music.wikisort.org - Composition

Meds is the fifth studio album by English alternative rock band Placebo. It was recorded from late 2005 to early 2006 and released on 13 March 2006 by record label Virgin in most countries, although it was released three days earlier in Australia and New Zealand. Illegal copies had previously been available on the Internet since 17 January 2006.

Meds
Studio album by Placebo
Released	13 March 2006
Recorded	December 2005 – January 2006
Studio	RAK Studios, Livingston Studios and Sarm West Studios, London, England Angel Recording Studios Snake Ranch
Genre	Alternative rock[1]
Length	47:55
Label	Virgin
Producer	Dimitri Tikovoï
Placebo chronology
Once More with Feeling: Singles 1996–2004 (2004) Meds (2006) Battle for the Sun (2009)
Singles from Meds
"Because I Want You" Released: 6 March 2006 (UK only) "Song to Say Goodbye" Released: 6 March 2006 "Infra-Red" Released: 19 June 2006 "Meds" Released: 9 October 2006

Meds reached number 7 in the UK Albums Chart, and received a generally favourable reaction from music critics. It also became Placebo's first album to chart on the US Billboard 200, where it reached number 180. Four singles were released from the album: "Because I Want You", "Song to Say Goodbye", "Infra-Red" and "Meds". This is the band's final album to featured the original drummer Steve Hewitt.

Content

Placebo had planned to record a more electronic, keyboard-driven sound for their new album; however, producer Dimitri Tikovoi suggested a back-to-basics approach, which Brian Molko recounted in Zero:

It was our producer's agenda really, which we didn't really know about until we got into the studio. [...] We were in a place that was very much about samplers and computers and vintage synthesizers. This recording session really became about playing again. We were in an old-school studio so there were no real tricks to hide behind.[2]

On the theme of the record, Molko says:

I think there's a lot of songs about the dangers and effects of drinking [alcohol]. [...] "Infra-Red"'s about that, when you get very drunk and you've got a bee in your bonnet about something, and this vengeful quality emerges. You start thinking about people who've done you wrong and [want] to set the record straight.[2]

Release

Meds was released 13 March 2006 worldwide,^{[citation needed]} although it was released three days earlier in Australia and New Zealand.^{[citation needed]} Illegal copies had previously been available on the Internet since 17 January 2006.[3] It reached number 7 in the UK Albums Chart.[4]

The album was re-released by Virgin in the United States in January 2007 with three extra tracks—"Lazarus", "UNEEDMEMORETHANINEEDU" (both B-sides to the "Meds" single) and "Running Up That Hill"—and "In the Cold Light of Morning" omitted (because it contains "dirty words").[5] The album was released with the Copy Control protection system in some regions. The Chilean two-disc edition includes a bonus disc of live tracks recorded at the Centro Cultural Estación Mapocho, Santiago on 1 and 2 April 2005, entitled Live in Chile.

The US release version has different arrangements of various tracks; e.g. it omits the glockenspiel during "Pierrot the Clown", giving a much more bare-bones version of the song.

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	65/100[6]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Alternative Press	[7]
Robert Christgau	mixed[8]
Mojo	[9]
NME	8/10[10]
Pitchfork	5.1/10[11]
PopMatters	4/10[12]
Q	[13]
Rolling Stone	[14]
Slant	[15]

Meds received a generally favourable reception from critics, though several reviewers commented on the album's lack of divergence from the group's established sound.

