Crowbarred's Mellow Mix Volume 2: MM Vol 2 - 108

MM Vol 2 #108

Placebo

"Pure Morning"

(1998)

Genre: Alt Pop

art by Lyzie

Pure morning? Try pure brilliance more like it.

1998 was dribbling along musically when this gem appeared out of nowhere. And i mean nowhere, we here in New Zealand hadn't even heard of this English band Placebo let alone this new sound we were all hearing on the radio and TV. It was extremely catchy, easy to sing to and best of all, lyrics that had hidden meaning layer upon layer ... it was indeed a friend in need.

Originally "Pure Morning" was meant to be a "B" side to a single and from what i can gather, was not meant to be on the studio album "Without You I'm Nothing" at all [!?] Thank God they changed their minds about the song. If i could have my way this song would have been included in The Definitive 1000 Songs Of all Time. An absolute classic that has aged like a fine scotch.

Yes? No?

While Placebo's self-titled debut contained mostly elements of '90s alternative (Smashing Pumpkins, etc.), their second album, Without You I'm Nothing, is full of '70s glam rock and punk references. Placebo's rhythm section of Stefan Olsdal (bass) and Steve Hewitt (drums) is impressively tight, but the band's star attraction is undoubtedly androgynous singer/guitarist Brian Molko. Whereas the debut was written solely by Molko, their latest is a bona fide group effort, with Molko still handling the lyric-writing. The swirling anthemic album opener, "Pure Morning," is a self-proclaimed "celebration of friendship with women," and should be a guaranteed hit single, while the racing "Brick Shithouse" merges '90s electro-rock with Sonic Youth punk guitars. "You Don't Care About Us" shows that Molko can easily re-create J Mascis' late-'80s guitar tones, and "Scared of Girls" contains gender-bending vocals from Molko and a tribal-rock accompaniment. With massive success already underway back home in England, Without You I'm Nothing deserves to break through everywhere else. ~ [Greg Prato, All Music Guide]

Brian Molko ~ I have no idea why Adam Lambert didn't win

Pure Morning "The video", directed by Nick Gordon, portrays police attempting to negotiate Brian Molko's character down from a building he is about to jump off. Band members appear briefly and are being arrested. You can assume from this that they along with Molko are supposed to be robbers, but Molko has decided to end his life rather than be arrested. At the climax of the video, Molko crosses his fingers and jumps off the building but lands on the side half-way down and proceeds to walk down the wall. and in 2009? In January 2009, Placebo confirmed that they had finished working on the follow-up to 2006's Meds and plan to release it in June 2009. The full track list was announced on the band's website in March 2009. It is the first album featuring the new drummer Steve Forrest, which has concerned some fans, considering the serious change in style accompanying the Schultzberg Hewitt switch. ~ [Source: Wikipedia]

For Smashing Pumpkins see Definitive 1000 #568, #680, #811 & #864

For more Smashing Pumpkins see MM Vol 1 #139

This song has a crowbarred rating of 92.7 out of 108 pts

Placebo - Pure Morning
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