NEWS
Kid Cudi performs "Tequila Shots" on 'Saturday Night Live' April 10, 2021.
Will Heath/NBCKid Cudi opened up about his friendship with late designer Virgil Abloh in a series of posts on Wednesday (Dec. 1), in which he shared his thoughts on the pioneering fashion figure, as well as the final texts the two shared before Abloh’s death from cancer on Nov. 28.
“It’s taken me a few days to make this post. Tryna find the right words,” Cudder wrote on Instagram alongside a series of photos of the two together and the rapper wearing some of Abloh’s Louis Vuitton designs on stage. “Virgil was the kindest most warmest soul I’ve ever met. He was a true visionary, genius, disrupter, epic DJ and artist, but he was also just truly a beautiful human. I’ve never known anyone quite like him. And I know i never will. Once in a lifetime.”
The second part of the post featured a heartfelt dedication to Abloh, who Cudi thanked for “being a true friend and always makin me feel special when u sent a text, made time for me to hang or sent some shoes w my name on them. I love you endlessly. Til we meet again my friend. I hope u see what you’ve done. You changed the world forever. You did that. I love you Virgil. Goodbye my friend.”
Cudi, who walked in this week’s Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer 2022 show — where he performed his song “Moon” — also shared the pair’s final text exchange from last week. “I’m glad I got to tell u how I felt about u,” he tweeted. “Im happy u didn’t leave here not knowing. I love you Virg FOREVER.”
In the text exchange included below that note, the friends casually talked about the show, with Cudi writing, “Miami gon be a feature film n—a!,” with Abloh responding, “MAJORRRRRR… action movie.” A few days later, Cudi had more on his mind, adding, “Yo willis whats good! Wanted to connect w u about the show and see what u had in mind for me to wear. Im gettin my hair colored today and wanna have a color that goes w the fit… Hope u had a great thanksgiving w the fam!! So thankful to have u in my life. Love u brother.”
Abloh shared the love, responding, “Mad love for you my G… Did you get a fitting time yet?”
Fashion house Louis Vuitton’s first-ever U.S. fashion show was a somber, whimsical tribute to Abloh, just days after his death. The Miami menswear event, an unofficial kickoff to the prestigious Art Basel fair, had been in the works for months and guests including Kim Kardashian West and her daughter North, Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, model Bella Hadid, Joe Jonas, Maluma and Pharrell, arrived in sleek LV monogrammed silver speedboats. Cudi and Erykah Badu performed at an after-party.
See Cudi’s posts and video of his performance below.
NEWS
Placebo have kicked off their 30th anniversary tour by dusting off some tracks for the first time in over 20 years, and also playing new single ‘Helen Keller’ live for the first time.
The new dates come as the band are celebrating the 30 years since they dropped their 1996 debut album. To mark the occasion, they have announced a huge UK and European arena tour, where they have vowed to predominantly play material from their first album and their sophomore record ‘Without You I’m Nothing’.
At the opening night at Krakatoa in Mérignac, France, Brian Molko and co. delivered a stacked 19-song set, which began with ‘Pure Morning’, and immediately went into the first rendition of ‘Come Home’ in 20 years.
Another rarity came straight after, with the first live performance of ‘You Don’t Care About Us’ since 2001, as well as ‘Without You I’m Nothing’ and ‘Allergic (To Thoughts Of Mother Earth)’ which were played for the first time since 2018 and 2014 respectively.
‘Drowning by Numbers’, ‘Bruise Pristine’ and ‘My Sweet Prince’ were all introduced into the setlist for the first time since 2001, ‘Brick Shithouse’ was aired out for the first time since 2003, ‘Scared Of Girls’ was played for the first time since 2010, and both ‘Lady Of The Flowers’ and ‘36 Degrees’ were broken out for the first time in nine years.
The rest of the set was made up of ‘Teenage Angst’, ‘Bionic’, ‘I Know’ and ‘Every You Every Me’, and the band wrapped up the performance with two covers: Depeche Mode’s ‘I Feel You’, and Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)’.
It wasn’t until a later show at the Super Bock Arena in Porto, Portugal, that Placebo broke out their new song ‘Helen Keller’ for the first time – playing it 13 songs into the setlist.
Check out more footage from the tour so far below, as well as the setlist from night one.
‘Pure Morning’
‘Come Home’ (First time since 2006)
‘You Don’t Care About Us'(First Time Since 2001)
‘Teenage Angst’
‘Bionic’
‘Without You I’m Nothing” (First Time Since 2018)
‘Allergic (to Thoughts of Mother Earth)” (First Time Since 2014)
‘Drowning by Numbers” (First Time Since 2001)
’36 Degrees” (Alternate Version – First Time Since 2017)
‘I Know’
‘Brick Shithouse’ (First Time Since 2003)
‘Scared of Girls’ (First Time Since 2010)
‘Bruise Pristine” (First Time Since 2001)
‘My Sweet Prince’ (First Time Since 2001)
‘Lady of the Flowers’ (First time since 2017)
‘Nancy Boy’
‘Every You Every Me’
‘I Feel You’ (Depeche Mode cover, live debut)
‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)’ (Kate Bush cover)
Placebo dropped the single ‘Helen Keller’ on September 28, and it sees them reach back to ‘H.K. Farewell’, a hidden instrumental from the era of their self-titled 1996 debut. In the track, they retain the eerie keyboard melody from the original, and push it to new dimensions with a heavier, more anguished feeling.
The title refers to the American author, who was also a disability rights advocate and political activist, who became deafblind as a young child and went on to become an internationally renowned writer and campaigner.
As well as the tour, Placebo also celebrated the 30th anniversary of their debut by releasing a reimagined version of the record. For the LP, Molko and Stefan Olsdal returned to the original master tapes and reworked all 10 songs from the 1996 record – describing it as a “director’s cut” that helped them inject the original songs with three decades more experience.
The ongoing tour will reach the UK and Ireland in late November and early December, where they will play Nottingham, Glasgow, Dublin, Manchester, London and Cardiff. See all the dates here and find any remaining tickets here.
Dates will head to Latin America in 2027, beginning in São Paulo on February 20 and running through Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Colombia before wrapping up with shows in Guadalajara and Monterrey in March.
Placebo dropped their last album of new material in 2022, with ‘Never Let Me Go’. That record was given a four-star review by NME, which described it as “a renaissance rock record with an experimental edge”, adding that it found Placebo “inspired and ready for a new era”.
