"Cherry Lips", also known as "Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)" is a song written, recorded and produced by

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 ...

group

Garbage Garbage, trash (American English), rubbish (British English), or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or ...

for their third

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, ''

Beautiful Garbage ''Beautiful Garbage'' (stylized as ''beautifulgarbage'') is the third studio album by American Rock music, rock band Garbage (band), Garbage. It was released on October 1, 2001, by Mushroom Records worldwide, with the North American release by I ...

''. It was released in early 2002 by

Mushroom Records Mushroom Records was an Australian flagship record label, founded in 1972 in Melbourne. It published and distributed many successful Australian artists and expanded internationally, until it was merged with Festival Records in 1998. Festival ...

as second single from the album. In the years since release, "Cherry Lips" has become an enduring track for the band, an alternative rock LGBTQ anthem, and after almost two decades continues to resonate, being used as the home run song of the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

and in advertisement campaigns for

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

's Surface Go laptop tablets. "Cherry Lips" was a hit in the UK, Ireland, and Italy, the latter of which it had been the sound of a prominent winter

marketing campaign Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

for Breil Stones, reaching 8 on the Italian charts. Like lead single "

Androgyny Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to Sex, biological sex or gender expression. When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics in humans, it oft ...

", "Cherry Lips" was a success in New Zealand and Australia, where it became Garbage's biggest hit single, spending five non-consecutive weeks in the top ten. "Cherry Lips" was ultimately certified Gold by the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...

. As the first Garbage single fully released in the aftermath of the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

, the band donated a percentage of the

royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset or ...

generated from the sales of "Cherry Lips" to the

International Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a aid agency, humanitarian organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a three-time Nobel Prize laureate. The organization has played an instrumental role in the development of Law of ...

Song profile

"Cherry Lips" was written and recorded at Smart Studios in Madison,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. Written just as Garbage were about to begin mixing their third album, "Cherry Lips" was a late inclusion to the album. The song began as a keyboard melody, and was originally known by the

working title A working title is a preliminary name for a product or project. The usage is especially common in film and TV, gaming, music and publishing. It is often styled in trade publications as (wt) and is synonymous with production title and tentative ...

"Wonderjam". While recording the song, Steve Marker played a

tuba The tuba (; ) is the largest and lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece (brass), mouthpiece. It first appeared in th ...

, and recorded the output of the audio being run through a

wah-wah pedal A wah-wah pedal, or simply wah pedal, is a type of effects pedal designed for electric guitar that alters the timbre of the input signal to create a distinctive sound, mimicking the human voice saying the onomatopoeic name "wah-wah". The peda ...

. Daniel Shulman, at the end of his second set of scheduled

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

sessions for the album, quickly created a sub-hook

bassline Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, Dub music, dub and electronic music, electronic, traditional music, traditional, and classical music, for the low-pitched P ...

for the

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

on a Sabre bass run through an

Ampeg Ampeg ("amplified peg") is a manufacturer best known for its bass amplifiers. Originally established in 1946 in Linden, New Jersey by Everett Hull and Stanley Michaels as "Michael-Hull Electronic Labs," today Ampeg is part of the Yamaha Guit ...

B15

amplifier An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). It is a two-port electronic circuit that uses electric power from a power su ...

. The band was happy with the bassline and used it on the final mix of "Cherry Lips". Shirley Manson described "Cherry Lips" as "an adrenaline rush" and "probably the most celebratory song we've ever written". Shirley Manson wrote the lyrics based loosely around two novels she had just read, ''

Sarah Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch, prophet, and major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pious woma ...

