How hilarious would it be to play a Pet Shop Boys song for your students as they entered your classroom (especially if you're trying to break the tension because some of your clarinets can't get those runs in "The Three Minute Nutcracker")?
More than just seeing kids squirm a little upon hearing Pet Shop Boys, I think it to be important to hear classics in more than one setting. It is incredibly important to see how Tchaikovsky still influences electro-pop Brits. Hearing a familiar classical theme in a modern setting allows students to understand that there are different interpretations of the sort of things we've all heard hundreds of times, and for my money, it allows them to explore their own interpretations of the music they perform. This song might also be a good reprieve from constantly holiday music rehearsals, while still tangentially related.
"All Over the World" - Pet Shop Boys
Introduction: An electro-pop group who has continued to make records long after their commercial peak in the 1980s, the English duo the Pet Shop Boys received a BRIT Music Award in 2009 for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. In this same year, the group released their 10th album Yes, which features “All Over the World”. The group has sold over 50 million records worldwide, resulting in their recognition as the best-selling British duo of all time. The duo also were honored at their own BBC Proms concert in 2014, during which they premiered a narrated choral drama about British computer scientist Alan Turing titled A Man from the Future.
Analysis: This song makes use of a slowed-down sample of the "March" movement from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite.
Considerations for Teaching: This song contains no inappropriate lyrics or subject matter and may be a fun classroom inclusion for any groups playing The Nutcracker on their winter concert.