“๐ ๐๐ก๐ฌ๐๐ฎ๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ ๐ ๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ค๐ ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ค๐ฅ๐ฉ๐๐ข๐๐จ๐ข ๐๐ฃ ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐ข๐ช๐จ๐๐, ๐๐ฉ'๐จ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ข๐๐จ๐๐ง๐ฎ. ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐ฉ'๐จ ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฉ ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฃ๐๐ค๐ฌ ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ง ๐จ๐๐๐ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐จ๐ค๐ช๐ก, ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ค๐ ๐ก๐ค๐ซ๐, ๐๐๐๐๐ช๐จ๐ ๐ก๐ค๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐ ๐ก๐๐ ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ: ๐๐ฉ ๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐ ๐ก๐ค๐ฉ ๐ค๐ ๐๐ค๐ฎ, ๐๐ช๐ฉ ๐๐ก๐จ๐ค ๐ ๐ก๐ค๐ฉ ๐ค๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ฃ.”
๐ฑ๐๐ธ๐ฐ๐ฝ ๐ผ๐พ๐ป๐บ๐พ
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| Photo credit: Liam Duke / Guitar Part cover / Edit by Laetitia |
๐น At the beginning of the century, the internet was becoming more and more popular, but was not yet as important as it is today. When Brian says that "At the moment, I don't think that the technology is sufficient for it to be very dangerous", I wonder if his opinion is still the same now…
๐น A rather serious interview, but with a bit of sharp humour here and there ๐
Enjoy reading ! ๐
๐น ๐ท ๐น
〰️ ๐๐จ๐๐ค๐ญ๐๐ข๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ค๐จ 〰️
๐น ๐ด๐๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐๐ก ๐กโ๐๐ก ๐ต๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐, โ๐'๐ ๐ ๐โ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ฆ ๐คโ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐'๐ก ๐ โ๐ฆ ๐๐ค๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐ , ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐'๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐ โ๐๐ ๐ค๐๐๐๐ . ๐น๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐๐ก ๐กโ๐ ๐ด๐๐๐๐-๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ ๐ ๐ก๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ โ๐๐.
๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ข๐ก ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐ค ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐ต๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ก ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐, ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ค ๐๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐โ...
◾ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ?
๐ฌ A bad one. But maybe I still am...
◾ ๐ซ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐?
๐ฌ No, not really. I'm completely self-taught. When you teach yourself, there are no rules, or at least you don't know them. So you develop your own style. Even mistakes can be beautiful: you have to invent everything, everything is possible. I was especially inspired by Sonic Youth: detune everything, invent a new way of playing, develop it. And all this happened because nobody told me: "๐โ ๐ฆ๐๐ข ๐๐๐'๐ก ๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐๐ก"... Of course I can! (๐ญ๐ข๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ด). Look: plink! (๐ญ๐ข๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ด). Sometimes, some things that people consider awful are actually very "musical". It's an adventure thing I think.
◾ ๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐?
๐ฌ It was an acoustic Aria, which I still have, by the way. And I haven't changed the strings in... pfff, five years. And it's tuned in a very, very interesting way: it only has four strings, and it's a special guitar.
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| Photo credit: Anja, Wall Backstage, 2000 |
๐ฌ Pfff... To be honest, if I answered that question by saying yes, I would be Billie Corgan... It's important not to believe in your myth too much. Otherwise, you start to become a bit of an asshole...
◾ ๐จ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ช๐๐๐๐๐...
๐ฌ ...that he believes in his myth ? Yes. Yes, I do. I'm not going to say things like "๐ผ'๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ค๐๐๐ก๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐" etc. etc., otherwise it stalls progress. You always have to keep a certain humility, be your own fiercest critic, to keep learning. I have never considered myself as an extremely revolutionary guitarist. For me, the guitar has always been a "vehicle" for writing songs. I have a very instinctive approach. Stef, on the other hand, learned guitar in music schools: we complement each other very well. We complement each other very well. He has a very technical approach, I'm more abstract. That's why it works.
