I am the first to say that Garbage is one of my favorite bands out there. I was first introduced to that heart-wrenching ”#1 Crush” from the Romeo and Juliet soundtrack and then bought their self-titled album. I couldn’t have been more in love with a CD. “I’m Only Happy When it Rains” and “Vow” stung with an awesome power that smacked me in the face. This was the no-holds-barred Shirley Manson, and I lapped it up like the rest of them.
Then Version 2.0came along, and while some of the songs seemed just plain silly, most of them were still pretty damn cool. I was especially happy with the evolution of Garbage’s sound; it seemed that the band went from the height of garage-indie-alternative to a more sophisticated and modern sound. It was smart, and it was one of many albums pushing the music industry into a new era. Everything was going well.
With all the excitement of beautifulgarbage,I almost went out of my mind waiting. But, being the smart consumer that I usually am not, I listened to the MP3s of the album in advance, rather than just purchasing it, just in case. And lo and behold, that “just in case” happened. I downloaded the first few songs in heavy anticipation, only to find that Garbage sounded nothing like itself, but more like a mediocre band trying to make it in today’s ultra-pop market. Buying that album would have been the absolute biggest waste of money I have ever made, and believe me, I’ve wasted my fair share on bad CDs.
This album?it’s hard to even call it that considering there is no cohesion to it whatsoever?represents the downfall of music. Britney was bad, Christina and Jessica made it worse, the boys are all flakes, and there’s only so much of Ricky Martin I can take, but for Garbage, of all bands, to sell out to the pop-consumed teenager market … I think you get the point.
“Cherry Lips” sounds like it was recorded in the mid-’80s. And you know, some ‘80s-era music is actually okay, but this is GARBAGE, people! “Androgyny” lacks any tasteful ingenuity and, frankly, could have been recorded by my music-deprived sister if she wanted to start a cheesy band. The lyrics are far from creative: Shirley sings, “nobody wants to feel alone / and everybody wants to love someone / out of the tree go pick a plum / why can’t we all just get along?” Could you fit any more clich?s into four lines of a song? Probably not.
In fact, these songs sound as if someone wrote them for Garbage and then turned around and asked for a cover. Garbage sounds like almost any other band in each of the songs without really sounding like Garbage?the Mazzy Star-like quality of “So Like a Rose,” the sheer irony of writing a Portishead-like song called “Nobody Loves You,” the list continues. The whole thing smacks of “they’ll sure eat this crap up!” It’s sickening. It’s just a ploy to sell records, nothing more. The music was lost somewhere along the way?at least the good music.
Well, Garbage has finally lived up to its name.
