"Love Etc." is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their tenth studio album, Yes (2009). It was released by Parlophone on 16 March 2009 as the album's lead single and reached the top 20 on the UK Singles Chart, debuting at number 14.[2] "Love Etc." became the duo's ninth number-one entry on Billboard magazine's Hot Dance Club Songs chart, with Pet Shop Boys overtaking Depeche Mode for the record of the most dance chart-toppers by a duo or group in August 2009.[3]
"Love Etc." was co-written by Pet Shop Boys with songwriting and production team Xenomania. The music was based on a track that Xenomania had written for another project, which they played at their initial meeting with the duo. Chris Lowe wanted to use it on Yes, and head producer Brian Higgins agreed. They collaborated on the track with the intention of releasing it as the album's first single.[4]
Pet Shop Boys described "Love Etc." as "a post-lifestyle anthem which sounds like nothing we've done before".[5] The message of the song is that love is more important than seeking fame or acquiring material possessions.[6] The lyrics mention the artist Gerhard Richter, whose work inspired the cover art of the album and single.[7] The title, which is not in the lyrics, came from an email Tennant received from an old friend signed "Love etc."[4]
Release
"Love Etc." was released on CD and digital formats on 16 March 2009. The two-track CD included a new song, "Gin and Jag", as a B-side. Digital releases included the bonus track "We're All Criminals Now", a song about the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes by police at Stockwell tube station.[4] A Remixes EP featured tracks by Gui Boratto, Kurd Maverick, and Frankmusik, as well as Pet Shop Boys' own mix.[8]
On 24 March 2009, "Love Etc." was released digitally by Astralwerks as the duo's first single in the United States since "Break 4 Love" in 2001.[9][10]
Artwork
The sleeve for the single was designed by Mark Farrow with Pet Shop Boys. The image (pictured) consists of three pink X shapes representing kisses.[11] The single has a white background and the Remixes EP has a black background. The shapes are made of squares in different shades of pink in a style similar to the cover art of Yes, which features a tick mark formed with colored squares.[7] Pet Shop Boys were inspired by the stained glass window at Cologne Cathedral designed by Gerhard Richter, who is mentioned in "Love Etc."[12]
Music video
The music video was directed by Dutch digital artist Han Hoogerbrugge.[13] The website Stereogum described it as a "horizontally scrolling animated video [that] is part Sonic The Hedgehog (dated video game reference!) and part Pac Man (chomping down on hearts, shamrocks, and cash money), with a lineup of Chrisses, Neils, and others shouting, flexing, unmasking, and turning into draculas."[14]
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