Shirley Manson brings Garbage back into the spotlight
Shirley Manson, lead singer of Garbage, talks about the bands hiatus, its politics and why she cant be a cool rock star.
At the turn of the century, Garbage found itself on the outskirts of celebrity.
In the 1990s, its members had been front and center as part of an alternative rock movement that was redefining the genre for the new millennium. But by the early 2000s, they had trouble staying relevant as new bands stole the spotlight. Disillusioned with the business, they decided to take a prolonged hiatus after releasing Bleed Like Me in 2005.
During the break, lead singer Shirley Manson tried her hand at acting and did sessions with other musicians. Some of her other bandmates had kids. Life happened.
But music is Garbage's language, and in 2010, Manson confirmed via Facebook that she and the others had reconvened for a week in the studio. Their fifth album, Not Your Kind of People, was released in 2012 but never really took off. Their latest, the June release Strange Little Birds, has fared far better, and the band is currently on a tour that will bring them to the Fillmore on Saturday.
The record, which Manson describes as "dark" and "cinematic," earned high marks from Rolling Stone for its "august, hard-boiled vitality." It's brooding and thoughtful, delving into the polarization that defines our world today.
We talked with Manson recently about her group's return, current events and how they influence her music, and her big 5-0 celebration next month. (This interview has been edited for space.)
What inspired Strange Little Birds?
I think we have several concerns with global warming. We are concerned with all the intolerance . . . that seems to have struck all across the global community. We're concerned about the violence. There's so many things that going on right now that we feel very, very alarmed by. The incredible polarization. There's a lack of willingness to debate in a peaceful, grown-up manner. We feel like we're a motherless global community right now, and there's a lot of things in the world that we really need to tackle head on in a constructive manner.
Your music has been called political. What kind of messages are you trying to spread?
We're certainly not arrogant enough to put ourselves into the political arena. And that's half the problem, I think. When you are powerless like we feel, we believe ourselves to be, it's an incredibly scary place to stand as a human being.
What is it like to live in America right now, coming from Scotland?
It's fascinating obviously to straddle the two worlds, because it's a very different thinking in America today, different from the thinking in Europe. There's a lot of hostility in the rest of the world toward America, which I resent myself because I love America with a passion.
It's a country that I believe in, that's been good to me and offered every opportunity to me in my lifetime, and so I have a deep love of it. It offends me when people make these sweeping generalizations about this country that I live and adore so much. But similarly, there's a lot of thinking in Europe that I really fall in line with and have a lot of respect for, some of the values that are held over there that aren't necessarily present here.
You're coming up on your 50th birthday on Aug. 26. What advice would you give your adolescent self as you entered the music industry?
Unfortunately, I don't really have much advice. I think what was right for me wouldn't necessarily be right for . I'm grateful that I made enough good decisions to ensure that I've had a long career, but I made many, many, many other terrible decisions along the way, too. Whether they're good or bad, you just have to be able to live with the consequences of whatever decision you make. And I feel like I have been able to live with that.
You made Strange Little Birds through your own label, StunVolume. Why did Garbage decide to produce its own music?
The biggest benefit to having our own label is that we hold onto the rights and the income of our business 100 percent. When you're signed to a record label, you're basically giving away 80 percent of your industry to a business that really doesn't give two licks if you survive or not. So to be released from that kind of servitude essentially was really heartening, and enjoyable, and rewarding. I'm not entirely sure people fully understand what that entails when you're signed to a major label. It really is economically corrupt. It is an abuse of creative.
You were one of the first major artists to have a blog. Did you use it in the same way that artists use social media today?
I just saw it as a means to entertain our fans. It wasn't out of desire to connect, per se, you know what I mean? I think social media has evolved since then and we're all very, very aware now of how that does connect us to our fans. But in those days, I wasn't really aware of the reach the Internet would soon secure.
You have a really strong rapport with your audiences during concerts. How do you connect with them?
It's funny. I always wanted to be like a cool rock star, you know? The kind of rock star that I fell in love with, who felt removed, and icy, and sort of cool. And yet my personality is such that I just can never be that.
I'm someone who isn't cool, and I'm very connected. I'm always looking for connection and contact with people. It's just the way I am and the way I was brought up, the culture I was raised in. I think it's just something that is naturally inherent to me. I want to be part of a society. I want to be part of a community. I want to be with the people, so to speak.
@allyevillarreal