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''Garbage'' is the debut studio album by American
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band
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 ...
. It was released on August 15, 1995, by
Almo Sounds Almo Sounds was a record label which was started in 1994 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss after they sold A&M Records to PolyGram. The intent for the label was to recreate the initial concept of A&M Records as a small, "boutique" label. The labe ...
. The album was met with critical acclaim upon its release, being viewed by some as an innovative recording for its time. It reached number 20 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and number six on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
, while charting inside the top 20 and receiving multi-platinum certifications in several territories. The album's success was helped by the band promoting it on a year-long tour, including playing on the European festival circuit and supporting the
Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also simply known as Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band formed in Chicago in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, guitarist James Iha, bassist D'arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. ...
throughout 1996, as well as by a run of increasingly successful singles culminating with " Stupid Girl", which received
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
nominations for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group in 1997. In October 2015, the album was reissued to mark its 20th anniversary, featuring remastered tracks from the original analog tapes, as well as remixes and previously unreleased alternate versions of songs from the album.


Background

In 1983,
Butch Vig Bryan David "Butch" Vig (born August 2, 1955) is an American musician, record producer, and songwriter who is the drummer and co-producer of the rock band Garbage. Producer of the diamond selling Nirvana album ''Nevermind'' (1991), Vig also pro ...
and
Steve Marker Steven W. Marker (born March 16, 1959) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the co–founder and guitarist of the alternative rock band Garbage. Previously an audio engineer for the band Fire Town with future ...
founded
Smart Studios Smart Studios was a recording studio located in Madison, Wisconsin. It was set up in 1983 by Butch Vig and Steve Marker to produce local bands. The studio produced bands such as Killdozer, The Smashing Pumpkins, L7, Tad, Nirvana, Hawthorne H ...
in
Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...
, and Vig's production work brought him to the attention of
Sub Pop Sub Pop is an independent record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana (band), Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the gru ...
. Vig's old band Spooner reunited in 1990 and released another record, but disbanded in 1993 as Vig's and Marker's careers as producers gained strength. In 1994, as Vig became "kind of burned out on doing really long records", he got together with
Duke Erikson Douglas Elwin "Duke" Erikson (born January 15, 1951) is an American musician, songwriter, screenwriter, film producer and record producer, best known as a co-founder and guitarist of the alternative rock band Garbage. Garbage has sold more than 1 ...
and Marker, and they started producing remixes for acts such as U2,
Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...
,
Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN (stylized as NIИ), is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1988. Its members are the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Trent Reznor and his frequent col ...
and
House of Pain House of Pain was an American hip hop trio that released three albums in the 1990s. The group consisted of DJ Lethal, Danny Boy, and Everlast. They are best known for their 1992 hit single " Jump Around", which reached number 3 in their nati ...
, featuring different instrumentation and often highlighting new guitar hooks and bass grooves. The experience inspired the three men to form a band, in which they "wanted to take that remix sensibility and somehow translate it into all of the possibilities of a band setup." An early comment that their work sounded "like garbage" inspired the band's name.
Shirley Manson Shirley Ann Manson FRSA (born 26 August 1966) is a Scottish singer, songwriter, and musician who is the lead singer of the rock band Garbage. Known for her distinctive deep voice, forthright style, and rebellious attitude, her accolades include ...
had been performing with the Edinburgh-based rock band
Goodbye Mr Mackenzie Goodbye Mr Mackenzie is a Scottish rock band formed in Bathgate near Edinburgh. At the band's commercial peak, the line-up consisted of Martin Metcalfe on vocals, John Duncan on guitar, Fin Wilson on bass guitar, Shirley Manson and Rona Scobi ...
since 1984. In 1993, several of the members, including Manson, formed the side project Angelfish. Their only studio album, '' Angelfish'', was as commercially unsuccessful as preceding albums by Goodbye Mr Mackenzie, selling only 10,000 copies. Initial sessions with Vig on vocals and the members' past work with all-male groups led to the band's desire for a woman on lead. Marker was watching ''
120 Minutes ''120 Minutes'' is a television program in the United States dedicated to the Alternative rock, alternative music genre, that originally aired on MTV from 1986 to 2000, and then aired on MTV's associate channel MTV2 from 2001 to 2003. After it ...
'' when he saw the one-time airing of the music video for Angelfish's "Suffocate Me". He showed the video to Erikson and Vig while their manager, Shannon O'Shea, tracked Manson down. When Manson was contacted, she didn't know who Vig was and was urged to check the credits on
Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...
's album ''
Nevermind ''Nevermind'' is the second studio album by the American rock band Nirvana (band), Nirvana, released on September 24, 1991, by DGC Records. It was Nirvana's first release on a Record label#Major versus independent record labels, major label an ...
'', which Vig had produced. On April 8, 1994, Manson met Erikson, Marker and Vig for the first time in London. Later that evening Vig was informed of
Kurt Cobain Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – ) was an American musician. He was the lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter, and a founding member of the grunge band Nirvana (band), Nirvana. Through his angsty songwriting and anti-establis ...
's suicide. Garbage was put on hold as Angelfish was touring North America in support of
Live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film * ''Live'' (2023 film), a Malayalam-language film *'' Live: Phát Trực Tiếp'', a Vietnamese-langua ...
. Erikson, Marker and Vig attended the
Metro Chicago Metro (formerly the Stages Music Hall and Cabaret Metro) is a concert hall in Chicago, Illinois, United States, that plays host to a variety of local, regional and national emerging bands and musicians. The Metro was first opened in 1982. Th ...
date, and Manson was invited to Madison to audition for the band. The audition did not go well, but Manson socialized with the men while there and they found they had a similar taste in music. Angelfish disbanded at the end of the Live tour. Manson called O'Shea and asked to audition again, feeling that "it would work out".