'', which was about a transgender prostitute, and '' The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things'', written by author

Laura Albert Laura Victoria Albert (born November 2, 1965) is an American author who invented the literary persona JT LeRoy, whom Albert described as an "avatar." She published various works of purportedly autobiographical fiction under the LeRoy name be ...

under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

of JT LeRoy. "I took a bit of poetic license, but I wrote it for JT. It's easily the most uplifting thing we've ever done. It sounds nothing like us; it sounds like a Shangri-Las song", Manson explained. Like the rest of the world, Manson had believed that LeRoy had been a teenage truck-stop hustler who'd escaped the streets to become a writer. Manson exchanged emails with LeRoy over the course of the album sessions. "I wanted to write an ode to

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

spirit, inspired by my interactions with this peculiar but emotionally generous creature I knew online as JT", Manson later recalled. On the ''Beautiful Garbage'' sleeve notes, Manson dedicated "Cherry Lips" to "The Terminator", another alias of JT LeRoy. In 2005, LeRoy was exposed as an invention of Laura Albert in articles published by Stephen Beachy, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' and '' Vanity Fair''. "I know a lot of people felt conned in the end," Manson explained. "I didn't. I just felt sad that a woman felt she would stand a better chance in the world if she was a man, that JT was 'dead' and wouldn't be part of my life anymore". Manson still felt that the books "remain a marvel and whoever wrote them is still a genius whether they are a man, woman or wilderbeast." "We were in different headspaces every time we recorded, which is why every song is different," Manson later explained, ""Silence Is Golden" is probably the heaviest song we've ever recorded and "Cherry Lips" the poppiest. They're juxtaposed right next to each other." When Manson recorded her lead vocal, the takes were heavily EQ'd at the

tracking Tracking may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Tracking, in computer graphics, in match moving (insertion of graphics into footage) * Tracking, composing music with music tracker software * Eye tracking, measuring the position of ...

stage ("lt was tracked that way for effect", explained engineer

Billy Bush William Hall Bush (born October 17, 1971) is an American radio and television host. He is a member of the Bush family, a nephew of former president George H. W. Bush and cousin of former president George W. Bush and former Florida governor Jeb B ...

, "it sounded weirder that way!").

Single release

The first territory to receive a "Cherry Lips" commercial release was Japan, where Sony Music Int'l issued a five-track CD maxi of "Cherry Lips" remixes on December 27, 2001 coinciding with the announcement of Garbage's upcoming tour dates in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

and

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

. In February 2002, Sony followed up the single by issuing '' Special Collection'', an exclusive

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

collecting together the international b-sides with artwork from the "Cherry Lips" music video. Across Europe,

PIAS Recordings PIAS Recordings (formerly Play It Again Sam) is a Belgian record label founded in 1982 by Kenny Gates and Michel Lambot, In September 2024, the company was acquired by Universal Music Group. Play It Again Sam expanded along with other European i ...

issued "Cherry Lips" on January 7, 2002, as a four-track maxi CD, two-track

CD single A CD single is a single (music), music single in the form of a compact disc (CD). Originally the ''CD single'' standard (as defined in the Rainbow Books, Red Book) was an 8 cm (3-inch) "mini CD" (''CD3''); later on the term referred to any si ...

and as a two-track 12-inch vinyl. At the end of January, in Switzerland the single debuted No. 95 and peaked at No. 85 three weeks later, before recharting at No. 100 for a single week at the end of February; while in Netherlands "Cherry Lips" debuted at No. 86 and climbed over three weeks to No. 80. In Spain, "Cherry Lips" reached No. 15 on the airplay chart, while in Belgium, the single made the Ultratip (sales and airplay) charts in both the

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

region (at No. 18) and the

Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...

region (No. 12). In Italy, where "Cherry Lips" had been licensed to the Breil Stones Winter 2001/02 campaign advertisements, the single debuted at No. 8. "Cherry Lips" remained on the Italian top twenty for six weeks. In Australia and New Zealand, "Cherry Lips" was serviced to clubs at the end of November. On December 3, "Cherry Lips" hit radio and music TV, and

television advertisements Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

for ''Beautiful Garbage'' began airing in the run up to the Christmas period, with heavy emphasis on "Cherry Lips". The "Cherry Lips" remixes peaked at No. 3 on the ARIA Club chart FMR scheduled the single to coincide with the

Big Day Out The Big Day Out (BDO) was an annual music festival that was held in five Australian cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Queensland, Gold Coast, Adelaide, and Perth, as well as Auckland, New Zealand. The festival was held during summer, typi ...

rock festival A rock festival is an open-air rock concert featuring many different performers, typically spread over two or three days and having a campsite and other amenities and forms of entertainment provided at the venue. Some festivals are singular eve ...

