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Queer (Garbage song)
Encyclopedia
"Queer" is a 1995 song written, recorded
and produced by alternative rock
band Garbage
and was the second international single
to be taken from the band's multi-platinum debut studio album
Garbage
and followed up the band's debut hit "Vow
". In the United Kingdom
, where it was released as Garbage's fourth single
, it was their first Top 20 hit
.
With its ambiguous title and subdued trip-hop/rock
crossover structure, "Queer" quickly became a modern rock success for the fledgling band. "Queer" brought early attention to the group from its Stéphane Sednaoui
-directed
music video
which featured lead singer Shirley Manson
detaining, stripping and shaving the protagonist from a first-person perspective of the television viewer. The "Queer" video was later nominated in the Breakthrough Video category at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards
.
In 2007, "Queer" was remastered
and included on Garbage's greatest hits
album Absolute Garbage
.
around January 1994, recorded during informal studio sessions
between Butch Vig
, Duke Erikson
and Steve Marker
in Marker's home basement recording studio
in Madison
, Wisconsin
prior to Shirley Manson
joining the group. The band had been jamming
using an ADAT
eight-track
, AKAI
samplers
and a small drum kit
. The band had written around five songs that they felt were pretentious and lyrically simple and literal. They did not want Erikson to sing, even though he was a competent singer, but because they wanted to avoid sounding like their previous band Spooner
. Vig and Marker were uncomfortable with their vocals so tended to bury them deep in the mix or distort them with effects; on "Queer", Vig recorded a "scratch vocal" consisting of him screaming his way through. Most of the recorded work was a blend of Nine Inch Nails
and My Bloody Valentine, before wiping the results. Vig's inspiration for "Queer" came from a novel
he had read about a prostitute who was hired to make someone a man. "The kid is missing a few marbles. But then he realises that the woman who came to his room is also fucking his father."
After Marker saw Manson's group Angelfish
on 120 Minutes
, the band invited her to Vig and Marker's Smart Studios
to sing on a couple of songs, but after a "dreadful" first audition
, she returned to Angelfish. Manson eventually returned to Smart for a successful second audition, where she began to re-write "Queer" into a trip-hop arrangement
and fleshing out the then-skeletal "Vow
" and "Stupid Girl". Manson's lyrics for "Queer" were ambiguous, rather than literal, allowing the listener to make up their own mind about what the song was about. She also re-sung the "Queer" vocal in an understated style. It was then that the band knew that Garbage was going to work.
Garbage incorporated a sample of the drumline
from New Zealand
band Single Gun Theory
's track "Man of Straw" on "Queer"; this loop was layered
with an additional drum
part performed by Madison percussionist Clyde Stubblefield
, who was known for being the most sampled drummer
in history for his uncredited part on James Brown
's "Funky Drummer
". Vig opted to hire Stubblefield to play on the record rather than sample him ("You don't use a sample when the genius who played the sample lives down the street from you"); Stubblefield performed a drum part for both "Queer" and album cut "Not My Idea". Bass guitar
parts were completed by Milwaukee session bassist Mike Kashou. The band wanted to sample a clarinet
part from a Frank Sinatra
record, but the licensing for the sample would have been prohibitively expensive. Mulling over some options, such as having a session musician interpolate
the part themselves still led to having to pay a large royalty
. The idea was dropped. The band still liked the idea of using a clarinet, and recorded a part by Les Thimming on the final mix.