Recording

In her return to Smart Studios, Manson began to work on skeletal versions of the songs "
Queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...
", "
Vow A vow ( Lat. ''votum'', vow, promise; see vote) is a promise or oath. A vow is used as a promise that is solemn rather than casual. Marriage vows Marriage vows are binding promises each partner in a couple makes to the other during a weddin ...
" and " Stupid Girl". While looking for a
record deal A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording act (artist or group), where the act makes an audio recording (or series of recordings) for the label to sell and ...
for the album, Garbage sent out demo tapes with no bio, to avoid a bidding war over Vig's production history. Garbage signed with Mushroom Records UK worldwide and to
Jerry Moss Jerome Sheldon Moss (May 8, 1935 – August 16, 2023) was an American recording executive, best known for being the co-founder of A&M Records, along with trumpet player and bandleader Herb Alpert. Music career Early stages (1958–60) After gr ...
's label
Almo Sounds Almo Sounds was a record label which was started in 1994 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss after they sold A&M Records to PolyGram. The intent for the label was to recreate the initial concept of A&M Records as a small, "boutique" label. The labe ...
for North America. Manson's contribution was licensed to both Mushroom and Almo by her label
Radioactive Records Radioactive Records was an American record label. It was formed as a joint venture between talent manager Gary Kurfirst (who managed such acts as the Ramones, Big Audio Dynamite, Deee-Lite and Deborah Harry) and MCA Records, and it is now out o ...
. Garbage continued to work on the album throughout the start of 1995, delayed by Vig's work producing
Soul Asylum Soul Asylum is an American rock band formed in 1981 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their 1993 hit " Runaway Train" won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. The band was originally called Loud Fast Rules, with a lineup consisting of Dave Pirner ...
's ''
Let Your Dim Light Shine ''Let Your Dim Light Shine'' is the seventh studio album by American rock band Soul Asylum, released June 6, 1995, on Columbia Records. Critically, it suffered in comparison to its predecessor, '' Grave Dancers Union'', the band's breakout releas ...
'' album and the songs being "piecemealed together in the studio". Vig described the composing process as a "dysfunctional democracy" where someone would bring a loop or a sample, which was followed by
jam session A jam session is a relatively informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians, typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp over tunes, drones, songs, and chord progressions. To "jam" is to improvise music without ...
s in which the band members would "find one bar that's kind of cool, load that into our samplers, jam on top of that, ndShirley will ad-lib", with the process continuing until the song was finished, often with "all of the original ideas gone, and the song had somehow mutated into something completely different." Among the songs that were completely reworked, "As Heaven Is Wide" went from "a big rock track" to a techno-style song with
Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...
-inspired beats, only keeping Erikson's
fuzz bass Fuzz bass is a style of playing the electric bass or modifying its signal that produces a buzzy, distorted, overdriven sound. Overdriving a bass signal significantly changes the timbre, adds higher overtones (harmonics), increases the susta ...
and Manson's vocals from the original recording. Given Vig "got bored spending so many years recording really fast, straightforward punk records", the band "didn't want to approach the Garbage record from the angle of a band playing live", making their songs out of samples that would be processed and reworked in a
Wall of Sound The Wall of Sound (also called the Spector Sound) is a music production formula developed by American record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios, in the 1960s, with assistance from engineer Larry Levine and the conglomerate of session m ...
process "to create something that sounded fresh." A major part of the work involved Manson rewriting the song lyrics, which Vig said the band attempted to "write from a woman's perspective and I think, initially, some of them were a little pretentious. But as soon as Shirley came on board she simplified the lyrics so that they were a lot more subtle and worked better as songs." Manson detailed that regarding the previous song sketches, "some of the ideas for lyrics I found unsuitable, and others I liked and worked on with them. I always went to bat for what I believed in." She added that because "the lyrics take a while to work on" bandmates would give suggestions and she included the ones that fancied her. When Garbage began to collate the material for career retrospective ''Absolute Garbage'' in 2007, the ''Garbage'' analog masters could not be found. Vig and audio engineer Billy Bush were able to track down an archived, but rather incomplete and damaged, set of
16-bit 16-bit microcomputers are microcomputers that use 16-bit microprocessors. A 16-bit register can store 216 different values. The range of integer values that can be stored in 16 bits depends on the integer representation used. With the two ...
44.1 kHz In digital audio, 44,100 Hz (alternately represented as 44.1 kHz) is a common sampling frequency. Analog audio is often recorded by sampling it 44,100 times per second, and then these samples are used to Signal reconstruction, reconstru ...
safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...
DAT mixes. Despite the condition of the backups, mastering engineer Emily Lazar at The Lodge in New York City was able to reverse-engineer the missing songs from the damaged archive. Lazar used some alternate versions of the songs when completing the final master. Her assistant, Joe LaPorta, mastered and edited the remixes for the special edition.


