Vow
Released: spring 1995
Album: Garbage
Label: Almo Sounds (US), Mushroom (UK)
Format: CD single, 7" single
Length: 4:30
Charts: #138 UK, #97 US, #26 US Modern Rock
B-sides: #1 Crush, Subhuman
Trivia:
"Vow" was written and recorded at Smart Studios during the 1994 sessions for the debut album. It was one of the first songs Shirley Manson worked on, and the first song completed.
"Vow" is dark and vengeful, riding on the roar of vicious feedback and echoing guitar with a jewel of a hook that lasts until the end, where the screeching drowns out the words.
Garbage guitarist Duke Erikson claims not to even recall which settings he had or even which equipment his guitar was plugged into, but once the feedback loop that was used to great effect on Vow had started he knew he "had to let it carry on, so dark and unsettling" it sounded.
The vinyl format in the UK for "Vow" was in an aluminium metal tin.
Subhuman
Released: 1995
Album: --
Label: Almo Sounds (US), Mushroom (UK)
Format: CD single, 7" single
Length: 4:36
Charts: #50 UK
B-sides: #1 Crush
Trivia:
One of the special effects used in "Subhuman" was the sound of a broken air conditioner, which Butch Vig wired up to the recording desk and taped.
The release of "Subhuman" also co-incided with Garbage's first UK press conference. The press conference was held on board a boat that would cruise up and down the River Thames. The boat set off without the band actually on board and had to return to the dock to pick them up.
"Subhuman" has no music video.
Only Happy When It Rains
Released: September 1995
Album: Garbage
Label: Almo Sounds (US), Mushroom (UK)
Format: CD single, 7" single, MC single
Length: 3:56
Charts: #29 UK, #55 US, #16 US Modern Rock
B-sides: Girl Don't Come, Sleep
Trivia:
"Only Happy When It Rains" was written and recorded at Smart Studios during the 1994-1995 sessions for the debut album.
Bass on "Only Happy When It Rains" was played by Mike Kashou, and additional percussion is credited to Wisconsin musician Pauli Ryan.
The song was covered by Metallica at the 21st Annual Bridge School Benefit at Shoreline Amphitheatre in October 2007.
Shirley Manson: "It's about the grunge attitude in America, which is a pretty morose attitude to have. We were being pretty tongue-in-cheek. But it's also a song about wanting love, but knowing that life will always get in the way, and of knowing that, and yet not being obliterated by that. It's a song for people that know what it's like to live on the dark side."
Queer
Released: December 1995
Album: Garbage
Label: Almo Sounds (US), Mushroom (UK)
Format: CD single, 7" single, MC single
Length: 4:36
Charts: #13 UK, #12 US Modern Rock
B-sides: Trip My Wire, Butterfly Collector
Trivia:
The song samples the drum beat from Single Gun Theory's "Man of Straw."
The band had wanted to use a Frank Sinatra sample for "Queer," but the idea was abandoned because it would have been too expensive.
Stupid Girl
Released: April 1996
Album: Garbage
Label: Almo Sounds (US), Mushroom (UK)
Format: CD single, 7" single
Length: 4:19
Charts: #4 UK, #24 US, #2 US Modern Rock
B-sides: Driving Lesson, Kick My Ass
Trivia:
"Stupid Girl" features bass by Mike Kashou and additional percussion by Pauli Ryan, as well as a drum loop from "Train in Vain" by The Clash.
Many of the broken sounding electronic blips on the pre-chorus were actually ADAT clocking accidents and other equipment malfunctions.
The vinyl format in the UK for "Stupid Girl" was in a TakTile cloth bag, with a plastic G on the front. It was limited to 13,000 copies, half of them in red and half in blue.
The radio mix by Todd Terry became successful in its own right, a hit on the Billboard dance charts in August 1996.
