๐ฌ ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐๐ข – ๐ง๐๐๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐๐๐ง๐จ๐ฅ๐
๐ต https://bit.ly/2Vt9LJV ๐ต
 |
| Credit: Screenshot from the video, edit by me |
“This Picture” was originally meant to be a piano ballad, but then the band decided to change it into a rock song. In spite of that it seems they also still liked the piano version because they played it live for RTL2 France Acoustic Session. This performance was later released on the ”This Picture” DVD single.
The lyrics of the song deal with a destructive relationship involving sadomasochism and abuse. The story is told from a men's view and the female is in the position of dominance. The phrase ”ashtray girl” in the song text refers to a woman who uses her partner as an emotional ashtray. "Cigarette burns on my chest" is a (more or less) hidden reference to James Dean and his supposed fetish to have cigarettes stubbed out on his chest.
The shared official video is about someone who has lost their identity in a self-destructive relationship (see quotes below). It features Italian actress Asia Argento who had already collaborated with Trash Palace and Brian on the Serge Gainsbourg cover “Je t'aime moi no plus” in 2002.
 |
| Photo credit: David Willis |
๐ข "'This Picture' was originally a piano ballad, a REM track style. We made rock out of it, a rock song. It's especially about destructive relationships."
(M6 Music, March 2004)
๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต'๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ด๐ฉ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐บ ๐จ๐ช๐ณ๐ญ ๐ช๐ฏ “๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐๐ช๐ค๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ“?
๐ข "Those are images that keep following us around no matter where we go. You see them when you least expect it and at times when you don't really need it. It brings back everything because of a certain smell, song or place. I find it very interesting, the way things follow us around. And I'm very open: I live the genre of the song. When you look back on certain relationships you can see who the person really was, which you couldn't at the time you were in it. You understand reality and you see that the memories you have can make a person seem very different."
(DNAsix, March 2003)
๐ข "There's an old story that somebody told me once about James Dean. For those of you who don't know this yet, James Dean was gay. Yes, I'm sorry, it's true. He had a particular fetish where he liked to have cigarettes stubbed out on his chest. That's kind of an image that's always stayed with me, and part of the inspiration for this song."
(Introduction of the song at a concert)
๐ข "Outwardly, This Picture is crammed with basic SM imaging, but behind the metaphor, it denounces the self-destructive love relationships. It was a way to say that this state of mind doesn't interest me anymore. I've been damaged enough in such relationships in the past and now I've got nothing more to do there. I changed, I quit."
(Les Inrockuptibles N°382, March-April 2003)
 |
| Photo credit: Scarlet Page |
๐ต https://bit.ly/3d70cdq ๐ต
๐ ๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ข๐ก ๐ง๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ข ๐
๐๐ณ๐ช๐ข๐ฏ: “Well, this video is quite self-explanatory, really. The song is about self-destruction and destructive relationships. Another video by Howard Greenhalgh.“
๐๐ต๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ: “Again, another video set in…“
๐๐ณ๐ช๐ข๐ฏ: “A future place.“
๐๐ต๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ: “This is in South Africa, I think. Some huge exhibition hall. It’s not that modern, it’s sort of 70’s. But Howard sort of doctored the pictures to make it look more modern and placed us in between after we did all the blue screen stuff.“
๐๐ณ๐ช๐ข๐ฏ: “The idea was that somebody has lost their identity, through either being in a self-destructive relationship or being outside of it, because their identity is so involved in the relationship itself.“
๐๐ต๐ฆ๐ง๐ข๐ฏ: “There was a lot of fashion going on. We were in designer gear for this one.“
๐๐ณ๐ช๐ข๐ฏ: “Christian Dior.“
๐๐ต๐ฆ๐ง๐ข๐ฏ: “And then you’ve got Mancuso.“
๐๐ณ๐ช๐ข๐ฏ: “Which is a label which Howard invented.
It’s kind of a video about a model trying to find her face again. It could also be your worst ex-girlfriend nightmare at a gig. Just imagine, you’re playing a show and the audience is full of people you shagged. It could be quite difficult.“
๐๐ต๐ฆ๐ง๐ข๐ฏ: “It’s filmed during the first British tour of ‘Sleeping with ghosts’ between two shows.“
๐๐ณ๐ช๐ข๐ฏ: “And my little machine which reveals the faces. It’s a beautiful… Asia Argento.“
(“Once more with feeling“ DVD, 2004)
Posz by Silke