Pitchfork reviewer Joe Tangari opined "the arrangements and recordings are so airtight you could suffocate in them, with the distortion strictly compressed and neatly controlled". Tangari finished by commenting "Meds isn't a terrible album, but there's very little to get excited about on it either, and Placebo's calculated naughtiness is no more convincing than it's ever been."[16] Jonathan Keefe of Slant wrote "Meds finds a successful band doing just a little to tinker with their proven formula [...] and attempting to pass off a few too many soundalike tracks as thematic coherence".[15] Dan Raper of PopMatters wrote "Meds is cloaked in the sophisticated sheen of a band completely established; pushing in some areas, content to rely on established constructions and melodic elements in others. If you haven't experienced the familiar cycle of infatuation–disappointment–indifference with Placebo, you could find these songs pleasant, at times even exhilarating. But I've just reached the final stage of that cycle, and nothing here forces me to reconsider."[12]

MacKenzie Wilson of AllMusic called Meds "as bare and honest as Placebo have ever been, thanks to French producer Dimitri Tikovoi's straightforward approach in getting the band to make a bona fide rock record", writing that "There's a fresh vulnerability here and a sense of danger, too".[1] Robert Christgau, while mixed in his reception, called Meds "easily their most effective album-as-album",[8] while Q magazine called it "easily their most focused album to date".[13] musicOMH wrote "Darker than its predecessors, the harrowing Meds is as close Placebo have come to that perfect album."[6]

Speaking to Kerrang! in June 2009, Brian Molko remembered: "This was the beginning of the end of the band [drummer Steve Hewitt left after its release] and the way we dealt with that was by anaesthetizing ourselves to the max. When Stef and I hear tracks from the album we look at each other and go, 'Erm… who played what on this song?' There are moments on there like "[In the] Cold Light of Morning," that are painful to listen to now. I don't know that we've ever been that down before. I think it's a very powerful record, emotionally, and despite the circumstances under which it was made, it's quite perfectly executed. It's just very dark and doesn't offer very much hope."[17]

Track listing

US version

Special Edition bonus DVD

• Lyrics in virtual booklet
• "The Death of Nancy Boy" (documentary) – 8:51
• "Twenty Years" (live at Wembley 05.11.04) (video) – 6:05
• "If Only Tonight We Could Sleep" (featuring The Cure) (video) – 4:06
• "Backstage at Live 8" – 4:19
• "Long Division" – 2:44
• "In the Cold Light of Morning" (demo) – 4:27
• "I Do" (demo) – 2:32
• "Pierrot the Clown" (demo) – 4:58

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Austria (IFPI Austria)[49]	Gold	15,000*
Belgium (BEA)[50]	Gold	25,000*
France (SNEP)[51]	Platinum	200,000*
Germany (BVMI)[52]	Platinum	200,000^
Greece (IFPI Greece)[53]	Gold	7,500^
Russia (NFPF)[54]	Gold	10,000*
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[55]	Platinum	30,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[56]	Gold	100,000^
Summaries
Worldwide	—	1,100,000[57]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

External links

• Meds at Discogs (list of releases)

На других языках

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[de] Meds

Meds ist das fünfte Studioalbum der britischen Band Placebo. Am 6. März 2006 wurden die Vorab-Single „Song To Say Goodbye“ und „Because I Want You“ veröffentlicht. Eine Woche später folgte das Album.

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- [en] Meds (album)

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[es] Meds

Meds es el quinto álbum de Placebo. El álbum fue lanzado en varios países el 13 de marzo de 2006, pese a que fue lanzado 3 días antes en Australia (versiones estándar y especiales) y en Nueva Zelanda (solo versiones estándar). Copias ilegales habían circulado previamente en la Internet desde el 17 de enero. "Because I Want You", lanzado el 6 de marzo, fue el primer single para el Reino Unido del álbum. El primero fuera del Reino Unido fue "Song To Say Goodbye", lanzado en la misma fecha, pero que había sido prelanzado el 14 de febrero en radios chilenas. El siguiente fue "Infra-red", que salió a las calles británicas el 19 de junio. El siguiente sencillo publicado fue la canción "Meds", que salió el 10 de octubre en todo el mundo.

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[ru] Meds

Meds (рус. Лекарства) — пятый студийный альбом британской альтернативной рок-группы Placebo. Релиз альбома состоялся 13 марта 2006 года на лейбле Virgin Records. В Великобритании выходу альбома предшествовал сингл «Because I Want You», в других странах первым синглом был «Song To Say Goodbye», который вышел 6 марта.

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