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[MUSIC] THE SAVAGE ANIMAL
"First Impressions of Garbage" |
08.17.11 |
BY MIKEY MIGO
Once again I’m diving deep into music I’m not familiar with. Once a month or so I take a “first listen” to a select band’s discography. I go for bands I’ve not encountered for some reason or another, bands I’ve avoided, and some bands where I only know one or two songs. The reason I do this is because I like listening to a lot of music. It’s easy to hear a song or judge a band by its genre, time frame, or even one single. We all do it. Of course Nickelback sucks, right? We don’t NEED to listen to every song from their discography to prove this. So yeah, this is a gamble. I don’t know if it’s just a band I’ve not given a fair chance to or they just really suck. If anything, I get to know what I’m hating and after the one torturous listen I can wash my hands of them knowing 100% that I don’t like them. Thankfully, every band isn’t Nickelback. I’ve encountered some awesome bands in this journey. Who would have thought Simon and Garfunkel, Arcade Fire, The Black Keys, Regina Specktor, and others would rock? I wouldn’t have, but I listened to their albums and my mind was blown. That’s right; I’m in it for the mind blowing…
Why Garbage?
Why not Garbage? From what I’ve heard and think I’ve heard, I’m pretty sure I’ll enjoy it. I’m a sucker for 90’s alternative bands and the two songs I know for sure I’ve heard by the band, “Stupid Girl” and “I Think I’m Paranoid”, are good stuff. It’s just Garbage has four full length albums. I don’t know crap about those albums or other songs. Today I’m going to listen. I’m looking forward to this one…
Garbage
(1995 – 51 minutes) - The debut album starts off with "Supervixen". There is a fun electo guitar opening. It morphs into a down tempo swayer with Manson’s vocals smoothing away. This stuff is right up my alley. There is good amount of baseline, eerie synth, great vocals, and droney angst rock. "Queer" has a more pop-blues thing going for it. I remember others doing this in the early 90’s. It’s well done. The production is awesome. The layers upon layers complement each other nicely. Then we get "Only Happy When It Rains". I forget about this song. It had to have been ten years since I listened to this song. It’s one of their hit singles for a reason. It’s a solid song. The line that stands out most is “I only smile in the dark”. Great song. The penetrating "As Heaven Is Wide" has a great vocal delivery. It feels like you’re being pulled towards something. It’s a really cool effect. I’m surprised I’ve never heard this song before. "Not My Idea" is a head banger, but still maintains a poppy bounce at the same time. It’s a weird medium, but I find myself digging the chorus a lot. "A Stroke of Luck" starts off with an intense build up and goes into a really well done mellow track. Another song that I think could have been a successful single. It’s not that "Vow" is bad, it’s just not as awesome as the rest of the songs so far. It’s more of a “shake your fist” rock out song, but it doesn’t grab me much at all. Of course I know "Stupid Girl", the next track. I pretty much thought all their music sounded like this before now. This is a great rock track. I just don’t remember the weird muffled electro stuff. It’s not bad, but it’s a little jarring in the headphones. There is something sneaky about "Dog New Tricks". I think it’s the weird flow and the snoopy baseline. It’s not a song I’d seek out, but if it came on I’d definitely go out of my way to turn it up. "My Lover's Box" is a down tempo crooner, but it has a break beat. It’s cool. Then the monstrous chorus hits in. Was this a single? Should have been. "Fix Me Now" is another weird experimental sounding tune. It has a weird break beat, a great guitar riff, distant lyrics, and it just takes you in. The chorus almost ruins it, but it’s still good. The album closes with "Milk", a single I don’t recall ever hearing. It’s a synthy down tempo tune. It’s one of those songs where you can imagine the female vocalist in a dark booth with a lot of smoke and/or fog around her. It paints that strong of a picture. This is really where Shirley Manson’s vocals are in full display. Awesome stuff. I didn’t know they were this “industrial”. It’s pleasantly surprising. I think that makes me a little bias. This is a genre style that I can easily get behind. A lot of songs on here sounded well crafted and worthy of being a single, but as a whole it flows nicely. Great debut!
