🎊𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐏𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄🎊

𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐏𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄, the second single from Placebo’s fourth studio album 𝑺𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑮𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒔, was released 19 years ago today🎊
It reached no. 23 in the UK Singles Chart.

Photo credit: Perou (2003); single cover / edit by Olga

𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐨 - 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐏𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 (𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐕𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨)
➡ https://bit.ly/3t4Hs5W

The song was produced by Jim Abbiss.
Photography for the single was created by 𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒂 𝑩𝒆𝒓𝒈 and 𝑱𝒆𝒂𝒏-𝑩𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆 𝑴𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒐.
The single was released on CD, including Australian version, 7” vinyl and DVD.

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𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔
𝐂𝐃
This Picture
Soulmates
Where Is My Mind? (XFM Live Version) - 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑛 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 "𝑇𝐻𝐸 𝑍𝑂𝐸 𝐵𝐴𝐿𝐿 𝑆𝐻𝑂𝑊" 𝑜𝑛 𝑋𝐹𝑀 104.9 𝐿𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑜𝑛 (𝐹𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑏𝑟𝑜𝑎𝑑𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑡 18 𝑀𝑎𝑟𝑐ℎ 2003)
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𝐀𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐃 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧
This Picture
Soulmates
Where Is My Mind? (XFM Live Version)
Daddy Cool
Teenage Angst (Piano Version)
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𝟕" 𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐲𝐥
This Picture
Where Is My Mind? (XFM Live Version)
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𝐃𝐕𝐃
This Picture (video)
Interview footage
This Picture (acoustic version recorded by RTL2 France)
Jackie - audio track

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In 2004, This Picture was remixed by 𝑱𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒓 𝑺𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒛 for the bonus remix CD of Once More with Feeling.

Screenshot from the official video

𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐨 - 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐏𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 (𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐳 𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐱)
➡ https://bit.ly/3t6MGhK


⭐𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐏𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄 was written as a piano ballad but while in the studio, changed into a rock song. This latter version was included into the album. However, an original version wasn’t also lost. Its live performance for 𝑹𝑻𝑳2 𝑭𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝑨𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝑺𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 was released on This Picture DVD single.
📢𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧: We wrote it on tour and it was a very REM piece, an atmospheric piano thing, quite abstract. Then we were in the studio, and we covered it in a pretty punk way...
(𝑃𝑜𝑝 𝑅𝑜𝑐𝑘 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑅𝑇𝐿2, 𝑀𝑎𝑟𝑐ℎ 28𝑡ℎ, 2003)


𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐨 - 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐏𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 (𝐀𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐭 𝐑𝐓𝐋𝟐 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨)
➡ https://bit.ly/3PKlyPc


Who can better explain the meaning of the song than 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 himself?
So, let’s ‘listen’ to him.


📢𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧: "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)


📢𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧: "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 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑡)


Last question: who is the "Ashtray Girl"?
📢𝐁𝐌: You.
Me?
📢𝐁𝐌: And you. And Stef. And me. We are all the Ashtray Girl. It's a very old story, which seems to have some truth behind it, about James Dean. His lovers called him an "Asian human". He made her stub out cigarette butts on his chest. The picture has moved me a lot since I heard about it. It's fascinating, a very romantic form of masochism. In the song, it is representative of self-destructive relationships.
(𝑙𝑎𝑢𝑡.𝑑𝑒 "𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑛𝑑", 𝑆𝑒𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 2003)

Screenshot from the official video

📢𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧: Someone walking away from a self-destructive relationship. It recalls James Dean’s fetish of having cigarettes stubbed out on his chest during sex, only here they’re being stubbed out on mine.
(𝑅𝑜𝑐𝑘 𝑆𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑, 𝐴𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑙 2003)


𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒚 𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍 𝒊𝒏 “𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝑷𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆”?
📢𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧: "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)


⭐𝑨 𝒇𝒆𝒘 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒚𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒔…
"𝐅𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐚𝐤𝐞" is a term that belongs to slang and refers to a "crazy" person. It’s also used to suggest that a person is gay.
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞?
There’s a game for children that offers an image with out-of-context elements to be found. Now, an expression is used to sarcastically suggest that something in a situation is wrong.


⭐An 𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐎 for This Picture was directed by 𝑯𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝑮𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒏𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒈𝒉 who also worked on Nancy Boy, Bruise Pristine, Slave To the Wage, Special K, The Bitter End previously and later, in 2009, on For What It’s Worth and Battle For The Sun videos.
It features an Italian actress (and Brian’s friend) 𝑨𝒔𝒊𝒂 𝑨𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒐 who had by then collaborated with Trash Palace and Brian on the Serge Gainsbourg cover “Je t'aime moi no plus” in 2002.

Screenshot from the official video

⭐𝑺𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒐…
𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧: Well, this video is quite self-explanatory, really. The song is about self-destruction and destructive relationships. Another video by Howard Greenhalgh.
𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞: Again, another video set in…
𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧: A future place.
𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞: 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.
𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧: 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.
𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐟𝐚𝐧: There was a lot of fashion going on. We were in designer gear for this one.
𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧: Christian Dior.
𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐟𝐚𝐧: And then you’ve got Mancuso.
𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧: 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.
𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐟𝐚𝐧: It’s filmed during the first British tour of ‘Sleeping with ghosts’ between two shows.
𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧: And my little machine which reveals the faces. It’s a beautiful… Asia Argento.
(𝑂𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑀𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑊𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝐹𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐷𝑉𝐷, 2004)


⭐So far, 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐏𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄 was played live 130 time during 𝑺𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑮𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒔 and 𝑶𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝑴𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑭𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔. For the first time, it was performed on March 10th, 2003, at London Astoria, and most recently, on February 19th, 2006, at Bangkok 100 Rock Festival.

Post by Olga