Manson later explained, "It's not, as you might think, to do with being gay
, but tolerance. My granny has the expression 'Or's queer, except thee and me, and sometimes even thee's queer', that is that you think you are normal and the rest of the world is freaky, but we're all equally to blame". Garbage didn't write the song to particularly appeal to the gay community
, however Erikson stated: "As musician
s, we're totally open to [the songs gay appeal]. There's been enough exposure to gay issues in the mainstream media
that people are finally ready to deal with it. Even if it's something controversial, people are still beginning to open up". Erikson added: "The song isn't about sex
at all, it's about the loss of innocence".
released "Queer" as the band's second single to alternative radio
in the United States
at the end of August 1995, upfront of the August 15th North America
n release date of Garbage. The song debuted at the end of September on the Modern Rock Tracks
chart at #30. "Queer" was the highest new entry that week. The following week, Garbage debuted on the Billboard 200
at #193, having spent the previous four weeks as a rising Heatseekers title. At the beginning of October, "Queer" debuted at #62 on the Hot 100 Airplay
chart. A week later "Queer" peaked at #57 on the airplay chart, as the song also broke into the Modern Rock top twenty (with an "Airpower" rating, meaning the song had registered over 900 detections on alternative radio). In mid-November, as Garbage had launched their first North American tour
remixes of "Queer" were sent to clubs
. "Queer" peaked at #12 on the Modern Rock chart in its ninth week, as Garbage climbed to #127 on the album chart. "Queer" spent another six weeks on the Modern Rock chart, before registering for the final time at #39 at the end of December 1995.
In October 1995, "Queer" was issued as the band's second single in Australia
and New Zealand
. White
issued a three-track CD single
and cassette single
backed with two newly-recorded tracks, "Girl Don't Come" and "Sleep", which had been recorded for the UK release of "Only Happy When It Rains
". "Queer" peaked at #55 in Australia, spending twelve weeks on the ARIA charts
. In New Zealand, "Queer" debuted on the RIANZ charts at #45 at the start of November, rising to a #37 peak three weeks later. Across Europe
, "Queer" was issued by BMG
in a similarly configured CD single; a three-track release backed with "Girl Don't Come" and "Sleep". In Belgium
's Wallonia-region, "Queer" peaked at #24 at the end of January 1996. "Queer" debuted and peaked at #7 in Iceland
the following month. "Queer" was resent to radio stations in Spain
backed with "Supervixen
", where it peaked at #33 on the airplay chart. In April 1996, performed "Queer" live on French television show Nulle Part Ailleurs and headlined a show at the Élysée Montmartre
in Paris
; BMG France
released a three-track CD single of "Queer" featuring "Trip My Wire" and the Rabbit In the Moon
remix.
Initially, Mushroom Records
had scheduled "Queer
" to be the lead single
for the UK release of the debut album Garbage, matching the international single release strategy. At last minute, it was decided to release "Only Happy When It Rains" upfront of the album, with "Queer" rescheduled to later in 1995 to coincide with the band's first UK live show. "Queer" was quickly picked up by radio, and was B-listed
by Radio One, whose breakfast slot DJ
Chris Evans
championed it as his "Single of the Week", and playlisted by Virgin Radio
. "Queer" reached #35 on the airplay chart. Mushroom issued the single on a limited edition 7" vinyl and a gold and silver CD single
set on November 20, 1995. Each CD single was backed with a newly recorded track; "Trip My Wire" on the first and a cover version
of The Jam
's "Butterfly Collector
" on the second. Four remixes of the title track were spread out across the CDs, with one also appearing on the flipside of the vinyl. Early indications showed that the single had a midweek
position of #10, however at the end of its first week on-sale, "Queer" debuted on the UK Singles Chart
at #13. That week, Garbage made a live appearance to perform the single on Top of The Pops
, and performed both "Queer" and "Only Happy When it Rains" on MTV's Most Wanted
.
had a longer time to design the package than the other singles; this was a result of "Queer" being held back three months so that "Only Happy When It Rains" could launch the album. Garbage's original suggestion for "Queer" was to create a jade velvet
box, and burn both "Garbage" and "Queer" into the fabric. Mushroom vetoed the idea over the cost. The label sourced a plastics company to create the case, which was made from injection-molded
polystyrene
, similar to the process of manufacturing jewel cases. The company charged Mushroom £10,000 to have the mould created. The end product was finished with frosted effect
for the "G" logo
, which was sticker
ed, and within placed the vinyl record in a card picture sleeve; this cost Mushroom £2.21 per unit (a loss of 95p for each sale). The production run consisted of 5,000 copies which were all numbered before distribution. To protect the plastic case, all copies were sealed and inserted into a bubble-wrap wallet. Initial copies were also sold within a pink logo-branded carrier bag.