◾ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐พ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฐ'๐ ๐ต๐๐๐๐๐๐...
๐ฌ Without You I'm Nothing was made in a rather depressive atmosphere. We weren't very happy. A lot of things that were going on in our lives were quite painful. We had "romantic" problems, let's say: in our personal relationships, we had a lot of problems with our partners, and everything basically came out with the music.
◾ ๐บ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐พ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฐ'๐ ๐ต๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ , ๐๐'๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ !
๐ฌ Well, I hope not. I still think there's a little bit of hope and optimism in our music, it's not there to create misery. Maybe it's just a window into the dark side of the soul, and of love, because love can be like that: it can give you a lot of joy, but also a lot of pain.
◾ ๐พ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฐ'๐ ๐ต๐๐๐๐๐๐... ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐...
๐ฌ It's funny. I'll tell you a story: at the Reading Festival, you know ? Last year, two people got married on the Reading stage. Before the first band, at eleven o'clock in the morning, on Without You I'm Nothing. We really laughed, we couldn't believe it. I always thought there was a great irony: I imagined that a lot of couples might be having sex on that song and on My Sweet Prince, and they're both songs about relationships falling apart: I find that very ironic. Very "depressive" songs but people sing them to each other as proof of love.
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| Photo credit: Jamie Beeden |
◾ ๐พ๐๐ ๐
๐๐
๐๐๐ ๐๐-๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐๐
๐ฉ๐๐๐๐?
๐ฌ We didn't re-record it. He came in, put his voice on it, and we remixed it. In fact, we were going to do a song at the Brit Awards with David. The tradition is to do covers of classic English songs. Since we had done Twentieth Century Boy for Velvet Goldmine, I suggested to David that we do it for the Brits. He said OK. Then he called me and said "๐๐ ๐ โ๐๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐กโ๐๐ข๐ก ๐๐๐ข, ๐๐ก'๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ข๐๐๐ก๐...", I said "๐ผ ๐๐๐'๐ก ๐กโ๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐ต๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ค๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ก...". We asked them and they said, "๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ค๐๐๐ก๐๐๐กโ ๐ถ๐๐๐ก๐ข๐๐ฆ ๐ต๐๐ฆ." So David and I decided to make it a single: he had already written his harmony, he really wanted to be on this song. It's a huge honour.
◾ ๐พ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ท๐๐๐ ๐ช๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐?
๐ฌ Because he was someone, when we met him, that we were sure would become a friend. We could go out for a drink with him. We felt with him the ability to work as a group. We wanted to do a co-production, but we didn't want to work with a big producer with a big back catalogue and the big ego that goes with it... We wanted to work as a team and Corkie (smiles) became one of our closest friends. A bit like Bowie discovered his Visconti.
◾ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐: ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐?
๐ฌ Why ? (๐ญ๐ข๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ด)
◾ ๐ป๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ "๐๐๐?" ...
๐ฌ I don't rap the most, Justiin Warfield does. He's not a gangster rapper, that's why we wanted to work with him. He's a very intellectual, literary rapper. Justin wanted to fit perfectly with the Placebo spirit. There was a big hole in the song, on the chorus, it didn't come out, and I don't like to force it, I want it to be instinctive when I write lyrics. The idea came to me: "๐ฟ๐๐ก'๐ ๐ก๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐, ๐ค๐'๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ก: ๐๐๐ก'๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ก !" We tried it with Justin in Los Angeles, he wrote something great, he came, and bam !
◾ ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐?
๐ฌ I think they are scared. But I'm sure that as soon as they hear it, they will understand. Because it works. And we put it on track 4 on purpose, because we wanted to surprise our audience, because we love it, it's very important for us.
◾ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐, ๐จ๐๐๐๐ ๐ซ๐๐ ๐ญ๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐, ๐
๐๐
๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ "๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐" ๐๐ ๐๐๐?
