CD Odyssey Disc 1591: Garbage

It’s not a good sign when you are at the front of a long weekend and it still feels like there aren’t enough hours in the day, but here we are. I’m squeezing out an hour to review this next record. While I’ve enjoyed it, I’ve enjoyed it for over a week, and it is time to move on.

Disc 1591 is…. Beautiful Garbage

Artist: Garbage

Year of Release: 2001

What’s up with the Cover?  A rose in the centre of what looks like a computer-generated assortment of geometric shapes. At least I hope this is computer generated, because if it isn’t it means a human did this on purpose.

How I Came To Know It: This album came out back when music videos were still a thing you watched on TV. I think I saw videos for a couple of these songs and both Sheila and I liked them. I probably bought this for her as a birthday or Christmas gift but given it has been over twenty years my memory is a bit hazy.

How It Stacks Up: I have three Garbage albums (they have seven, but the three I have are plenty for me at this point). This is my last review of those three. I had saved a spot for, “Beautiful Garbage” at #2, but it outperformed my expectations and I’m going to land it at #1. Here is the revised and complete recap:

1. Beautiful Garbage: 3 stars (reviewed right here)
2. Self-Titled: 2 stars (reviewed at Disc 1374)
3. No Gods No Masters: 2 stars (reviewed at Disc 1504)

 Ratings: 3 stars but almost 4

“Beautiful Garbage” is one of those rare albums that has all the failings of early oughts production but uses them so artfully they become an asset.

Music from the early oughts can be a tough slog. Music producers were in love with loud, turning up all the channels all at once to the point where it feels like the music is shouting at you. There was also a fascination with mixing electronic sounds into rock music which could sound very forced and artificial when mishandled.

That ‘loud’ element is ever-present on “Beautiful Garbage” – I played it at about three ticks lower in the car just to hold it at arm’s length - but somehow it feels festive and powerful rather than annoying. There is a kind of electronic crunch when this kind of production is done right that makes everything feel melodramatic, but in a good way. It kind of made me feel like I was in an extended episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer; angsty but heroic.

The record opens with “Shut Your Mouth” which has all of this sound in spades. There is a heavy effect on lead singer Shirley Manson’s vocals that makes them metallic and Matrixy, and the guitars are fuzzed out to the edge of reason. It all works great, however, and the song feels powerful. It is the musical equivalent of a very thick and delicious strawberry milkshake; delicious and sweet but a bit hard to get up the straw.

I was surprised to find that this record only spawned one Top 20 hit. That’s the album’s second track, “Androgyny” which landed at #19 in Canada. This song is an anthem to gender fluidity and acceptance, and in 2001 delightfully ahead of its time. It also has a cool groove to it, and despite throwing every mixing board trick at the wall like spaghetti, the resulting pattern ends up once again working.

“Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go)” is a sugary pop tune that is vacuous and silly and wholly enjoyable to bounce along to even after all these years.

While those are the songs I remember from back in the day, on this listen I was struck by some of the album’s subtler offerings. “Can’t Cry These Tears” sounds like a sixties Supremes tune, albeit gussied up with that early-oughts production. “Cup of Coffee” and “Drive You Home” both showcase the gentle side of Manson’s voice, the former being a melancholy break up, and the latter an undulating tune for lovers yearning for one another late at night.

If I were to read a review of “Beautiful Garbage” today, it would be full of all kinds of warnings to stay away – the overblown production, the flourishes of electronica, and the melodramatic topics. However, it not only overcomes these elements, it converts them from bugs into features. I’d been away for a good ten years and had forgotten how much I used to like this album. Rediscovering it was a lovely treat during an otherwise busy week.

Best tracks: Shut Your Mouth, Adrogyny, Cup of Coffee, Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go), Drive You Home

CD Odyssey Disc 1504: Garbage

This next record was long, but through the combination of a few lunch-time runs, and being stuck in heavy traffic on my drive home, I was able to get in a couple of solid listens. So…here we are.

Disc 1504 is….  No Gods No Masters

Artist: Garbage

Year of Release: 2021

What’s up with the Cover? An art photograph taken by Garbage lead singer Shirley Manson. Here we have an angel, looking a bit portly around the middle. I am not judging. As a middle-aged man I wage a constant war against my expanding middle. I can’t even imagine how hard it is to stay trim over several millennia.

