Friday, February 14, 2014

A world of books around Brian Molko


Let us talk about books around Brian Molko.
Books we can find written about the band and Brian and also the books he loves.
To have an idea about all the books we can find, we have here two links.


A french page, about all the Placebo books that are being sold and some that are not anymore, and the Placebo Russia, page. Here we can find an encyclopedia with books about the band and their history and also technical books.

On these lists we can find “Missunderstood- The Brian Molko Story”, which is quite interesting. Written by Chloe Govan, who followed the band over many years and visited an uncountable  number of concerts all over the world.A good book, not so gossipy . Have a look!


With the help of Bénédicte Convert we could figured out a lot of interesting details about this book: “Des Cadences Et Des Maux” by Sébastien Michaud, 2005 (French)
Let's talk a bit about that French review where we can find 9 Placebo books and as Bénécite translated,
“there is apparently (according to this article) no French one good enough to tell us something new about the band, except the one of 2005, which is not on sale anymore. Because of a pic Brian disliked, and he had the book removed from stores, by legal means!



Placebo
Des Cadences et des maux

SébastienMichaud

Bénédicte translated the post of Sébastien Michaud found at a Bulletproof Cupi Forum where they had a big discussion about this polemic book.

Hi !
I’ve just read your comments about the rumor saying my biography of Placebo was the subject of legal proceedings…
It’s unfortunately not a rumor…
What I know is: Brian Molkodidn't  appreciate to discover in this book a picture of the band, shot by their photographer [Carole Epinette] as a private one (And yes, this picture is a really trashy one… lol)
Apparently dissatisfied for not having been consulted about the publishing of the other pictures (however, this biography was meant to be  private, and the photographer was free to use her own pictures since she’s the author and owner!) Molko has requested  EMI France to appoint a lawyer on this case so as to destroy the books that the editor has on stock and to stop the selling in shops…
We didn't think fast enough, Molko (Or the lawyer? Or the record company?)decided to sue us for damages.
According to me, I must say that Molko is not attacking the book for its content but, indeed, for this picture… I asked him if he wanted to collaborate with  this project: still no answer from him… I have also decided to publish an unofficial biography, a totally authorized by the law thing, which includes good things and bad things.

I would have understood Molko’s reaction if I had dragged him through mud by an unfair portrait of himself  or if some pictures wouldn’t have respected his private life… But this was never the case… According to me, his behavior is more of a spoiled rockstar, furious not to control this project.
Brian Molko can’t stand seeing a book dedicated to his own band, music, history being published… We can wonder about the legitimacy of such behavior when we know how voluble he had been in the past, speaking freely of his own stories of drugs and sex of all kinds… Whatever, where’s the logic in all that?
I wrote that book as a Placebo music lover… Rock I thought…  No, Rock made up in business, made by a character as talented and as rotten as his rockstar status. Music is not only about famous producers , journalists who happen to be friends of the band, tv shows or magazines covers… There are also more personal  things , some books, some fanzines [Magazines owned by fans…] radio shows talking about the artists, not only those things that are synonymous of royalties or big media coverage... It seems that Molko has chosen to ignore that.



I still respect Placebo for their albums, their gigs, their videos… But I don’t respect anymore the character capable of forbidding a book that it was written as a tribute to his music (something that He would only have dreamt of when he was slugging around in his London suburb squat…) under the pretense that the picture didn't portray  his good angle and his right armpit is not well shaved…
Here are my feelings right now, even if I won’t discard the idea of updating this book and publish it one day, I'll be careful  of not letting any temptation of revenge appear… Because I want to speak about an artistic career and a public character…Not about what is hidden behind it.

Anyway, you can still buy the book on Internet but it is pricey… Have a look here If you want to get it ;-)



So, those were some of the books about Placebo on the other hand  we want to speak about the books Brian loves. The ones that Brian has read and recommended. He also says, books are a way to tap into new ways of expressing ideas and aid songwriting by learning new words and turns of phrase.



1. The Net Delusion EvgenyMorozov
2. The Power of Now byEckhart Tolle
3. Million Little Pieces by James Frey
4. The return of the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
5. Lady Sings the Blues by Billie Holiday
6. Chang and Eng by Darin Strauss
7. Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeil
8. Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck
9. Our Lady Of The Flowers by Jean Genette 
10.The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
11.The Rules Of Attraction by Brett Easton Ellis
12.The Four Agreements by Donn Miguel Ruiz 
13. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
14. Affluenza by Oliver James
15. Perfume - The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind
16. Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk 
17. Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z. Brite
18. Absinthe: The History in a Bottle by Barnaby Concrad
19. Under The Skin: by Michael Faber


And finally the inspiration for a song on Placebo’s latest album, Loud Like Love, comes from an unlikely place: James Frey’s controversial account of drug addiction that drew headlines for its falsified passages. For Brian, the book tapped into something he wanted to pursue musically. And it’s not the first timhe has used his interest in reading to inspire a song.....


Brian spoke with Hive about his experience with books, what sort of literature he prefers and just why he’s so compelled by James Frey.

What book brings you back to your childhood?

The first book that I remember sort of becoming obsessed with and carrying everywhere with me when I was at school was a book by Milan Kundera, a Czech author, called “The Unbearable Lightness of Being.” I carried that book everywhere and in a year read it three or four times, I think.

I was quite a romantic youth, I suppose. I still am, but not really in terms of romantic like a candlelit dinner for two. More, I suppose, in a literary tradition kind of thing. I was quite blown away by its scope really. There are so many stories happening at the same time in this book. I also was quite fascinated with the idea of revolution and the politics in the book. It was a real eye-opener for me. I have very fond memories of that....

What book would you recommend to someone who is a fan of your band?


Read “A Million Little Pieces.” It will give you a very, very realistic view of what it’s like to be an addict. To suffer from the disease of addiction. And what one has to go through in order to recover. And continue to live. If one is fortunate enough to achieve a state of recovery in one’s life, because a lot of people don’t...

Read the complete interview here.