Black Market Music (album)
| Black Market Music | ||||
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| Studio album by Placebo | ||||
| Released | 9 October 2000 | |||
| Recorded | Late 1999 – mid 2000 | |||
| Studio | Olympic Studios, Townhouse Studios and Moody Studios in London, England | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock[1] | |||
| Length | 45:44 | |||
| Label | Hut | |||
| Producer | Paul Corkett | |||
| Placebo chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Black Market Music | ||||
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Black Market Music is the third studio album by English alternative rock band Placebo. The album took nine months to record, from between late 1999 to mid 2000; the longest that the band have ever spent recording an album to date. It was released on 9 October 2000 by record label Hut.
It has sold over one million copies to date.
Background
Speaking to Kerrang! in June 2009, Brian Molko remembered:
We had a real swagger and bravado when we went into the studio for this one. We had just come off a really successful tour and felt we'd really exploded. We felt like cowboys of rock! We were also really heavily medicated and beginning to get quite deep into drugs. That's probably why it took nine months to make an album. The drugs also contributed to a certain amount of arrogance. At least that's what I remember from the time. I think we had a desire to write about the world we saw around us. We thought it was cool that, though other people were a little afraid to get deep down and dirty, we could take it on ourselves to write about those things. I think that album was the start of us trying to mix genres. We had so much hatred for rap-rock bands like Limp Bizkit and all they represented – misogyny, homophobia and commercialism – that we wanted to do our own version of it.[2]
The album is dedicated to music publicist Scott Piering, who died of cancer in early 2000.[3] The song "Commercial for Levi" is a reference to the sound technician Levi Tecofski, who on one occasion saved frontman Brian Molko's life: Molko, drunk and about to cross the road, was quickly pulled back by Tecofski from the path of an approaching vehicle.[4]
Release
Black Market Music was released on 9 October 2000.
Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 65[5] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Alternative Press | [6] |
| Robert Christgau | ambiguous[7] |
| Drowned in Sound | 8/10[8] |
| NME | unfavorable[9] |
| Pitchfork | 2.4/10[10] |
| PopMatters | neutral[11] |
| Rolling Stone |  [5] |
| Q | [5] |
Black Market Music received a generally favourable critical response, though a less enthusiastic reception than previous records. Dean Carlson of AllMusic wrote that "Black Market Music finds Molko in such moody lust that his strangled, androgynous wailing rivals anything the band has previously flashed to the world [...] Placebo seem to have finally found that sweet wet spot between beauty and perversion."[1] Dale Price of Drowned in Sound called it "a heavily revised upgrade of their back catalogue. And then some."[8] Nicholas Taylor of PopMatters called it "highly listenable dark guitar rock".[11]
Among its detractors were NME, who called it "a case of ambition eclipsing talent, of hubris, of a band losing the plot. Placebo's frame of reference has always been narrow, but they've now been reduced to empty gestures without any visionary tunes to tip the balance."[9]
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Placebo, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Taste in Men" | 4:15 | |
| 2. | "Days Before You Came" | 2:33 | |
| 3. | "Special K" | 3:52 | |
| 4. | "Spite & Malice" (feat. Justin Warfield) | Placebo, Justin Warfield | 3:37 |
| 5. | "Passive Aggressive" | 5:24 | |
| 6. | "Black-Eyed" | 3:48 | |
| 7. | "Blue American" | 3:31 | |
| 8. | "Slave to the Wage" | Kannberg, Malkmus, Placebo | 4:06 |
| 9. | "Commercial for Levi" | 2:20 | |
| 10. | "Haemoglobin" | 3:46 | |
| 11. | "Narcoleptic" | 4:22 | |
| 12. | "Peeping Tom" (all versions except the vinyl edition contain the hidden track "Black Market Blood", starting at 10:14) | 14:10 |
| Japanese release bonus tracks | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 13. | "Without You I'm Nothing" (featuring David Bowie) | 4:15 | |
| 14. | "I Feel You" (Depeche Mode cover; contains the hidden track "Black Market Blood" starting at 11:23) | Martin Gore | 15:19 |
Personnel
- Placebo
- Brian Molko – vocals, guitar, keyboards, 6-string bass, production, mixing
- Stefan Olsdal – bass, guitar, 6-string bass, keyboards, backing vocals, production, mixing
- Steve Hewitt – drums, percussion, production, mixing
- Additional personnel
- Rob Ellis – string arrangements
- Bill Lloyd – bass on "Peeping Tom"
- Severe Loren – backing vocals on "Taste in Men" and "Special K"
- Dimitri Tikovoï – string programming
- Justin Warfield – rapping vocals on "Spite & Malice"
- Technical personnel
- Paul Collins – sleeve art direction
- Ian Cooper – mastering
- Paul Corkett – production, mixing
- Lorraine Francis – engineering
- Scott Kannberg – sampling
- Dare Mason – production
- Kevin Westenberg – sleeve art direction, sleeve photography
Charts and certifications
- Charts
- Certifications
| Region | Certification | Sales/shipments |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[26] | Gold | 35,000^ |
| Italy (FIMI)[27] | Gold | 50,000* |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[28] | Gold | 25,000x |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[29] | Gold | 100,000^ |
|
*sales figures based on certification alone | ||
References
- 1 2 3 Carlson, Dean. "Black Market Music – Placebo | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
- ↑ Bryant, Tony. Kerrang! #1267, June 27, 2009. Treasure Chest. An Intimate Portrait Of Life In Rock. Brian Molko, p.60
- ↑ Album liner notes.
- ↑ "I'm the Anti-Eminem". Melody Maker. 20 October 2000. Archived from the original on 20 February 2008. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
- 1 2 3 "Critic Reviews for Black Market Music – Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
- ↑ Alternative Press (155): 80. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: Placebo". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
- 1 2 Price, Dale (9 October 2000). "Album Reviews: Placebo – Black Market Music / Releases / Releases // Drowned in Sound". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
- 1 2 "NME Reviews – Black Market Music | nme.com". NME. 12 September 2005. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
- ↑ Cooper, Paul (8 May 2000). "Placebo: Black Market Music | Album Reviews | Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
- 1 2 Taylor, Nicholas (7 May 2001). "Placebo: Black Market Music | PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
- ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Placebo – Black Market Music". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
- ↑ "Placebo – Black Market Music – Austriancharts.at". Austriancharts.at. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
- ↑ "ultratop.be – Placebo – Black Market Music". Ultratop. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
- ↑ "ultratop.be – Placebo – Black Market Music". Ultratop. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
- ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Placebo – Black Market Music". Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
- ↑ "Finnishcharts.com – Placebo – Black Market Music". Finnishcharts.com. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
- ↑ "Lescharts.com – Placebo – Black Market Music". Lescharts.com. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
- ↑ "GFK Chart-Track". Chart-track.co.uk. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
- ↑ "Placebo - Black Market Music". italiancharts.com. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
- ↑ "Placebo - Black Market Music". charts.org.nz.
- ↑ "Placebo - Black Market Music". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
- ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Placebo – Black Market Music". Swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
- ↑ "Placebo – Black Market Music – Hitparade.ch". Hitparade.ch (in German). Retrieved 20 November 2013.
- ↑ "Placebo | Artist | Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
- ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2001 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association.
- ↑ "Placebo: Sleeping with Ghosts" (in Italian). MTV Italy. 27 January 2003. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
- ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Placebo; 'Black Market Music')". Hung Medien.
- ↑ "British album certifications – Placebo – Black Market Music". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Black Market Music in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
External links
- Black Market Music at Discogs (list of releases)
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