, which Garbage were part of the line-up. The week before release, ''Beautiful Garbage'' climbed back up to No. 10 on the album chart, as "Cherry Lips" hit No. 2 on the airplay chart."Garbage: Breaking Up the Girl", Festival Mushroom Records promo campaign report, published April 2002 "Cherry Lips" was issued to stores on January 14 as a 2×CD single set and debuted at No. 7 on the

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

, both the second highest new entry, and Garbage's first Australian top ten single. On January 24, Garbage performed both "Cherry Lips" and "Androgyny" live on

Channel V Channel '' ("V" as in the letter, not the Roman numeral "5") is a Chinese and former Asian pay television musical network originally launched by Star TV Hong Kong (now Disney Networks Group Asia Pacific). It was part of the unit of Disney In ...

outside Fox Studios in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. On the fourth week of release, the single reached No. 1 on the ARIA Alternative chart as "ARIA

certified Certification is part of testing, inspection and certification and the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestatio ...

"Cherry Lips" gold for shipments of over 35,000 units. During this period, ''Beautiful Garbage'' climbed to No. 5 on the album chart, staying there for three weeks. On its fifth and sixth week, the single dropped to No. 12, and then reversed back up to the No. 10 spot, ultimately spending fifteen weeks on the charts In New Zealand, the band's performance in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

and airplay for the single resulted in ''Beautiful Garbage'' re-charting at No. 12 on the RIANZ album chart. "Cherry Lips" debuted three weeks later at No. 39, before climbing to peak at No. 22 by the start of March. ''Beautiful Garbage'' rebounded on the album chart at the end of the month, reaching number 16 in April. "Cherry Lips" was originally scheduled to be issued in the United Kingdom to support Garbage's mini-tour of Europe in November 2001. The track and remixes were serviced to radio, while the commercial release was put on hold. Garbage performed the song on ''

Later With Jools Holland ''Later... with Jools Holland'' (also known as ''Even Later... with Jools Holland'', and previously known as ''Later Live... with Jools Holland'' and ''...Later with Jools Holland'') is a contemporary British music television show hosted by Jo ...

'',

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

's ''Morning Glory'' and on Radio One's ''Evening Session'' as well as pre-recording a performance for ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

''. At the start of 2002, Garbage kicked off the rescheduled release of "Cherry Lips", performing the song on '' cd:uk'', '' T4'' and on the '' Pepsi Chart Show''.

issued "Cherry Lips" to record stores on January 21 in a 12-inch vinyl format and a 2×CD single set. A week later, "Cherry Lips" debuted at No. 24 on the UK Singles Chart. The single dropped to No. 40 after three weeks. An

internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

-only remix of "Cherry Lips" produced by

Girls Against Boys Girls Against Boys is a post-hardcore band which formed in Washington, D.C., and subsequently relocated to New York City shortly after their formation in 1989. The band released albums on the labels Adult Swim, Touch and Go Records, Geffen Rec ...

bassist Eli Janney was streamed online on various sites to promote the song. On February 1, Mushroom partnered with ''

The Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot Plasma (physics), plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as ...

'' tabloid and

Asda Asda Stores Limited (), trading as Asda and often styled as ASDA, is a British supermarket and petrol station chain. Its headquarters is in Leeds, England. The company was incorporated as Associated Dairies and Farm Stores in 1949. It expanded ...

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. Strictly speaking, a supermarket is larger and has a wider selecti ...

to give away a free CD titled ''Garbage:Sampler'' that included the "Cherry Lips" remix. In Ireland, "Cherry Lips" peaked at No. 27 on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

Post release

Since its release, the song has been constantly performed at Garbage concerts. In March 2003, "Cherry Lips" featured on the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...

game ''

Amplitude The amplitude of a periodic variable is a measure of its change in a single period (such as time or spatial period). The amplitude of a non-periodic signal is its magnitude compared with a reference value. There are various definitions of am ...