The music video
for "Queer" directed by Stéphane Sednaoui
for Propaganda Films
and was filmed in July 1995 in Los Angeles
. Sedanoui's video concept
developed from his own personal experience of being "shredded into pieces" by a beautiful woman. Garbage loved his storyboard
for "Queer", feeling it matched the ambiguous nature of the song. Manson had chosen Sednaoui as director after she saw the "Big Time Sensuality
" music video he directed for Björk
. "He doesn't just take an idea an apply it to different artists, he seems to be able to figure out where the artist is coming from and make the photographs and the videos unique to that group" she later recalled.
The black and white storyline of the video saw a young male's first person perspective
of exiting an elevator
onto a Los Angeles street and meeting Manson. She coyly entices him to follow her to her home where the men from Garbage are waiting. They detain him inside, forcing him up onto the second-level of the house, where Manson throws him to the floor, strips him of his clothing and blinds him with gaffer tape
. He recovers to find Manson shaving his head, before she drags him outside by his legs. He is then seen strangely happy, and in full colour, leaving the street.
Sednaoui operated the camera for the whole shoot. To capture the victim's struggle, Sednaoui positioned the camera
at ground-level facing upwards towards Garbage, who were standing on a rotating platform. To suggest the victim was almost hallucinating, strobe lighting was combined with the rotation of the platform, however the effect caused the band to suffer from vertigo
after a number of takes. Manson later claimed that the video helped establish her group; "He really defined for us who we were visually. Stéphane was able to look at the band and listen to the music and figure out what was the perfect visual partner for the band. People think we're a very stylish band, and it's all to do with him". She added, "I'm really proud of "Queer", I think it's one of our best videos."
The "Queer" video premiered on North American networks on August 14, 1995; where it was given heavy support by MTV, who certified it a Buzz Clip
. MTV requested an edit to obscure the shot of Manson blinding the video's protagonist
before playlisting it. The music video for "Queer" was nominated in the Breakthrough Video category at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards
(it lost to Smashing Pumpkins' "Tonight, Tonight"). The silver dress Manson wore in the video was later donated to the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada
for indefinite display.
The "Queer" video was first commercially released, accompanied with out-take footage from the shoot, on 1996's Garbage Video
VHS
and Video-CD. A remastered version was included on Garbage's 2007 greatest hits DVD Absolute Garbage and made available as a digital download
via online music services
the same year.
"Queer" was the first Garbage single to include remix
es as a commercial b-side; Mushroom spread four across the UK formats. These were completed by producers Adrian Sherwood
, Danny Saber
, Depeche Mode
's Martin Gore
and Florida
-based group Rabbit In the Moon
. Almo serviced both the Adrian Sherwood and two Rabbit In the Moon mixes to North American clubs. In 1996, the same remixes from the UK release of "Queer" were later used for the Australian pressings of "Stupid Girl" and the Danny Saber mix featured on the b-side to "Only Happy When it Rains" in Europe. The Danny Saber mix also saw inclusion on the bonus disc of the Australian Tour Edition of Garbage's debut album. At the end of the year, Almo re-serviced the Heftybag remix of "Queer" to clubs, along with Rabbit In the Moon's mixes of "Milk
". In 1997, Mushroom released a set of four commercial 12" vinyl remix sets to record stores in the United Kingdom, the first was titled Queer Remixes and included the Danny Saber mix, and the Heftybag mix which had not been released in the UK at that point. In 2007, the Heftybag mix was remastered and included on the Absolute Garbage bonus disc Garbage Mixes.