Butch Vig: "Stupid Girl was born when we started jamming over The Clash sample. Steve started playing the loopy bass line, and Duke came up with the little jangly guitar riff. The song really only has two chords – the song is basically about the groove, a really simple arrangement, and Shirley's amazing singing. People still ask us who the 'Stupid Girl' is, and that's impossible to answer. The song is sort of meant to be a wake up call. It could be about an ex-girlfriend; it could be about a rock diva that we all know, it could be about your sister. It could also be called Stupid Boy."
Shirley Manson: "It became an anthem for a girl settling for less than what she wants or deserves."
Milk
Released: November 1996
Album: Garbage
Label: Almo Sounds, Mushroom (UK), Geffen (US)
Format: 7" single, CD single, CD maxi, MC single
Length: 3:56
Charts: #10 UK, #44 AUS
B-sides: Alien Sex Fiend
Trivia:
Garbage collaborated with UK trip-hop artist Tricky on a new single remix of "Milk" in Chicago and New York in May 1996.
After initial reports that the band and collaborator were unhappy with results, Garbage re-worked the track at Smart Studios and released the remix as a single.
The remix, which features acoustic guitars and electronic drums in place of the album version's synth was completed in two forms — the "Siren Mix" which is simply Shirley Manson singing the remix solo, and the "Wicked Mix" with both Shirley Manson and Tricky together.
#1 Crush
Released: 1996
Album: Romeo + Juliet Soundtrack
Label: Almo Sounds (US), Mushroom (UK)
Format: 7" single, CD single
Length: 4:56
Charts: #1 (US Modern Rock), #29 (US Hot 100 Airplay)
B-sides: --
Trivia:
"#1 Crush" was written and recorded at Smart Studios during the 1994 sessions for Garbage's debut album. The lyrics are written from the point of view of an obsessive stalker, and are sung over a hard industrial beat.
"#1 Crush" was originally the B-side to Garbage's debut singles "Vow" and "Subhuman." A year after its original release it was remixed and included on the multi-platinum soundtrack to the movie Romeo + Juliet.
"#1 Crush" was nominated for Best Song at the 1997 MTV Movie Awards. "#1 Crush" has no music video.
Push It
Released: April 1998
Album: Version 2.0
Label: Almo Sounds (US), Mushroom (UK)
Format: CD single, MC single
Length: 4:01
Charts: #9 UK, #52 US, #5 US Modern Rock
B-sides: Lick the Pavement, Thirteen
Trivia:
"Push It" contains an interpolation of 60's Californian band the Beach Boys hit "Don't Worry Baby" which was written by members Brian Wilson & Roger Christian and 1990s act Salt-N-Pepa's "Push It" written by Herbie Azor.
Garbage originally sampled the actual Beach Boys vocal track, but it wouldn't work with the song, so Shirley re-sung the lyric. After debating whether to keep the line, they sent a tape to Brian Wilson, who gave them permission to use the sample, and also said he liked the song and asked if he could keep the tape.
Butch Vig: "On "Push It", it was how far can we go, to just get so intense. The verses are slow and dreamy and pull you in, and then, of course, it gets very confrontational. The Beach Boys thing was a conscious thing, Shirley just came up with the lyric don't worry baby, and we wanted to try having a vocal chorus answering her. I think it was Steve who sampled the Beach Boys right off the record. So we had Shirley Manson singing and the Beach Boys answering her. It was amazing."
I Think I'm Paranoid
Released: July 1998
Album: Version 2.0
Label: Almo Sounds (US), Mushroom (UK)
Format: 7" single, CD single
Length: 3:38
Charts: #9 UK, #6 Modern Rock
B-sides: Deadwood, Afterglow
Trivia:
Bass on "I Think I'm Paranoid" is by Daniel Schulman, Todd Malcolm Michelles provides the scratching, and the song also contains samples from "Underfire" by electronic duo Terminalhead.
Original name was "Bend Me" and it contains over 120 audio tracks.
Butch Vig: "It's about the music business. There's a line: 'If I feel down, prop me up with another pill' which came from a bad day on the road when an associate told Shirley to take a pill to settle down. It didn't work."
