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".
Honeybee
Garbage Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You've got me on a ball and chain,
When you gonna notice me
God, you're such a little tease
When you gonna finally land it on my lips
When you gonna give me just a little sip
Honeybee, you're killing me
You don't even know my name
I guess I ought to be ashamed
Going on the way I do
Watching you in everything
When you gonna give me just a little kick
Music in your heart and lying on your lips
You're a honeybee, honeybee
Honeybee, you're killing me
It's hard to stumble when you're on your knees
But just like nicotine and it gets complicated
You keep on pouring on the gasoline
And it's the sweetest feeling, oh it gets me, gets me down
You don't even know my name
How am I gonna reign you in
Tramping everything you see
You don't own everything
When you gonna give me just a little hit
When you gonna give me just a little bit
You're a honeybee, honeybee
Oh, honeybee, it's killing me
You're killing me, honeybee
You're killing me, my honeybee
It's killing me
The lyrics of Garbage’s “Honey Bee” describe the frustration and longing of the singer, who remains unnoticed by the person she desires. She compares this person to a honeybee, with their teasing behavior and sweet allure both captivating and painful for her. The singer expresses her desire to finally experience a kiss, a little sip from the person’s lips, and a little hit of their attention. She feels powerless, like being on a ball and chain, a situation she might regret being in if she would think about it more rationally.
The second part of the song highlights how painful it is for the singer to be so affected by this person’s actions. She is on her knees, stumbling because of this attraction, which is not reciprocated. The person’s behavior is both bittersweet and intoxicating, like nicotine or gasoline. The singer acknowledges the difficult nature of her position, trying to reign the person in, while also seeing them as tramping everything they see. The final repetition of the chorus emphasizes the heart-wrenching nature of this unrequited love – she is being killed by the honeybee.
Line by Line Meaning
You don't even know my name
The singer feels invisible and unnoticed by the person they desire.
You've got me on a ball and chain,
The singer feels trapped and unable to escape their desire for the person who is not reciprocating.
When you gonna notice me
The singer is longing for their love interest to finally acknowledge their existence and show interest in them.
God, you're such a little tease
The artist finds it frustrating and teasing that their love interest is not showing clear signs of interest, despite their longing.
When you gonna finally land it on my lips
The artist is craving to finally kiss their love interest and have their feelings reciprocated.
When you gonna give me just a little sip
The singer wants any small sign of reciprocation, no matter how insignificant.
You're a honeybee, honeybee
The singer compares their love interest to a honeybee, sweet and desirable, but also hurtful and dangerous.
Honeybee, you're killing me
The artist's unreciprocated love for their honeybee is causing them emotional pain and distress.
I guess I ought to be ashamed
The artist feels embarrassed by their obsession and unrequited love.
Going on the way I do
Despite their embarrassment, the artist cannot help but continue longing for their love interest.
Watching you in everything
The singer is constantly observing and admiring their love interest in every aspect of their life.
When you gonna give me just a little kick
The artist desires a slight push or sign of interest from their love interest.
Music in your heart and lying on your lips
The singer is enchanted by the music and words of their love interest, but also acknowledges that they may not be sincere.
It's hard to stumble when you're on your knees
The singer recognizes that it is difficult to be vulnerable and express their emotions when they are in a subservient position to their love interest.
But just like nicotine and it gets complicated
The singer acknowledges that their love for their honeybee is addictive and difficult to quit, even though it is causing them pain and confusion.
You keep on pouring on the gasoline
The artist feels like their love interest is toying with their emotions and causing them pain by giving them small signs of hope, only to take them away again.
And it's the sweetest feeling, oh it gets me, gets me down
The artist recognizes the intense pleasure and happiness they feel when their love interest shows even the slightest interest in them, but also feels weighed down by the constant unrequited longing.
How am I gonna reign you in
The singer feels like they are unable to control their feelings and desires for their honeybee, and is unsure how to stop feeling this way.
Tramping everything you see
The singer feels like their love interest is careless and reckless in their actions and the way they treat other people's emotions.
You don't own everything
The artist wants their love interest to understand that their actions and decisions have consequences for other people's emotions and wellbeing, and that they cannot just do whatever they want without consequences.
When you gonna give me just a little hit
The artist wants any small sign of interest or attention from their love interest, no matter how insignificant.
When you gonna give me just a little bit
The artist wants any small sign of reciprocation or acknowledgement from their love interest, no matter how small.
You're killing me, honeybee
The singer's unrequited love for their honeybee is causing them emotional pain and distress.
It's killing me
The artist feels like their unrequited love is consuming them and causing them emotional pain and distress.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DOUGLAS ELWIN ERICKSON, SHIRLEY ANN MANSON, STEVE W. MARKER, BRYAN DAVID VIG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jesus Lopez
Thank you for your channel, Garbage are my favorite band. All my Garbage stuff is back home, but here you've got the full collection.
Reminding me of why they're my favorite band, this is such a sexy raw song.
Tenmitsudou
I love this song, one of my favorites ever by them, I wished they played it live, because it needs more love!
Benderama
Such a good song, gives me goosebumps
Candle G
LOVE this SONG SO F. MUCH!!!🔥🎸🔥🎶🔥
UNDERGROUND STUDIO
We need It in the CD
Rodrigo Erre
It's way better than a lot songs from that album
Tino
its not even on that album
oryan katzav
My favourite album by them,every song is a masterpiece and this is probably my favourite b side.
Heros Merlose
Agreed. Could for sure say the same about the b sides from their previous album. Both could’ve been a bit stronger.
Panda One Productions :D
album deserved 18 tracks