๐ Among the items in the Placebo catalog, one of my favourites is the ๐ญ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐๐
๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ช๐ซ.
๐ Released on March 13, 2006, this copy has the particularity of being presented in the form of a ๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐, including the CD and a leaflet with instructions on how to take the treatment correctly. The aim of the treatment ? To be addicted to Placebo of course ! ๐
๐ The content of the leaflet is quite funny and well written. Everything is there: the dosage, the composition, the indications. And like all medicines, it is recommended "๐๐๐ก ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ค๐๐กโ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐๐โ ๐๐ ๐โ๐๐๐๐๐๐" !
๐ The leaflet also contains a short history of the band, which is very inspired and inspiring. Lovely words.๐
I have translated it for you.
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Photo credit: Nadav Kander / Edit by Laetitia
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๐๐ก๐๐๐จ๐ ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ ๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ช๐๐ก ๐๐๐ง๐๐๐ช๐ก๐ก๐ฎ ๐๐๐๐ค๐ง๐ ๐ก๐๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ ๐๐ก๐๐ช๐ข.
๐ผ๐ก ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐.
๐พ๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ก, ๐ฆ๐๐ข ๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐.
๐โ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ข๐ โ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฆ. ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ก ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐.
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Talent always comes out in the end. In 2000, while the world was wondering about the future of rock, Placebo, without pulling the wool over the eyes, sold a million copies of Black Market Music, their third album, which reached number one in almost all of Europe. Three years later, as the long-awaited new rock waves swept through London and New York, Placebo sold one and a half million copies of Sleeping With Ghosts and played to 18,000 people at Bercy. When the band of Brian Molko, Stefan Olsdal and Steve Hewitt played a sold-out show at Wembley Arena in 2004 to celebrate the release of their singles compilation Once More With Feeling, the truth became even more blinding: a decade after their debut, Placebo's persistence, blistering albums and scorching live shows had finally earned them a place on the podium of the major bands of their generation. "This rise to prominence has been a gradual process since the first album," confirms Stefan. Each of our albums has done a little better than the last and we weren't shocked. The same goes for the stage: there were five of us on the last tour, which allowed Brian and I to perform better.
What is truly remarkable about Placebo's rise to fame is that it has always been linked to a thirst for musical creativity, self-discovery and good storytelling. From the androgynous imagery of their early days, the band went on to analyze human nature (its perversions, the humiliations we inflict on others, the addictions and hope we often refuse to see), while exploring new musical territory: hip-hop and disco elements were incorporated into Black Market Music, while for Sleeping With Ghosts, Placebo dabbled in electronics. Courageously, the band challenged their audience to follow them, and saw them grow exponentially. With Meds, Placebo will take a new step.
Written in the summer of 2004 in the south of France, recorded in four months at London's RAK studios the following year with French producer Dimitri Tikovoรฏ, and mixed by the legendary Flood (U2, Depeche Mode), Meds shows Placebo as they are now, convinced that they have written the best songs of their career. "We ended up with too many songs for this record," Brian says . In general, we were always one short. There are at least five or six singles on Meds."
Placebo have encouraged Tikovoi to tone down their enthusiasm for electronics, a direction the band thought they were going to exploit after writing Twenty Years for the singles compilation, in favour of the guitar/bass/drums formula that doesn't cheat and emphasizes the intrinsic quality of the songs. "Dimitri's idea was that we should approach this record as if it were the first," Brian explains, "to get out of our comfort zone, to put Placebo back in danger. RAK is a studio where time has stood still, it hasn't changed much since the 70s and 80s. We had to go back to the elemental side of Placebo: for example, instead of expensive vintage keyboards, we used a simple piano. We had a reputation for being a bit complicated and we liked the freedom to go back to the basics. We preferred to put a lot of emphasis on writing rather than showing how skilled we were in the studio. We favoured simplicity over elaboration."