Special
Released: 5 October 1998
Album: Version 2.0
Label: Almo Sounds (US), Mushroom (UK)
Format: CD maxi, CD single, Cassette single, 3" CD single
Length: 3:44
Charts: #15 UK, #52 US, #54 AUS, #11 US Modern Rock Tracks
B-sides: 13x Forever
Trivia:
"Special" contains an uncredited lyric sample from The Pretenders' song "Talk of the Town" which was written by lead singer Chrissie Hynde (they got the agreement to use it from Chrissie herself).
An early mix of "Special" also contained a sample of Duke Erikson on vocals. Shirley Manson thought it was a good idea beforehand, but admits that the results "were shocking to hear."
The song recieved two Grammy nominations - for 2000's Best Rock Song and for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group.
When I Grow Up
Released: January 1999
Album: Version 2.0
Label: Mushroom, BMG
Format: CD single
Length: 3:25
Charts: #9 UK, #23 US Modern Rock, #22 AUS
B-sides: Can't Seem to Make You Mine, Tornado
Trivia:
It was released simultaneously alongside the single "The Trick Is to Keep Breathing", to promote the band's winter 1999 European arena tour.
"When I Grow Up" was included on the soundtrack to the Adam Sandler movie Big Daddy which was released internationally during the summer of 1999.
The single was issued in the US and Australia to coincide with the movie's release.
Butch Vig: "It's about refusing to be normal and having to bow to peer pressure."
Shirley Manson: "It's our Trojan horse."
The Trick Is to Keep Breathing
Released: 9 February 1999
Album: Version 2.0
Label: Mushroom, BMG
Format: CD single, CD maxi
Length: 4:08
Charts: --
B-sides: Can't Seem to Make You Mine, Tornado
Trivia:
The title of the song was taken from Scottish author Janice Galloway's 1989 novel "The Trick Is To Keep Breathing," now widely considered to be a contemporary Scottish classic, which was published in the United Kingdom by Vintage (UK) and in North America by Dalkey Archive Press.
Shirley Manson later told Pulse! magazine "The boys were playing some of the chords, and the lyrics just came out in like two minutes. I've never had to review them really. They were perfect the way they were, and that never happened to me before."
"The Trick Is to Keep Breathing" started out "very simple," however over time there was a lot more recorded for it. When the band mixed the song, they made it "a lot more moody and spare." Shirley added "It's that general feeling of just keep pushing and you'll get through it. I think everybody can connect with that feeling."
They used a violin sample from "Cloudbusting" by Kate Bush.
You Look So Fine
Released: 24 May 1999
Album: Version 2.0
Label: Mushroom, BMG
Format: CD single
Length: 5:21
Charts: #19 UK
B-sides: Get Busy With the Fuzzy, Soldier Through This
Trivia:
The song emerged from a track entitled "King of Crime," which was eventually scrapped by the band.
"You Look So Fine" was to be licensed to appear on the soundtrack to the 1999 Sean Connery thriller Entrapment but the deal fell through at the last minute and the song did not appear on the movie. Apparently Sean had played the "Version 2.0" album every day on set.
Shirley Manson: "I wrote it about someone I was madly in love with who unfortunately did not feel the same way about me."
Butch Vig: "We had an idea that we wanted to break down the album and build it back up again. We wanted something meditative and calming at the end. It's like The Carpenters, that rush of vocals."
The World Is Not Enough
Released: 15 November 1999
Album: The World Is Not Enough Soundtrack
Label: Radioactive Records & MCA (Universal)
Format: CD maxi, CD single, Cassette single
Length: 3:57
Charts: #19 UK
B-sides: --
Trivia:
"The World Is Not Enough" was the theme song of James Bond movie with the same title.
"The World Is Not Enough" was written by James Bond themes lyricist Don Black and by composer David Arnold.
Shirley Manson: "Vocally, it's a big change for me. It requires a very wide range, and you can't hide behind any effect. Basically, it's just my voice. I was terrified, and I kept weeping to my friends, 'I'm going to look a fool! There's no way I'm going to be able to carry this off!' They reassured me, saying, 'No matter what happens, at least you won't come last, because you couldn't be worse than a-ha.' It's been great for us because we have long wanted to do a Bond theme. The likelihood of our getting the chance was extremely minute."
