"Just nineteen, a sucker's dream: I guess I thought you had the flavor."

I really like Placebo, but I probably shouldn't since I strictly oppose the outlook they convey in their music, which, of course, is not completely contained in one statement and changes slightly (and sometimes radically) from record to record. I'm not really comfortable with androgyny, nor do I identify with the many references to drug culture Placebo makes, but the reason why I enjoy listening to this band, which, in my opinion, is the epitome of "sex, drugs, and rock n' roll," is because of the brokenness they convey in relation to all ideas and actions they sing about. Brian Molko, Placebo's lead singer, doesn't seem to revere Christ (see "Haemoglobin" from the album Black Market Music), but he does seem to aware of the brokenness of the human condition. What Placebo embraces and flaunts is also the force that drives the extremely raw and honest reflection of the problematic state of the human condition in their music. The bulk of their music prior to their latest release reflects an intense grapple with sex and drugs, and it weighs heavily upon the listener and rightfully so because Placebo's early work is dark. Their music is seething raw, though, and this is probably one of the things that draws me to it. Nevertheless, I have to wonder sometimes what sort of an effect it's having on me. It hasn't really encouraged me to go do drugs or take on an androgynous lifestyle, but perhaps it serves to make me feel and think that I'm more angsty than I really am, and that's really a pointless identification to hold hands with.