“WHAT I DO IS ANSWER HONESTLY THE QUESTIONS THAT ARE ASKED. I DON'T THINK YOU HAVE TO BE PARTICULARLY BRAVE TO SAY WHAT YOU THINK OPENLY”
Brian Molko, October 1998 |
| Photo Credit: Kevin Westenberg / Magazine Cover |
In this case it's the issue 218th of October 1998, and the interview was given on the occasion of the release of Placebo's second album 'Without You I'm Nothing'.
I guess that just a few of you have already read it, as it is in Italian and only in print. So I have translated it hoping that you will find it as interesting as I did.
The interviewer, Elio Bussolino, asked Brian a series of interesting and by no means obvious questions.
And he in turn spared no words, giving us a lengthy, genuine and passionate interview, as only Brian can do, even more so in those years.
Enjoy reading and take care of each other.
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| Placebo live @Rolling Stone, Milan (Italy) on November 20th 1998 |
Maybe Brian Molko is still too young to have learnt how to balance his energies. Or maybe he is still too caught up in the desire to talk about Placebo's new album, to feel the slightest need to spare himself.
As a matter of fact, it is rare to meet such an affable and chatty artist, even after a whole day spent countering mischievous provocations around his gaudy make-up, dealing with gossipy curiosities, and answering questions of circumstance, as is the norm in the busy schedule arranged by a record label's press office, on the eve of the release of an album on which it has staked so much.
The kind of person you don't really have to mince words with, the singer of Placebo. But also a young man who is always very careful not to evade questions, and not to blow smoke around answers. Not even when the topic forces him to return to facts and circumstances that have upset and hurt his dignity as a human being, before even his sensitivity as an artist.
Here's what he told us about the new songs of 'Without You I'm Nothing', about the hallucinating phone calls he received some time ago from some deranged person, about his ideological and musical 'allergies', his experiences on the set of 'Velvet Goldmine' - the film celebration of the glam era - and about how much all this has contributed to his personal growth and the growth of the band whose fortunes he firmly holds.
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| Photo credit: Levy |
Let's start with 'Pure Morning', the first single from the new album. Someone described it as a slower version of 'Nancy Boy'. Do you find the comparison pertinent?
I believe the juxtaposition is not entirely out of the blue. Of course the two songs are quite different, but surely everyone was expecting us to return to action with a song not far removed from 'Nancy Boy', maybe some kind of 'Nancy Boy' part two. We prepared ourselves in such a way that we didn't make a very clear break with our previous production, although the overriding need always remained not to repeat ourselves and rather to strive to go beyond what we had done. In this particular case, I would say that we mainly tried to give a more hip-hop feel to the rhythms and a more Jesus And Mary Chain-esque timbre to the guitars. This eventually distances the new single quite a bit from the other one, although to us it seems to work just as well, and does the best job of introducing our second album, which tells everyone unequivocally: "That's it, Placebo are back." Among other things, there is an interesting story about 'Pure Morning'. Originally it wasn't even meant to be included on the album, it was just a guitar loop intended at best to occupy the B-side of a single. Actually, we weren't even sure we were using it before Phil Vinall - the producer of 'Nancy Boy' - heard it. He was the one who convinced us that it was worth working on, that it could become a good single. At that point it all happened so quickly that we hardly noticed. In one day we finished the whole thing. And I have to say that no one had rushed us, and that, in fact, recording at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios was almost like taking a holiday, so much so that we were made completely comfortable. That's why I am convinced that 'Pure Morning' is much more than just an invitation to listen to our album.
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| Photo credit: Space Circus |
Still on the subject of 'Nancy Boy', if I remember correctly, that song did give you the satisfaction of entering the UK Top 5, but it also gave you quite a bit of hassle. I'm referring to the death threats you started receiving around that time. Did you really take them seriously?
I really couldn't help it when several times a day I would pick up the phone and hear phrases like: 'I know where you live, you son of a bitch, and be aware that I'm coming to get you!' Maybe this is something that happens to anyone who manages to gain a modicum of celebrity, but in all honesty this thought did not reassure me at all. At first I felt a great anger against the person who was making those delusional threats to me. Then I tried to react more rationally and positively, I even changed the voice on my answering machine, but it continued to repeat itself for a long time and the messages, indeed, became more and more awful. To get an idea of what I went through, just listen to the hidden track on the new record: it contains a recording of one of those messages.
Were you then able to come to terms with it, to understand why you were subjected to those threats?
Well, I tried. I believe one reason is that we are a band capable of arousing very intense and diametrically opposed emotions, of making people love or hate us without any possibility of mediation. I don't think Placebo can be indifferent to anyone. I won't hide from you that this is something I'm proud of, despite the risks it entails, starting with that kind of phone call.
I hope it's all over now....
Fortunately it is. I am almost free of that nightmare.
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| Photo credit: David Titlow |
Well, then let's get back to the new album. Several songs, from 'Every You Every Me' to 'Scared of Girls', 'You Don't Care About Us' to the very 'Without You I'm Nothing' that gives the record its title, give the impression that you have been - and maybe still are - struggling with serious identity issues, or at least personality conflicts. Would you like to talk about that?
