Garbage
Garbage
1995
Album Summary
Garbage is the debut studio album by American rock band Garbage. It was released on August 15, 1995, by Almo Sounds. 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, 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 throughout 1996, as well as by a run of increasingly successful singles culminating with "Stupid Girl", which received Grammy Award 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.
WikipediaThis blew my expectations away. I only knew Only Happy When It Rains going in, and I don’t care for it. And honestly, the opening track was a snoozer. But goddamn, every other song. Just. Fucking. SLAPPED. I don’t know if I’ve ever heard alt rock blend genres like trip hop and industrial so masterfully into their sound. The songs are catchy, edgy, sexy. It’s a masterpiece of songwriting. Garbage absolutely does NOT live up to their name.
Like to say there's something important happening musically in this album, which did go Platinum in the US...so they must have done something right in connecting to the disaffected youth of the 90s? Garbage the band was apparently the "brainchild" of Butch Vig and Duke Erikson - Vig went onto produce Nirvana's Nevermind album, and the album's most well known track, Stupid Girl, borrows drums from The Clash's Train in Vain, and baselines from Credence Clearwater Revivial's Susie Q. But great music transcends time and makes you feel something. This album contains glimmers of genuine cool, but at its worst, is crass commercialisation of anti-establishment sentiment that makes me want to skip most of the tracks. Overall? More mash than bangers....skip this Garbage.
Thick with the sort of 90s-00s edgy grime that rests upon the windowsill holding a copy of Underworld and Vampire: The Masquerade. Love it.
3 Americans and 1 Brit bridge the Britpop divide, packed with actual hits and could-have-been hits. But has the studio wizardry that sounded futuristic at the time dated? A little. And is not the follow up Version 2.0 even better? I think so. A strong 4.
I was aware of Garbage growing up, knew the singles, but never had their albums or followed them. I'd assumed they were all scottish and part of the brit pop scene. Definitely higher quality tunes here than the glut of 90s alternative rock bands. Bit of trip-hop vibes in some tunes like 'as heaven is wide'. 'Stupid girl' is still great.
These guys and gals are from Madison so I was prepared to be generous. But no. “Stupid Girl” seemed like it has some fun hooks, I guess, but the rest was pretty unlistenable.
Like the Gorillaz LP I wasn’t too crazy about the opening track but loved it after that. The song intros are catchy – they drag you in quickly. The band has a good ear for new-wavy pop riffs - with some distorted guitar thrown in. I like the balance of guitar vs electronic beats, and the fact that they can jump back and forth seamlessly between rockers to a more trip-hoppy feel. It was a good idea to recruit Shirley Manson on vocals - she’s quite versatile and varies her style nicely with each change of pace. It seems like all members contribute to the song writing which is good because it doesn’t bore you after a half dozen songs, in fact my favourite might be the last one, Milk (not sure if this is the Tricky production or not). A 9/10 for me.
Probably deserves a better rating from me for the extreme competence of the execution but in the end there's something a little too calculated in this, finely engineered to be a hitmaker of its era. The petulant lyrical sensibility (so exactly summarized by the album's biggest hit) is all the more eye-rolling for this blatant pop pandering.
For whatever reason I havent really connected with Garbage. There’s some solid music here but I still feel kind of meh about it
Not bad, absolutely fine to have playing during work. But there's nothing remarkable about it either. And I don't think I could listen to much more of them than this album at a time without getting restless.
kinda diverse, kinda different i like it alot hard to describe what it is though
An album of excellence. 25 years later (has it really been that long?) and it's still just as fresh as it was in the mid-90's. Not one week track or filler. Albums don't get any better.
MMMMM this feels like mid 90s alt comfort food. Stupid Girl partial writing credit is Joe Strummer from The Clash! Queer is an excellent song. Only Happy When It Rains is another great track.
Fantastic album start to finish. Never listened to anything except the two main hits. This was a surprise 5* for me
This remains one of my favourite albums of all time. So much raw energy and anger, the guitar is aggressively delicious and I can't get over how good the lyrics are.
Such a classic, hard hitting 90s sound. Feels very emblematic of its era without feeling dated. The vocals are just sex.
I fell in love to this album in highschool. Tiffany, the lead singer, and thinking for myself.
Amazing album. Slightly uneven around the "no my idea" mark, but finishes strong with an impressive number of just banger tracks. Holds up well 27 years later.
I was very surprised by the quality of this record. It has a very interesting sound, and reading into the production really showed how great this band is. Their style is grunge, but stands out from the rest of the pack with their interesting and unique sounds, and sampling production. Hearing some of these foreign sounds puts you in the space they want you to be in, then they hit you with a crunchy guitar and a wall of sound. Pretty great stuff.