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| Photo edit: Album cover, edit by Laetitia |
The result is not only a detonating cocktail: Meds is certainly the most human Placebo record to date. Brian Molko no longer feels the need to define himself using his array of S&M gadgets. He has become an adult, a storyteller who can talk about life without a coded language. In Meds he tells stories of fragile souls who panic because they forgot to take their medication. (Meds with VV from the Kills), of shame seen in the bathroom mirror at dawn, of re-declining after taking certain substances (Cold Light Of Morning) and of "friends who make the worst life choices" (Song To Say Goodbye). There is also a beautiful ballad (Follow The Cops back Home) and mysterious, haunting songs like Space Monkey, which Placebo listen to again as if it were a different band. Among other encounters, Meds is also marked by the presence of Michael Stipe, who illuminates Broken Promise with his presence: "We've known Michael since Velvet Goldmine and we met him in a hotel in Paris," Brian says. It's a song about adultery and we felt it would have more substance if it was performed by two men. I was thinking of a duet with a girl but we thought Michael would do very well. With VV, we have the best of the new and old generation on the record."
At first glance, you might have thought that Placebo had covered all the topics on Meds (love, confusion, revenge and addiction), but this is not the case, as Brian explains: "In a rock band, you don't grow up as fast. There's a lot of confusion on this record because nothing is ever simple in the Placebo world ! The people the songs are about are in constant conflict with themselves and struggle to find their place..."
Meds holds the promise of new adventurous excursions that this band, which considers the unknown as its home, intends to lead. Its success deserves to be commensurate with its non-conformism. We should not forget that we are talking about a band that played in Chile last year, to fulfill an old commitment, and found that they were excessively popular in South America... without even knowing it.
By going back to their roots, by becoming themselves again, Placebo continues to grow up. Like all the bands that have marked the history of rock, they know that salvation belongs to those who dare and do not hesitate to put their destiny on the line.
With Meds, Placebo does more than just play with fire: it makes a mockery of the sun and shows that it has managed to avoid burning their wings.
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| Alison+Mosshart by Andrew H. Walker |
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๐พ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐:
๐๐ ............................................... 23๐๐
๐๐๐โ๐๐๐ ๐๐ก๐๐๐ ............................. 23๐๐
๐น๐๐๐๐ ........................................ 144๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐̈ ..................................... 302๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฆ ............................ 38๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ..................................... 499๐๐
๐๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ก๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐(๐ฆ) ๐ข๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ฆ๐ง๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก:
๐ด๐ข๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐ข๐ก๐.
๐ป๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐โ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ (๐ด๐๐๐โ๐๐ ๐๐๐ข๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ข๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ โ๐๐๐๐กโ, ๐๐๐๐ ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐)
๐๐ก๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก๐ฆ:
๐โ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐.
๐ด๐๐กโ๐๐ข๐โ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ฆ โ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ , ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ข๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ .
๐ด ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐โ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ (๐๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐ก๐ข๐๐๐๐, ๐๐ก๐.) ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ โ๐๐โ๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐.
๐ผ๐ ๐กโ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐, ๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐๐ก ๐๐ ๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐.
๐ผ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข ๐๐ ๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ค๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐ฃ๐๐๐ข๐๐.
๐๐ข๐ฆ๐๐๐:
3 ๐ก๐ 4 ๐ก๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ข๐ (๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐)
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| Michael Stipe by Tim Roney |
๐ The composition of this medicine is very well dosed and here is what the band says about the choice of 'medicinal molecules' to make the treatment all the more effective.
๐พ๐๐ ๐
๐๐
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ป๐๐๐๐๐๐̈ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐
?
๐ We always produced our previous albums with other people while doing our B-sides or covers with Dimitri. And every time the B-side sounded much better than the rest! So at some point we thought: "Ok, this is ridiculous, now we have to work directly with him". And then he lives in London... We had a lot of discussions about this, reminding him that when he was in France he was producing Guesch Patti records and thus giving a really bad image of French music. Before the recording, we kept pounding on him that once he moved to London, he was going to do the same thing with English music...
๐ป๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐ ๐ญ๐๐๐๐
...
๐ We didn't choose him, he did ! The truth is that we had asked him several times before and he had always refused. Then one day he came and asked if he could mix our new record. It was a no-brainer, just look at his previous collaborations: Depeche Mode, Nick Cave, Smashing Pumpkins, PJ Harvey... All the albums he's produced are records that have inspired us in our songwriting.
๐ฏ๐๐ ๐
๐๐
๐๐๐ ๐
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐จ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฒ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ?