article highlighting the campaign for the debut albums release wrote, ""Queer" is eerily reminiscent of Magazine
's stranger moments". A reviewer for NME
wrote that the single was "an ode to recognising and tolerating those mis-shapen
ones among us", and when reviewing the album, their own Shannon O'Connell wrote, "there is a bit of Pat Benatar
in [this songs] back-alley swagger". A reviewer for VOX
described "Queer" as "Voice of the Beehive
roughing up L7
", Jackie Hinden of Hot Press
wrote that the song was "a slinky work-out against a restrained work-to-rule
industrial
backing", while a writer for Melody Maker
wrote that "Queer" was "sleek, cultivated perversion
... sinister and menacing". Kerrang!
rated "Queer" as their Single of the Week, stating "an incredible knee-trembling fuck tune... the dirtiest pop tune you'll hear all year. [You'll be] sucked into dark satin
sexiness and you'll never want to leave. Gorgeously decadent and utterly fabulous"; Hot Press made it their Single of the Fortnight: "Almost indecently brilliant. There's an intelligence at work here in the lyrics and in the music which makes "Queer" a unique proposition, and Garbage utterly indispensable". A reviewer for Raw
wrote, "it's brilliant. Seductive and slow-burning", while the single reviewer for NME added "[Manson's] performance on "Queer" elevates a sing-song shuffle
into a lullaby
to sexual non-conformity".
Recording
Recording is the process of capturing data or translating information to a recording format stored on some storage medium, which is often referred to as a record or, if an auditory medium, a recording....
and produced by alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Garbage
Garbage (band)
Garbage are an alternative rock band formed in Madison, Wisconsin in 1994. The group consists of Scottish singer Shirley Manson and American musicians Duke Erikson , Steve Marker and Butch Vig . All four members are involved in songwriting and production...
and was the second international single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
to be taken from the band's multi-platinum debut studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
Garbage
Garbage (album)
Garbage is the debut album by Scottish/American alternative rock group Garbage. It was released in the late summer and autumn of 1995 worldwide, following critical acclaim and promising chart positions for their debut single "Vow", which entered the Billboard Hot 100.Garbage eventually spent over a...
and followed up the band's debut hit "Vow
Vow (Garbage song)
"Vow" is a 1994 song written, recorded and produced by alternative rock band Garbage and was released as their debut single in early 1995. The song, which had its themes of revenge and retaliation inspired by a newspaper article on domestic abuse, began as a demo during sessions between band...
". In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, where it was released as Garbage's fourth single
Garbage discography
Garbage is a Scottish-American alternative rock band formed in Madison, Wisconsin in 1994. The group's discography consists of four studio albums, a greatest-hits compilation album, an extended play compilation, twenty-four singles, twenty-five music videos , and two music-video compilations...
, it was their first Top 20 hit
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
.
With its ambiguous title and subdued trip-hop/rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
crossover structure, "Queer" quickly became a modern rock success for the fledgling band. "Queer" brought early attention to the group from its Stéphane Sednaoui
Stéphane Sednaoui
Stéphane Sednaoui is a French-American photographer, director and producer whose work includes music videos, art projects, photographic essays, portrait photography, fashion photography and photojournalism....
-directed
Music video director
A music video director is driven by a given music track. These are called music videos and are then used as promotional tools for popular music singles...
music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
which featured lead singer Shirley Manson
Shirley Manson
Shirley Anne Manson is a Scottish recording artist and actress, best known internationally as the lead singer of the alternative rock band Garbage. For much of her international career Manson commuted between her home city of Edinburgh to the United States to record with Garbage but now lives and...
detaining, stripping and shaving the protagonist from a first-person perspective of the television viewer. The "Queer" video was later nominated in the Breakthrough Video category at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards
1996 MTV Video Music Awards
The 1996 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 4, 1996, honoring the best music videos from June 16, 1995, to June 14, 1996. The show was hosted by Dennis Miller at Radio City Music Hall in New York City....
.