My 90s rock nostalgia bias strikes again! Come to think of it, I enjoyed it more now than I did back then.
Stimulating and moody at the same time, this is captivating indie/pop/rock with good vocals from Shirley Manson, brazen lyrics, some interesting sound effects, backwards guitar (plus some odd pauses in the middle a song). Tracks like 'As Heaven is Wide', 'A Stroke of Luck' and 'Dog New Tricks' have a woozy, discordant psychedelic edge and these are the more satisfying tracks. 'Stupid Girl' is the monster hit that any 90's teen will recognize. All in all, it's a worthwhile effort that neatly sums up all that was good about guitar based alternative/rock in the mid nineties.
This is an absolute top album for me. Didn't discover Garbage until the end of the 90s so I hadn't heard this album much.
Hot damn. What sn album. It's pop, it's industrial, it's perfect. I love the bendy blending of guitar and vocals.
I had a crush on Shirley Manson in the 90s, but in hindsight, I think I probably had a raging erection for Butch Vig and his music production. Might still do.
Since my teenage years, I've had a fascination with Shirley Manson, and Garbage by extension of that. Her look and her voice are dark, haunting, edgy, and captivating, and I'm just an absolute sucker for that, along with the expected 90s alt-rock sound. That said, I really only knew their hits going into this, so I was excited for the full listen opportunity here. I am always impressed when a debut album from a band can leave such a mark, and this self-titled debut does just that. Several 90s anthems come from this album, not the least of which is "Only Happy When It Rains", which has been featured, used, or alluded to in so many things where that signature 90s edge is required. There are aspects of industrial, dance, and trance mixed in on this album, which keep things fresh and interesting. It manages to do this while still staying true to its alternative, post-grungy core. This album is full of bangers and hits, and even the tracks that are less so drew me in and had me very interested and enjoying the experience. Either way, I didn't find a single filler track. When the album finished playing, I turned around and immediately listened to it a second time, and honestly, I can't wait to listen to it again.
A 90's classic. Solid throughout and still sounds great 30ish years later.
Every song on this album is good. Such an amazing debut. Everyone should have this in their collection.
One of my all-time favourites. Glad to listen to it again after a while
Supervixen, queer, only happy when it rains is one of the best three song opening rushes that I’ve herd in a while. The rest of the album is green though really unique sounding on an instrumental level ( singing is great too but the 90’s was like the decade of amazing singers so Manson fairs quite low in my personal ranking ). Other personal favourites include: as heaven is wide, not my idea, a stroke of luck, vow, stupid girl, dog new tricks,my lovers box,fix me now, milk. Oh that’s all of them well I guess it’s a 5 then!!!
Shoegaze and grunge guitar with trip hop beats leaning on the darker synth textures of 80s British alternative (Depeche Mode, new order) . A wonderful synthesis of the nineties. Totally holds up. It pulls on the attributes from contemporary and past music while clearly delineating a path to 2000s alternative, a really great album to hear.
Easily my favorite female vocal lead. Another ultimate perfect album. Wish I could add every song to my playlist. One of my easiest 5’s! 1. Only Happy When It Rains 2. Queer 3. Vow 4. Stupid Girl 5. Supervixen The whole damn album is a banger!
great sounding but not connecting to the lyrics. overall super well done though
Absolutely loved the 90's grunge vibe. Felt a lot like Eve 6 with the hard cuts in the sound of the music.
I'm assuming this is an iconic album for women's rights activists. I really enjoyed the stories that played along in the album.
oh the 90's. this is from the golden era of MTV, this is a great album
I was only familiar with the radio tracks. This was pretty good. I like her vocals.
Bien, muy bien. Garbage siempre ha sido una banda que disfruto, pero de la cual no me he hecho nunca fan. Shirley Manson me cae muy bien y este disco es agradable, con buenas dosis de rocksito. Además de las muy ubicadas "Only Happy When It Rains" y "Stupid Girl", me gustaron "Dog New Tricks" y "A Stroke of Luck" que tiene un ritmo considerablemente más lento a las demás. Y ese ambiente triphoposo-etéreo (?) de "Milk" también me gustó mucho para el cierre. Muy noventero todo. 8.5/10
Àlbum d'adolescència dels 90. El productor Butch Vig va buscar l'èxit comercial partint de les guitarres distorsionades que el grunge havia popularitzat tant, en bona part també gràcies a ell. La producció del disc és impecable, té una llarga llista de temazos, i segueix sonant a pop fresc i molt ben executat.
