At some point in late 1994 or early 1995 I had caught wind
that Butch Vig, the guy that produced Nirvana’s Nevermind and The Smashing
Pumpkins' first two albums, had started a new band. Vig was in a couple obscure
80’s bands, but his production credits led me to believe whatever he was
cooking up was going to be special. I wasn't wrong, for once!
Vig assembled two old buddies from his Spooner and Fire Town
days, two bands I’m pretty sure I never actually listened to, and Scottish
siren Shirley Manson to form Garbage. Manson was in a couple bands I never
heard of either. Together, they put out quite a stunning debut album!
“Queer” is one of those songs I’ll never get tired of
hearing. Sexy, weird and queer, in the odd sense of the word, I always thought
they were using the antiquated definition of the word. Whatever the band said
it was about, I just want it to be about kinky sex with Shirley Manson. Maybe
I’m wearing a diaper and she changes me while I’m hanging out of the trunk of
her car in the mall parking lot. Something like that.
The two big singles are definitely still played out for me.
“Stupid Girl,” and “Only Happy When It Rains” have been ruined by hearing them
too much. Although, “Only Happy When It Rains” was a big favorite of mine when
the album came out and before it became a single.
I found lots of forgotten gems here on the self-titled
debut. “Vow,” “Fix Me Now,” “Supervixen,” and “Milk” all revived memories of
spending a lot of time with this album in 1995.
As much as I loved this record and listened to it a lot, it
became obsolete when Portishead put out Roseland NYC Live. Same thing can be
said for their self-titled sophomore album. After the live album came out, I
never went back to the studio records.
Take a track like “Glory Box.” It’s pretty good on this
album, but fucking soars to the stratosphere on Roseland NYC Live. The only thing that ruins the live record are the asswipes applauding. Plus, they
cherry picked all the good shit from this album to do on the live record. So, there you have
it.
I should also mention that their Third album was so
monumentally awful, it kind of almost crushed the band’s legacy. In my eyes,
anyway.
Another one of those bands that materialized overnight. One
day I never heard of them and the next everybody I know was talking about them.
I listened to “Hold On” quite a bit, and then kind of forgot about it.
But that’s not to simply dismiss “Hold On.” I just consume
and digest music a little more quickly than the average person. I’d say it’s
one of the most passionate and heartfelt performances I’ve heard in a long
time. And it made its way back into my rotation after the Grammys.
I never actually bothered with the full length. I have to
admit I was doing other stuff when I had it on and sadly, after “Hold On,”
nothing grabbed my attention until “I Ain't The Same,” the second last song on
the disc. I gotta spend more time with Boys & Girls.
I think Brittany Howard looks cool as shit when she sings.
She’s just lost in the performance and she doesn't give a fuck.
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| "This is how I do it, son!" |
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