And right after the Girls (there is more in the battle) we have to be very cautious not to ruin the simplicity of curves combined with classic AOT and hard rock tunes. So, I thought, why not return to the «safety» of MyTop100 List? And be quite opposite to the sexist label some viewers may think after feasting their eyes with
the Rock N Girls saga….
Today’s band is quite extraordinary. They have 20 years in discography with releases both critically acclaimed and influential to the rock genre they represent. They are considered to be amongst the founders of the so called elevator music (which doesn’t sound so good to me) and considered to be somewhere between alternative pop-rock to post-punk revival. Plus they belong to MyTop100 List ranking at 93rd position. And many have wondered why, considering my dislike to pop-rock bands; nevertheless I find them innovative in the genre and a better example than Radiohead or Muse, even if they are considered by the vast majority as greater, or more influential than today’s band. Their look (without being more important than the music) is fixed to the trend of its time supporting and somehow representing various but significant target groups helping them gain mainstream accesibility and acceptance.
As wiki states: «Placebo gained exposure in 1997, after releasing "Nancy Boy", a song which Brian Molko described as "obscene". The band has sparked controversy at the beginning of their career because Molko wore dresses and make-up in public and talked openly about sex, sexuality and drug use. Placebo utilise androgynous images and lyrical content.[2] To date, they have released seven studio albums, all of which have reached the top 20 in the United Kingdom, and have sold around 11 million records worldwide.[3]. Lyrically, Placebo's music contains many references to drugs[153] and LGBT themes.[154] The title of the song "Special K", for instance, is slang for ketamine. Outsider themes are also explored, as evidenced in lyrics such as "the back of the class is where I'm from" on "One of a Kind" and "I'm forever black-eyed/A product of a broken home" on "Black-Eyed". Molko has been quoted as calling the band "for outsiders, by outsiders".[158]»
Whatever you may support I couldn’t agree more with Grampus when revising their debut album in RYM: «There are many better bands than Placebo out there and Brian Molko would only ever feature in a greatest ever vocalist chart if it had been compiled by his closest friends, yet there is something I find totally captivating about their music. Even Molko's annoyingly nasally feminine voice only adds to the overall effect. I've been wracking my brains trying to think why, what is in effect a grunge Goth band, should have such an effect and I believe I've narrowed it down to the lyrics. Not the content, as such, but rather their musical rhyming quality. It's almost considered a childish quirk to rhyme but Molko employs an internal alliterative rhyming structure which is musically poetical and never sounds forced. Even if the subject matter is overly melodramatic and Molko pushes the androgynous persona to the verge of tedium, I never fail to be entranced by the melodious quality of the words which are given added emphasis through his high-pitched voice.
Placebo as a band have never sat comfortably within any prevailing trend. Established at a time when Britpop was at its height, their sound is no throwback to sixties beat groups or seventies glam. Neither was there any significant Goth cum pop movement around that period which goes some way to explain why Placebo skirt around the edges of success. In fact a new album is always greeted with a degree of surprise that they're still around because I'm sure when they do call it a day very few will notice. Part of the reason they've never fit in could be down to Molko's American roots. The resemblance to bands like the Pixies and Smashing Pumpkins is unavoidable but the harsher tone of those bands is tempered by a combination of Molko's voice and an insistence on maintaining a degree of accessibility not normally associated with the genre. Tracks like "Nancy Boy", "Bruise Pristine" and "Teenage Angst" are suitably melodramatic and retain a sense of sinuous restlessness which reflects youthful anguish and awkwardness. Placebo do try to vary the pace with the slow and thoughtful "Hang On To Your IQ", but the slightly trippy "Swallow" is a mistake and the twenty minute gap before the hidden instrumental version of "Bionic" is just annoying.
Over the years Placebo have become the equivalent of the person you know you've met previously but whose name has completely slipped your mind. You have to become reacquainted all over again. I went to last year's Leeds festival and Placebo were one of the better bands I saw, but now their set is just a blurry memory. And it's the same for this and every other album – great while it lasts but very soon forgotten.»
Nevertheless this band managed to release major-hit tracks in almost every album they released (nancy boy, every you and every me, without you I’m nothing, special K, the bitter end, post blue, pure morning), and they have successfully collaborated with one rock ICON such as Bowie, so without any further deliberating Kokdi gives you (courtesy of the band) ALL of their songs, covers and video in one playlist. So here you have it the
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