๐ฌ It was a bit of an inspiration: it was good to listen to albums that you could dance to but that also made you think. In the pop rock scene today, there are so many "disposable razors". There's not much soul and anger. That's why I love a band like Six By Seven, for example. Their latest album is one of the most vitriolic I've ever heard. A lot of bands have become quite complacent. I've always believed in the motto "Anger is an energy". The fighting spirit, the punk spirit of rock has disappeared, and Oasis is responsible for that, responsible for the dilution of rock. After Oasis, we had Travis, Stereophonics, all that... I really like the Muse album, for example, there's a bombastic side to it. But there's not much that interests us in England.
◾ ๐น๐๐๐๐. ๐บ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐: ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐?
๐ฌ In a way, yes. But maybe it's also positive because we've created things to go against that. We've got Britney Spears, Cristina Aguilera, Eminem and Limp Bizkit, and we've got Oasis, Travis and Stereophonics, so that creates something: a new underground, I hope.
◾ ๐ณ๐๐'๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐: ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐-๐๐๐๐๐, ๐ ๐๐'๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐'๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐?
๐ฌ Mmm... No. The technology is there to make your life a little easier in the studio. You can have all the machines you want, if you don't have the idea... You have to know what to do with it: your machine has thousands of effects, so you can do anything.
◾ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐...
๐ฌ That's depriving yourself of the musician's greatest pleasure. It's magical, spiritual...
◾ ๐ฐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐...
๐ฌ I read a lot on tour, in planes, tour-buses, hotels when I can't sleep. If I don't have a book with me, I get scared. I left one of my favourite books on a plane, and I'm very disappointed, it was Billie Holiday's autobiography: Lady Sings The Blues. I have the biography of Jacques Brel and Janis Joplin with me: two people I adore.
◾ ๐จ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐?
๐ฌ Cinema: the last film I saw was Boys Don't Cry. The true story of a woman who dressed up as a guy and started to have a man's life, had a girlfriend, etc. And when people found out she was a girl, they raped and killed her. It's quite hard, but it's true. I'm a big fan of Lars Von Trier, and the style of Dogma, Festen, Les Idiots, Breakin' The Waves...
◾ ๐ฐ๐'๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐'๐ ๐๐?
๐ฌ It's very special but I love it, so I'm looking forward to the release of Dancer In The Dark (๐ฃ๐บ ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ด ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐๐ซ๐ฐ̈๐ณ๐ฌ).
◾ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐๐: ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐. ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐?
๐ฌ (๐๐ฎ๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ณ๐ถ๐จ๐ด) Fuck you! (๐๐ข๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ด) These are people who don't know us. People who spend time with us know very well that we are quite charming, polite and pleasant people. What we do for a living can make you quite schizophrenic: I find that our sense of humour is too often mistaken for arrogance. We are 'jokers'... (๐๐ข๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ด)
◾ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐...
๐ฌ But that's the English press, isn't it?
◾ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐?
๐ฌ Well, I don't read the press anymore (laughs).
◾ ๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐?
๐ฌ Yes, absolutely, you have to, but I don't read the interviews anymore. It's easier for the mind.
◾ ๐พ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐?
๐ฌ Absolutely. The best advice he ever gave us was not to lose our spontaneity. That's a huge amount of wisdom. Spending time with Bowie, Michael Stipe, Bono, it teaches you a lot of things, including how to be (he hesitates) a "better star". These people are legends: the best thing you learn is that you can be a legend, but you don't have to be a pain in the ass !
◾ ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐...
๐ฌ He shaved his head, it's true: I saw the pictures ! And he only communicates with people on the internet. The interesting thing about managing your image is to do what Bowie did: to be a chameleon, to go through processes of reinvention: it's entertaining, it's fun, you have this freedom to be, why not explore it ? Being in a band is a way of remaining a teenager all your life.
◾ ๐ป๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐
๐๐
๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐?