''. While playing the "Cherry Lips" level, the game shows footage taken from the "Breaking Up the Girl" music video. In 2007, "Cherry Lips" was

remastered A remaster is a change in the sound or image quality of previously created forms of media, whether Mastering (audio), audiophonic, Cinematography, cinematic, or Videography, videographic. The resulting product is said to be remastered. The term ...

and included on Garbage's

greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

album '' Absolute Garbage''. In December 2011, the song featured in an ''

Actimel Actimel (known as DanActive in the United States and Canada) is a probiotic yogurt-type drink produced by the French company Danone. Actimel earned over €1.4 billion (US$1.8 billion) in retail sales in 2006. History Actimel was invented ...

'' yoghurt spot in Italy. In 2012, the song featured on the band's second greatest hits album, '' The Absolute Collection'', released in Australia and New Zealand ahead of Garbage's 2013 tour promoting ''Not Your Kind of People''. In June 2013, the same week that Garbage's live Blu-ray/DVD " One Mile High... Live" was released, "Cherry Lips" re-charted at No. 89 on the UK Physical Singles chart. In 2021, "Cherry Lips" was remastered by

Heba Kadry Heba Kadry is an Egyptian mastering engineer who currently resides in Brooklyn, New York. She is best known for her work with Björk, Beach House, Slowdive, The Mars Volta, Neon Indian, Wooden Shjips, Lightning Bolt, White Hills, Alex G, Futur ...

for inclusion in the 20th Anniversary Edition of ''

'' out on November 5. In 2022, the song was used for the "Salmon Sisters" commercial of

's Surface Go and was included in the first episode of the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

series ''Heartbreak High''. The same year, the song was remastered again for inclusion in Garbage's third greatest hits album ''

Anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

'', out on October 28.

Critical reception

The reviews for "Cherry Lips" upon album impact and single release were mostly positive. In early press for ''Beautiful Garbage'', ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British music webzine and quarterly magazine that primarily covers rock, punk and heavy metal music. Since 2017, the magazine has been published by Wasted Talent Ltd (the same company that owns electronic music publication ...

s Dom Lawson described it as "lavish trashy pop" while Will Stokes, a reviewer for ''

Attitude Attitude or Attitude may refer to: Philosophy and psychology * Attitude (psychology), a disposition or state of mind ** Attitude change * Propositional attitude, a mental state held towards a proposition Science and technology * Orientation ...

'', wrote "Has anything more funky than the bubble-gum flavoured "Cherry Lips" been written all year?" ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' wrote "replete with " Chapel of Love" wedding-bell chimes, Garbage has created a storyline for film director

Gus Van Sant Gus Green Van Sant Jr. (born July 24, 1952) is an American filmmaker, photographer, painter, and musician. He has earned acclaim as an independent film, independent auteur. His films typically deal with themes of marginalized subcultures. His ...

." Not all reviews were enthusiastic. A reviewer for ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' wrote, ""Cherry Lips" sounds like Martine McCutcheon being told to have fun at gun-point". while in an album review for ''

Rock Sound ''Rock Sound'' is a British magazine that covers rock music. The magazine aims at being more " underground" and less commercial, while also giving coverage to better-known acts. It generally focuses on pop punk, post-hardcore, metalcore, punk, ...

'', referring to "Cherry Lips", Victoria Durham wrote "you can't help thinking that things have veered a little off course here".

Music video

Dawn Shadforth concept

Knowing that the song had been inspired by the writing of JT LeRoy, director

Dawn Shadforth Dawn Shadforth (born 11 October 1973) is a British director of music videos, TV, and film and a visual artist. She was originally a fine artist making work with objects, light, video and sound. She won the Whitworth Young Contemporaries Award f ...

presented a treatment for a stylized "Cherry Lips" video combining those sensibilities with 1960's biker movies and Japanese

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

graphic novels A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics scholars and ...

