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| Photo credit: Vincent Bouchard |
๐ฌ"I didn't write it with anything in particular in mind, but when I listen to it, it conjures up a lot of images of an unhappy childhood, not necessarily sexual abuse, maybe that's too specific. I'm just talking about the need to run away from home or to get away from the family circle (...) If this were to be the soundtrack to an imaginary film, this is what it would be about."
(๐ต๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ - ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐°27, ๐๐๐๐โ 2003)
๐ฌ"We used to smoke a lot of weed back then. Stef and I always spend a month together before we go into the studio, testing things out. This time we didn't want to touch the guitars anymore, we wanted to use different tools. 'Something Rotten' came to us with a dub-reggae bass line. We started to look for something very different in ourselves, it's maybe the most experimental track on the album, there are at least fifty synths on it. I play the sax on it, the first instrument I've tried in my life.
(๐ต๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ - ๐ท๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ก ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ข๐ฅ ๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐๐โ๐๐ข๐)
๐ฌ"Not sexual abuse, it's an abstract song. Anyway, I never sit on precepts such as deciding in advance the theme to-be of a song. This track has been composed in a very instinctive way starting on a dub-reggae jam. I went to the microphone without text, and I threw the first words that came to my mind. Once the song finished, I wondered what it was about. There is a sinister atmosphere in the song.
It reminded me of an old song of ๐น๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ข๐๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ : ๐ฝ๐โ๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ โ๐๐๐ ... I was sure I would be questionned about this track ... It makes me think of a young person who needs to leave his family for quite extremes reasons. Afterwards, you are free to interpret it a hundred ways. I think once again it is important to let the listener free to make its own benchmarks."
(๐ต๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ - ๐บ๐ข๐๐ก๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ก ๐°109, ๐ด๐๐๐๐ 2003)
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| Photo credit: Marco Dos Santos |
It seems we're here
I miss you something rotten
The stinks are here
It's guaranteed all's forgotten
Down here, down here it's clear that you are uncut
Don't fear, don't fear, keep all this forgotten
Face down
Face down
Face down, I miss you something rotten
Face down
Face down, this crown is broken rotten
Down here, down here, I know it's not, it's all forgotten
Down here, down here, face down, I miss you something rotten
Down here, down here, it stinks, it stinks of something rotten
Don't fear, don't fear, keep all this forgotten
There's something rotten down here
There's something rotten down here
There's something rotten down here
There's something rotten down here
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| Photo credit: Morena Brengola |
๐ธPsychological control, physical violence, various abuses are widespread problems throughout the world for cultural, religious, parental or relationship reasons. Fortunately, more and more shelters are opening to take in victims and offer them a chance to get out of their situation. It is worth noting that child abuse is increasingly being addressed, whereas not so long ago it was all ignored. Children's voices are increasingly taken into account nowadays.
Even if Brian didn’t plan anything as far as lyrics are concerned, it seems this topic was, unconsciously, important to him. We all know that Placebo is concerned about child abuse and the plight of children where sex trafficking is a common occurrence.
I remember reading, on a forum back in 2003, when the album was released about a girl who had been abused as a child. She was happy and somewhat relieved that Placebo had written a song about it. It was very moving.
With lyrics often depicting the darkness of the world and human emotions, Placebo touches the depths of our souls whether we are directly involved or not. Isn't that the beauty of the art of Placebo’s music?
Post by Laetitia