๐ I've been friends with Jamie for ages. We went to university and studied drama together. We've seen him play in lots of different bands. But it was once he started the Kills that we realized he had created a really important band and we were extremely proud. I've always found Alison overly intimidating. Just because of who she is, just because of her presence. And if it wasn't for Jamie, I would never have been able to talk to her. But it became possible, and as we were looking for a female voice, it seemed like a no-brainer. Her voice is like Viagra. When you see the Kills on stage, it's so sexual. She is the ultimate rock chick.
๐จ๐๐
๐ด๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐ ?
๐ It was a song about adultery, and we were looking for a female singer. And then one day Steve said: 'For God's sake, why does it have to be a duet between a woman and a man ? That was the trigger, we realized that the song would be stronger with two singers. And I found it interesting to play the role of the cuckold in the song. Because it didn't happen often in reality...
✔️ ๐ฑ๐๐๐๐ ๐ผ๐๐๐๐ - ๐ป๐๐ ๐ธ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ - ๐ป๐๐ ๐๐๐๐́๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ #๐ท - ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ด๐ฑ๐พ
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| Dimitri Tikovoi. Photo credit unknown |
๐ Dimitri Tikovoi brought the perfect balance to Meds, even if it was not easy for everyone ! You need what you need when you make a healing potion. ๐
๐ I was quite nervous when they asked me to make their album. Firstly, it was one of the projects I'd ever worked on. Secondly, the band had four albums under their belt, all of them very good in different genres - the last one was a huge hit. And then it was the fifth album from a band that was becoming a bit settled.
I didn't want to make another Placebo album either. So I put a lot of pressure on myself before I started to make sure I never gave up on anything, to make sure I could push the band as far as possible. [...] We've worked together before, but in a different context, and I came in with the idea that it wasn't going to be a pleasant or enjoyable job. I had to get into it from the beginning, push them, without waiting until the middle of the album. On the third day in the studio, I got angry with Brian and he stormed out. It was an immediate shock. Brian didn't want to come back. So we both cleared the air and everything became possible. We pushed each other and constantly asked ourselves if we could do better. If we felt it was possible, we started to improve again and again.
✔️ ๐ณ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐̈ - ๐ป๐๐ ๐ธ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ - ๐ป๐๐ ๐๐๐๐́๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ #๐ท - ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ด๐ฑ๐พ
๐ VV, "๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ถ๐ญ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ค๐ฌ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ช๐ค๐ฌ", contributed to the smooth preparation of the album, bringing her fragile and sensual touch despite some confusion and uncertainty about the recording of the song Meds.
๐ I came to record this duet scared to death... I ended up in the studio on October 7th and I only stayed there for 3 hours. I rediscovered the song on the spot and tried to bring what I could to it. They gave me whisky, a glass of water and an ashtray. They turned off the lights and let me get on with it. It's funny to sing someone else's lyrics: I had no idea what Brian was getting at and I didn't ask him, I didn't want to get him pissed off with my questions and then it's kind of funny to sing something you don't understand. As you're off the mark, you change the tone, the spirit...
✔️ ๐ฐ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ผ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ - ๐ป๐๐ ๐ธ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ - ๐ป๐๐ ๐๐๐๐́๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ #๐ท - ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ด๐ฑ๐พ
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| Photo credit: Kevin Cummins |
๐ In the 2006 ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ show, Brian regrets not calling the first album Meds, as it made sense given the name they had chosen for the band. And when Nagui points out that a placebo is a drug that doesn't cure but gives the impression that it does. Brian replies: It has a psychological effect on the patient.
That's why I personally think that presenting the album Meds in such a format was a very appropriate stroke of genius ! Placebo is just like the treatment of the same name: harmless but the therapeutic effect is undeniably effective. No adverse effect noticed ๐
⭐ ๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐จ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ค ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ค๐๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ ?
⭐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ง ๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐๐๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐๐ฌ: ๐๐ข๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ญ๐๐ค๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ฉ๐ญ๐๐ ?
๐ญ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐
๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐
๐ ๐ต๐ถ๐พ, ๐๐๐๐๐ ! ๐ช๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ !
๐ ๐๐๐ฆ ๐ฟ
https://bit.ly/3xrKenw ๐ต๐ ๐ถ
Translation by Laetitia
Post by Laetitia
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