. Shadforth envisioned the visual as a "celebration of extraordinariness and difference" populated by lizard people and set at an alternative universe

truck stop A truck stop (known as a service station in the United Kingdom, a travel center by major chains in the United States and a roadhouse in rural Australia) is a commercial facility which provides refueling, rest (parking), and often ready-made f ...

where Garbage were the house band. Animated sequences would be cued to the guitar parts. The truck stop people would appear normal at first, but as they started to dance, hints of 'lizardness' would appear (flicking tongues, tails) with subtle

prosthetics In medicine, a prosthesis (: prostheses; from ), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through physical trauma, disease, or a condition present at birth (congenital disorder). Prosthe ...

. The video would end with a

hot rod race "Hot Rod Race" is a Western swing song about a fictional street race between hot rod customized cars in California, first recorded by Arkie Shibley, and released in November 1950. The comical lyrics relate a night-time race between a custom Fo ...

and a

flying saucer A flying saucer, or flying disc, is a purported type of disc-shaped unidentified flying object (UFO). The term was coined in 1947 by the United States (US) news media for the objects pilot Kenneth Arnold UFO sighting, Kenneth Arnold claimed fl ...

, with Manson climbing on-board or the side of one of the cars. The shots were to be stylized: colourful people, cars and clothes against a starry night sky. Inside the cars, the lizard people would reveal the full extent of their real selves in

strobe light A strobe light or stroboscopic lamp, commonly called a strobe, is a device used to produce regular flashes of light. It is one of a number of devices that can be used as a stroboscope. The word originated from the Ancient Greek ('), meaning ...

shots. Despite Shadforth's music video for

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...

's "

Can't Get You Out of My Head "Can't Get You Out of My Head" is a song recorded by Australian singer Kylie Minogue for her eighth studio album, ''Fever (Kylie Minogue album), Fever'' (2001). Parlophone, Parlophone Records released the song as the album's Single (music), ...

" then saturating music channels worldwide, Interscope chose to reject the treatment; "I feel broken hearted we never made it" Manson later recalled.

Joseph Kahn directed video

The produced

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for "Cherry Lips" was

directed Direct may refer to: Mathematics * Directed set, in order theory * Direct limit of (pre), sheaves * Direct sum of modules, a construction in abstract algebra which combines several vector spaces Computing * Direct access (disambiguation), a ...

by Joseph Kahn on a

set Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...

installed in a

loft A loft is a building's upper storey or elevated area in a room directly under the roof (American usage), or just an attic: a storage space under the roof usually accessed by a ladder (primarily British usage). A loft apartment refers to large ...

located in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

on October 22, 2001. The video was produced by Supermega/Palomar; collaborating on the music video were top hair artist Renato Campura, make-up artist Mathu Andersen and stylist Kithe Brewster.

Visual effects Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated as VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production. The integration of live-action footage and other live-action fo ...

were handled by Chris Watts. The video treatment Kahn filmed featured Garbage performing in a loft space, but only seen on

mirror A mirror, also known as a looking glass, is an object that Reflection (physics), reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror forms an image of whatever is in front of it, which is then focused through the lens of the eye or a camera ...

reflections, on monitor displays or reflected in the

camera lens A camera lens, photographic lens or photographic objective is an optical lens (optics), lens or assembly of lenses (compound lens) used in conjunction with a camera body and mechanism to Imaging, make images of objects either on photographic film ...

. As the

begins, it becomes apparent that the band are

invisible Invisibility is the state of an object that cannot be seen. An object in this state is said to be ''invisible'' (literally, "not visible"). The phenomenon is studied by physics and perceptual psychology. Since objects can be seen by light fr ...

. The

special effect Special effects (often abbreviated as F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the fictional events in a story or virtual world. ...

was rendered by filming Garbage wrapped in green gauze suits under their clothing and digitally replacing their bodies with the background. The insides of their clothing were replaced using CGI.

Monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, Wes ...

s visible to the viewer were fed playback footage of the band performing 'as normal'. For the breakdown and coda, Manson removed her clothing (except her boots and gloves) and performed an invisible

striptease A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner. The person who performs a striptease is commonly known as a "stripper", "exotic d ...

