(thing) by ive_brussel Fri Mar 26 2004 at 14:50:11
Placebo is one of the most interesting European bands of the 90s. Formed by a Swedish bassist, an English drummer and a half-American/half-English singer/guitarrist, Placebo incorporates many different influences to make their angry, sexy and sad music. Stefen Osdal, Steven Hewitt and Brian Molko have caught up with much media attention since their debut single, Bruise Pristine, was release in the UK in 1995.

It was the song Nancy Boy, however, that would push them to the limelights and attract David Bowie's attention. Brian's androgyny and his ambiguous lyrics made Bowie declared that Brian was "the daughter he never had" and invite the band to play at his 50th birthday concert, in New York. Nancy Boy reached n° 4 at the British hit parade and made their first album, Placebo, be noticed by big audiences.

Placebo
  1. Come Home
  2. Teenage Angst
  3. Bionic
  4. 36 degrees
  5. Hang on to your IQ
  6. Nancy Boy
  7. I Know
  8. Bruise Pristine
  9. Lady of the Flowers
  10. Swallow and hidden instrumental track called 'H. K. Farewell'
At this time, the band was with a different drummer, as Hewitt was busy with another music project. Robert Schultzberg recorded the Placebo album, but it was soon clear to Brian and Stefan that they could not work with him. Apparently, Robert and Brian had big fights and it all ended with the pair ceasing to speak to one another. Placebo was now big enough, however, to seduce Steven Hewitt into joining them at last.

In 1998, the band released their second (and, IMHO, the best) album, called Without You I'm Nothing. After the party-and-sexy-driven lyrics of the first album, WYIN was a cold morning shower of depression and sadness. The band lost none of it's strength but managed to add a bit mor of feeling and depth to their work, conquering new fans and critics.

Without You I'm Nothing
  1. Pure Morning
  2. Brick Shithouse
  3. You Don't Care About Us
  4. Ask for Answers
  5. Without You I'm Nothing
  6. Allergic (To Thoughts Of Mother Earth)
  7. The Crawl
  8. Every You, Every Me
  9. My Sweet Prince
  10. Summer's Gone
  11. Scared Of Girls
  12. Burger Queen and hidden instrumental track called 'Evil Dildo'
The hit song this time was Every You, Every Me, also featured on the Cruel Intentions soundtrack. Later that year Placebo appeared in Todd Haynes' glam rock movie Velvet Goldmine, not only playing T. Rex's 20th century boy, but also playing small parts as band members on the movie.

It would take the band 3 years to release the next record, Black Market Music, due to intensive touring around the world. Europe was conquered, so they set off to North America and Asia - unfortunatelly skipping South America altogether. But Black Market Music was to be another hit after it's early 2001 release, showing some changes on the band's musical direction. Androgyny was down to a minimum and some songs started to talk about political issues, like racism and unemployment. It was all done magistrally and the album reached n° 1 in several European countries, like Spain.

Black Market Music
  1. Taste in Men
  2. Days Before You Came
  3. Special K
  4. Spite & Malice
    5. - with Justin Warfield
  5. Passive Agressive
  6. Black Eyed
  7. Blue American
  8. Slave to the Wage
  9. Commercial For Levi
  10. Haemoglobin
  11. Narcoleptic
  12. Peeping Tom
  13. Without You I'm Nothing (with David Bowie) and I Feel You were included in some special editions of the record
I was lucky enough to catch their gig on the Reading/Leeds Festival of 2000 and managed to hear some songs beforehand, like Taste in Men and Special K. Both would turn out to be hit songs for the band and the album was one of the most commercially succesful Placebo had. The early news, however, scared the fans when it became known that Spite & Malice would feature rapper Justin Warfield, an unlikely combination. The band managed to pull it off, tough, and most fans cherish the song.

The next album was released in 2003 and was called Sleeping with Ghosts. Placebo's image was already changed at this point, without so much focus on Brian's alleged bissexuality and girlishness. Cropped hair and men's clothes helped drive away the attention, but Brian never denied his interest in both genders.

Sleeping with Ghosts
  1. Bulletproof Cupid
  2. English Summer Rain
  3. The Picture
  4. Sleeping with Ghosts
  5. The Bitter End
  6. Something Rotten
  7. Plasticine
  8. Special Needs
  9. I'll be Yours
  10. Second Sight
  11. Protect me from What I Want
  12. Centerfolds
The album was later re-released with a bonus CD of cover songs:
  1. Running Up The Hill
  2. Where is My Mind
  3. Bigmouth Strickes Again
  4. Johnny & Mary
  5. 20th Century Boy
  6. The Ballad of Melody Nelson
  7. Holocaust
  8. I Feel You
  9. Daddy Cool
  10. Jackie
The band recently release (March 2004) a live DVD, their first. Hopefully, Placebo will keep on rocking for a long time (and I'll have to update this node several times...).

Many thanks to the VH1 website and MTV website as well as the official Placebo website, www.placebo.co.uk
I like it! 1 C!