Version 2.0
(1998 – 50 minutes) - The second album kicks off with the funky beat that is "Temptation Waits". It sounds really familiar. It has a “under water” sounding electro rock thing going for it. I know "I Think I'm Paranoid" instantly. THIS is probably their most played song. It was all over the radio and with good reason. It has to be one of the best rock tracks of the 90’s. I’m not saying top ten or anything, but it should up at least up for consideration. I didn’t realize that "When I Grow Up" was Garbage until now. It makes complete sense, but I suppose I just never thought about it hard enough. It’s a little poppy for my liking, but I do know it got plenty of love. I don’t know how I feel about the song "Medication". It’s a little too much on the “light-rock” side of things. It’s not bad, it just feels a tab poppy. Sadly "Special" blends right in. I wasn’t paying attention and thought I was still listening to the song before. I hope this isn’t a sign of what’s to come. We get a weird 90’s house song sounding tune at the start of “Hammering in My Head". It’s a weird break beat sounding industrial light-rock tune. I think I like it. Holy shit. I’ve always dug the song "Push It", but I had NO IDEA who it was. It’s a great song. It makes you want to dance and is as smooth as they come. I love the chorus and the buildup. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard this, especially on headphones. I think it’s officially my pick as their “best song”. I dig the brooding vibe that starts us off with "The Trick Is to Keep Breathing". It then seamlessly blends into a really well sung vocal over synth chorus. Good stuff. The darker edge I was a fan of on the first album comes back with "Dumb". I like the tone of "Sleep Together", but to me the weird bridge/chorus thing is what stands out. It’s like a comfortable suffocation. I read the title "Wicked Ways" and was hoping for a Chris Isaak cover. No luck. It’s a sassy blues rock tune, but it’s not on par with the rest of the second half of this album. Feels like filler. The sophomore album starts off with "You Look So Fine", a haunting down tempo track. It’s a really good slow burner to end the album. That’s that. It’s not that I was disappointed with this album, but it just wasn’t as good as the first. I enjoyed the debut album more as a whole, but the second half of this one is solid. I’m a huge fan of “Push It” so that gets bonus points. I look forward to see where they go as their music heads into the new millennium. Also, I wonder what other songs of theirs I surprisingly know…
Beautiful Garbage
(2001 – 53 minutes) - I love the funky base that kicks off "Shut Your Mouth". The vocals remind me of U2’s “Numb” and then it goes into a rock chorus. It’s a weird mix of music here. I am not behind "Androgyny" at all. The production sounds generic and cheap, the vocals sound like a generic pop song, and I seriously find myself laughing at how cheesy it sounds. Yikes. I’m taken back by "Can't Cry These Tears". It sounds like an old throw back doo-wop pop song. Not my cup of tea. WTF is up with the opening of "Til the Day I Die"? Weird scratchy George Michael sounding crap? Then I don’t even know what. It’s got a strut to it, but nothing to grasp onto for the ride. "Cup of Coffee" is more my cup of tea. It’s a simple, somewhat stripped down down tempo track where Manson just sings and shows off her voice. The opening of "Silence Is Golden" sounds country! NO! Then it subdues into a generic sounding electric blues rock pop song. I do like the synth work in "Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)", but it sounds cheap. It reminds me of one of those demo tracks you get when you mess around with a music making program. One of those demos where you say “yes, this IS… music”. I don’t know what the hell is going on here. "Breaking Up the Girl" sounds familiar, but I don’t know from where. It has a very general sound to it. It feels a bit folksy, but I can’t hate on the down tempo "Drive You Home" because Manson’s voice is amazing here. The opening riff of "Parade" sounds like a teen drama TV show’s theme song and then it warps into an okay-enough pop rock song. A huge bright spot on the album is the gloomy "Nobody Loves You" track. It slithers through smoke like a sharp light. The opening of "Untouchable", with the poppy beat and the moans makes it sound like a TRL era pop song. Scary stuff. It only gets worse once the chorus hits. I can literally imagine Brittney Spears and her back up dancers doing some really lame routine to this. Just like the other albums, we end with a down tempo mellow fade out. This time it’s "So Like a Rose". It’s a good and slow tune, but it doesn’t have the pull as the others. This album makes me think about No Doubt. Yeah, probably because of the strong female lead vocal thing… so what? It reminds me because in the 90’s No Doubt had a specific sound and around the turn of the decade they tried to change it up a bit and lost their edge. I’m worried that’s what happened here. I know there’s only one more album to listen to, but I hope it’s more like their early stuff or at least in a totally different direction than this album.
