⭐𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗩𝗜𝗧𝗔𝗟 𝗖𝗨𝗟𝗧𝗨𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗟 𝗜𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗔𝗡 𝗠𝗢𝗟𝗞𝗢 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗖𝗘𝗕𝗢 (𝗙𝗔𝗥 𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟭)⭐

"𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝑲𝒖𝒓𝒕 𝑪𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒃𝒐’𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆, 𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅. 𝑰𝒏 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒊𝒏’𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒃𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒔." (𝘔𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘔𝘤𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘺)

Photo credits at the end od the text

🔸 Today, I'd like to share an article about "𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑩𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑴𝒐𝒍𝒌𝒐 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒃𝒐" by 𝐹𝑎𝑟 𝑂𝑢𝑡. It was published on Brian Molko's birthday, December 10th, 2021. 🔸

What a beautiful tribute 💕
Enjoy reading as much as I did 😊

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑩𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑴𝒐𝒍𝒌𝒐 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒃𝒐

📕 Placebo’s Brian Molko has established himself as one of the most significant figures in the world of music over the past 30 years. Defying musical, aesthetic, thematic and personal mores, he and Placebo partner in crime Stefan Olsdal showed that music did not have to be the boisterous and misogynistic place it was in the mid-late 1990s amongst all the Britpop and nu-metal.


Following in the footsteps of Lou Reed, David Bowie and perhaps even Leigh Bowery, Molko shaped Placebo into an outfit that helped to bring the discussion of sexuality, fluidity and politics into the mainstream and change pop culture for the better.


To put things into perspective, when the 1997 single ‘Nancy Boy’ went to number four in the UK Singles Charts, the band stuck out like a sore thumb, but a refreshing and necessary one, to say the least. Discussing what were then taboo themes, the band’s message contained considerable weight, particularly when you match it against what Oasis were doing at the time with tracks like ‘D’You Know What I Mean?’.


Taking off when Britpop was at it the tail end of its commercial zenith, ironically, this proved to be very fortuitous for Molko and Placebo. They became the de jure band for all the outsiders, the square pegs in round holes, an outfit that didn’t relate to the bucket hat-wearing, alpha male brashness of the bustling music industry of the time.

Photo credit: Par Pope

It wasn’t all about sexuality, though. Molko’s lyrics touch on a whole host of challenging topics such as death, violence, teenage angst, drug use and the modern fascination with money. They often provide a means of escaping from humanity’s increasingly grim reality. The latest single, for example, ‘Surrounded by Spies’, discusses surveillance culture and the environmental collapse that world leaders are ignoring, showing that Molko always has his finger on the pulse.


Like Lou Reed, Molko has never been afraid to get into the nitty-gritty. This is one of the key facets of his brilliance, he’s a realist, a cynic even, and this again has filled his music with a pulp that many of his contemporaries could only have dreamed of having. There’s a reason why we’re still talking about Molko and Co. today and why, in comparison, Britpop eventually committed suicide by becoming a ridiculous caricature of itself, as did the mid-2000s indie scene. Placebo has, to varying degrees of success, remained relevant.


Again like Reed, Molko’s lyrical style positions him as somewhat of a Gonzo journalist stuck right in the middle of society’s most critical debates, peeling back the curtain and revealing the truth. He’s a witness that provides lessons in how we can better ourselves by outlining our faults, much like Thomas Pynchon or Hunter S. Thompson. He’s also captivated us by instilling a thrill to all of his music, much like the stomach churn you get after popping a pill. It’s a little naughty, but one hell of a ride.