Sure. First of all I want to say that in this record I tried to talk about my relationships with the media and vice versa, to go into more detail with the relationships I have with people as human beings. Almost the whole album is set on that subject, on trying to describe my relationships with others in terms of emotions, anxieties, troubles.In 'Every You Every Me', for instance, I tried to draw a kind of identikit of those in a relationship who tend above all to overpower the other. 'Scared of Girls' is a kind of investigation into the reasons for sexual promiscuity, into the reasons why some men may have relationships with different women at the same time. Is that love on the part of these men, or rather is it fear, hatred, a desire to take revenge on a woman? Because if these are their actual reasons, then one must basically speak of deep insecurity. 'Without You I'm Nothing', on the other hand, is the most romantic track on the album, and it's about how, between two people, there often comes a dependency such that in the end it is unbearable for one or even both of them. This is something that reflects a lot on my personal experiences and those of my two band mates over the last two years. In general, I would say that this record is much more melancholic than the other one, just because it dwells more on the relationships that each of us three has had recently.
There is a title in this album that sounds quite curious: 'Allergic (To Thoughts of Mother Earth)'. Would you mind elaborating on this kind of allergy?
That is perhaps the most political song you can hear from Placebo. Better still, I would say the most ecological one, even though the topic specifically concerns the Christian idea of Paradise as a place foreign to Earth. The latter, therefore, can safely be used as a large dustbin, something one can dispose of without any worries. It is maybe from this belief that the low ecological consciousness of a significant portion of the planet's inhabitants derives. But nature always manages to be more powerful than they are, and to fool them in one way or another.
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Photo credit: David Bailey |
Still on the subject of allergies, one that concerns you personally is the one for Oasis and the Verve. Or so you implied in a recent interview. You're not really afraid of making major enemies, are you?
No, not at all. The fact is that it is a personal opinion and should be taken as such. I believe they make very traditional music, but that's not my problem and I certainly don't go around making proclamations against them. What I do is answer honestly the questions that are asked. I play in another band and I think Placebo are much more into something new, that, much more than them, are trying to find new outlets for rock'n'roll. I don't think you have to be particularly brave to say what you think openly.
A few weeks ago, you shared the same stage with Gomez and Idlewild, two bands that are generally highly regarded around here. How do you rate them?
I liked them both. Idlewild have very effective melodies, a very strong pop appeal combined with a decidedly punk attitude. About Gomez, I can say that they have no rivals in the roots field, they are making very interesting experiments combining electronics and new recording techniques with classic sounds, and they know how to get really surprising solutions out of them, a bit like Scott 4. I became fast friends with Gomez, something I cannot say about Idlewild. With Gomez I also happened to record something on acoustic guitar a couple of weeks ago, and it may end up on their next record.
And what about your participation in the Dream City Film Club single, are they other friends of yours?
Yes. Their bass player played for several years with Steve Hewitt, our new drummer, in Breed. Dream City Film Club was formed around the same time as Placebo. We played together several times and became very close friends. They wanted to have a guest on their record and they invited me. I really enjoyed recording that song with them, it reminded me a lot of PJ Harvey's stuff.
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| Photo credit: MTV Studios |
I went into the studio, was given the lyrics of the song, went out for the time it took to learn it, recorded it in one session and then left for the pub!
And how did you feel as the Flaming Creatures in the film 'Velvet Goldmine'?
It was all extremely funny. The film is a brilliant comedy and the Flaming Creatures are sort of New York Dolls living in London. It was really funny to see us with all that make-up on: Stefan, for example, had his hair backcombed so exaggeratedly that it looked like a lion's mane. I guess the audience will really enjoy that film, I've already seen it twice! And then there is some excellent music and the story itself on which it is based, in fact a love story between two men, is full of twists and turns!
Still on the subject of cinema: you may have heard that your friend David Bowie wants to put the story of Ziggy Stardust on film. Does that sound like a good idea?
Listen, I have a deep respect for him and I'm sure he considered the idea very carefully before making that decision. Anything he does is fine with me.
But don't you think the film risks losing that aura of legend surrounding the character of Ziggy Stardust?
No, David is far too intelligent a person to allow that to happen. If he ever realised that something wasn't working as planned, he would immediately know how to correct it. No, I don't worry at all about how that film will turn out, as he is the one who is taking care of the project himself.
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| Placebo live @Rolling Stone, Milan (Italy) on November 20th 1998 |
One more thing before we say goodbye. From what we've heard, you've emerged quite battered from a long series of tours following the release of your first album, and there's already another long UK tour in sight, and then several more dates on the continent. How did you prepare for all those commitments this time around?
With the conviction that we have grown up in the meantime. Before then, I had never been in a band, it was therefore quite natural to indulge in the excesses that the life of a musician always on the move presents you with: parties, entertainment, lively company and so on. We now feel a much greater responsibility to always live up to the expectations that people have of us and that we ourselves feel towards our work and the people who have invested energy and resources in this group. The most important thing is to do your job well and derive the greatest satisfaction from knowing that you are always trying to do it to the best of your ability. In my opinion, this should be enough to prevent us from falling into the usual rock'n'roll traps. We are much calmer than we were two years ago, in short, and much less willing to indulge in the craziness.
The next date with the Italian audience?
It's on November 28th, at the Rolling Stone, in Milan. Original Interview by Elio Bussolino - "Rockerilla" Magazine nr 218 - October 1998
Transcript and Translation by Emanuela
Post by Emanuela