๐ฌ Backstage? When we're in the studio, we play everything ourselves, we respect the "equilateral" triangle, we're a musical, financial democracy, everything has to be done unanimously. But our sound has become more and more complex. We don't have enough arms, we're not octopuses. So on tour we have an extra person on samples and keyboards, but on stage he's not backstage. For the rest, the trio is respected.
◾ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐...
๐ฌ I was in Japan, near a Shinto temple, and the translator explained to me that everything starts with the number three. When you enter a Shinto temple, you have to clap three times. It's very interesting for us: in a trio, you have to be one, it's a bit like the Trinity, it brought us together. In fact, we're just a little gang that protects itself.
◾ ๐พ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐๐?
๐ฌ Plane crash (laughter). Planes scare me: I have a confrontation with my mortality every time I get on a plane, I don't like them at all, but I can't do without. I don't get on a plane without having a couple of vodkas (laughs).
◾ ๐ช๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐?
๐ฌ I can't predict the future. With our music, we have a very instinctive and emotional approach, we're not very calculating. We don't have a definitive idea of what Placebo should sound like. We never censor ourselves: anyone can play any instrument in the studio.
◾ ๐ณ๐๐'๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ต๐๐๐๐๐๐: ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ณ๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐จ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ต๐๐๐๐๐๐?
๐ฌ (๐ด๐ฎ๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด) What you don't know about Limp Bizkit is that they're getting paid two million dollars for their fucking tour by Napster, so it's not free concerts. It's marketing, hypocrisy... Limp Bizkit, fuck you ! I have no problem with people who want to sell their music without a record company, it's very cool to have this freedom on the internet. But imagine: you take ten CDs, you go out without paying, it's theft. This romantic idea, that musicians and artists have to be poor and live in the gutter, and die like Van Gogh before they become successful, for me, is not realistic. You're a journalist, you love what you do, but you have responsibilities: you have to eat, you have to pay the rent, you might have children... Why, because we are artists, should we be the only people in the world to work for free ? At the moment, I don't think that the technology is sufficient for it to be very dangerous.
◾ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐?
๐ฌ At the moment I'm listening a lot to the Queen Of The Stone Age album, Gainsbourg's Histoire De Melody Nelson, which is one of the great works of all music, and the third Velvet album.
◾ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐๐, ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐?
๐ฌ I stop racism, homophobia, and like Bono, I cancel the debt of the third world...
๐ ๐ธ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ข ๐พ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฟ๐๐๐ ๐°๐พ0 - ๐ฝ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ธ000
๐น ๐ท ๐น
๐น This Guitar Part magazine included a CD with a very special and original musical interview with Brian, who admitted that he "had never done this before" ... ๐
๐ฝ๐ง๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐ค๐ก๐ ๐ค '๐๐ช๐๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ'
๐ธ https://bit.ly/3OXCuRF ๐ธ
Translation by Laetitia
Post by Laetitia
๐ฌ We didn't re-record it. He came in, put his voice on it, and we remixed it. In fact, we were going to do a song at the Brit Awards with David. The tradition is to do covers of classic English songs. Since we had done Twentieth Century Boy for Velvet Goldmine, I suggested to David that we do it for the Brits. He said OK. Then he called me and said "๐๐ ๐ โ๐๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐กโ๐๐ข๐ก ๐๐๐ข, ๐๐ก'๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ข๐๐๐ก๐...", I said "๐ผ ๐๐๐'๐ก ๐กโ๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐ต๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ค๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ก...". We asked them and they said, "๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ค๐๐๐ก๐๐๐กโ ๐ถ๐๐๐ก๐ข๐๐ฆ ๐ต๐๐ฆ." So David and I decided to make it a single: he had already written his harmony, he really wanted to be on this song. It's a huge honour.
◾ ๐พ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ท๐๐๐ ๐ช๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐?
๐ฌ Because he was someone, when we met him, that we were sure would become a friend. We could go out for a drink with him. We felt with him the ability to work as a group. We wanted to do a co-production, but we didn't want to work with a big producer with a big back catalogue and the big ego that goes with it... We wanted to work as a team and Corkie (smiles) became one of our closest friends. A bit like Bowie discovered his Visconti.