Androgyny
Released: September 2001
Album: beautifulgarbage
Label: Interscope, Mushroom
Format: CD single
Length: 3:10
Charts: #24 UK, #21 AUS, #1 Mexico
B-sides: Begging Bone
Trivia:
The song is actually a hybrid of three other songs recorded during the sessions. None of those early songs seemed to be going really well, until the band mashed them all up and by surprise, it worked.
Shirley Manson: "It's like a weird cross breed of a song... picture little Shirley Ann and the ladyboys meeting up with Prince and Noel Coward in a Florida whorehouse whilst TLC plays on the jukebox and you just might be able to imagine what the song sounds like."
Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)
Released: January 2002
Album: beautifulgarbage
Label: Interscope, Mushroom
Format: CD single, CD maxi
Length: 3:12
Charts: #22 UK, #7 AUS
B-sides: Use Me, Enough Is Never Enough
Trivia:
"Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)" was written and recorded at Smart Studios during the last month of the 2001 sessions for beautifulgarbage. Originally given the working title of "Wonderjam," the band came up with the track just as the group were about to start mixing the third record.
Shirley Manson: "It came whirling out of left field. One minute we were discussing getting started on mixing and we got this really daft keyboard groove going and before I knew it I was in my little booth shoving down some scratch vocal ideas and the whole thing sounded so different from everything else on the record that it seemed worth pursuing."
Shirley Manson: "It's an adrenaline rush. I think it's probably the most celebratory song we've ever written".
Breaking Up the Girl
Released: April 2002
Album: beautifulgarbage
Label: Interscope, Mushroom
Format: CD single, CD maxi, Enhanced CD
Length: 3:33
Charts: #27 UK, #19 AUS
B-sides: Candy Says, Happiness Part 2, Confidence
Trivia:
Bass on this track is played by Daniel Schulman and the lyric "I'm afraid there is much to be afraid of" was lifted from the long poem Western Swing written by Andrew Greig and published by Bloodaxe Books.
Shirley Manson: "It's a cautionary tale. It's basically saying in a roundabout way that the world we're living in is harsh and you've got to live in the moment, live in the now and if there's something in your life that isn't good then get rid of them. Cut them out. It's basically as simple as that!"
The song was used as theme song of MTV series Daria.
Shut Your Mouth
Released: September 2002
Album: beautifulgarbage
Format: CD single, CD maxi, 12" vinyl
Label: Interscope, Mushroom
Length: 3:26
Charts: #20 UK, #74 AUS
B-sides: Sex Never Goes Out of Fashion, April Tenth, I'm Really Into Techno, Wild Horses
Trivia:
"Shut Your Mouth" was written and recorded at Smart Studios during the 2000 sessions for beautifulgarbage. "Shut Your Mouth" was one of the first songs Garbage worked on during these sessions.
Shirley Manson: "In a general sense, it's about keeping your own counsel. There are so many opinions out there and misinformation and everybody's got their own agenda. Take a split second to think before you leap. Which, of course, I never do. Ha ha!"
Why Do You Love Me
Released: April 2005
Album: Bleed Like Me
Label: A&E Records (Warner Bros. Records), Festival Mushroom Records (Australia)
Format: 7" single, DVD single, CD single, CD maxi, Digital download
Length: 3:52
Charts: #7 UK, #8 US Modern Rock, #12 Canada
B-sides: Space Can Come Through Anyone, Nobody Can Win, I Just Wanna Have Something to Do
Trivia:
Charting at #7 it is, as of July 2005, Garbage's second most successful single release in the United Kingdom, coming second to the band's 1996 hit "Stupid Girl" which peaked at #4.
Shirley Manson: "It's about the fundamental insecurity in all human beings that they are unlovable. Feeling unlovable drives us into marriage, monogamy, jealousy and possessiveness."
