"36 Degrees" is a song by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

Placebo A placebo ( ) is a substance or treatment which is designed to have no therapeutic value. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like Saline (medicine), saline), sham surgery, and other procedures. In general ...

, released as the second single from their eponymous debut album. It reached number 80 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Song meaning

There are various suggestions as to the meaning of the song, such as it relates to sexual preferences or it is to do with dying. Some state "36 Degrees" refers to the

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

human

body temperature Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different. A thermoconforming organism, by contrast, simply adopts the surrounding temperature ...

being generally accepted as , and that the narrator is dying, or losing the

will to live is a 1999 Japanese comedy drama film directed by Kaneto Shindō starring Rentarō Mikuni and Shinobu Otake. The film won the Golden St. George and the FIPRESCI Prize at the 21st Moscow International Film Festival. Plot Yasukichi visits Mount K ...

after being dumped by a partner. Singer Brian Molko is stated to have said before a performance "The average body temperature is 37 degrees. This is a song called 36 Degrees", further adding to the speculation. However, the term "36 degrees" also means two people who are not getting on in urban

slang Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of particular in-gro ...

; therefore the idea of the song being written for a break-up could well be true. The other numbers mentioned have been said to just be

random In common usage, randomness is the apparent or actual lack of pattern or predictability in events. A random sequence of events, symbols or steps often has no :wikt:order, order and does not follow an intelligible pattern or combination. Ind ...

, as "they just seemed to fit" according to Molko.

Music video

The music video, directed by

Chris Cunningham Chris Cunningham (born 15 October 1970) is a British video artist and music video director, best known for his music videos for electronic musicians such as Autechre, Squarepusher, and most notably Aphex Twin on videos for "Windowlicker" and " ...

, was shot primarily in a scuba diving pool and shows band members performing the song underwater. Some scenes were shot in a

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

-like area and show Brian Molko singing the lyrics with just his head above the surface of the water. Later band members revealed that this video was extremely hard to shoot and they would never make one underwater again.

Live performance history

The song was part of the band's repertoire prior to the release of their debut album and it was a regular until the ''

Sleeping with Ghosts ''Sleeping with Ghosts'' is the fourth studio album by British alternative rock band Placebo. It was recorded from late 2002 to early 2003 and released on 1 April 2003 by record labels Virgin and Hut. ''Sleeping with Ghosts'' reached number 11 ...

'' tour. A re-worked version, performed at a much slower tempo, was debuted at the band's 10th anniversary show at

Wembley Arena Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500-sea ...

in 2004. This version was played during the band's 2005 South American tour and the early legs of the '' Meds'' tour. It was also released as a B-side to the "

Because I Want You "Because I Want You" is a song by English alternative rock band Placebo (band), Placebo, released as the first UK single from their 2006 album ''Meds (album), Meds'' – in territories outside the UK, the single was substituted by "Song to Sa ...

" and "

Song to Say Goodbye "Song to Say Goodbye" is a song by English alternative rock band Placebo from their fifth studio album, '' Meds'' (2006). It was released on 6 March 2006 as the lead single from ''Meds'' in all territories outside of the United Kingdom, where " ...

" singles under the title "36 Degrees 2005". It continues to be performed in various arrangements into 2016. Reviews of the song's performance during Placebo's ''MTV Unplugged'' concert stated that "'36 Degrees' (written by a 19-year-old Stefan and a 21-year-old

Brian Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word meani ...

) becomes softer but it’s no less powerful as you’re drawn further into the lyrics of this song" and "In this setting 36 Degrees"becomes unexpectedly lush, underpinned by disarmingly subtle waves of piano and strings".

Track listing

References

{{authority control Placebo (band) songs 1996 singles 1996 songs Songs written by Brian Molko Virgin Records singles Songs written by Stefan Olsdal Songs written by Robert Schultzberg Music videos directed by Chris Cunningham