Composition and style

''Garbage'' has a sound that "tr edto incorporate different styles and genres, throw it all into a big melting pot and see what would happen", according to Vig. Vig explained that as in his opinion "the most exciting bands are those who incorporate all those elements of punk, funk, techno, hip hop, etc." Garbage would attempt to do the same and "take those influences and make them work in the context of a pop song." The band went overboard with experimentation, with Erikson adding that throughout they liked to include "sounds that we found accidentally, like Steve's sample of a tape deck backing up, or the bit in 'Stupid Girl' that was initially a mistake, but when we slowed it down, actually fit the timbre and pace of the song and became the hook." The lyrics on the record were described by the band members as "a collaborative psycho-therapy session wherein personal demons of various sizes and importance are exorcised, vilified, taken revenge upon and laid to rest." Vig said they tried to deal with "dark themes that I think a lot of people can relate to in some way or another", which included voyeurism, hedonism, perversion, obsession and "the art of self-destruction." Manson stated that even though she put together most of the songs, "everybody has ideas that come to the table and I just use what I fancy. When we're working on something, the lyrics take a while to work on and heycome to me and say 'I've had these ideas, use them if you want' and if there's something I like, I'll stick it in with my own, or vice-versa. Some people come in going 'I've got this great title for a song' and I might use that." Manson remarked that while the content was "a lot more poppy" than most of her previous work, the songs invoked the dark side of her nature, as "sometimes I'm a wee bit creepy, and that definitely comes out in the music." She also declared that music "unlocks sensations and feelings that you keep inside, that society doesn't allow you to show", saying that the gist of a mean-spirited song like "Vow" is very real despite "none of us hav ngever really acted on those feelings". Vig added that the band was eager to exploit the contrast between words and music: "The initial idea was to make this a dark lyric with a shiny, happy, pop sensibility. You could be singing this really catchy line and realize the lyrics were totally wacked." In May 2017, Manson revealed during an interview with
Yahoo! Yahoo (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web portal that provides the search engine Yahoo Search and related services including My Yahoo, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo News, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports, y!entertainment, yahoo!life, and its a ...
that the song "Fix Me Now" was originally titled "
Chris Cornell Christopher John Cornell ( Boyle; July 20, 1964 – May 18, 2017) was an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and the primary lyricist for the rock music, rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave. He also had a ...
", because she was obsessed with the lead singer of
Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Cornell switched to rhythm guitar in 1985, replaced on drums initially ...
. A demo version of the song features Manson singing Cornell's name.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...
of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
stated that the album "has all the trappings of alternative rock—off-kilter arrangements, occasional bursts of noise, a female singer with a thin, airy voice, but it comes off as pop" because of Vig's "glossy production". Erlewine characterized the sound of the record as "slick and professional", full of "well-crafted pop songs", including "trashy alternative pop gems" like "Queer" and "Vow". ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
''s Stephen Thompson described the album as "a prototypically '90s record full of pumped-up, electronically enhanced, sample-laden pop-rock songs." ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...
'' remarked that the album "has an impressive swirl of acoustic and electric guitars, keyboards and swanky pop hooks that actually push alternative rock in a new direction."
About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly The Mining Company, About.com and Dotdash) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, hom ...
's Tim Grierson stated that the album "was steeped in alt-rock, but hits like 'Only Happy It Rains' had a dance element to them that distinguished the band from many of their angst-rock peers." Grierson further categorized the album as "dance-rock" and "techno-rock". Gil Kaufman of ''
Addicted to Noise ''Addicted to Noise'' (ATN) was an American online music magazine in the early days of the World Wide Web. Founded in 1994 by ex-''Rolling Stone'' associate editor and senior writer Michael Goldberg and online music pioneer Jon Luini, it publish ...
'' described the album as a "surprisingly non-guitar rock mix of ambient noise, shifting trip-hop beats, grinding jungle rhythms and an ocean-size chunk of buzzing noise that, somehow, gels and rises above the din thanks to catchy hooks and killer song construction." ''
Metro Weekly ''Metro Weekly'' is a free weekly magazine for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) community in Washington, D.C., United States. It was first published on May 5, 1994. ''Metro Weekly'' includes national and local news, intervi ...
'' characterized the album as "a heavy mix of electronic pop and guitar rock with samples, electronica and trip-hop beats thrown into the mix." ''
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 ...
'' noted that "acting on the premise that more is more, foursome Garbage thrashes out
power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...
with enough skill and passion to rate among the cream of the alternative crop. First single 'Queer' is a modern rock success, and other cuts—especially 'Only Happy When It Rains', 'Stupid Girl', and 'Supervixen'—are capable of keeping interests high. Proof that success can come from the oddest combinations."


