (1998) from the compilation album, The Singles 86>98
16. "Comatose" (2001) from the album, Exciter
17. "I Feel Loved" (2001) from the album, Exciter
18. "It Doesn't Matter II (Live)" (2002) from the special features of the concert DVD, One Night in Paris
19. "Lie To Me (The Pleasure of Her Private Shame Remix by LFO)" (2004) from the compilation album, Remixes 81-04
20. "Suffer Well (Narcotic Thrust Vocal Dub)" (2006) from the album, Playing the Angel

My Top 20 Pet Shop Boys Songs
1. "West End Girls" (1985) from the album, Please
2. "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" (1986) from the remix compilation, Disco
3. "What Have I Done To Deserve This?" (1987) from the album, Actually
4. "Heart" (1988) from the album, Actually
5. "It's Alright" (1988) from the album, Introspective
6. "Left to My Own Devices" (1988) from the album, Introspective
7. "Getting Away With It" (1989) Neil Tennant (of PSB) also worked with Bernard Sumner (New Order) and Johnny Marr (The Smiths) on their first album as Electronic, whose first single was co-written and co-produced by Neil Tennant himself
8. "The End of the World" (1990) from the album, Behaviour
9. "So Hard" (1990) from the album, Behaviour
10. "We All Feel Better In the Dark" (1990) B-side of the single, Being Boring; my absolute favorite PSB song
11. "Losing My Mind" (1991) B-side of the single, Jealousy
12. "The Crying Game" (1992) from the soundtrack by the same name, produced by the Pet Shop Boys but performed by Boy George and featuring Neil Tennant on backing vocals
13. "I wouldn't normally do this kind of thing" (1993) from the album, Very
14. "We Came from Outer Space" (1993) from the album, Relentless
15. "Absolutely Fabulous" (1994) from the non-album single based on the BBC comedy show of the same name, later remixed on Disco 2
16. "Paninaro '95" (1995) from the B-side compilation, Alternative
17. "Somewhere" (1997) from the album, Bilingual Special Edition
18. "Home and Dry" (2002) from the album, Release
19. "Flamboyant" (2003) from the compilation album, PopArt
20. "New York City Boy (Lange Mix)" (2003) from the PopArt bonus disc, Mix

OUT TODAY ON DVD: WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN: HEROES RETURN TRILOGY