, and then walked across the room towards a

bathroom A bathroom is a room in which people wash their bodies or parts thereof. It can contain one or more of the following plumbing fixtures: a shower, a bathtub, a bidet, and a sink (also known as a wash basin in the United Kingdom). A toilet is al ...

mirror displaying her composited reflection. The

twist ending A plot twist is a literary technique that introduces a radical change in the direction or expected outcome of the plot in a work of fiction. When it happens near the end of a story, it is known as a twist ending or surprise ending. It may change ...

showed the invisible Manson

urinating Urination is the release of urine from the bladder through the urethra in placental mammals, or through the cloaca in other vertebrates. It is the urinary system's form of excretion. It is also known medically as micturition, voiding, uresi ...

while standing up. Manson dyed her

red hair Red hair, also known as ginger hair, is a human hair color found in 2–6% of people of northern Europe, Northern or Northwestern European ancestry and lesser frequency in other populations. It is most common in individuals Zygosity#Homozy ...

to platinum blonde the night prior to the shoot. Kahn expressed concern over the change, as he felt Manson was strongly identified as a redhead. To complement her new colour, she was given a 1950s-era beige palette "for a glamorous but not overdone" look. Vig filmed all his

close-up A close-up or closeup in filmmaking, television production A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, s ...

scenes at the start of the day; he had been suffering from a

food poisoning Foodborne illness (also known as foodborne disease and food poisoning) is any illness resulting from the contamination of food by pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites, as well as prions (the agents of mad cow disease), and toxins such ...

infection. After filming some

establishing shots An establishing shot in filmmaking and television production sets up, or establishes, the context for a scene by showing the relationship between its important figures and objects. It is generally a long or extreme-long shot at the beginning of ...

with the band, a

stand-in A stand-in, sometimes a lighting double, for film and television is a person who substitutes for the actor before filming, for technical purposes such as lighting and camera setup. Stand-ins are helpful in the initial processes of film and tele ...

was used for his greenscreen parts. The set was dressed to resemble a

strip club A strip club (also known as a strip joint, striptease bar, peeler bar, gentlemen's club, among others) is a venue where strippers provide adult entertainment, predominantly in the form of striptease and other erotic dances including lap dances. St ...

, vintage

neon sign In the signage industry, neon signs are electric signs lighted by long luminous gas-discharge tubes that contain rarefied neon or other gases. They are the most common use for neon lighting, which was first demonstrated in a modern form in Decem ...

s were procured from over the city to provide an authentic backdrop. The "Cherry Lips" video premiered on Australia's '' Rage'' on December 3, on

MTV Europe MTV Global (formerly MTV Europe) is the international version of the American TV channel MTV as 24-hour music video and entertainment pay television network officially launched on 1 August 1987 as part of the worldwide MTV network. Initia ...

in the United Kingdom and on VIVA in Germany on December 17."Cherry Lips" marketing brochure, published by PIAS Germany, December 2002 MTV Europe required an

edit Edward Ma, known professionally as edIT, is an American electronic music producer and DJ based in Los Angeles. He is a member of the Glitch Mob. History After growing up in Boston, Edward Ma began his career as a DJ and got into music produ ...

to the scenes where Manson stamped on

lightbulbs Electric light is an artificial light source powered by electricity. Electric Light may also refer to: * Light fixture, a decorative enclosure for an electric light source * ''Electric Light'' (album), a 2018 album by James Bay * Electric Light ( ...

; an alternate edit was re-serviced with the scenes obscured in early 2002.

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

continued to broadcast the original version. The "Cherry Lips" video was nominated for a

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n MM Music Award in the category of Best Video by an International Act. The "Cherry Lips" video was first made commercially available in

QuickTime QuickTime (or QuickTime Player) is an extensible multimedia architecture created by Apple, which supports playing, streaming, encoding, and transcoding a variety of digital media formats. The term ''QuickTime'' also refers to the QuickTime Pla ...

format on the

CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains computer data storage, data computers can read, but not write or erase. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold b ...

enhanced section of the "Cherry Lips" CD singles. A remastered version of the "Cherry Lips" music video was included on Garbage's 2007

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

'' Absolute Garbage'', and made available as a digital download via online music services later the same year. The "Cherry Lips" video was uploaded to