Bien, sonidos no propiamente limpios pero no sucios, un buen balance. Una vibra 90s af. Creo que las que más me gustaron fueron As Heaven is wide (porque tiene una ondita de metal industrial, literal me imaginé a Rammstein haciendo un cover, o a Garbage coverando a Rammstein) y Queer que es un sonidito distinto del resto del álbum, como más pop (?). Mood: muy limpio para que suene a basura.
I've only ever heard and enjoyed the singles before, so it was no surprise to discover this is a great rock/pop album, Shirley Manson has an excellent voice.
Presentación de Garbage, con toda la fuerza propia de un debut y ya poniendo sobre la mesa su sonido característico. Rompedor en su momento, alternativo y postgrunge, con una Manson vitamínica y potente. Nostalgia pura
Has not aged! Good hit singles, indie rock, super moody vocals and electronic programming too.
Grungey vibes, nice to listen to, a little aggressive but overall enjoyable
I like this album, the production sound is Nirvana-esque, obviously thanks to Butch Vig
Quintessential 90s alt-rock band uses quintessential 90s sounds: crunching loud-then-soft dynamics, beautiful melodies hidden in a hurricane of noise. Butch Vig knew all the sonic tricks and Shirley Manson was the perfect sexy-cool front woman. This album sounds even better now than I remembered from when it first came out.
I recognized a couple of songs off this that had radio play on a local alt station back in the 90's, name Only Happy When It Rains and Stupid Girl. Enjoyed listening to the whole album. Really did As Heaven as Wide which I hadn't heard before.
1 - Supervixen - Excellent - 👍 2 - Queer - Good - 👍 3 - Only Happy When It Rains - Good - 👍 4 - As Heaven Is Wide - Good - 👍 5 - Not My Idea - Ok - 👍 6 - A Stroke of Luck - Ok - 👍 7 - Vow - Ok - 👍 8 - Stupid Girl - Excellent - 👍 9 - Dog New Tricks - Ok - 👍 10 - My Lover's Box - Good - 👍 11 - Fix Me Now - Ok - 👍 12 - Milk - Excellent - 👍
I knew more of the songs than I thought I would! Great production but not a keeper for me.
Kind of grungy pop. First half of album much stronger than second. Really enjoyed it for something I'd never heard before
I liked “I’m Only Happy When It Rains,” when it was on the radio, but it was a time when you had to buy the entire album for one song. I never got to know the rest of the album as a result, but I will probably enjoy it. To be honest, I don’t think I would have liked this back when it came out, but I definitely see it fitting into my music tastes at times now. It suits my mood today.
Not garbage. 🦧 A ferocious album that's both brutal and beautiful. If it was a footballer, it'd be Franck Ribery. SHACK has a cervix.
I’ve always enjoyed most of the singles I’ve heard from Garbage but this might be my first full album listen. It seems a lot less produced than their second album and DEFINITELY their third album which had some really candy pop singles. Definitely don’t have a problem with that. Fave tracks: “Queer” “Supervixen” “Stupid Girl”
My friend sam shoplifted this from the whsmiths where he worked for my 17th birthday
This was a cool album with some really interesting guitar work and awesome vocals by Shirley Manson
This was certainly not garbage, in fact it was really good. I had never heard of Garbage before so i'm glad I got them today because I enjoyed this so much more than expected. It's hard for me to decide between a 3 or 4 star for this one. I'll go with a weak 4 star rating I think.
The name of the band and the music they put out are at odds with each other. This album is absolutely great. A bunch of really solid tracks combined with some monster hits. While not as solid as Version 2.0, I would be able to listen to this many more times over.
I didn't expect to like it, but it was a really enjoyable album minus one point for crappy band name.
A very good album. Pop...punk...indie...grunge...shoelace a little bit of everything I this one, including some excellent songs. Reminds me of The Darling Buds album; Erotica, which would be a 5 star album for me but does make this list. Anyway this one's a 4 🌟
FIVE HOURS?! I guess that's the delux edition with all the remixes. They will be interesting to hear
This is a 3.5 star album. I am going 4 because I was so pumped to see them last year with Liz Phair and Alanis. Stupid pandemic.
Hard to fault and even harder to find a reason not to give it five stars but couldn't quite get there. Heard a lot of Kirin J Callinan guitar licks throughout
4-; pretty good one, interesting melodies with really interesting solutions like in the opening track with those pauses, I like the vocals; album isn't samey, I enjoyed it
I vaguely knew Garbage from a few songs I heard in movie soundtracks. I didn't think I was going to like this album so much, but I did! Shirley Manson offers a beautiful vocal performance and the musical arrangements have something subtly unique. Very happy to have listened to this album.