How I Came To Know It: I have a couple of Garbage albums dating from the mid-nineties and early oughts but I haven’t exactly been a loyal fan for the intervening twenty years or so. For whatever reason this latest record caught my attention.

How It Stacks Up: I now have three Garbage albums. Of the three, I put “No Gods No Masters” in at #3.

Ratings: 2 stars but almost 3

Would I have been more favourably disposed to “No Gods No Masters” it if had come out in 2001 instead of 2021? Probably, yes, but it didn’t, and so here we are.

First of all, this record is loud. Loud in that early-oughts kind of way where it felt like the guy in the sound booth said “fuck it,” pushed all the dials north, and hoped for the best. I think it is going for that thumping rave/club sound, but when you turn everything up at once you take away any nuance the songs may possess.

A good example is “Uncomfortably Me” which has all the bones of a great song, but where the emotional content gets battered out of it. It is like going to a show where they’ve overamped the room and the sound is bouncing off the walls at you like a fusillade of concussion grenades. There is a lot of good in this song, but they needed to let it breathe a little to make it heard.

There are times I do want that heavy industrial dance sound, like when I’m listening to a band like KMFDM, but that stuff is more for dancing and strobe lights. The tunes on “No Gods No Monsters” aren’t danceable enough to pull it off. The one exception to this is “Godhead” which is danceable as fuck, and definitely had me thinking of the clubbing days of my early twenties. Regrettably, it is the exception, and most of the music is what you might hear played too loud at a strange party where you don’t know anybody. Eventually, you seek shelter in the kitchen, secretly hoping one of the speakers blows under the strain, so you can return to the living room and have a human (non-shouted) conversation with that interesting punk girl reclining on the couch. I digress, but you get the idea.

There are some good songs on the record, notably “Flipping the Bird” which gives voice to said punk girl’s inner voice as she absently nods to the drunken advances of randos at the aforementioned party. 

“You tell me who you think I am
And I agree with you but deep inside
I am flipping you the bird again”

Nice. Somehow just mentally flipping the bird is even more dismissive. Like the dude in question isn’t worth her bothering to lift a finger, even if only to tell him off.

Thematically, the record lives up to its name, with a lot of songs exploring the problem of religion and authority in general. There is also an apocalyptic quality that leaves you with the distinct feeling that everything is not going to turn out OK. I’m reading a dystopian future sci-fi horror by Jeff VanderMeer called “Borne”. The book features the complete collapse of society, with terrifying bio-engineered monsters including a gargantuan bear called “Mord” that is worshiped like some sort of vengeful God. “No Gods No Masters” would be a good soundtrack for the movie version.

This record is actually a two-album set, with a whole extra CD of “bonus tracks” that collectively add up to a very bloated 83 minutes of playing time.

The ‘bonus’ songs are mostly more original compositions, but there are two covers: a plodding and forgettable version of David Bowie’s “Starman” and an inspired version of Patti Smith’s “Because the Night.” The latter is a duet with the Screaming Females. I’ve always loved the vocals of Screaming Females frontwoman Marissa Paternoster, but haven’t always loved their music. Getting her singing alongside Manson is a real treat, and while they don’t beat out the Springsteen or Patti Smith versions, they put themselves in the conversation.

The second CD wraps up strong, with a hard rock murder ballad (“Destroying Angels”) that I’d love to hear as a folk song, and a little more industrial dance action with “Time Will Destroy Everything” (complete with some metallic synth effects on the vocals as though some robot from the future has come back to deliver the song’s titular message).

“No Gods No Masters” has the material for one good 50-minute record, but it is bloated with a whole lot of unnecessary and indulgent content. Even the packaging can’t resist excess. It comes in a small box containing a lyrics booklet, a foldout poster, four head shots of the band with pink shapes superimposed on their faces (?) along with the two albums. I found myself wanting to part with it for space considerations alone.

As for the music, I spent a lot of time mining for the nuggets (see “best tracks” below), all the while wanting to dodge lesser songs that were like pockets of bad air, threatening to turn the whole experience sour at any moment. As I’ve said many times before - less is more.