VEVO Vevo LLC ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized in all caps until 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available ...

in 2010. Manson admitted years later that she regretted the Joseph Kahn video: "We were quite literally blackmailed by our

record company "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and t ...

into making a video that we knew from the

storyboard A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of simple illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding proce ...

was a shockingly bad idea", she revealed. Duke Erikson thought that, despite people thinking that the video was "fun", the result didn't do anything for the song. The band claimed that Interscope spent $1,000,000 on the "Cherry Lips" video, and was made under pressure from their management through to the video commissioner at their label to keep MTV interested. "We fought so hard not to do it, but we didn't hold enough cards, and so were forced to capitulate."

Remixes and alternate versions

Remixes commissioned for the commercial single release included club and dub mixes each from Dominican/American

house music House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...

DJ/producer Roger Sanchez and UK-based producers Graham Simmons and Alun Harrison (under the name MaUVe), as well as a club mix from Scottish DJ/producer

Howie B Howard Simon Bernstein (born 18 April 1963, Glasgow, Scotland) is a Scottish musician, producer and DJ who has worked with artists including Björk, U2, Tricky, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Soul II Soul, Robbie Robertson, Elisa, Mukul Deo ...

. All five mixes were serviced to clubs and specialist dance radio in November 2001. A further remix was completed by

member Eli Janney titled DJEJ's Go-Go Jam and released as a streaming single via the Garbage website. In 2005, Garbage remixed "Cherry Lips" themselves (subtitling the remix "Le Royale mix") for the B-side of the " Why Do You Love Me" DVD single. In 2007, the Roger Sanchez remix was remastered, edited and included on the ''Absolute Garbage'' bonus disc ''Garbage Mixes''. In 2021, the radio edit of the Roger Sanchez "Tha S-Man's Release Mix" was released as digital single to promote the 20th Anniversary Edition of ''

''.

Commercial track listings

* UK CD1 ''Mushroom MUSH98CDS'' # "Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)" – 3:11 # "Enough is Never Enough" – 4:08 # "Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)" (

remix) – 8:38 # "Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)" (video) – 3:11 * UK CD2 ''Mushroom MUSH98CDSX'' # "Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)" – 3:11 # "Use Me" – 4:34 # "Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)" (Tha S-man's release edit) – 3:41 * UK 12-inch single ''Mushroom MUSH94T'' # "Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)" (Tha S-man's release mix) – 6:48 # "Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)" (Dark vocal with a cappella) – 7:48 * European CD maxi '' IAS720.0098.122 MUSH98CDM'' # "Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)" – 3:11 # "Enough is Never Enough" – 4:08 # "Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)" (Howie B remix) – 8:38 # "Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)" (Tha S-man's release mix) – 6:48 * European CD single '' IAS720.0098.124 MUSH98CDSE'' # "Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)" – 3:11 # "Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)" (Tha S-man's release mix) – 6:48 * Europe 12-inch single '' IAS720.0098.122 MUSH94T'' # "Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)" (Tha S-man's release mix) – 6:48 # "Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)" (Dark vocal with a cappella) – 7:48 * Australian CD1 ''FMR MUSH98CDS'' # "Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)" – 3:11 # "Use Me" – 4:34 # "Enough is Never Enough" – 4:08 # "Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)" (Howie B remix) – 8:38 * Japanese CD; Australian CD2 ''Sony SICP-76''/''FMR MUSH98CDSX'' # "Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)" – 3:11 # "Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)" (Tha S-man's release (edit) – 3:41 # "Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)" (Howie B remix) – 8:38 # "Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)" (Dark vocal with a cappella) – 7:48 # "Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)" (Tha S-man's release mix) – 6:48

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

Garbage official website

"Cherry Lips" music video

"Cherry Lips" lyrics

"Cherry Lips" release discography
{{Authority control 2001 singles 2001 songs Garbage (band) songs Music videos directed by Joseph Kahn Song recordings produced by Butch Vig Songs written by Butch Vig Songs written by Duke Erikson Songs written by Shirley Manson Songs written by Steve Marker Transgender-related songs