◾ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐: ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐?
๐ฌ Why ? (๐ญ๐ข๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ด)
◾ ๐ป๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ "๐๐๐?" ...
๐ฌ I don't rap the most, Justiin Warfield does. He's not a gangster rapper, that's why we wanted to work with him. He's a very intellectual, literary rapper. Justin wanted to fit perfectly with the Placebo spirit. There was a big hole in the song, on the chorus, it didn't come out, and I don't like to force it, I want it to be instinctive when I write lyrics. The idea came to me: "๐ฟ๐๐ก'๐ ๐ก๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐, ๐ค๐'๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ก: ๐๐๐ก'๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ก !" We tried it with Justin in Los Angeles, he wrote something great, he came, and bam !
◾ ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐?
๐ฌ I think they are scared. But I'm sure that as soon as they hear it, they will understand. Because it works. And we put it on track 4 on purpose, because we wanted to surprise our audience, because we love it, it's very important for us.
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| Photo credit: Kevin Westenberg |
๐ฌ It was a bit of an inspiration: it was good to listen to albums that you could dance to but that also made you think. In the pop rock scene today, there are so many "disposable razors". There's not much soul and anger. That's why I love a band like Six By Seven, for example. Their latest album is one of the most vitriolic I've ever heard. A lot of bands have become quite complacent. I've always believed in the motto "Anger is an energy". The fighting spirit, the punk spirit of rock has disappeared, and Oasis is responsible for that, responsible for the dilution of rock. After Oasis, we had Travis, Stereophonics, all that... I really like the Muse album, for example, there's a bombastic side to it. But there's not much that interests us in England.
◾ ๐น๐๐๐๐. ๐บ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐: ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐?
๐ฌ In a way, yes. But maybe it's also positive because we've created things to go against that. We've got Britney Spears, Cristina Aguilera, Eminem and Limp Bizkit, and we've got Oasis, Travis and Stereophonics, so that creates something: a new underground, I hope.
◾ ๐ณ๐๐'๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐: ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐-๐๐๐๐๐, ๐ ๐๐'๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐'๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐?
๐ฌ Mmm... No. The technology is there to make your life a little easier in the studio. You can have all the machines you want, if you don't have the idea... You have to know what to do with it: your machine has thousands of effects, so you can do anything.
◾ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐...
๐ฌ That's depriving yourself of the musician's greatest pleasure. It's magical, spiritual...
◾ ๐ฐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐...
๐ฌ I read a lot on tour, in planes, tour-buses, hotels when I can't sleep. If I don't have a book with me, I get scared. I left one of my favourite books on a plane, and I'm very disappointed, it was Billie Holiday's autobiography: Lady Sings The Blues. I have the biography of Jacques Brel and Janis Joplin with me: two people I adore.
 |
| Photo credit: Karin Catt |
๐ฌ Cinema: the last film I saw was Boys Don't Cry. The true story of a woman who dressed up as a guy and started to have a man's life, had a girlfriend, etc. And when people found out she was a girl, they raped and killed her. It's quite hard, but it's true. I'm a big fan of Lars Von Trier, and the style of Dogma, Festen, Les Idiots, Breakin' The Waves...
◾ ๐ฐ๐'๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐'๐ ๐๐?
๐ฌ It's very special but I love it, so I'm looking forward to the release of Dancer In The Dark (๐ฃ๐บ ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ด ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐๐ซ๐ฐ̈๐ณ๐ฌ).
◾ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐๐: ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐. ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐?
๐ฌ (๐๐ฎ๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ณ๐ถ๐จ๐ด) Fuck you! (๐๐ข๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ด) These are people who don't know us. People who spend time with us know very well that we are quite charming, polite and pleasant people. What we do for a living can make you quite schizophrenic: I find that our sense of humour is too often mistaken for arrogance. We are 'jokers'... (๐๐ข๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ด)
◾ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐...