Best tracks: Godhead, Anonymous XXX, Flipping the Bird, This City Will Kill You, Because the Night, Destroying Angels, Time Will Destroy Everything

CD Odyssey Disc 1375: Soundtrack

OK, let’s keep this thing going.

Disc 1375 is…. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Album

Artist: Various Artists

Year of Release: 1999

What’s up with the Cover? Isn’t it all so romantic! Buffy the Vampire slayer glows in the light, as her tortured vampire boyfriend Angel broods in the shadows behind her. Get a room, already. Actually, don’t. We don’t want Angel experiencing that Moment of Perfect Happiness, losing his soul, and going on a murderous rampage through the streets of Sunnydale.

If none of that made sense to you, then you are not this album’s target audience.

How I Came To Know It: My coworker Anna and her partner were downsizing their CD collection and took a photo of what was available. I spied both this album and another Buffy soundtrack (“Radio Sunnydale”) and offered to purchase them for a cool $5. Instead, they gave them to me for free. Thanks, Anna!

How It Stacks Up: I now have 36 soundtrack albums, and I’m not about to list them all again (I just did this back at Disc 1352 if you want a recap of the first 33). Of those 36 albums, I put BVS: The Album in at #30, right between music from James Bond (Disc 103) and “One From the Heart” (Disc 935).

And now that I have three different Buffy soundtrack albums, I’ll rank it in that subset as well. I don’t have high hopes for “Radio Sunnydale” but since it has an Aimee Mann song and 12 instead of 18 tracks, I’m going to optimistically say it is better. That lands this one (“BVS: The Album”) in last place at #3. Good enough for a bronze however, which is coincidentally the name of the nightclub in the TV show where a bunch of these songs would have been played.

Ratings: 2 stars

How big of a Buffy, the Vampire Slayer fan would you have to be to enjoy this record? I’m going to say more than a big fan. Because I am a pretty big fan. I’ve watched the whole damned series (both series if you count Angel) three times. I’ve turned every character into Arkham Horror board game  characters – yes, even characters like Tara and (shudder) Riley. And yet, even I find my fandom insufficient to enjoy large portions of this extremely long record.

There are good songs. For starters, I’m a sucker for the visceral kick in the pants that is the show’s theme song by Nerfherder. This is one of TV’s great themes, falling just short of gems like Hawaii Five-0 and Stingray. Listen to it as you watch the Buffy Season Three intro and tell me you don’t get goosebumps at the end as the camera pans around a very dangerous Buffy Summers, ready to kick some serious ass with a war axe.

Track Two is also pretty killer. Guided by Voices’ “Teenage FBI” is easily the best song on the album, with a high-octane tune about how sometimes the people you love the most bring out the worst in you.

Another standout is Bif Naked’s “Lucky.” I remember the excitement of realizing it was Bif Naked in the background at the Bronze nightclub, belting out some Canadian rock and roll as our heroes and villains had their adventures centre stage.

And yet this album has a lot of problems.

First, it is painfully overwrought. These songs all have the depth of heartache and pain that only young and beautiful people on TV urban fantasy series seem to manage. Let’s call it CWangst, after the network that has perfected the experience. I don’t mind all the drama when I’m watching (except maybe the Buffy/Angel dynamic – that is dangerously close to a CWangst overdose) but the songs all on their own don’t have the emotional gravitas to carry the day.

Bands with painfully of-their-time names (“Hepburn”, “K’s Choice”, “Splendid”) pour their broken hearts out. Other bands (“Black Lab”, “Superfine”, “Four Star Mary”) feature bad boys that aren’t very bad at all, singing about being kinda tough, but also kinda sensitive. Frankly, there is a lot of pining.

Second, the horrible late nineties production I decried in my last Garbage review, is once again in full effect. Lots of loud, not a lot of separation. There is even a Garbage song that is off the one Garbage album I parted with long ago (“Temptation Waits” from Version 2.0).

And finally, the album is just too Goddamned long. 18 tracks and 65 minutes is a lot, and the songs I liked can’t hold up the ones I don’t over that time frame.