Bleed Like Me
(2005 – 48 minutes) - Their most recent album starts off with some cool riffs that is "Bad Boyfriend". You can tell from her vocals and the way the song breaks that this song is grittier and darker than anything else on the last album. It feels like a montage song, but a good one. "Run Baby Run" is a well written and pieced song, but it still has a weird commercial pop glaze over it. I think that’s the best way to describe it. At least it’s the best I can at the moment. I really enjoy the looping guitar wail at the beginning of "Right Between the Eyes". It ends up being a solid tune. Nothing too awesome, but nothing to really complain about. Next is the single "Why Do You Love Me". It sounds more familiar than anyone else I’ve heard in awhile. It’s good. It’s a edgier head nodder rock song, but the chorus is straight from a pop song. I’m going to have to look it up, but something REALLY shifted with the styles after the second album. I can’t help hear a sense of rawness in "Bleed Like Me". I’ve been a bit underwhelmed over the past hour or so, but this is a clear stand out. When the song breaks I was really worried it was going to go that extra-poppy route but I managed to stay evenly toned. Good stuff. It’s a bit more upbeat that I’d have hoped, but "Metal Heart" is a really cool song. It reminds me of Nine Inch Nails, which is as about the biggest you’re going to get from me in terms of music related compliment. While it’s as poppy and bouncy as the stuff I’ve been bitching about, "Sex Is Not the Enemy" has a little more oomph to it; a little more edge. I really enjoy the distant and ominous opening piano and eerie echoes of "It's All Over but the Crying". It’s a really sad song, but it’s so well done and so beautiful that you don’t feel a need to get away from it. It’s not the best, but "Boys Wanna Fight" is far from the worst. It has a good tempo and is interesting enough to tap a long to. "Why Don't You Come Over" is like a collage of a million things I’ve heard before, but it’s still pretty cool. It’s a really odd noise rock tune where Manson’s vocals bounce in a very precise way. To go 4 for 4, the last song on the album "Happy Home" is yet another down tempo tune. It’s a stripped down tune accompanied by her wonderful voice. This time it builds up and THEN fades back out. Not a bad album at all. At first it was a little iffy, but by the end I was rocking out again. The second half of this album really saved the day.
THE VERDICT
(1995 – ) - I expected something more gritty and grunge. I honestly thought they were around BEFORE 1995, like 92 or 93. It’s still the same “era” I suppose, but it’s post-Cobain so it’s a blurry line. I imagined more stuff like “Stupid Girl” and “I Think I’m Paranoid”. At first they had an industrial electro-rock thing going. It was darker, grittier, and had some air to it. Then once the third album hit they went really poppy. I don’t get it. I understand bands like to evolve and try new things, but this just felt bad from Jump Street. There were still some glimmers of awesomeness, but until the second half of the fourth album I was genuinely let down and underwhelmed. Really, though, I think this is mainly because I dug the first two albums a lot. I can only imagine how amazing Shirley Manson’s voice would have sounded over some of Trent Reznor’s Nine Inch Nails more melodic industrial tracks. Imagine her vocals on some stuff from The Fragile? Insane. The “what if’s” in my head could choke a gorilla. They matured and I can respect that. Every album isn’t going to be a winner. I read that they’re working on a fifth album for release sometime in the not too distant future. I really hope it goes in a darker route. Something with edge, with balls, with substance. Either way, I can now “vouch” for this band. I’ll FOR SURE listen to a good handful of songs again the future. Congrats on the new fan!
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