"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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band

Placebo A placebo ( ) can be roughly defined as a sham medical treatment. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like saline), sham surgery, and other procedures. Placebos are used in randomized clinical trials ...

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

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 colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

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 The will to live ( German: ''der Wille zum Leben'') is a concept developed by the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, representing an irrational "blind incessant ''impulse'' without knowledge" that drives instinctive behaviors, causing an end ...

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 A slang is a vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in everyday conversation but avoided in formal writing and speech. It also often refers to the language exclusively used by the members of pa ...

; 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 definite pattern or predictability in information. A random sequence of events, symbols or steps often has no order and does not follow an intelligible pattern or combination. ...

, 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 an English video artist and music video director who directed music videos for electronic musicians such as Autechre, Squarepusher, and Aphex Twin and Björk. Early in his career he worked as a com ...

, 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'' 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, currently known as OVO Energy, OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, Greater London, England. The 12,500-seat facility is Greater Lond ...

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 A placebo ( ) can be roughly defined as a sham medical treatment. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like saline), sham su ...

" and " Song to Say Goodbye" 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 (given name), Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish language, Irish and Breton language, Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan language, Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. ...

) 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 Song recordings produced by Brad Wood