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Black Market Music
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	Glam punk
Length	55:44
Label	Hut
Producer	Paul Corkett
Placebo chronology
Without You I'm Nothing (1998) Black Market Music (2000) Sleeping with Ghosts (2003)
Singles from Black Market Music
"Taste in Men" Released: 17 July 2000 "Slave to the Wage" Released: 25 September 2000 "Special K" Released: 19 March 2001 "Black-Eyed" Released: 8 October 2001

Black Market Music is the third studio album by British alternative rock band Placebo. The album took nine months to record, from late-1999 to mid-2000; the longest that the band had ever spent recording an album until 2022's Never Let Me Go. It was released on 9 October 2000 by record label Hut.

Four singles were released from the album: "Taste in Men", "Slave to the Wage", "Special K" and "Black-Eyed". The album reached number 6 in the UK Albums Chart, and received a generally favourable reaction from music critics.

Background and content

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.

The album is dedicated to music publicist Scott Piering, who died of cancer in early 2000. 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.

Release

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Black Market Music was released on 9 October 2000. It reached number 6 in the UK Albums Chart.

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	65/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Alternative Press
Christgau's Consumer Guide	ambiguous
Drowned in Sound	8/10
NME	unfavorable
Pitchfork	2.4/10
PopMatters	neutral
Rolling Stone
Q
Trouser Press	neutral

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." Dale Price of Drowned in Sound called it "a heavily revised upgrade of their back catalogue. And then some." Nicholas Taylor of PopMatters called it "highly listenable dark guitar rock".

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."

Brian Molko ranked this as his least favourite Placebo album.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Placebo, except where noted

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

• 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

Certifications

References

1. Wilson, MacKenzie. "Placebo - Sleeping with Ghosts Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
2. Bryant, Tony. Kerrang! #1267, 27 June 2009. Treasure Chest. An Intimate Portrait of Life in Rock. Brian Molko, p.60
3. Placebo (2000). Black Market Music (Media notes). Virgin Records. CDFLOORXX13.
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6. "Placebo | Artist | Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
7. ^ "Critic Reviews for Black Market Music". Metacritic. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
8. ^ Carlson, Dean. "Black Market Music – Placebo: Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
9. "". Alternative Press (155): 80.
10. Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: Placebo". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
11. ^ Price, Dale (9 October 2000). "Album Reviews: Placebo – Black Market Music / Releases / Releases". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 8 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
12. ^ "Black Market Music". NME. 12 September 2005. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
13. Cooper, Paul (8 May 2000). "Placebo: Black Market Music". Pitchfork. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
14. ^ Taylor, Nicholas (7 May 2001). "Placebo: Black Market Music". PopMatters. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
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33. "Rapports Annuels 2000". Ultratop. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
34. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2001 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
35. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 2007". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
36. "French album certifications – Placebo – Black Market Music" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
37. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Placebo; 'Black Market Music')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
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39. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Black Market Music')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
40. "British album certifications – Placebo – Black Market Music". British Phonographic Industry.

External links

• Black Market Music at Discogs (list of releases)

• 2000 albums
• Placebo (band) albums
• Hut Records albums
• Virgin Records albums
• Albums recorded at Townhouse Studios