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I'm with Stupid (Pet Shop Boys song)

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"I'm with Stupid"
Single by Pet Shop Boys
from the album Fundamental
B-side
  • "The Resurrectionist" (CD Single)
  • "Girls Don't Cry" (7")
Released8 May 2006 (2006-05-08)
GenreSynth-pop
Length3:27
LabelParlophone
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Trevor Horn
Pet Shop Boys singles chronology
"Flamboyant"
(2004) 		"I'm with Stupid"
(2006) 		"Minimal"
(2006)
Music video
"I'm with Stupid" on YouTube
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair (left) and US President George W. Bush (right) in 2006. "I'm with Stupid" has been acknowledged as referring to their relationship.[1]

"I'm with Stupid" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their ninth studio album, Fundamental (2006). It was released on 8 May 2006 as the album's lead single. It became the duo's 21st top-10 single in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 8.

Meaning

[edit]

Though ostensibly about a romantic relationship with a man perceived by the public as a "moron", the song has been acknowledged as being, on another level, about Tony Blair's beleaguered "special relationship" with George W. Bush.[1] The protagonist of the song is eventually brought to wonder if the other's stupidity might not be a front:

Is stupid really this stupid
or a different kind of smart?
Do we really have a relationship
so special in your heart?[2]

Release and performances

[edit]

The song charted at number eight on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the duo's 21st UK top-10 single. One of the single's B-sides, "The Resurrectionist", in keeping with the group's fondness for unusual historical subject matter in their songs, is about body-snatching in the English Regency era, carried out by people literally called "resurrectionists".[3]

Remixers of the single include Melnyk, Max Tundra, Abe Duque and Pet Shop Boys themselves. Several of the official remixes were not released on physical media at all, being exclusively available on iTunes Music Store and other online music stores. In addition, the single has yet to be released in any form in the United States.

"I'm with Stupid" was performed on the 23 April 2006 episode of Top of the Pops, in the latest in a long series of Pet Shop Boys performances on the UK music programme.[4] The performance was planned to include six dancers, wearing masks depicting Blair's and Bush's faces. The BBC's editorial department objected, however, citing the need to be politically "impartial";[5] in the end, only one Blair mask and one Bush mask was used, with the remaining four masks replaced by ones depicting Bill Clinton, David Cameron, Menzies Campbell, and Vladimir Putin.[6] The song was later performed in Germany in the form the BBC had objected to.[7]

Music video

[edit]

The video, filmed at Alexandra Palace in North London features David Walliams and Matt Lucas of Little Britain.

In the video, the duo stage a performance in which they play the roles of Tennant and Lowe and mime "I'm with Stupid" while dressed in Very-era outfits (mainly from the "Can You Forgive Her?" and "Go West" promotional campaigns). They are accompanied by a group of dancers, also dressed in similar costumes.

The video ends with Walliams and Lucas asking for the approval of the audience, which is revealed to be Tennant and Lowe themselves, bound to their seats.

Track listings

[edit]
  • UK CD single (CDR6690)
  1. "I'm with Stupid" – 3:27
  2. "The Resurrectionist" – 3:12
A. "I'm with Stupid" – 3:27
B. "Girls Don't Cry" – 2:35
  • UK DVD single (DVDR6690)
  1. "I'm with Stupid" – 3:27
  2. "The Resurrectionist" (Goetz B. Extended Mix) – 5:40
  3. "Girls Don't Cry" – 2:35
  4. "I'm with Stupid" (video) – 3:58
  • European CD single (362 8482)
  1. "I'm with Stupid" – 3:27
  2. "The Resurrectionist" – 3:12
  • European CD maxi single (362 8552)
  1. "I'm with Stupid" – 3:27
  2. "The Resurrectionist" (Goetz B. Extended Mix) – 5:40
  3. "Girls Don't Cry" – 2:35
  • European DVD single (362 7889)
  1. "I'm with Stupid" – 3:27
  2. "The Resurrectionist" (Goetz B. Extended Mix) – 5:40
  3. "Girls Don't Cry" – 2:35
  4. "I'm with Stupid" (video) – 3:58
  5. "I'm with Stupid" (making of)

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for "I'm with Stupid"
Chart (2006) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[8] 23
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[9] 4
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[10] 6
Denmark (Tracklisten)[11] 3
Germany (GfK)[12] 29
Greece (IFPI)[13] 19
Ireland (IRMA)[14] 23
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[15] 64
Romania (Romanian Top 100)[16] 61
Scotland (OCC)[17] 9
Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[18] 90
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[19] 5
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[20] 10
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[21] 38
UK Singles (OCC)[22] 8
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[23] 7

Release history

[edit]
Release dates and formats for "I'm with Stupid"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom 8 May 2006 CD Parlophone [24]
Australia 15 May 2006 [25]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Teodorczuk, Tom (1 March 2006). "Pet Shop Boys' Labour snub". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 13 March 2006. Retrieved 23 May 2006.
  2. ^ "I'm with Stupid (lyrics)". Pet Shop Boys official website. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2006.
  3. ^ "New lyrics added". Pet Shop Boys official website news. 11 May 2006. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2006.
  4. ^ "BBC – Top of the Pops – Performance Database". BBC. Retrieved 12 May 2006. [dead link]
  5. ^ "Just another day on Top of the Pops". Worksop Today. 28 April 2006. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
  6. ^ "TOTP masks". Pet Shop Boys official website news. 23 April 2006. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
  7. ^ http://tvtotal.prosieben.de/show/letzte_sendung/2006/05/30/08606.html
    NB: The embedded video player on this site no longer works, but the direct MMS URL it uses does: mms://wms.e-tv.de/tvtotal/2006/05/30/0895-00-04-wm_midband.wmv[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – I'm with Stupid". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  9. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – I'm with Stupid" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  10. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – I'm with Stupid" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  11. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – I'm with Stupid". Tracklisten. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  12. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – I'm with Stupid" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  13. ^ "Top 50 Singles" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. 11 June 2006. Archived from the original on 17 June 2006. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  14. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Pet Shop Boys". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  15. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – I'm with Stupid" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  16. ^ "Romanian Top 100 – Issue nr: 25/2006" (in Romanian). Romanian Top 100. Archived from the original on 2 July 2006. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  17. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  18. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 200637 into search. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  19. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – I'm with Stupid" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  20. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – I'm with Stupid". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  21. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – I'm with Stupid". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  22. ^ "Pet Shop Boys: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  23. ^ "Pet Shop Boys Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  24. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 6 May 2006. p. 27.
  25. ^ "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 15th May 2006" (PDF). ARIA. 15 May 2006. p. 28. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 May 2006. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
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