20 Years Later: ‘Sleeping With Ghosts’ by Placebo

Released in 2003, “Sleeping with Ghosts” is the fourth studio album by the English alternative rock band Placebo. The album features a variety of themes in its songs, often dealing with personal emotions, relationships, and struggles.

While the exact meaning of each song can be open to interpretation, some fans have taken to looking at the album as Placebo’s most conceptual work, although it is not a concept album. The songs aren’t even about the same person, as lead singer Brian Molko has said they are all about different past relationships.

“I’m looking back to what’s happened in my past emotional decade, trying to understand it,” Molko said. “Trying to exorcize the ghosts and the demons of relationships past. It’s the old cliché of it being therapeutic but it does work for me in that way.” 

“Sleeping with Ghosts” was a commercially successful album, receiving positive reviews from music critics. It charted well in various countries, including the UK, where it reached the top of the album charts. The album’s lead single, “The Bitter End,” was particularly successful and received a lot of radio airplay.

While it may not have achieved the same level of mainstream success as some of their earlier albums, like their self-titled debut or “Without You I’m Nothing,” it was still a significant release in Placebo’s discography and garnered a dedicated fan base.

The popularity of an album can be subjective. It can vary depending on regions and time periods, but “Sleeping with Ghosts” certainly made an impact in the alternative rock and music scenes when it was released in 2003. 20 years after its release, themes explored within the album continue to resonate with modern audiences. Some themes, like the mistreatment of stars and the desensitization of tragedy, resonate now more than ever.  

“Bulletproof Cupid”

This song is the first and only time that Placebo has opened with an instrumental track. It is not an acoustic song, and it progresses in a way that keeps the listener expecting more. But when lyrics never come, they are left wondering. 

“English Summer Rain”

It conveys a sense of nostalgia and the fleeting nature of happiness and persistent change. English summers are often associated with quick moments of sunshine amidst rainy days, and this can be seen as a metaphor for the impermanence of life and emotions. The song’s lyrics reflect on the passing of time and the fleeting nature of happiness and love.

The lyrics of the song also suggest emotional turmoil and a sense of sadness or melancholy. Lines like “You can never really tell when somebody wants something you want too” hint at the complexity of human relationships and the uncertainty that often accompanies them. The inability to surpass such differences may lead people to not fight for their relationships. 

When looked at through a modern lens, why bother fighting if a new romance is just a tinder swipe away? Good, heavy and fleeting, like an English summer rain.

“This Picture”

This song introduces listeners to the ashtray girl. 

Though some analysis, one can gather she may be a young musician or actress. Molko cautions her to beware. Beware the industry, beware its sharks. They will treat you like an object, and ashtray to sully and burn. 

“Sometimes it’s fated // Disintegrate it // For fear of growing old // Sometimes it’s fated // Assassinated // For fear of growing old”

Especially as a female, the industry only wants you for as long as you are young, pretty as a picture. 

In retrospect, despite the campaigns and self-affirmations, not much has changed. Now more than ever, young starlets should be wary of shady contracts while underage or tricks of exploitation disguised as empowerment.  

“Sleeping with Ghosts”

The title track hints at feelings of loneliness and longing. Most prevalently, the song is about the ending of a relationship. You are still together, but only for the ghost of what once was. There may still even be love, but it is no longer romantic or sustainable. 

The song also reflects a sense of nostalgia and longing for what has passed. The term “sleeping with ghosts” suggests that the singer is haunted by memories of someone they used to be close to but have now lost. This could imply regret or a desire to go back in time and change the course of the relationship.

The phrase “these memories come rushing like feral waves to your mind” suggests that the memories can be overwhelming and uncontrollable, much like the force of ocean waves. Strong feelings for the past can contribute to the inability to make a healthy break. 

“The Bitter End”

This song discusses the end of a relationship and the bitterness that comes with it. 

The lyrics suggest a sense of frustration, conflict, and perhaps the impending demise of the relationship. Lines like “I won’t let you change me” and “I’d rather be here” imply resistance to change and a longing for the way things used to be.

Lines like “I’d rather run away and see you die” could be seen as an expression of the desire for personal autonomy and freedom from a suffocating or toxic relationship. It may signify a need for independence and self-preservation.

The lyrics also exhibit a sense of ambivalence or mixed feelings. Despite the conflicts and struggles described, there may still be an underlying attachment or love that makes it difficult to completely sever ties. However, with some lyrics falling on the line of stalker-like obsession, one may wonder if the feelings are authentic or one-sided. Its the unhealth desire for freedom, but the unwillingness to let go. Like stalking an ex on social media and thinking you have any right to feel a certain way about what they post. 

“Something Rotten”

It touches on themes of deception and betrayal in a relationship. If looking at the album as a story, one can see that the love from before is dead, and now all that remains is all-encompassing rot. 

The title “Something Rotten” immediately suggests a sense of decay or corruption. The song can also be interpreted as a reflection of cynicism and disillusionment with the world. The lyrics may convey a feeling that something is fundamentally flawed or corrupt in society, which is causing distress and frustration.

Placebo’s music often includes social and political commentary, and “Something Rotten” could be seen as a critique of societal issues, hypocrisy or the darker aspects of human nature. The song may highlight the artist’s dissatisfaction with the state of the world. The song could be seen as an exploration of existential themes, questioning the meaning and purpose of life in a world that may seem corrupt or meaningless.

Do these feelings sound familiar?

“Plasticine”

Be yourself, the age-old quip. 

Plasticine is moldable, malleable, easy to shape. There is no need to be like it, to trade who you are just to feel good about who people think you are. 

Although we have entered into an era of greater self-love and self-acceptance, it can sometimes seem performance, like it’s all about the hastags and posts. Like it only matters that people see you as someone ‘living their truth,’ not that you truly are. 

Even then, only a certain kind of ‘truth’ is acceptable I’m many of the most inclusive circles. See how quickly some online turn if you present as ‘other.’

“Special Needs”

This song appears to be about missing a partner, asking them to remeber them once they are famous.

You see how some may mistake this as a concept album? Say ashtray girl from earlier makes it big, and the narrator us asking to not be forgotten. Or at least, to not forget his advice. 

The optimism of the silver screen disappears after the first stanza, followed by lies, sadness and substance abuse. 

“I’ll Be Yours”

It conveys a sense of desire and longing in a relationship. Devotion, even. The addicting kind. But that’s only on the surface. 

Most clearly, the song is about loving your addictions more than anything else. 

“I’ll be your water. Bathing you clean. With liquid peace…I’ll be your reefer. You’ll breathe me in. You won’t release” 

Drugs will offer you peace, they will tak hold, and then they will never leave you. It seems romantic, but is truly written in a parisitic, creepy way, reminiscent of “Every Breath You Take.”

“Second Sight”

The lyrics hint at uncertainty and confusion in a relationship.

Molko said it is simply about “A one-night-stand song saying walk away for your own self-respect.” 

“Protect Me from What I Want”

This song explores the idea of craving something that might not be good for you. Once again, drugs. 

“Centrefolds”

This song seems to touch on themes of introspection and self-examination. 

A centerfold is the placed where the folds of a poster or paper meet, often at the focal point of an image. 

Lyrically, the song seems to explore the life of a fallen star, both from an entertainment perspective and in a biblical/spiritual sense, based on the references to one of the three wise men. 

“Someone telling a washed-up celebrity ‘I’m the best you can get now so you’d better be mine.’ Molko said. “It’s about obsession, questions of status and self-degradation.”

20 years after its initial release, the themes in “Sleeping with Ghosts” holds up well in our modern day. But that’s just my opinion. Give the album a stream and see if it agrees with you.