Initially, Garbage was an informal jam session between the three producers held in Marker's basement. Steve Marker saw the music video of "Suffocate Me" by Angelfish on MTV, recorded it and showcased it to his band mates. They invited the Scottish vocalist Shirley Manson to join Garbage, she accepted, and soon Angelfish disbanded. According to Vig, Garbage was named before Manson joined the band, after the percussionist Pauli Ryan walked in while Vig was working on a remix for Nine Inch Nails and said it sounded like "garbage".
In August 1995, the group released their debut album Garbage, preceded by their first single "Vow" in March 1995. This album was an unexpected smash, selling over 5 million copies and reaching double platinum status in the UK (#6), USA (#20), Australia. Also it received great reviews from critics and featured on the book "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die." They released five singles from this album: "Vow", "Only Happy When It Rains", "Queer", "Stupid Girl", and "Milk". A non-album single entitled "Subhuman" was issued on 7 August 1995.
In 1996, the band released a short-form VHS and Video CD entitled "Garbage Video" (also known as "Home Video"), that included all of Garbage's promotional music videos filmed up until that point.
In 1997, Garbage were nominated at Grammy Awards for Best New Artist, Best Rock Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocal for "Stupid Girl", Best Rock Song for "Stupid Girl". In the same year, the remixed version of "#1 Crush" (original version released in 1996) was included on the multi-platinum movie soundtrack William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet. Also it was nominated for Best Song From a Movie at the 1997 MTV Movie Awards.
They spent over an year working on their follow-up album Version 2.0, which was released on May 1998 and hit #1 in the UK and #13 in the US. It was supported by six singles: "Push It", "I Think I'm Paranoid", "Special", "When I Grow Up", "The Trick Is to Keep Breathing" and "You Look So Fine". The music video of "Push It" featured state of the art effects and it costs over $400,000 to make. Version 2.0 sold over 5 million copies, almost the same as their debut.
In 1999, they performed the theme song to the James Bond movie The World Is Not Enough. That year, they also contributed the song "When I Grow Up" to the Adam Sandler movie Big Daddy. Version 2.0 was nominated at Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Best Rock Album, and "Special" was nominated for Best Rock Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocal and Best Rock Song.
In October 2001, Garbage issued their third and most pop album beautifulgarbage, preceded by the single "Androgyny" in September 2001. All four singles released ("Androgyny", "Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)", "Breaking Up the Girl" and "Shut Your Mouth") were moderately successful. This album got 6th place at Rolling Stone's Top 10 Albums of The Year. The world tour from October 2001 to November 2002 was affected by Butch's health problems.
The band struggled to remain together and almost split in 2003, before returning with the fourth studio album Bleed Like Me in April 2005, peaking at a career-high #4 in USA. Four singles promoted the album: "Why Do You Love Me", "Sex Is Not the Enemy", "Bleed Like Me", and "Run Baby Run". Garbage cut short their 2005 world tour, and announced an indefinite hiatus, but emphasized it was not a break-up.
In July 2007 the group released a greatest hits album and a DVD entitled Absolute Garbage. The compilation featured a selection of their singles, a new single "Tell Me Where It Hurts" (#50 UK), and a remixed version of "It's All Over But the Crying" (the limited edition had also a remixes disc). The DVD included most of their music videos and a documentary related to the band.
In 2008 a new track called "Witness to Your Love" was issued on a charity compilation in the USA. Shirley Manson recorded a solo album but her label refused to release it considering it to be "too noir". In the same year she started to play a regular role on US TV show Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
According to a post from Shirley's Facebook profile, the band returned back to studio in 2010. On 14 May 2012, Garbage released their fifth studio album, Not Your Kind of People. The album was supported by the singles "Blood For Poppies", "Battle in Me", "Automatic Systematic Habit" and "Big Bright World".
On June 10th 2016, Garbage released their 6th album "Strange Little Birds".
13xforever
Garbage Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And thirteen times I fucked on your dogma
You've taught me to hate
You've taught me to crawl
You raised your hand as you waved the bottle
You knocked me down, but it made me stronger
The harder you hit
And this one's for my mother
What will I do without her?
