Placebo frontman Brian Molko has dismissed Oasis as poor songwriters, saying he and his bandmates were 'phenomenally disinterested' in the Britpop movement that dominated the 1990s. In a new documentary, Molko reflects on Placebo's outsider status and their relationship with David Bowie, who mentored the band.
Molko said Placebo's androgynous aesthetic and provocative style were a deliberate contrast to the laddish culture of Britpop. 'We stood out like a sore thumb,' he said. 'I didn't think that Oasis were very good songwriters. This obsession with Britishness just didn't really compute with us.'
The documentary, 'This Search for Meaning', features rare footage of Bowie and Placebo together. Bowie invited the band to support him on tour in 1996 and later collaborated with them. Molko described Bowie as a 'raconteur' who was 'genuinely interested in the people he was talking to'.
Placebo's debut album arrived at the height of Britpop in 1996, but the band felt disconnected from the scene. Their performance of 'Nancy Boy' on Top of the Pops in 1997 was seen as a challenge to gender norms. Molko said the band fed off both adoration and hatred from audiences.