Very nice album from my least favorite era. I definitely prefer their softest side, like shown on Milk.
Pretty good, I liked a few songs, others were a bit forgettable but nothing inherently bad with it.
Brought back great memories of my childhood in the 90s. Some absolute bangers on this album!
Not sure if it's the nostalgia talking but I thought this was a really strong album. A couple of songs didn't do it for me but overall it's a hell yes.
Only Happy When It Rains je GOATED pjesma ❤️ I ja sam ih sluso 2019 na inmusicu hehe
En el seu moment ningú se'ls va creure gaire. Productors estrella amb una noia de bon veure aprofitant les cendres del grunge? "Va, home..." Bé tothom no, perquè el disc va ser un triomf comercial. El temps, però, els hi ha donat la raó. I malgrat els trucs de producció i els elements tant de l'època (imatge, lletres...) l'obra ha superat el test de les décades i s'aguanta força bé. I conté uns quants temes demolidors
Big nostalgia album for me. They were one of the first bands I liked and knew that they were "new" music. The 007 song was a big one for me as a kid. Probably don't quite deserve a 4 but I need to give them more than a 3.
Despite what the name belies, this album is not garbage! It's actually pretty good!
Willing to bet Billy Corgan was listening to this a lot when he wrote Adore.
Lots of familiar songs on here. And interesting blend of grunge and trip hop but all in all a bit muddy and miserable for my taste, I did enjoy it more than I was expecting though.
i never considered myself a fan of grunge music! but this album has me rethinking that idea. i do see similarities with this album and others by female singer-songwriters in the nineties. the contents of and the focus on the lyrics, for one. this album is dark and emo! it allows me to really feel my feelings. shirley manson’s voice is perfect for garbage’s types of songs. so many songs where the guitar really stands out. but the bass on “as heaven is wide”?? wow. and no songs are duds! “stupid girl,” the only song i sort of knew on the album, containing a loop from “train in vain” by the clash absolutely blew my mind! their loops from various genres show garbage’s desire to not be defined. going to rate this a 4, but i wouldn’t be surprised if i regretted not submitting a 5.
This album has some real gems that is for sure gonna be on repeat. 3.8 ⭐
Another 90s rock/pop band that I didn't know, but this time I really liked the album. Garbage sounded similar to Smashing Pumpkins, or for some reason Moloko, but maybe because the song were fresh for me, I had a nice time listening to it. Some songs, like 'milk' have potential of being repayable for quite a while. In general, very positive album.
Thank you, 1001 Albums project, for introducing me to this band, and for the life of me I have nary a clue why up until this moment I missed this album, this band, and their music for the past 25+ years. Oh, well, I'm here now, and I love it. This album is fantastic. I haven't heard many bands that can take elements of punk and its related styles and infuse it with a bit of pop and techno and rock, etc., yet make it work really, really well. I'll have to go explore their albums that followed. But first, another listen-through on this one. So good!
A great alternative, post grunge album of the 90s. Garbage has a knack for mixing together happy-sounding music, catchy hooks, and dark lyrics. I really enjoy Shirley Manson's voice, and the slightly dark/creepy vibe of the music. This album is also full of late 90s-nostalgia for me, having grown up listening to it.
Another great mid 90s album, there are some legitimate bangers on this one. Much fun had listening to this
Alternative rock, 1995. An album to listen to have some fun and to enjoy catchy tracks. The record is solid in every of its parts and sounds really fresh. "Vow" and "Stupid Girl" are probably the best section of this excellent project.
Pop-rock con buenas melodías, buena voz y algún tema muy reconocible. Guitarrero a ratos
Hard to believe it's not a greatest hits album - with anthems like Queer, Only Happy When It Rains, and Stupid Girl on the track list. Quite a debut! Shirley Manson manages to ooze sex and scary at the same time.
FANTASTIQUE! Some really famous songs on here. young me remembers the dope ass theme for THe World is not enough. great band. i can't 5 star it, but i loved it.
I came in only knowing that one song everyone knows so my expectation were pretty lukewarm. Most of the songs completely leap over I'm Only Happy When It Rains.
It was a great listen again. The poppy grunge, the clever lyrics and some killer songs
Not garbage! This took me back to high school. Not that this was my preferred genre of music at that time but you would hear Only Happy When It Rains all the time on the radio, the Box, or MTV.