In 2007, "Queer" was remastered
Audio mastering
Mastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
and included on Garbage's greatest hits
Greatest hits
A greatest hits album is a music compilation album of successful, previously released songs by a particular artist or band...
album Absolute Garbage
Absolute Garbage
Absolute Garbage is the 2007 greatest hits album released by alternative rock group Garbage. The album was compiled and released by Geffen imprint Almo Sounds through Universal Music Enterprises backcatalogue division in North America and Warner Music's record label A&E Records throughout the rest...
.
Song
"Queer" began as a rough demoDemo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
around January 1994, recorded during informal studio sessions
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
between Butch Vig
Butch Vig
Butch Vig is an American musician and record producer, best known internationally as the drummer of the Madison, Wisconsin-based alternative rock band Garbage and the producer of multi-platinum selling album Nevermind by Nirvana....
, Duke Erikson
Duke Erikson
Douglas Elwin Erickson , better known as Duke Erikson, is a founding member of the band Garbage. At 16 years old he formed his first band, The British. Erickson studied art history, and financed his studies with numerous jobs such as carpenter or truck driver...
and Steve Marker
Steve Marker
Steve Marker is an American musician and record producer, best known internationally as the guitarist of the Madison, Wisconsin-based alternative rock band Garbage.-Early life:...
in Marker's home basement recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
in Madison
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
prior to Shirley Manson
Shirley Manson
Shirley Anne Manson is a Scottish recording artist and actress, best known internationally as the lead singer of the alternative rock band Garbage. For much of her international career Manson commuted between her home city of Edinburgh to the United States to record with Garbage but now lives and...
joining the group. The band had been jamming
Jam session
Jam sessions are often used by musicians to develop new material, find suitable arrangements, or simply as a social gathering and communal practice session. Jam sessions may be based upon existing songs or forms, may be loosely based on an agreed chord progression or chart suggested by one...
using an ADAT
ADAT
Alesis Digital Audio Tape or ADAT is a magnetic tape format used for the simultaneous digital recording of eight analog audio or digital audio tracks at once, onto a Super VHS tape that is used by consumer VCRs.- History :...
eight-track
Multitrack recording
Multitrack recording is a method of sound recording that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources to create a cohesive whole...
, AKAI
Akai
Akai is a consumer electronics brand, founded by Saburo Akai as , a Japanese manufacturer in 1929. It is now headquartered in Singapore as a subsidiary of Grande Holdings, a Hong Kong-based conglomerate, which also owns the formerly Japanese brands Nakamichi and Sansui. The Akai brand is now used...
samplers
Sampler (musical instrument)
A sampler is an electronic musical instrument similar in some respects to a synthesizer but, instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or...
and a small drum kit
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
. The band had written around five songs that they felt were pretentious and lyrically simple and literal. They did not want Erikson to sing, even though he was a competent singer, but because they wanted to avoid sounding like their previous band Spooner
Spooner (band)
Spooner was a Midwestern rock band formed in 1974 in Madison, WI, by vocalist and songwriter Doug Erikson, songwriter/guitarist/vocalist Bob Olsen, and guitarist/vocalist Dave Benton originally as an acoustic/electric trio. between 1975 and 1978, the group had undergone several line-up changes,...
. Vig and Marker were uncomfortable with their vocals so tended to bury them deep in the mix or distort them with effects; on "Queer", Vig recorded a "scratch vocal" consisting of him screaming his way through. Most of the recorded work was a blend of Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
and My Bloody Valentine, before wiping the results. Vig's inspiration for "Queer" came from a novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
he had read about a prostitute who was hired to make someone a man. "The kid is missing a few marbles. But then he realises that the woman who came to his room is also fucking his father."
After Marker saw Manson's group Angelfish
Angelfish (band)
Angelfish was a short-lived mid-1990s alternative rock group originating from Edinburgh, Scotland, formed as a side-project to Scottish group Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie, after keyboardist and backing vocalist Shirley Manson was signed as a solo artist to circumvent the Mackenzies' existing record contract...
on 120 Minutes
120 Minutes
120 Minutes is a television show in the United States dedicated to alternative music, originally airing on MTV from 1986 to 2000, and then on MTV's sister channel MTV2 from 2001 to 2003....
