Garbage
Biography
Garbage built on the sonic landscapes of My Bloody Valentine, Curve, and Sonic Youth, adding a distinct sense of accessible pop songcraft. Garbage was the brainchild of producers Butch Vig, Duke Erikson, and Steve Marker. Initially, Garbage was an informal jam session between the three producers held in Marker's basement, but they eventually recruited vocalist Shirley Manson, who had previously sang with Angelfish and Goodbye Mr. MacKenzie.
Vig is a native of Viroqua, WI, who learned to play piano as a child and drums as a teenager. He attended the University of Wisconsin briefly before pursuing a career in music instead. The first band he joined after leaving college was Spooner, who he played drums with. Also in Spooner was Erikson, who sang and played guitar with the band. Marker was a native of New York who moved to Wisconsin to attend college. He became a fan of Spooner and began recording their songs. Vig left Spooner shortly afterwards, but he kept in touch with the band. After a few years, Spooner became Firetown and Vig played drums in the new outfit.
Firetown broke up in the late '80s, without achieving much success. Prior to the formation of Firetown, Vig and Marker bought an eight-track cassette recorder together and set up a makeshift studio in a local warehouse. This studio was dubbed Smart Studios and Vig recorded numerous local punk and alternative bands at the warehouse. By the late '80s, Smart had become one of the hippest recording studios in America. Many records released on Touch & Go, Sub Pop, and Twin/Tone, among other indie labels, were made at Smart. Vig and Smart broke into the big time in 1991, after he produced Nirvana's Nevermind. Nevermind elevated Butch Vig to the status of a superstar producer and for the next two years, he produced numerous American alternative superstars, including Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins, and L7.
Shortly after Vig became a star, he and Marker began playing together, eventually asking Erikson to join them. Hence, Garbage was officially formed in 1993, after Erikson joined the duo. After a year of playing, they hired Shirley Manson after seeing Angelfish on MTV. Manson began her musical career at an early age, joining Goodbye Mr. MacKenzie as a teenager; she played keyboards and sang backing vocals in the band. For the next few years, she toured with the band before leaving to form Angelfish, whom she led through an eponymous 1994 album.
Garbage recorded their debut album in late 1994 and early 1995. Their eponymous first album appeared in the fall of 1995 on Almo Sounds. After receiving support from radio and MTV, the album began to climb the charts toward the end of 1995, when the second single, "Queer," received heavy airplay. By the summer of 1996, Garbage had gone gold in the United States, and shortly afterward it achieved platinum status, as "Only Happy When It Rains" and "Stupid Girl" became radio hits.
After a brief break, Garbage began work on their second album in the summer of 1997. The record, entitled Version 2.0, was released in May the following year, preceded by the single "Push It." Four years later, they issued a sophisticated third album, Beautiful Garbage, and the first single "Androgyny" became a moderate radio hit. Bleed Like Me followed in 2005. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Selected Discography
I was so surprised when this group came up while listening to another station. To me, it was proof that Pandora truly "knows" what I like. :)
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Yes, I copied it from Pandora. You can sue me, okay? Nickelback do not suck! You're just saying that because they got popular! And, if Chad did crush Shirley, he'd go to jail for this.
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PoGu- you're a tool. This band was around long before the pathetic emo scene.
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Karen Stickney- do you know what those terms mean that you just tossed out there, or did you copy them from the "Features of theis Song" section? hahahaha
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So this band is into cutting? Great, more emo kids will do it now!
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No kidding - f**k Chad Kroeger and the rest of those douchebags in Nickelback. I would love to see him try and crush Shirley. I'd put my money on her anyday. On a side note, their first album is their best but still love them all.
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pssshh! Nickelback sucks! (regarding Karen Stickney's comment)
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No, it doesn't! Just because the songs have a vocal centric aesthetic, triple note feel, and a twelve-eight time signature doesn't mean they sound alike! Lots of songs have all of those attributes, and they don't sound the same! Pandora said those were the only things that the songs had in common. Did Shirley tell you that?
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People throw alot of valuable things into their garbage. From it is born artistry.
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I absolutely love #1 Crush.
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And it's also because Chad Kroeger, the lead singer of Nickelback, threatened to squash Shirley like a bug when she criticized his song "Hero", claiming that it sounded like Seal's song "Kiss From a Rose".
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Paige McDaniel-Lee
Garbage actually plans on releasin' a new album this year or next year. |
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Shirley Manson is now and actress on "The Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" which makes me think that Garbage won't come out with anymore albums. Anybody correct me if I'm wrong?
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Getting into them .. sounding good .. *explores more*
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What I love about Garbage is that a lot of their songs start out up-beat & with the pop hooks, then the lyrics start in & totally changes the song!
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to darkrequiem6 6 6
I agree with the mis-labeling of Garbage. They do use pop hooks in their music, but this technique only creates a greater contrast between the sometimes sweet-soundi n g melodies and the marvelously painful lyrics that are provided by Ms. Manson. |
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loved them since there self title came out which is still there best album.
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Not a bad band (first I ever heard of them)
This is not pop (I'm listening to Stupid Girl from their album, Absolute Garbage). If you think this is pop, then you've never heard of the REAL crappy pop out there. And besides, this band has always been labeled pop. |
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We need another garbage of this generation.. They were awesome!!!! The dirty panties in las vegas are the closest I've heard so far. Check them out. There are a local band that is on their way up!!!
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I agree with the first being the best, but Bleed Like Me is very close. On the other hand, they were always pop-ish, so get over yourself and enjoy the music.
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Yeah, their first was definitely the poop, and then they went down from there. #1 Crush was awesome, and retained that dark and sensous feel their first album had. One of my favs in the 90's, and broke me out of the Pearl Jam AIC Grunge loop I was stuck in.
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Their first album was deff. the BEST out of all of them. Then they started turning pop-ish...
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Love Garbage too, but what are other bands (or hot rockin chicks w/boots) can be found similar? I'm not a fan of the Cardigans.
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I have loved Garbage ever since I first heard them! I have alll of their cds and always watch their videos on You Tube.
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she's so hotttttt!!!! I'd let her kick me in the nuts over and over and over! She can spit in my mouth anyday!
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Hey Zies, same here. i do a lot of their songs on YT and I get pretty good comments but I just love everything they do and I'm pushing 60!
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I listened to Smashing Pumpkins and Garbage like Mad when I was living in the Bay Area; then I moved near the end of '96 and saw their show in of all place Lakeland Florida. Haven't been to a concert since.
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