Is there a more 90s band? Vat-grown hybrid of grunge guitars, dance beats and a sharp pop songwriting core. Almost like they were put together by a famous producer.... so with a slight caveat it's still a terrific sound even if the album is slightly too long. Ten tracks would have made it a whole lot better. So four stars. Can any album with the lyric I am milk. I am red hot kitchen really be five stars?
Hadn't listened to this in ages... and it's better than I remembered. Original CD, not the 2015 remaster.
Þetta er næs bandarískur tíundi áratugur. Manson er töff söngkona, margt að gerast hjá bandinu og lögin oftar skemmtileg en ekki. Tæpur fjarki og áfram veginn.
solid 7/10 not amazing, and those lyrics regularly made me roll my eyes but the production is actually pretty good mostly enjoyable with a few awkward quirks
79/100: I’m classifying this album as another hidden gem I’d never heard of before. I had no idea who Garbage was before getting this album, but wow do I love this group now. This album is quintessential 90’s grunge, and as a fan of grunge, I don’t know how I’d never heard it before. The song “Only Happy When it Rains” is an absolute banger, as is “Fix Me Now” and “Not My Idea.” In fact, I’d argue there’s not much filler on this album at all, even the songs that I wouldn’t classify as “great” are still very good. I’ll definitely be revisiting this group and album again in the future.
Sound so thick you feel it fill up warehouses and pushing all the air out. So good!
Tough one. I really like this album, as it came out in some formative years for me, musically. I like all the songs, but is it classic?
I was not a fan of Garbage when they came out in the 90's. Not rock enough and too dance for me maybe. But all these years later I have a much better appreciation for their sound and I can hear so much of it in bands (who I like or don't mind) that came after them (e.g., Metric, AWOL Nation, even the Killers). It's kind of amazing how long it took for computer-aided rock to really take off. It seems like half the bands considered rock these days are just layering and looping computer and synth rock sounds. I think what I realized listening to the album for the last week is how catchy the real instrument sounds are and how well they're mixed with the "fake" instruments. I prefer the non-singles like Supervixen, Not My Idea, Dog New Tricks, or Fix Me Now (my favorite on the whole album) to the singles. I quite like Only Happy When it Rains now but I didn't in the 90's and I like Vow (a lesser known single) more than the bigger ones (Queer or Stupid Girl). All in all, a pretty solid album even though I tend not to like produced rock and prefer authentic rock and instruments.
I seem to remember buying this for my sister, back in the day, as a birthday present, on Amazon. So I have had this album longer than I realized. I should have listened to it before now. Wow, what a good album. I think the star here is definitely Butch Vig. The production really makes every song hit with a punch. I don't think there was a single song that I disliked, maybe the last song was a little obvious (reminded me of STP's Kitchenware & Candybars). But otherwise, really good stuff!
hmm itseasiassa aika VITUN HYVÄ häh albumin keskiosa vähän paskaa mutta alkuloppu huhhuh tykkään hyvinkin paljon LÄHELLÄ VÄHÄN LIIAN LIPASEE LIIKAA semmosta rokki pokki jee jee paskaa mutta onneksi on vähän omalaatuisempi.....hyvä löytö en ole kuullutkaan bändistä... milk paras bisi
This album is a strong mix of alternative rock, pop, and dance music. Despite its almost hourlong length, I found this album to be very enjoyable and it captures my attention throughout. I’m sure the Argumente can be made that this album dilutes the emergent alternative rock genre with commercial pop trappings but I think that is the wrong way to think about it. Commercialism is important for all of the popular genres and this album strikes a very clean balance.
I definitely had a Shirley Manson girl crush when this album came out.
Ooh, lot of nostalgia for this.... Not _quite_ enough to bump it to a five, but I'd give it 4.5 if I could. Fave track - "Only Happy When It Rains" and "Stupid Girl" both instantly transport me back in time...
I hadn’t listened to this in years, despite being a fan back in the day. I was delighted by how well is stands up. A marriage of sexy vocals, tightly constrained distortion and quality hooks. The Tricky remix of Milk is well worth seeking out.
This album has that same sweet spot combo of alt rock and post punk that that elastics album did. This one was more alt rock and pop leaning than the elastics album though. I liked this quite a bit and only happy when it rains is probs my fav
Solid album, lots of hits, love Shirley Manson. Subtracting 1 star because it's somewhat manufactured.
O jee, het zal toch geen jeugdsentiment zijn. Maar ik vond dit best goed. Staan toch wel een aantal nummers op die me bekend voorkomen.
apparently grunge is a big gap in my musical knowledge because i’d never heard of this group, but this was really excellent. lyrics are fine-not-great but i didnt come for the lyrics, and everything else was really grimy and somewhat trippy. i really liked it.