Promotion

Vig stated that the band had no initial plans to tour as "not going on the road would really free us up to record tons of stuff". As the band members realized "that if we were going to have a successful record we'd have to go out on tour and promote it", and enjoyed playing live to record the "Vow" video, they decided to perform to audiences as well. To perform the complex and layered tracks live, the band hired Los Angeles bass player Daniel Shulman for the tour, and figured out ways to trigger samples on stage, such as having Marker play a keyboard along with his guitar. On February 24, 1996, Garbage set off on a 17-date headline tour of North America. Garbage then supported
Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also simply known as Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band formed in Chicago in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, guitarist James Iha, bassist D'arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. ...
on their North American arena tour from June 25, although the tour was cut short after the death of Smashing Pumpkins keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin on July 12. Garbage returned to Europe on August 3 promoting ''Garbage'' with a month of shows around the festival circuit. Garbage then headed south to Asia and Australia to promote the album, beginning with shows in Singapore on September 28 and ending in
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 ...
, Japan, on October 18. Garbage returned to the US to give ''Garbage'' a final push by rejoining the Smashing Pumpkins' rescheduled tour, beginning on October 23.


Critical reception

''Garbage'' was acclaimed by contemporary critics. In ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'', Steven Mirkin said the band's songwriting was just as exceptional as Vig's guitar and drum sounds, highlighting the "menacing sexuality, sonic playfulness, inventive guitar treatments, and cool vocals by Shirley Manson". Gil Kaufman from ''
Addicted to Noise ''Addicted to Noise'' (ATN) was an American online music magazine in the early days of the World Wide Web. Founded in 1994 by ex-''Rolling Stone'' associate editor and senior writer Michael Goldberg and online music pioneer Jon Luini, it publish ...
'' found the record's sound "akin to a
Jackson Pollock Paul Jackson Pollock (; January 28, 1912August 11, 1956) was an American painter. A major figure in the abstract expressionist movement, Pollock was widely noticed for his "Drip painting, drip technique" of pouring or splashing liquid household ...
painting, thick layers upon layers of sound that have been stripped down, torn apart, pasted together and then stripped again, until the result is a dizzying soundscape that reveals fresh nuances upon repeated listening". He added that the music's mix of ambience, rhythms, and noise "gels and rises above the din thanks to catchy hooks and killer song construction." Sharon O'Connell of ''
Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...
'' hailed it as the closest to "perfection as a pop/rock record" as can be, while Emma Morgan of ''
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 ...
'' called it "a reminder of how sweet angst can be in the hands of talented players". ''Garbage'' was voted the 19th best album of 1995 in the
Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abse ...
, an annual poll of American critics published by ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...
''. The newspaper's
Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...
gave the album a three-star honorable mention. He named "Queer" and "Supervixen" as its highlights while writing "if
Whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully Aquatic animal, aquatic placental mammal, placental marine mammals. As an informal and Colloquialism, colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea ...
is Tricky without a dark side, Garbage is Whale without Tricky and depressed about it". Keith Harris wrote in ''
The Rolling Stone Album Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...
'' that the record's electronic guitar hooks and Manson's "pop-star-as-one-night-stand" persona were seductive but had a "tawdry disposability". On the other hand, writing in ''
The Michigan Daily ''The Michigan Daily'', also known as "''The Daily''", is the independent student newspaper of the University of Michigan published in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Established on September 29, 1890, the newspaper is financially and editorially independe ...