Musically, in the early days, his down-tuned guitar and Generation X attitude aligned him with Sonic Youth, Nirvana and even riot grrrl groups like Pussy Riot. He espoused a caustic, sardonic wit that constantly proved that society’s established mores are flawed and something to be laughed at. “𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑚𝑜𝑝ℎ𝑜𝑏𝑖𝑎 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑡𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑐 𝑠𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑒,” Molko said in 2017, when he explained the band’s early ethos to The Independent. “𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑙𝑦 ℎ𝑜𝑚𝑜𝑝ℎ𝑜𝑏𝑖𝑐 𝑡𝑜 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑢𝑝 𝑎𝑡 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑔𝑖𝑔𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 ‘𝑂ℎ, 𝐼 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑓𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟’,” ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑑𝑑𝑒𝑑. “𝑆ℎ𝑒’𝑠 ℎ𝑜𝑡! 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝐵𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑛, 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑜 ℎ𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑠𝑘 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑎 𝑓𝑒𝑤 𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠. 𝑂𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠-𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑒𝑠𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑢𝑠, 𝑖𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑠𝑜 𝑎 𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑐𝑡; 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑏𝑖𝑔 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒.”

Photo credit: Alfred Steffen

It’s a shame Kurt Cobain didn’t live long enough to witness Placebo’s rise, as it is certain he would have been captivated. In many ways, they are Cobain’s subversive spiritual successors. Showing just how provocative they are, in 2013, the band teamed up with the literary master of satire, Bret Easton Ellis, to deliver the pertinent video for single ‘Loud Like Love’, and his narration on suburban secrets is another superb indication of Placebo’s artistic vision.


“𝑊𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑒𝑥𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑,” Molko told The Guardian in 2021. “𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑤𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑒𝑥𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑. 𝐼𝑡’𝑠 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ, 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑥 𝑛𝑜𝑤. 𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑖𝑓 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑏𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 90𝑠, 𝑤𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒 – 𝑖𝑓 𝑤𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜, 𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡𝑠𝑜𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟, 𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑜𝑚 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑏𝑦 1% – 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑤𝑒’𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔”.


Another exemplary element of Molko’s artistry is that he has always tread his own path, staunch in his beliefs even if millions of dollars are offered to him. He once turned down the offer of a million euros to become a judge on the French version of The X Factor, saying “𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑠𝑛’𝑡 𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑦 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑” that could have persuaded him, regardless of the fact he’s bi-lingual and speaks French fluently.


Molko is driven by artistry and dedication to what is right. That’s what makes him such a refreshing breath of ice-cool air. He’s not a careerist or a money grabber, he’s Brian Molko, and he’s true to his own convictions. Considering that we live in the age of cultural pastiche, where rip-offs reign supreme both economically and musically, Molko continues to lead by example. 📖

(Mick McStarkey - faroutmagazine.co.uk)


🔸 I never thought about the fact that Kurt Cobain might have liked Placebo, but it seems like a no-brainer to me actually !

I really like this post by Mick McStarkey who has found the right words to describe the mind of Brian and Placebo. The last sentence, in my opinion, best defines Placebo's line of work throughout their career. And I'm sure that 𝑁𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝐿𝑒𝑡 𝑀𝑒 𝐺𝑜 will have some interesting insights in this respect. 🔸

⭐ 𝑆𝑜 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑆𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠, 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑑𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 ? 𝐻𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑔𝑜𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑑𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑠𝑒 ? ✨

Photo credit: Sebastien Dolidon

🎶 Let's listen (and watch !) to the first song that propelled Placebo to fame, 𝑁𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑦 𝐵𝑜𝑦 , and the latest song they released, 𝑆𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝐵𝑦 𝑆𝑝𝑖𝑒𝑠 from their upcoming album, 𝑁𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝐿𝑒𝑡 𝑀𝑒 𝐺𝑜 🎶

⭐🎥 𝑵𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒚 𝑩𝒐𝒚 𝒂𝒕 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒊 𝑭𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒏 1996 https://bit.ly/3q8FNtN 🎵

⭐🎥 𝑺𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝑩𝒚 𝑺𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒔 https://bit.ly/3me1PKA 🎵

Photo credits collage: Robin (2), Liam Duke, David Willis, Scarlet Page, Joseph Llanes (2), Mads Perch / edit by Laetitia 

Post by Laetitia