Fortunately, outside of this CD Odyssey I am under no obligation to listen to all 18 songs in a row with no skipping. I can just listen to the ones I like when I feel like listening to them.

Also, the physical copy comes with a lot of bonus features! Maybe one day I’ll mail in my Buffy the Vampire Slayer Fan Club Application (conveniently included in the CD booklet and mine for only $29.95 US a year) and receive all of the following:

·         4 issues of the Buffy official magazine

·         Official ID membership card

·         Exclusive cast photos

·         Exclusive Buffy poster

·         Special Buffy bumper sticker.

Like I said, I’m a fan. Which is why I asked for this album in the first place. I regret nothing.

Best tracks: Buffy Theme – Nerfherder, Teenage FBI – Guided by Voices, Lucky – Bif Naked, It Doesn’t Matter – Alison Kraus & Union Station, Wild Horses – The Sundays

CD Odyssey Disc 1374: Garbage

Welcome back to the CD Odyssey! Up next an album that’s been in the collection for a very long time.

Disc 1374 is…. Self-titled

Artist: Garbage

Year of Release: 1995

What’s up with the Cover? I’m going to say this is a close up of a pink boa. Or possibly a skin sample from a dead muppet. Both items that would catch your attention if you found them in the garbage. Of course, what were you doing rooting around in the garbage in the first place? Perhaps investigating the mysterious disappearance of Abby Cadabby…

How I Came To Know It: I think this was Sheila’s album originally. I might have bought it for her as a gift back when a CD was a pretty common gift (it still is for me, but I’m weird). Anyway, I don’t remember exactly how this came into our collection, but it was back when CDs were king. Nowadays, you could find a copy of this album in a bargain bin at almost any record store practically begging you to take it home for a dollar.

How It Stacks Up: We have two Garbage albums. We used to have three, but I didn’t think much of their sophomore effort (“Version 2.0”) and parted with it long ago. Of the two we still have I like them both for different reasons, but I guess I’ll put their self-titled debut in first place by a hair.

Ratings: 2 stars but almost 3

Back in the mid-nineties, before Youtube and streaming services, you listened to two or three singles off an album, and then you bought it and hoped for the best. This didn’t make albums back then any better or worse on average than they are today, but it did mean you didn’t know in advance.

Based on sales alone, Garbage’s eponymous debut was a wild success, going multi-platinum and spawning five radio singles. At the time I thought it was a solid rock record, and like everyone else I took joy in its crunchy guitars and Shirley Manson’s sultry vocals. 25 years later my ardor has faded.

The things that make the record good haven’t gone anywhere. The guitars still crunch, and Manson’s vocals still whisper with sexy promise. However, this time around the record sounded artificial and a bit flat emotionally. This is the result of some questionable production decisions that felt novel and exciting back then, but that haven’t aged well. There are too many layers to the sound, and when it isn’t being layered it is being squelched on and off aggressively, to create an overt and artificial syncopation. All of this drenches the songs in the musical equivalent of getting too much dressing on your Caesar salad.

There are still some great moments. “Stupid Girl” was a hit back in the day and it is still a lot of fun. Yes, there are weird production moments, including some kind of electronic scraping sound that sounds like a robot drinking oil through a straw. However tune is strong enough to carry the day, and even the layering here is used to good effect; stripped away to let Manson’s vocals do their thing, and then thickening up with a groove that makes for a rock song that is also suitable for dancing.

“Queer” also held up well, and even had a picked guitar hook that stands out against the clash of chords that dominate the record. By contrast, “Only Happy When It Rains” has not recovered from radio overplay, and now sounds dated and…dare I say it…corporate?

There are also songs like “Milk” which are supposed to sound mysterious and moody but instead feel soporific. The kind of thing you put on in the back of a lounge where stockbrokers order martinis at the end of the day and talk about work. Yech.

Albums from the mid-nineties can easily run to excess, as every artist suddenly realized that they had 80 minutes of run time, and often not realizing they shouldn’t use it all. At 12 songs and 50 minutes, “Garbage” is surprisingly restrained for its time. This, combined with some high points and a bit of nostalgia for my twenties, together saves this one from the ignominy of the bargain bin. For now.

Best tracks: Supervixen, Queer, A Stroke of Luck, Stupid Girl