, the band invited her to Vig and Marker's Smart Studios
Smart Studios
Smart Studios was a recording studio located at 1254 E Washington Ave in Madison, Wisconsin. It was set up in 1983 by Butch Vig and Steve Marker to produce local bands....
to sing on a couple of songs, but after a "dreadful" first audition
Audition
An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performing artist.Audition may also refer to:* The sense of hearing* Adobe Audition, audio editing software...
, she returned to Angelfish. Manson eventually returned to Smart for a successful second audition, where she began to re-write "Queer" into a trip-hop arrangement
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
and fleshing out the then-skeletal "Vow
Vow (Garbage song)
"Vow" is a 1994 song written, recorded and produced by alternative rock band Garbage and was released as their debut single in early 1995. The song, which had its themes of revenge and retaliation inspired by a newspaper article on domestic abuse, began as a demo during sessions between band...
" and "Stupid Girl". Manson's lyrics for "Queer" were ambiguous, rather than literal, allowing the listener to make up their own mind about what the song was about. She also re-sung the "Queer" vocal in an understated style. It was then that the band knew that Garbage was going to work.
Garbage incorporated a sample of the drumline
Drumline
A drumline is a section of percussion instruments usually played as part of a musical marching ensemble. High school and college marching bands, drill and drum corps, drum and bugle corps, indoor percussion ensembles, and pipe bands usually incorporate drumlines; however, drumlines can exist...
from New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
band Single Gun Theory
Single Gun Theory
Single Gun Theory is an Australian band made up of Jacqui Hunt , Pete Rivett-Carnac and Kath Power , recording on the Canadian label Nettwerk. Their music combines elements of downtempo electronic dance music with introspective, ethereal vocals and samples of dialogue...
's track "Man of Straw" on "Queer"; this loop was layered
Multitrack recording
Multitrack recording is a method of sound recording that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources to create a cohesive whole...
with an additional drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
part performed by Madison percussionist Clyde Stubblefield
Clyde Stubblefield
Clyde Stubblefield is a drummer best known for his work with James Brown.Stubblefield's recordings with James Brown are considered to be some of the standard-bearers for funk drumming, including the singles "Cold Sweat", "There Was A Time", "I Got The Feelin'", "Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm...
, who was known for being the most sampled drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
in history for his uncredited part on James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
's "Funky Drummer
Funky drummer
"Funky Drummer" is a funk song recorded by James Brown and his band. The recording's drum break, performed by drummer Clyde Stubblefield, is one of the most frequently sampled rhythmic breaks in hip hop and popular music; indeed, it lays a strong claim to being the most sampled recording ever,...
". Vig opted to hire Stubblefield to play on the record rather than sample him ("You don't use a sample when the genius who played the sample lives down the street from you"); Stubblefield performed a drum part for both "Queer" and album cut "Not My Idea". Bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
parts were completed by Milwaukee session bassist Mike Kashou. The band wanted to sample a clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
part from a Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
record, but the licensing for the sample would have been prohibitively expensive. Mulling over some options, such as having a session musician interpolate
Interpolation
In the mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a method of constructing new data points within the range of a discrete set of known data points....
the part themselves still led to having to pay a large royalty
Royalties
Royalties are usage-based payments made by one party to another for the right to ongoing use of an asset, sometimes an intellectual property...
. The idea was dropped. The band still liked the idea of using a clarinet, and recorded a part by Les Thimming on the final mix.
Manson later explained, "It's not, as you might think, to do with being gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, but tolerance. My granny has the expression 'Or's queer, except thee and me, and sometimes even thee's queer', that is that you think you are normal and the rest of the world is freaky, but we're all equally to blame". Garbage didn't write the song to particularly appeal to the gay community
Gay community
The gay community, or LGBT community, is a loosely defined grouping of LGBT and LGBT-supportive people, organizations and subcultures, united by a common culture and civil rights movements. These communities generally celebrate pride, diversity, individuality, and sexuality...
