Memory of the Future
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Memory of the Future
| cover = Memory Of The Future single cover.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Pet Shop Boys
| album = Elysium
| B-side = {{hlist|"Listening"|"One Night"|"Inside"}}
| released = {{Start date|2012|12|31|df=yes}}
| recorded = 2012
| studio =
| genre = Electro{{cite web|first= Mark|last= Elliott|title= Best Pet Shop Boys Albums: All 15 Studio Albums, Ranked And Reviewed|website= Dig! |date= July 10, 2024|url= https://www.thisisdig.com/feature/best-pet-shop-boys-albums-all-15-studio-albums-ranked-and-reviewed/|accessdate= January 5, 2025}}
| length = 4:31
| label = Parlophone
| writer =
| producer =
- Andrew Dawson
- Pet Shop Boys
| prev_title = Leaving
| prev_year = 2012
| next_title = Axis
| next_year = 2013
| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|NgU1v3ww0k8|"Memory of the Future" (lyric video)|link=no}}}}
}}
"Memory of the Future" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their eleventh studio album, Elysium (2012). It was released on 31 December 2012 as the album's third and final single.{{cite web|title=Memory of the Future CD Single|url=http://www.petshopboysshop.co.uk/petshopboys/CD-Singles/Memory-of-the-Future/1MFO0286000?back=petshopboys%2FCD-Singles%2F|website=petshopboysshop.co.uk|accessdate=4 August 2013|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103100825/http://www.petshopboysshop.co.uk/petshopboys/CD-Singles/Memory-of-the-Future/1MFO0286000?back=petshopboys%2FCD-Singles%2F|archivedate=3 January 2014}} The track reached number 68 in Germany and number 111 in the United Kingdom. The single version was remixed by Stuart Price and differs notably from the album version.
Background
"Memory of the Future" was composed during a song-writing session in Berlin in early 2011.{{Cite AV media notes |title=Elysium: Further Listening 2011–2012|title-link=Elysium (Pet Shop Boys album)|last=Heath|first=Chris|author-link=Chris Heath|others=Pet Shop Boys|year=2017|page= |type=booklet|publisher=Parlophone Records|id=0190295852788}} Lyricist Neil Tennant described it as a straightforward love song about "something that hasn't happened seeming so inevitable that it already feels like a memory".{{cite book |last=Tennant|first=Neil|date=2018|title=One Hundred Lyrics and a Poem: 1979–2016|location=London|publisher=Faber & Faber|page=124|isbn=9780571348916}} The line "I keep tasting that sweet madeleine" is a reference to the French novel Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust, in which the taste of a madeleine (a small cake) prompts an involuntary memory of the narrator's childhood.
The single was promoted with a lyric video.{{cite web|title=Memory Of The Future lyric video| date=3 December 2012 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgU1v3ww0k8|publisher=YouTube|accessdate=4 August 2013}} The cover photo, depicting the Pet Shop Boys with short white hair and blue eyes, was taken by Pelle Crépin and manipulated by Ashish Karora.
Stuart Price was asked to make the single version more electronic. In addition to the differences in the arrangement, the single is approximately a minute shorter than the album version and has a faster tempo. After the release of "Memory of the Future", Pet Shop Boys went on to work with Price on a trilogy of albums starting with Electric.
Track listings
{{Track listing
| headline = CD single / digital download{{cite web |url=http://www.discogs.com/Pet-Shop-Boys-Memory-Of-The-Future/master/497359|title=Memory of the Future single|publisher=discogs.org|accessdate=4 August 2013}}
| title1 = Memory of the Future
| note1 = new single mix
| length1 = 3:36
| title2 = Listening
| length2 = 4:19
| title3 = One Night
| length3 = 4:06
| title4 = Inside
| length4 = 2:54
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = CD single – Remixed{{cite web |url=http://www.discogs.com/Pet-Shop-Boys-Memory-Of-The-Future-Remixed/release/4139364|title=Memory of the Future Remixed single|date=28 December 2012 |publisher=discogs.org|accessdate=7 August 2013 }}
| title1 = Memory of the Future
| note1 = Stuart Price Extended Mix
| length1 = 5:23
| title2 = Memory of the Future
| note2 = Ulrich Schnauss Remix
| length2 = 4:37
| title3 = Memory of the Future
| note3 = DJ Waldo Squash Remix
| length3 = 4:00
| title4 = Memory of the Future
| note4 = Digital Dog Club Remix
| length4 = 6:19
| title5 = Memory of the Future
| note5 = Digital Dog Dub
| length5 = 5:35
}}
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ Chart performance for "Memory of the Future" ! scope="col"| Chart (2013) ! scope="col"| Peak |
| {{single chart|Germany|68|songid=1061950|artist=Pet Shop Boys|song=Memory of the Future|rowheader=true|access-date=5 November 2020}} |
| {{single chart|UKZobbel|111|id=130112|urltitle=CLUK Update 12.01.2013 (wk1)|rowheader=true|access-date=17 February 2017}} |
| {{single chart|Billboarddancesales|1|artist=Pet Shop Boys|rowheader=true|access-date=5 November 2020}} |
| scope="row"| US Hot Singles Sales (Billboard){{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/pet-shop-boys/chart-history/hot-singles-sales |title=Pet Shop Boys Chart History (Hot Singles Sales) |magazine=Billboard |access-date=5 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117154640/https://www.billboard.com/music/pet-shop-boys/chart-history/hot-singles-sales |archive-date=17 January 2021}}
| 2 |
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