'', Heather Phares was very mixed. Although she was favourable of the singles "Vow" and "Queer", the latter of which had "a sinister sex appeal that redeems it somewhat from the cheesiness of the rest of the album." She felt that the band mostly sound "angsty and jaded for no good reason," and concluded that while it's not "total junk, it's no prize either." In 1997, ''Garbage'' was named the 71st greatest album of all time by ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', which polled a number of renowned critics, artists, and radio DJs worldwide. It was later included in the musical reference book ''
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music criti ...
''. According to ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' critic Mikael Wood, the record's
techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...
-minded sound and Manson's alluring persona complemented and countered the contemporary
post-grunge Post-grunge is an offshoot of grunge that has a less abrasive or intense tone than traditional grunge. Originally, the term was used almost pejoratively to label mid-1990s alternative rock bands such as Bush (British band), Bush, Candlebox, Colle ...
music Vig had helped pioneer after producing
Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...
's 1991 album ''
Nevermind ''Nevermind'' is the second studio album by the American rock band Nirvana (band), Nirvana, released on September 24, 1991, by DGC Records. It was Nirvana's first release on a Record label#Major versus independent record labels, major label an ...
''. ''
Sound on Sound ''Sound on Sound'' is a monthly music technology magazine. The magazine includes product tests of electronic musical performance and recording devices, and interviews with industry professionals. Due to its technical focus, it is predominantly ...
'' journalist Sam Inglis argued that the musical techniques used on ''Garbage'' were radical at the time and influenced subsequent popular music, "uniting distorted guitars and cool female vocals with production that owed as much to
Public Enemy Public Enemy is an American Hip-hop, hip hop group formed in Roosevelt, New York, in 1985 by Chuck D and Flavor Flav. The group rose to prominence for their political messages including subjects such as Racism in the United States, American r ...
as
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...
". In Jancee Dunn's opinion, the album always sounded "very forward-thinking, intelligent" and current, even when heard more than a decade later.


Commercial performance

''Garbage'' debuted at number 29 on the
Top Heatseekers The Heatseekers charts were "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales b ...
chart dated September 2, 1995, before peaking at number two on March 9, 1996. In the issue dated September 30, 1995, the album entered the ''Billboard'' 200 at number 193, and reached its peak position of number 20 on August 10, 1996. The album was certified double platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA) on February 24, 1999, and by August 2008, it had sold 2.4 million copies in the United States. In Canada, the album reached number 15 on ''
The Record The Record may refer to: Music * The Record (Fear album), ''The Record'' (Fear album), a 1982 studio album by the hardcore-punk band Fear * The Record (Boygenius album), ''The Record'' (Boygenius album), a 2023 studio album by the indie rock supe ...
''s chart and number 25 on ''
RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...
''s chart, was certified double platinum by
Canadian Recording Industry Association Music Canada is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 in Toronto to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It also offers benefits to some of Canada's leadin ...
(CRIA), denoting shipments in excess of 200,000 units. ''Garbage'' was released on October 2, 1995 in the United Kingdom and debuted at number 12 on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
with 9,409 copies sold in its first week, eventually peaking at number six in April 1996. The album was certified double platinum by the
British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...
(BPI) on October 16, 1998, and had sold 701,757 copies in the United Kingdom as of May 2012. The album saw modest success across continental Europe, reaching number 16 in France, number 19 in Sweden, number 23 in Finland, number 30 in Norway and number 55 in Germany. In Oceania, it charted at number four in Australia and number one in New Zealand, earning double platinum certifications in both countries. As of August 2015, ''Garbage'' had sold over four million copies worldwide.