Sex Is Not the Enemy
Released: 9 May 2005
Album: Bleed Like Me
Label: A&E Records (Warner Bros. Records), Festival Mushroom Records (Australia)
Format: 7" single, DVD single, CD single, Digital download
Length: 3:07
Charts: #24 UK
B-sides: Never Be Free, Honeybee
Trivia:
"Sex Is Not the Enemy" was influenced by the 1 February 2004 Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy (which lead to a censorship row in the media after singer Janet Jackson's bare breast was exposed in what was referred to as a "wardrobe malfunction"), when Manson noticed that the incident was featured on the USA Today cover for three days in a row with no mention of the Iraq war.
Bleed Like Me
Released: 13 June 2005
Album: Bleed Like Me
Label: A&E Records (Warner Bros. Records), Festival Mushroom Records (Australia)
Format: Digital download, 12" maxi
Length: 3:32
Charts: #6 US Hot Dance Music/Club Play, #27 US Modern Rock Tracks
B-sides: Never Be Free, Honeybee
Trivia:
A short news report from the set was shown on news channel CNN shortly after the video was filmed.
Shirley Manson: "It's about a search for empathy. We can forget so easily that people are the same regardless of their sexuality, religion, colour or moral values. Regardless of the differences between people – their colour, creed, sexuality or how they behave and express themselves – essentially we are exactly the same. It's about how when you are dealing with other people you have to remember that they are all carrying with them their own baggage."
Manson also referenced Gloria Gaynor's empowerment anthem "I Will Survive" (the first time a Garbage song directly referenced another musical composition).
Run Baby Run
Released: 1 August 2005
Album: Bleed Like Me
Label: A&E Records (Warner Bros. Records), Festival Mushroom Records (Australia)
Format: CD single
Length: 3:58
Charts: #28 Turkey, #47 Australia, #97 Germany
B-sides: Never Be Free, Honeybee, Badass (October 2003 Ruff Demo)
Trivia:
"Run Baby Run" was first written by the end of 2003 at Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin. The song began from an idea by Duke Erikson, and took a lot of work to complete. The band, while happy with the chorus, rebuilt the rest of the song around it; most of the song's original verses, lyrics and melody were re-written. Garbage didn't finish the song until the very end of the album sessions.
"Run Baby Run" was generally very well-received by contemporary pop music critics, a number of whom, including NME, commented on the track as part of Bleed Like Me's strong opening half. Rolling Stone felt the song recreated the 80s New Wave sound better than efforts from bands like Kasabian and Bloc Party: "Surrounded by a black forest of power-chord distortion, Manson pleads and prays like Deborah Harry atop a bouncing, throaty guitar riff that New Order would envy."
The New York Daily News also picked up on the New Order sound, commenting that the band had given the bass guitar "the best hook". Peter Murphy, of Hot Press, described "Run Baby Run" as one of the band’s most positive songs; "[It] glows with compassion, forgiveness and self-acceptance." Rolling Stone felt that song's "tender, dreamy verses" brought to mind "Just Like Heaven" by The Cure.
Shirley Manson: "'Run Baby Run' is about trying to engineer your own peace of mind and being unafraid to make changes in your life in order to try and facilitate that. [It's] about escape and engineering your own path in life. We're all too guilty of thinking that peace, love and healthiness are things that we're all just given." Erikson added, "Being expected to go through life to behave a certain way; I think "Run Baby Run" is a plea to run from that. Run with your life, take it wherever it takes you. It's about not conforming."
Tell Me Where It Hurts
Released: 9 July 2007
Compilation: Absolute Garbage
Format: 7" single, CD, DVD, Digital download
Label: A&E Records (worldwide)
Length: 4:10
Charts: #50 UK, #50 UK Physical Singles Charts
B-sides: Betcha
Trivia:
"Tell Me Where It Hurts" was written by Garbage following the end of the band's temporary hiatus. At a benefit show organised by drummer Butch Vig, he told Billboard "Despite the layoff, the group has been sharing song ideas via the Internet. We need to sit down in a room and play them and get them complete."
"Tell Me Where It Hurts" came from sessions the group held in Spring 2007.