Don't look back
Don't even bother
And this one's for the father
Who loves his middle daughter
Well, here I am
Don't even bother
You can freak out to doubt me
But you'll lose your mind without me
You thought you could see right through me
But it made no difference to me anyway
Anyway
Anyway
A free reign gave you ammunition
To play the game and fuck other women
And something just snapped
And cracked in my brain
Thirteen times I sucked up inside me
The different ways that you tried to harm me
You did it once
You'll do it again
And this one's for my sister
Who dared to denigrate it
Don't look back
Don't even bother
And this one's for my lover
The one who had to suffer
Here I am
Don't even bother
You can freak out to doubt me
But you'll lose your mind without me
You thought you could see right through me
But it made no difference to me anyway
Anyway
Anyway
Anyway
Thirteen times (one)
Thirteen times (two)
Thirteen times (three)
Thirteen times (four)
Thirteen times (five)
Thirteen times (six)
Thirteen times (seven)
Thirteen times (eight)
The lyrics of "13xforever" by Garbage speak of a person who has been hurt and mistreated repeatedly by the same person. The chorus references being hurt by someone thirteen times, and how they have empowered the singer; both times thirteen is mentioned, it is followed by an action that has made the singer stronger in some way. The verses touch on different relationships the singer has had with other important people in their life, and how they have been affected by the pain and abuse inflicted by the main antagonist.
The first verse seems to address the person who has caused the pain throughout the song, describing how they have taught the singer to hate and crawl. The second verse, however, seems to shift focus to the singer's mother and father, with the former's absence and the latter's support being acknowledged. The third verse mentions a lover and a sister, with both seemingly having dealt with similar mistreatment.
Overall, the repetitive structure of the chorus emphasizes the idea of resilience in the face of repeated hurt, while the verses give insight into different relationships and how they have been affected by this pattern of behavior. The song can be interpreted as a message to anyone who has been hurt repeatedly, that they can find strength in themselves and those around them, rather than letting the hurt define them.
Line by Line Meaning
Thirteen times you fucked with my karma
You have messed with my fate and destiny thirteen times
And thirteen times I fucked on your dogma
I have challenged and rejected your beliefs and principles thirteen times
You've taught me to hate
You have influenced me to detest and despise
You've taught me to crawl
You have forced me to act subservient and powerless
You raised your hand as you waved the bottle
As you held a bottle, you asserted dominance by physically attacking me
You knocked me down, but it made me stronger
Your attack may have weakened me, but it ultimately made me more resilient
The harder you hit
The more forceful your attack
The harder you fall
The worse repercussions you will face
And this one's for my mother
This message is dedicated to my mother
What will I do without her?
How will I cope without her presence?
Don't look back
Do not dwell on the past
Don't even bother
Do not waste your time and energy
And this one's for the father
This message is dedicated to my father
Who loves his middle daughter
Who has affection for his second-born daughter
Well, here I am
I am present and standing my ground
Don't even bother
Do not try to interfere or confront me
You can freak out to doubt me
You may panic and distrust me
But you'll lose your mind without me
You will suffer mentally without my presence or influence
You thought you could see right through me
You believed you knew my true intentions and motivations
But it made no difference to me anyway
Your perception did not affect my actions or decisions
A free reign gave you ammunition
Having unlimited control empowered you to act with malicious intent
To play the game and fuck other women
You indulged in infidelity and sexual exploits with other women
And something just snapped
Suddenly, I reached a breaking point
And cracked in my brain
I experienced mental and emotional turmoil
Thirteen times I sucked up inside me
I suppressed and internalized the various ways you hurt me thirteen times
The different ways that you tried to harm me
The ways you inflicted pain and damage varied each time
You did it once
Your actions caused harm on one occasion
You'll do it again
You will repeat your harmful behavior
And this one's for my sister
This message is dedicated to my sister
Who dared to denigrate it
Who had the audacity to belittle and criticize it
And this one's for my lover
This message is dedicated to my romantic partner
The one who had to suffer
Who endured pain and hardship
Anyway
In any case or circumstance
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DOUGLAS ELWIN ERICKSON, SHIRLEY ANN MANSON, STEVE W. MARKER, BRYAN DAVID VIG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind