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".
Boys Wanna Fight
Garbage Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But the girls are happy to dance all night
They know best how they can mess with us
Nursing an opinion's getting dangerous
And in a world where good's not good enough
Let's get loaded and kick up a fuss
But the girls are happy to dance all night
The boys want to fight
But the girls are happy to dance all night
Is there anybody else?
What a mess we've made
It's ridiculous
The whole wide world's a stage of complete chaos
It's gets so funny that we get confused
We don't know where to turn cause we've all been used
The boys want to fight
But the girls are happy to dance all night
The boys want to fight
But the girls are happy to dance all night
Is there anybody else?
Let's get loaded (oh let's be selfish)
Let's get wasted (and lose our senses)
Let's get shit faced (so we can fake it)
Let's get stupid (just entertain us)
Let's get wicked (desensitize us)
Let's get toasted (don't educate us)
Let's get hammered (yeah paralyze us)
Let's forget it (don't count on all )
The boys want to fight
But the girls are happy to dance all night
The boys want to fight
But the girls are happy to dance all night
Is there anybody else?
I'm sick sick sick of saying nothing
Sick sick sick sick of doing nothing
I'm sick sick sick of saying nothing
But let´s get loaded
Garbage's Boys Wanna Fight is a song that comments on the gender divide and the differences in how men and women cope with the struggles of the world. The boys in the song symbolize aggression, anger, and violence while the girls depict happiness, dancing, and enjoying life. The lines "the boys want to fight, but the girls are happy to dance all night" emphasize the differences between the two genders' priorities. The song suggests that in moments of internal turmoil and external chaos, it's better to continue pursuing your happiness and not get too engaged in the drama that surrounds you. It's essential to know when to stop combating and join the party. The song admits that the world is chaotic and that opinions are getting dangerous, but instead of being part of the problem, the song wants the listener to be a part of the solution.
The song also features lyrics that indicate that people have become apathetic about the situation around them, especially when it comes to addressing societal issues. The line "let's forget it" implies that people would rather be numb and not have to think or act than deal with the complicated and messy aspects of reality. Garbage suggests that it's better to face the world's problems rather than turning a blind eye to them.
Line by Line Meaning
The boys want to fight
The male gender is looking for a physical altercation
But the girls are happy to dance all night
The female gender is content with celebrating and partying
They know best how they can mess with us
They understand how to manipulate and provoke us
Nursing an opinion's getting dangerous
Sharing one's own thoughts and ideas can have negative consequences
And in a world where good's not good enough
Even being morally right is not sufficient
Let's get loaded and kick up a fuss
Intoxicate ourselves and express our discontent with the situation
Is there anybody else?
Is there someone who shares our feelings or is everyone content with the status quo?
What a mess we've made
We have created a chaotic and dysfunctional environment
It's ridiculous
The situation is absurd and preposterous
The whole wide world's a stage of complete chaos
The world is filled with disorder and confusion
It's gets so funny that we get confused
The situation becomes so absurd that we are bewildered
We don't know where to turn cause we've all been used
We are unsure of what action to take because we have all been manipulated
Let's get loaded (oh let's be selfish)
Let's focus purely on our self-indulgence
Let's get wasted (and lose our senses)
Let's impair our cognitive abilities through intoxication
Let's get shit faced (so we can fake it)
Let's intoxicate ourselves to pretend that we are happy
Let's get stupid (just entertain us)
Let's become foolish to provide amusement for ourselves
Let's get wicked (desensitize us)
Let's engage in immoral behavior to become numb to reality
Let's get toasted (don't educate us)
Let's get drunk and not care about gaining knowledge
Let's get hammered (yeah paralyze us)
Let's drink excessively until we are unable to function
Let's forget it (don't count on all)
Let's ignore our problems and not rely on anyone else
I'm sick sick sick of saying nothing
I am tired of keeping quiet and not expressing my true feelings
Sick sick sick sick of doing nothing
I am incredibly frustrated with not taking any action
But let´s get loaded
However, let's still indulge in intoxication as a form of temporary escape
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DOUGLAS ELWIN ERICKSON, SHIRLEY ANN MANSON, STEVE W. MARKER, BRYAN DAVID VIG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Nadia The Poet
Such a good tune!
kextrz
I got the vibe, from an audio bootleg recorded in Vegas, that Shirley really liked that song. The others didn't like it that much.
If that's the case, anybody has an idea why?
It's my favorite piece on the album. That's all.
ironysteeth
I always imagined this song in the scene of the dark tower series where roland dances the comela dances.
Alexandra C
I wish so much to hear Jack Terricloth sing this, but unfortunately that can't happen anymore 😞
abner2710
Great!!!
Daniel Herrera-Mata
song rules,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,hell yea
Ned Poole
As Phil says... if the boys wanna fight you’d better let em