Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 1995…
#5 – Garbage – Garbage
This album might be the most 1995 record on my list of 1995 records. Garbage’s sound — alternative rock with a side of grunge — had its heyday in the middle of that decade.
And I’m not sure anybody did it better than this unlikely quartet, made up of three male American record producers and a mesmerizing Scottish female lead singer.
Butch Vig (best known as the producer of Nirvana’s Nevermind), Duke Erikson, and Steve Marker auditioned vocalist Shirley Manson, then with a band called Angelfish. The audition reportedly didn’t go well, but the foursome hit if off anyway and Manson joined the band.
It turned out to be a perfect match, with the industrial rock sound of the guys providing a backdrop for Manson’s alternately deadpan and passionate vocals. This debut album became a worldwide hit and spawned several successful singles.
I think this album and its follow-up are simply brilliant, and they hold up extremely well nearly three decades later. I enjoyed revisiting Garbage for this blog post, but was even happier to go down a rabbit hole of Shirley Manson interview clips. Her striking looks and Scottish accent make her one of my enduring musical crushes.
I can’t use what I can’t abuse
And I can’t stop when it comes to you
[Verse 1]
You burned me out but I’m back at your door
Like Joan of Arc coming back for more
[Pre-Chorus]
I nearly died
I nearly died
I nearly died
[Chorus 1]
I came to cut you up
I came to knock you down
I came around to tear your little world apart
I came to shut you up
I came to drag you down
I came around to tear your little world apart
And break your soul apart
[Verse 2]
Oh, you burn and burn to get under my skin
You’ve gone too far now I won’t give in
You crucified me but I’m back in your bed
Like Jesus Christ coming back from the dead
[Pre-Chorus]
I nearly died
I nearly died
I nearly died
[Chorus 2]
I came to knock you up
I came to cut you down
I came around to tear your little world apart
I came to rip you up
I came to shut you down
I came around to tear your little world apart
And break your soul apart
[Instrumental bridge]
[Pre-Chorus]
I nearly died
Oh, I nearly died
I nearly died
[Chorus 3]
I came to cut you up
I came to knock you down
I came around to tear your little world apart
I came to shut you up
I came to suck you down
I came around to tear your little world apart
Tear your little world apart
Tear your little world apart
And break your soul apart
[Outro]
I can’t stop when it comes to you
I can’t stop when it comes to you
When it comes to you
When it comes to you
Meet Me In Montauk 
Just have never cared for this genre of music.
I wonder if your fondness for Garbage today is largely colored by nostalga. There’s obviously no way to know this, but I’m not sure that, if you heard this album for the first time now, you would really like it, as I don’t think it aligns with your overall musical taste.
I think that’s probably true. Similarly, I would never seek out whatever the equivalent of Pink Floyd is these days, but I still love the albums of theirs I loved when I was in high school.
I still gleefully love to sing along to “Only Happy When It Rains”!
I’ve heard of this band and singer but not sure I’ve ever heard any of their music before. Don’t see that changing after my small sample this morning.
Garbage’s first record is a masterpiece.