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".
Soldier Through This
Garbage Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So when you come home to me, you're tired
And you don't want to talk about it
You envy my drive
And how I am motivated
We'll go down to the park
Check out the carnival for a ride
I'm out of control
And you don't appreciate it.
Believe it
I need it
I feel intoxicated
I love it
I want it
Don't make me leave you for it
You say I have changed
Self-centered and vain
And you don't respect me for it
The world is the same
So I play the game
And you've got to hate me for it
So we're re-arranged
There's no one to blame
But still you resent me for it
I call all the shots
I hold all the cards
And you feel emasculated
Believe it
I need it
I feel intoxicated
I love it
I want it
Don't make me leave you for it
Believe it
I need this
I feel intoxicated
I love it
I want it
Don't make me leave you for it
How do we reconcile this?
How do we reconcile this?
How do we reconcile this?
How do we reconcile this?
We're able to soldier through this
We're able to soldier through this
We're able to soldier through this
We're able to soldier through this
The lyrics to Garbage's song Soldier Through This tell the story of a relationship that is struggling due to the differing levels of motivation and drive of the two partners. The first verse highlights the tiredness of the person coming home from work, while their partner is full of energy and motivation. The second verse explores how the partner with more drive has changed in their behavior, becoming more self-centered and vain, and how this behavior is causing resentment in the other partner.
The chorus, which is repeated throughout the song, focuses on the obsession with this drive and motivation. The lines "believe it, I need it, I feel intoxicated" and "I love it, I want it, don't make me leave you for it" express how important this aspect of their life is and how it feels like a drug that they cannot give up. The final lines of the song, "How do we reconcile this? We're able to soldier through this," suggest that despite these struggles, the couple is determined to work through their differences and stay together.
Overall, the lyrics of Soldier Through This explore the complexities of a relationship where one partner has a strong drive and motivation that the other cannot match. It highlights the struggles and tensions that can arise from these differences, but also the hope and determination to work through them.
Line by Line Meaning
You work too hard
I see how hard you work, and how little you get from it.
So when you come home to me, you're tired
You're exhausted, and the last thing you want to do is talk about your day.
And you don't want to talk about it
I know you keep things inside, and I don't know how to help you.
You envy my drive
You see my ambition and energy, and sometimes I think it makes you feel inadequate.
And how I am motivated
I can't turn it off; it's who I am and what I need.
We'll go down to the park
Let's take a break, get away from everything for a while.
Check out the carnival for a ride
Let's throw caution to the wind, have some fun and be spontaneous.
And try to forget all about it
Take a break from your problems, and just let yourself relax.
I'm out of control
I know I'm reckless sometimes, but I can't help it.
And you don't appreciate it.
I know my behavior can be frustrating, and it feels like you don't accept me for who I am.
Believe it
Trust me when I say this is what I need to feel alive.
I need it
I can't function without this thrill.
I feel intoxicated
It's like a high that I can't get enough of.
I love it
This is the only time I feel truly alive.
I want it
I can't resist the lure of this rush.
Don't make me leave you for it
I don't want to lose you, but I can't give up what makes me feel alive.
You say I have changed
You feel like I'm not the same person you fell in love with.
Self-centered and vain
You think I've become obsessed with myself, and you don't like it.
And you don't respect me for it
You can't respect what you see as a surface-level focus on achievement.
The world is the same
Nothing has changed, but our perspective on the world has.
So I play the game
I know I'm part of the system, but I can't resist the challenge.
And you've got to hate me for it
You can't accept what you see as my complicity in a corrupt system.
So we're re-arranged
We've come to a point where we're no longer in sync.
There's no one to blame
We're both responsible for where we are, and there's no easy fix.
But still you resent me for it
You can't help but feel like I've created this divide between us.
I call all the shots
I'm in control, and it feels good to know I'm winning.
I hold all the cards
I have the power, and I'm not afraid to use it.
And you feel emasculated
You feel powerless, like you've lost your voice in our relationship.
How do we reconcile this?
How do we fix what's broken between us?
We're able to soldier through this
We'll get through this together, even if the road ahead is tough.
Contributed by Adam V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.