, however Erikson stated: "As musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
s, we're totally open to [the songs gay appeal]. There's been enough exposure to gay issues in the mainstream media
Mainstream media
Mainstream media are those media disseminated via the largest distribution channels, which therefore represent what the majority of media consumers are likely to encounter...
that people are finally ready to deal with it. Even if it's something controversial, people are still beginning to open up". Erikson added: "The song isn't about sex
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
at all, it's about the loss of innocence".
Single release
Almo SoundsAlmo Sounds
Almo Sounds is a record label which was started in 1994 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss after they sold A&M Records to PolyGram. The intent of the label was to recreate the initial concept of A&M Records as a small, "boutique" label....
released "Queer" as the band's second single to alternative radio
Alternative Radio
Alternative Radio is an internationally syndicated, one-hour, weekly radio program, featuring serious interviews with humanitarian and progressive thinkers. Begun in 1986, it evolved from a program that journalist David Barsamian hosted on community radio station KGNU-FM, in Boulder, Colorado. AR...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
at the end of August 1995, upfront of the August 15th North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n release date of Garbage. The song debuted at the end of September on the Modern Rock Tracks
Modern Rock Tracks
Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs...
chart at #30. "Queer" was the highest new entry that week. The following week, Garbage debuted on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
at #193, having spent the previous four weeks as a rising Heatseekers title. At the beginning of October, "Queer" debuted at #62 on the Hot 100 Airplay
Hot 100 Airplay
The Hot 100 Airplay chart is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It measures radio airplay, and is one of the three component charts, along with the Hot Singles Sales and the Hot Digital Songs charts, that determine the chart positions of singles on the Billboard...
chart. A week later "Queer" peaked at #57 on the airplay chart, as the song also broke into the Modern Rock top twenty (with an "Airpower" rating, meaning the song had registered over 900 detections on alternative radio). In mid-November, as Garbage had launched their first North American tour
Garbage tour
The Garbage tour was the first world concert tour cycle completed by American/Scottish alternative rock group Garbage, which took the band throughout North America, Europe, Japan, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand in support of its self-titled debut album Garbage...
remixes of "Queer" were sent to clubs
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
. "Queer" peaked at #12 on the Modern Rock chart in its ninth week, as Garbage climbed to #127 on the album chart. "Queer" spent another six weeks on the Modern Rock chart, before registering for the final time at #39 at the end of December 1995.
In October 1995, "Queer" was issued as the band's second single in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. White
Mushroom Records
Mushroom Records is an Australian recoJrd company formed by Michael Gudinski and Ray Evans in Melbourne in 1972. After its sale in 1998, it merged into Festival Mushroom Records. From 2005 to 2009, it is one of the record labels operated by Warner Bros...
issued a three-track CD single
CD single
A CD single is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact Disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single, which uses a smaller form factor. The format was introduced in the mid-1980s, but did not gain its place in the market until the early 1990s...
and cassette single
Cassette single
A cassette single is a music single in the form of a Compact Cassette.- History :...
backed with two newly-recorded tracks, "Girl Don't Come" and "Sleep", which had been recorded for the UK release of "Only Happy When It Rains
Only Happy When It Rains
"Only Happy When It Rains" was a single written, recorded and produced by alternative rock group Garbage at their own recording studio, Smart Studios, in Madison, Wisconsin...
". "Queer" peaked at #55 in Australia, spending twelve weeks on the ARIA charts
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
. In New Zealand, "Queer" debuted on the RIANZ charts at #45 at the start of November, rising to a #37 peak three weeks later. Across Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, "Queer" was issued by BMG
BMG
Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
in a similarly configured CD single; a three-track release backed with "Girl Don't Come" and "Sleep". In Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
's Wallonia-region, "Queer" peaked at #24 at the end of January 1996. "Queer" debuted and peaked at #7 in Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
the following month. "Queer" was resent to radio stations in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
backed with "Supervixen
Supervixen
"Supervixen" is a 1995 song written, recorded and produced by alternative rock group Garbage, and was the opening track of the band's self-titled debut album. "Supervixen" was titled after Russ Meyer's 1975 violent love-triangle movie Supervixens....