Track listing

Sample credits * "Queer" contains a loop from "Man of Straw" by
Single Gun Theory Single Gun Theory was an Australian electronic dance music band formed in 1986. Founding mainstay members were Jacqui Hunt on lead vocals; Kath Power on vocal melodies and synthesiser; and Peter Rivett-Carnac on guitar, synthesiser and sampling ...
. * "Not My Idea" contains a loop from
Headless Chickens The Headless Chickens was a New Zealand band. Going against the grain of the Dunedin sound that dominated the Flying Nun Records roster at the time, the Headless Chickens made extensive use of electronic instruments in their music. They reco ...
. * "Stupid Girl" contains a loop from "
Train in Vain "Train in Vain" is a song by the English punk rock band the Clash. It was released as the third and final single from their third studio album, '' London Calling'' (1979). The song was not originally listed on the album's track listing, appearing ...
" by
The Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...
.


Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Garbage''.


Garbage

*
Shirley Manson Shirley Ann Manson FRSA (born 26 August 1966) is a Scottish singer, songwriter, and musician who is the lead singer of the rock band Garbage. Known for her distinctive deep voice, forthright style, and rebellious attitude, her accolades include ...
– vocals, guitar *
Steve Marker Steven W. Marker (born March 16, 1959) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the co–founder and guitarist of the alternative rock band Garbage. Previously an audio engineer for the band Fire Town with future ...
– guitars, bass, samples, loops *
Duke Erikson Douglas Elwin "Duke" Erikson (born January 15, 1951) is an American musician, songwriter, screenwriter, film producer and record producer, best known as a co-founder and guitarist of the alternative rock band Garbage. Garbage has sold more than 1 ...
– guitars, keyboards,
six-string bass An extended-range bass is an electric bass guitar with a wider frequency range than a standard-tuned four-string bass guitar. Terminology One way that a bass can be considered ''extended-range'' is to use a mechanical detuner, a special tun ...
,
fuzz bass Fuzz bass is a style of playing the electric bass or modifying its signal that produces a buzzy, distorted, overdriven sound. Overdriving a bass signal significantly changes the timbre, adds higher overtones (harmonics), increases the susta ...
*
Butch Vig Bryan David "Butch" Vig (born August 2, 1955) is an American musician, record producer, and songwriter who is the drummer and co-producer of the rock band Garbage. Producer of the diamond selling Nirvana album ''Nevermind'' (1991), Vig also pro ...
– drums, loops, noise, EFX


Additional musicians

* Mike Kashou – bass ; fuzz bass *
Clyde Stubblefield Clyde Austin Stubblefield (April 18, 1943 – February 18, 2017) was an American drummer best known for his work with James Brown, with whom he recorded and toured for six years (1965-70). His syncopated drum patterns on Brown's recordings are co ...
– additional drums * Les Thimmig – clarinet * Pauli Ryan – percussion * David Frangioni – additional loops * Rich Mendelson – additional loops


Technical

*
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 ...
– production, recording *
Howie Weinberg Howie Weinberg is an American audio mastering engineer. Over the course of his career, he has received over 2,257 mastering credits, three TEC Awards, 21 Grammy Awards, two Juno Awards, and one Mercury Prize. Career Weinberg mastered Herbie Ha ...
– mastering * Scott Hull – editing, post-production * Mike Zirkel – second engineer


Artwork

* Robin Sloane – creative direction * Janet Wolsborn – art direction * Garbage – art direction * Adrian Britteon – logo *
Stéphane Sednaoui Stéphane Sednaoui () is a French music video director, photographer, film producer and actor. He has worked in various forms of media, including music videos, photojournalism, portrait photography, fashion and pop culture. Sednaoui's career ...
– photos * Clifford LeCuyer – additional photos * Photo 24 – additional photos


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications and sales


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Garbage 1995 debut albums Albums produced by Butch Vig Albums recorded at Smart Studios Almo Sounds albums Garbage (band) albums Mushroom Records albums