Thanks
for tuning in once more to Kyle's Radio Dial, the blog that mines the
musical gems of the past and offers them up for another look and
listen! Beaming into our receivers tonight is an alt rock classic of
the late 90s which is rarely heard on terrestrial radio these days...
time to make those beats go harder with Garbage and “Push
It”!
“I was angry when I met you... I think I'm angry still... We can try to talk it over... If you say you'll help me out.”
Garbage, the Scottish-American alternative band comprising multi-instrumentalists Shirley Manson, Steve Marker, Duke Erikson, and Butch Vig, exploded onto the scene with their 1995 self-titled album, bringing such hits as “Only Happy When It Rains” (US #55, US Modern Rock #16), and “Stupid Girl” (US #24, Mod Rock #2).
The self-deprecating name of the band originates from an early criticism of their musical output as sounding “like garbage”. Possessing a sense of humor about the statement, they decided to make it front and center in regards to the band, which was lucky for us, and all the alternative station listening, 120 Minutes watchers out there!
“Push It” was the lead single from Garbage's 1998 sophomore effort Version 2.0, and it interpolates a portion of the chorus of The Beach Boys’ 1964 hit “Don’t Worry Baby”, as well as the title repetition of Salt N Pepa’s 1986 hip hop classic that shares the same name. It also features what has become known as the “Amen Break”, a widely used drum loop sample pulled from the 1969 recording “Amen, Brother” by The Winstons.
“I'm sorry that I hurt you... Please don't ask me why... I want to see you happy... I want to see you shine.”
Manson has stated that the song is about the personal conflict between your true self, and the pressure to fit in socially. Given as she is co-author of the song, I don't doubt her songwriting intent, however, I always had a slightly different take on it, as I believed the song to contain two distinct personas.
The first persona, singing the verses and chorus, is battling destructive internal demons, while the second (singing the “Don’t Worry Baby” bridge) is a sympathetic figure, offering their support to the first individual.
When the first voice sings “Push It, make the beats go harder” in the chorus, I take that to be the moment when they realize that only THEY can work through their issues, regardless of sympathy or assistance from anybody else. They must face and overcome their fears internally, because nobody else will do it for them.
Regardless of your take on the song’s story, I believe we can all agree that it is an aggressive rocker that represents the band’s output (and that of late 90s alt rock) quite nicely.
“This is the noise that keeps me awake... my head explodes and my body aches...”
A few months ago, I introduced the music of Shirley Manson and company to my 9 year old son. In specific, I played him “Push It”, its follow up “I Think I’m Paranoid”, and the aforementioned hits off their first LP, and he commented…
“I don’t get why these guys call themselves “Garbage”… They're really GOOD!!!”
As he is fascinated by Billboard chart history just as I am (I wonder where he gets THAT from?), he was astonished to learn that while “Push It” peaked high on the US Modern Rock and UK singles charts (#5, and #9, respectively), the alt rock classic stalled at #52 on the Hot 100, and didn’t even crack the top 40. It was also amazing to him that the debut LP representing “Stupid Girl” is, to date, Garbage’s ONLY US Top 40 single at US #24.
I declined to explain the stranglehold that hip hop and pop-soul had on the top 40 playlists of the time, resulting in outstanding songs from other genres getting unfairly overlooked and under-represented on the charts. That’ll be a discussion for another time.
So click that video window below, and follow the advice of Shirley, Duke, Butch, and Steve. Well... wait are you waiting for? Just “PUSH IT”!
(Be careful when watching the video though – it’s filled with intriguing and somewhat disturbing imagery that may prove unnerving to some faint hearted viewers, especially if viewed right before heading off to sleep. Consider yourself warned.)
“Push it, make the beats go harder... Push it, make the beats go harder...”
“I was angry when I met you... I think I'm angry still... We can try to talk it over... If you say you'll help me out.”
Garbage, the Scottish-American alternative band comprising multi-instrumentalists Shirley Manson, Steve Marker, Duke Erikson, and Butch Vig, exploded onto the scene with their 1995 self-titled album, bringing such hits as “Only Happy When It Rains” (US #55, US Modern Rock #16), and “Stupid Girl” (US #24, Mod Rock #2).
The self-deprecating name of the band originates from an early criticism of their musical output as sounding “like garbage”. Possessing a sense of humor about the statement, they decided to make it front and center in regards to the band, which was lucky for us, and all the alternative station listening, 120 Minutes watchers out there!
“Push It” was the lead single from Garbage's 1998 sophomore effort Version 2.0, and it interpolates a portion of the chorus of The Beach Boys’ 1964 hit “Don’t Worry Baby”, as well as the title repetition of Salt N Pepa’s 1986 hip hop classic that shares the same name. It also features what has become known as the “Amen Break”, a widely used drum loop sample pulled from the 1969 recording “Amen, Brother” by The Winstons.
“I'm sorry that I hurt you... Please don't ask me why... I want to see you happy... I want to see you shine.”
Manson has stated that the song is about the personal conflict between your true self, and the pressure to fit in socially. Given as she is co-author of the song, I don't doubt her songwriting intent, however, I always had a slightly different take on it, as I believed the song to contain two distinct personas.
The first persona, singing the verses and chorus, is battling destructive internal demons, while the second (singing the “Don’t Worry Baby” bridge) is a sympathetic figure, offering their support to the first individual.
When the first voice sings “Push It, make the beats go harder” in the chorus, I take that to be the moment when they realize that only THEY can work through their issues, regardless of sympathy or assistance from anybody else. They must face and overcome their fears internally, because nobody else will do it for them.
Regardless of your take on the song’s story, I believe we can all agree that it is an aggressive rocker that represents the band’s output (and that of late 90s alt rock) quite nicely.
“This is the noise that keeps me awake... my head explodes and my body aches...”
A few months ago, I introduced the music of Shirley Manson and company to my 9 year old son. In specific, I played him “Push It”, its follow up “I Think I’m Paranoid”, and the aforementioned hits off their first LP, and he commented…
“I don’t get why these guys call themselves “Garbage”… They're really GOOD!!!”
As he is fascinated by Billboard chart history just as I am (I wonder where he gets THAT from?), he was astonished to learn that while “Push It” peaked high on the US Modern Rock and UK singles charts (#5, and #9, respectively), the alt rock classic stalled at #52 on the Hot 100, and didn’t even crack the top 40. It was also amazing to him that the debut LP representing “Stupid Girl” is, to date, Garbage’s ONLY US Top 40 single at US #24.
I declined to explain the stranglehold that hip hop and pop-soul had on the top 40 playlists of the time, resulting in outstanding songs from other genres getting unfairly overlooked and under-represented on the charts. That’ll be a discussion for another time.
So click that video window below, and follow the advice of Shirley, Duke, Butch, and Steve. Well... wait are you waiting for? Just “PUSH IT”!
(Be careful when watching the video though – it’s filled with intriguing and somewhat disturbing imagery that may prove unnerving to some faint hearted viewers, especially if viewed right before heading off to sleep. Consider yourself warned.)
“Push it, make the beats go harder... Push it, make the beats go harder...”
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