This DVD is Not Rated
I’m not going to go into detail about the band’s history again, since I recently talked about it in regards to Placebo’s “Soulmates Never Die” DVD. If you are interested in that stuff, here is a link to that post. This is a terrific collection of videos covering an eight year span, many of which I had never seen. It wasn’t until their “Meds” CD that their videos really started being played in the U.S. Most of their videos are very creative, with some being like mini movies.
Just so you know the version I’m talking about is the one released in the UK. I have heard the U.S. version doesn’t have all the songs, however, I’ve never really checked it out so I can’t say for sure. Supposedly some were considered too risqué for the U.S. market so they were left off. Which kinda ticks me off if it’s true; I really hate censorship like that.
Placebo are:
Brian Molko – Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica, Keyboard, Effects, Percussion
Stefan Olsdal – Bass, Guitar, Keyboard, Vocals
Steven Hewitt – Drums (at least at the time of this DVD, they now have a new drummer, Steve Forrest)
There are three different ways to play the videos:
Play All
Play Videos with Commentary (with Brian, Stefan and Steve)
Video Track List – Where you can pick a specific video to play.
Track List:
36 Degrees – This one has the band in or under water throughout the video. It was filmed in a scuba pool and they had divers that would give them air between takes. They had to spend a whole lot of time underwater and swore they would never do another video where they had to be in water again. I thought it was funny when during the commentary Brian said he looks like Marilyn Manson’s younger sister. I love Brian’s hair when it’s shoulder length like in this video. I was happy to see in their most recent video “For What It’s Worth” that he has grown it out again.
Teenage Angst – There is a big black box sitting in a park and when we get to see inside, we find the band. The inside is completely red and the walls are all stretchy. Scenes of the band are intercut with scenes of other people inside the box. I liked how people would throw themselves against the wall and it would stretch out, it looked very cool. According to the band it was very hot filming in there and there was no air conditioning.
Nancy Boy – This is the first video that Howard Greenhalgh directed for them (he directed five others that are on this DVD). I get an acid trip vibe from this one. There are people morphing into other people, a bathtub with a bunch of legs sticking out, doll/people combos, etc. I especially liked the one that had a regular lower body with large hand/wrist for the torso/head. This is the first video with Steve in it, but they couldn’t show his face because he was still under contract with another studio, so it’s blurred out. They wanted Howard to direct a video for them after seeing the video he made for Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun”.
Bruise Pristine – Another one by Howard Greenhalgh. Pretty much consists of the band performing, lots of people kissing and lots of scantily clad bodies with bruises on them. Also, according to Brian, a lot of gratuitous panty shots.
Pure Morning – I absolutely love this video. It has Brian standing on the ledge of a tall building with emergency personal, police and reporters all scurrying around below. I like how he crossed his fingers before leaping off and then the surprise of him walking down the side instead of falling. The video was inspired by a Grace Kelly movie called “Fourteen Hours”. Brian said he had to spend about six hours jumping off a small ledge for this one. I have to add, Brian is just gorgeous in this video.
You Don’t Care About Us – So much for never doing a video in water again. The setting is an aquarium and the band is being imprisoned there. Apparently, they are meant to be shark food. All the little kids there are really evil. The looks on their faces, when they think they are going to get to see the guys being eaten by sharks, are just frightening. They filmed at the London Aquarium; however, they were not in the same tank as the sharks. They had manta rays in the tank with them and apparently they were very friendly. They liked to come and rub against them. The guys had to spend about seven hours in the water for this shoot. Leaving them to swear once again; they were never, ever doing anymore videos that involve them in water.
Every You Every Me – Concert footage which was filmed at Brixton Academy. They had originally done another video for this song; however, it was banned by management so they had to quickly come up with something else. This song was used as the theme song for the movie “Cruel Intentions”. Brian thought he looked rather silly even though he was wearing a very expensive designer dress.
Without You I’m Nothing – Filmed at Irving Plaza in New York City and features David Bowie. Concert footage of Placebo and Bowie performing together, how cool is that. Apparently, Bowie called them up and said he really liked their song, he had written a harmony for it and could he sing it with them. Of course the band jumped at the chance to perform with him. The footage for the video was filmed by their manager that’s why it’s on the shaky side.
