Dear friends, today I have Brian's interview from Toronto, Canada 2007 for you, which is full of very interesting information.
You will learn what Placebo song has become more popular among American fans and why.
And also - why the United States ordered the censorship of the MEDS album.
To make your joy of the evening complete, I share the video of the song mentioned in the article below with you.
๐ธ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ "๐น๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ผ๐ ๐ป๐๐๐ ๐ฏ๐๐๐", ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฑ๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐.๐ธ
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| Photo credit: Virgile Biechy |
๐ Of Meds and Men: An Interview with Placebo's Brian Molko
Written By: Graham Silnicki
๐ธBefore the fall of 2006, most North Americans with a passing interest in music knew Placebo as that androgynous band with a couple hit singles from the late '90s ("Pure Morning" and "Every You Every Me," both from 1998's Without You I'm Nothing). They've had something of a cult following here, but most of their popularity has been concentrated in other parts of the world, particularly Europe. But then, as has happened to so many bands, The O.C. brought them into the mainstream spotlight; their cover of Kate Bush's "๐๐ฎ๐ง๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฉ ๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ" appeared twice in the show's fourth season premiere.
Though the song was originally released in 2003 on a bonus disc with the album Sleeping With Ghosts, the band started including it in their set while touring the UK in early 2006 and eventually released it as a single in October.
๐ธ"๐ฐ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐," says Placebo's frontman, Brian Molko. "There was The O.C. effect, coupled with the fact that when we were last touring, when we started touring this record, Meds, so many people came up to ask and asked where they could get a hold of the song."
๐ธPlacebo is currently in their second year of touring behind Meds, the band's most recent studio album. They're in Toronto for a concert at the Kool Haus, and I'm sitting with Molko in a small, oddly decorated club somewhere off the complex's main room. /.../
๐ธMolko's looks are much more restrained than the svelte, feminine image that made him something of a poster boy for modern glam almost a decade ago. He's wearing a navy blue button-up shirt with small white polka dots, tight blue jeans, and Converse sneakers (he'll change into dressier black shoes for tonight's show).
His dark hair is cut short and boyish, and at 34, a coat of makeup isn't entirely hiding the touch of age in his face. He chain-smokes Camel Lights and talks softly with a refined British accent. When his band-mates – bassist Stefan Olsdal and drummer Steve Hewitt – walk by, heading to another interview, he turns to look at them, drawing on his cigarette, and says, "๐ป๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐."
๐ธWhile Meds (their fifth studio effort) came out in most of the world in March 2006, it wasn't released in North America until January 2007.
Molko says that he doesn't mind the delay, since "๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐'๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐."
But he wasn't happy with all aspects of the album's re-release. Listeners on this side of the Atlantic were treated to a couple bonus tracks ("Running Up That Hill," plus original track "UNEEDMEMORETHANINEEDU"), but the song "๐๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ " was left off the North American version. Though the situation confused many fans, it was actually Molko who forced the band's management and their U.S. label, Virgin Records, to remove the track.
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| Photo credit unknown |
"๐ฝ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐จ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ , '๐๐๐'๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐.' ๐จ๐๐ ๐๐'๐ ๐๐๐๐, '๐ญ๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐'๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐.' ๐บ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐-๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐ฐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐."
๐ธThe rest of Meds, however, survived the re-release. The album isn't much of a departure for the band in terms of material (sex, drugs, etc.) and sound (synthy, menacing, occasionally brash). Meds also keeps with the band's seeming penchant for collaborations (between the stage and the studio, they've teamed up with the likes of David Bowie and Robert Smith in the past); both Alison Mosshart of The Kills and Michael Stipe of R.E.M. have guest spots on the record.
๐ธMolko says that the title track was "๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ – ๐ ๐๐๐๐." He knew Mosshart through her bandmate, Jamie Hince, with whom he'd been a friend since the two attended university together in the early '90s.
"๐บ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐จ๐๐๐๐๐. ๐บ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐'๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐," he recalls.
๐ธWhile the decision to include Mosshart was partly whim, Stipe's guest spot was integral. Molko says that "๐๐ซ๐จ๐ค๐๐ง ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐," the song on which Stipe appears, was written as a duet and wouldn't have gone on the record if the right guest weren't found. The band's known Stipe since 1998, when they appeared in Velvet Goldmine, a film he produced. But the idea to feature him on the track didn't come until a chance run-in at a Paris hotel.
๐ธ"๐ฐ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐," Molko says of Stipe's inclusion, "๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ , ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐? ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐'๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐. ๐ท๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐…๐๐๐…๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐ฐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐."
๐ธThough provocative material like the duet with Stipe features heavily on Meds, it doesn't necessarily reflect a life that Molko continues to lead. In 2005, he had a son, Cody, with his partner, Helena Berg.
"๐ฐ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐'๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐," he says, admitting that he hasn't written much since the birth and doesn't know whether or not fatherhood will factor in his songwriting. "๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฐ'๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ [๐ ๐๐๐๐๐] ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐ ๐ฐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฐ ๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐. ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐'๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐จ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐-๐-๐๐๐๐-๐๐๐-๐๐-๐๐๐๐-๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐. ๐ฐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐." /.../
("๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐๐", ๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ 2007)
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