๐ฌ But that's the English press, isn't it?
◾ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐?
๐ฌ Well, I don't read the press anymore (laughs).
◾ ๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐?
๐ฌ Yes, absolutely, you have to, but I don't read the interviews anymore. It's easier for the mind.
◾ ๐พ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐?
๐ฌ Absolutely. The best advice he ever gave us was not to lose our spontaneity. That's a huge amount of wisdom. Spending time with Bowie, Michael Stipe, Bono, it teaches you a lot of things, including how to be (he hesitates) a "better star". These people are legends: the best thing you learn is that you can be a legend, but you don't have to be a pain in the ass !
◾ ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐...
๐ฌ He shaved his head, it's true: I saw the pictures ! And he only communicates with people on the internet. The interesting thing about managing your image is to do what Bowie did: to be a chameleon, to go through processes of reinvention: it's entertaining, it's fun, you have this freedom to be, why not explore it ? Being in a band is a way of remaining a teenager all your life.
 |
| Photo credit: Jamie Beeden |
๐ฌ Backstage? When we're in the studio, we play everything ourselves, we respect the "equilateral" triangle, we're a musical, financial democracy, everything has to be done unanimously. But our sound has become more and more complex. We don't have enough arms, we're not octopuses. So on tour we have an extra person on samples and keyboards, but on stage he's not backstage. For the rest, the trio is respected.
◾ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐...
๐ฌ I was in Japan, near a Shinto temple, and the translator explained to me that everything starts with the number three. When you enter a Shinto temple, you have to clap three times. It's very interesting for us: in a trio, you have to be one, it's a bit like the Trinity, it brought us together. In fact, we're just a little gang that protects itself.
◾ ๐พ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐๐?
๐ฌ Plane crash (laughter). Planes scare me: I have a confrontation with my mortality every time I get on a plane, I don't like them at all, but I can't do without. I don't get on a plane without having a couple of vodkas (laughs).
◾ ๐ช๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐?
๐ฌ I can't predict the future. With our music, we have a very instinctive and emotional approach, we're not very calculating. We don't have a definitive idea of what Placebo should sound like. We never censor ourselves: anyone can play any instrument in the studio.
◾ ๐ณ๐๐'๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ต๐๐๐๐๐๐: ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ณ๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐จ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ต๐๐๐๐๐๐?
๐ฌ (๐ด๐ฎ๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด) What you don't know about Limp Bizkit is that they're getting paid two million dollars for their fucking tour by Napster, so it's not free concerts. It's marketing, hypocrisy... Limp Bizkit, fuck you ! I have no problem with people who want to sell their music without a record company, it's very cool to have this freedom on the internet. But imagine: you take ten CDs, you go out without paying, it's theft. This romantic idea, that musicians and artists have to be poor and live in the gutter, and die like Van Gogh before they become successful, for me, is not realistic. You're a journalist, you love what you do, but you have responsibilities: you have to eat, you have to pay the rent, you might have children... Why, because we are artists, should we be the only people in the world to work for free ? At the moment, I don't think that the technology is sufficient for it to be very dangerous.
◾ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐?
๐ฌ At the moment I'm listening a lot to the Queen Of The Stone Age album, Gainsbourg's Histoire De Melody Nelson, which is one of the great works of all music, and the third Velvet album.
◾ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐๐, ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐?
๐ฌ I stop racism, homophobia, and like Bono, I cancel the debt of the third world...
๐ ๐ธ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ข ๐พ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฟ๐๐๐ ๐°๐พ0 - ๐ฝ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ธ000
๐น ๐ท ๐น
๐น This Guitar Part magazine included a CD with a very special and original musical interview with Brian, who admitted that he "had never done this before" ... ๐
๐ฝ๐ง๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐ค๐ก๐ ๐ค '๐๐ช๐๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ'
๐ธ https://bit.ly/3OXCuRF ๐ธ
Translation by Laetitia
Post by Laetitia