Taste In Men – This video is beautifully shot. I love the building they used, it looks so elegant. It looks like a fancy hotel; however, it’s really a registry office. It has a movie feel to it, with a tarot card reader, an arguing couple, lots of Brian walking down the hallways and an apparent love triangle between Brian and the arguing couple.
Slave To The Wage – Set in a very modern looking office, with workers doing repetitive and boring tasks. The main focus is on one of the girls that works there and how she starts seeing things around her begin to shred into strips. I thought the car shredding was especially cool looking. This video was inspired by a summer job that Brian had working in a bank shredding documents and also the movie “Gattaca”.
Special K – Sci-fi themed video based on the movie “Fantastic Voyage”. Steve plays the patient, Stefan one of the medical personnel and Brian is the one that gets shrunk down (along with his spaceship) to maneuver through the patient and try to fix him. Steve said he really liked filming this one; all he had to do was lay around while being surrounded by pretty women.
Black-Eyed – The concert footage was filmed at the Hurricane Festival in Germany. The song was used in a movie, about young punks living on the street, called “Engel and Joe”. The main actors from the movie are the two people featured in the video. Brian says this is around the time his love affair with white clothing started.
The Bitter End – Shows the band performing inside a big satellite dish (although not really – it was shot in a studio then digitally added). The heat seeking cameras they used to film the two other people in the video give a really cool glowy effect. Steve says he lived close by this dish when he was a kid.
This Picture – I always want to call this one “Ashtray Girl”. There seems to be a bit of a bondage theme at beginning of the video. Then lots of women with blurred out faces. It’s meant to be about the loss of identity due to destructive relationships.
Special Needs – The band is performing in an empty pool. They used lights hanging from helium balloons floating above to light them. The effect is really soft and beautiful. We also see a young couple in the locker room interacting with each other, even though the other one is not there. It’s supposed to represent people making love to a memory after a breakup. The actors did a great job and you really got the impression the other one was there even though you can’t see them.
English Summer Rain – This is an all animated video done by Gregoire Pinard. He is a fan of theirs from South Africa. He made the video and sent it to the band. They liked it so they decided to use it.
Protégé Moi – Concert footage from “Soulmates Never Die, Live in Paris”. There were about 17,000 or 18,000 people in theater. Once again they had a different video for this song but weren’t able to use it due to its content. According to Brian, it’s basically a porn film.
Twenty Years – Band performing with acrobatic type circus acts happening around them. This is the only video that there is no commentary for.
Other Features:
Care in the Community – This is a terrific feature. It is pretty much just the guys sitting around and talking about various tours, telling funny stories and talking about each other. I was surprised to find out that Brian is a bit of a Trekkie. Then he goes on to tell which character in Star Trek each member of the band is and why. He also talks about getting the role in “Velvet Goldmine” and how it was his first time on stage without his guitar as a security blanket. It took him a while to figure out what to do with himself while he sang. The feature is about 40 minutes long.
Extras:
Twenty Years – It appears to be the same video off the playlist. I’m not sure why it’s an extra.
Spite & Malice – Reading 2000 – Live performance at Reading Festival with special guest Justin Warfield.
20th Century Boy – Brit Awards 1999 – This was Placebo and David Bowie’s first live performance together.
English Summer Rain Video – Band performance footage intermixed with various backstage stuff.
Nancy Boy Tour Visuals – Kind of a strange video. The band is not in it. It looks fan made.
Peeping Tom Tour Visuals – The band is not in this one either. The focus is on a woman being watched while she is in her home.
Soulmates Never Die Live in Paris Trailer
Random Stuff:
Howard Greenhalgh directed the following Placebo Videos; Nancy Boy, Bruise Pristine, Slave to the Wage, Special K, The Bitter End and This Picture.
Brian sure had a lot of different hairstyles throughout these videos.
I really enjoyed the commentaries and thought they were a great feature.
Jan
P.S. Comments are welcomed. Scroll towards the bottom of the page to where it says “Click Here to Make a Comment”. Or on entries from previous days there is a comment box.
Tags: brian molko, david bowie, dvd, music review, music videos, nancy boy, pure morning, stefan olsdal, steven hewitt
Leave a Comment