"Taste in Men" is a 2000 single by the 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 ...

. Taken from their third album, '' Black Market Music'', it reached number 16 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 ...

Music and reception

Gigwise ''Gigwise'' is a British online music news site that features music news, photos, album reviews, music festivals, concert tickets and video content. Founded in June 2001, the site is based in London, England. History Gigwise was launched in 2001 ...

ranked the track as Placebo's greatest hit, describing it as "bubbling, space-age blast of howling, claustrophobic

electro-rock Electronic rock is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s, when rock bands began incorporating electronic instrum ...

." Nevertheless,

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

considered the song as a "lazy reprise the Roland 303

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

funk of ' Pure Morning'." According to frontman

Brian Molko Brian Molko (born 10 December 1972) is a Belgian-born Scottish-American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist, guitarist, and lyricist of the band Placebo. He is known in particular for his distinctive nasal, high-pitche ...

, the band was influenced by the

industrial rock Industrial rock is a fusion genre that fuses industrial music and rock music. It initially originated in the 1970s, and drew influence from early experimental and industrial acts such as Cromagnon, Throbbing Gristle, Einstürzende Neubauten a ...

band

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...

during the recording of the song, particularly by the track "

Wish A wish is a hope or desire for something. In fiction, wishes can be used as plot devices. In folklore, opportunities for "making a wish" or for wishes to "come true" or "be granted" are themes that are sometimes used. In fiction In fiction a ...

Music video

The music video, directed by Barbara McDonogh, was filmed in the

Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...

Register office A register office or The General Register Office, much more commonly but erroneously registry office (except in official use), is a British government office where births, deaths, marriages, civil partnership, stillbirths and adoptions in England, ...

. It shows Molko involved in a bizarre

love triangle A love triangle or eternal triangle is a scenario or circumstance, usually depicted as a rivalry, in which two people are pursuing or involved in a romantic relationship with one person, or in which one person in a romantic relationship with so ...

with a rowing couple. Montages of Molko with both the man and the woman are sequenced throughout the video.

Live performance history

The song was a staple of the Black Market Music and Sleeping With Ghosts tours. Despite not appearing during the initial legs of the tour, it reappeared for the winter 2006 leg of the Meds tour and remained until the conclusion of the tour. It was the closing song for all shows on the Battle For The Sun tour. The song also appeared during the 2012 tour as the concluding song for all shows, but was dropped at the start of the Summer Festivals leg.

Trivia

The phrase "come back to me awhile" is taken from the

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...

song "Catholic Block", found on their album ''

Sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...

''. The song was used in an episode from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

version of '' Queer as Folk''. The bass riff is almost identical to Roger Waters' "

Let There Be More Light "Let There Be More Light" is the opening track on Pink Floyd's second album, '' A Saucerful of Secrets''. It was also released in edited form as the fourth American single by the group. Writing and recording The song is written by Roger Waters. I ...

" from the

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

album '' A Saucerful of Secrets''.

Track listings

;CD1 #Taste in Men (Radio edit) – 4:02 #Theme from Funky Reverend – 2:54 #Taste in Men (

Alpinestars Alpinestars is a manufacturer of clothing and protective gear for motorsports and action sports founded in 1963, and located in Asolo, Italy. Its lines include specialized products for MotoGP, motocross, motorcycling, Formula One, WEC, V8 S ...

Kamikaze Skimix) – 4:36 ;CD2 #Taste in Men (Album version) – 4:15 #

Johnny and Mary "Johnny and Mary" is a song written and originally performed by Robert Palmer. Palmer's version was recorded in 1980 at Compass Point Studios, New Providence, in the Bahamas. The song was featured on Palmer's album '' Clues'' (1980). "Johnny ...

– 3:24 #Taste in Men (

Adrian Sherwood Adrian Maxwell Sherwood (born 20 January 1958, London, England) is an English record producer specialising in the genre of dub music. He has created a distinctive production style based on the application of dub effects and dub mixing technique ...

Go Go dub mix) – 4:19

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taste In Men 2000 singles Placebo (band) songs 2000 songs Virgin Records singles Electronic rock songs Songs written by Steve Hewitt Songs written by Brian Molko Songs written by Stefan Olsdal