", where it peaked at #33 on the airplay chart. In April 1996, performed "Queer" live on French television show Nulle Part Ailleurs and headlined a show at the Élysée Montmartre
Elysée Montmartre
Open in 1807, the Élysée Montmartre is a music venue, at 72 Boulevard de Rochechouart, in Paris, France. It has a capacity of 1,200 patrons. The nearest métro station is Anvers.In 1900, the venue was damaged by fire, and was re-decorated...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
; BMG France
BMG
Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
released a three-track CD single of "Queer" featuring "Trip My Wire" and the Rabbit In the Moon
Rabbit In the Moon
Rabbit in the Moon was an American electronic music group. Their style draws from psychedelic trance, house music and breakbeat, along with other diverse influences.-History:...
remix.
Initially, Mushroom Records
Mushroom Records
Mushroom Records is an Australian recoJrd company formed by Michael Gudinski and Ray Evans in Melbourne in 1972. After its sale in 1998, it merged into Festival Mushroom Records. From 2005 to 2009, it is one of the record labels operated by Warner Bros...
had scheduled "Queer
Queer (Garbage song)
"Queer" is a 1995 song written, recorded and produced by alternative rock band Garbage and was the second international single to be taken from the band's multi-platinum debut studio album Garbage and followed up the band's debut hit "Vow"...
" to be the lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
for the UK release of the debut album Garbage, matching the international single release strategy. At last minute, it was decided to release "Only Happy When It Rains" upfront of the album, with "Queer" rescheduled to later in 1995 to coincide with the band's first UK live show. "Queer" was quickly picked up by radio, and was B-listed
Playlist
In its most general form, a playlist is simply a list of songs. They can be played in sequential or shuffled order. The term has several specialized meanings in the realms of radio broadcasting and personal computers.-In radio:...
by Radio One, whose breakfast slot DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
Chris Evans
Chris Evans
Christopher James "Chris" Evans is an English broadcaster, businessman and producer for radio & television.-Early life:Evans was born in 1966, in Warrington, Cheshire, England, the youngest child of bookmaker...
championed it as his "Single of the Week", and playlisted by Virgin Radio
Virgin Radio
Absolute Radio is one of the UK's three Independent National Radio stations. The station rebranded to its current name at 7.45am on 29 September 2008.The station is based in London and plays popular rock music...
. "Queer" reached #35 on the airplay chart. Mushroom issued the single on a limited edition 7" vinyl and a gold and silver CD single
CD single
A CD single is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact Disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single, which uses a smaller form factor. The format was introduced in the mid-1980s, but did not gain its place in the market until the early 1990s...
set on November 20, 1995. Each CD single was backed with a newly recorded track; "Trip My Wire" on the first and a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of The Jam
The Jam
The Jam were an English punk rock/New Wave/mod revival band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were formed in Woking, Surrey. While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore smartly tailored suits rather than ripped...
's "Butterfly Collector
Strange Town
The song "Strange Town" was released on 17 March 1979 by The Jam and reached #15 in the UK singles chart.Backed by the Paul Weller-penned "The Butterfly Collector", the single was one of many The Jam singles that did not appear on any of the band's studio albums. "Strange Town" appears on the...
" on the second. Four remixes of the title track were spread out across the CDs, with one also appearing on the flipside of the vinyl. Early indications showed that the single had a midweek
Midweeks
Midweeks are lists of sales figures for music albums and singles in the United Kingdom during the period between the weekly chart publication on Sundays...
position of #10, however at the end of its first week on-sale, "Queer" debuted on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
at #13. That week, Garbage made a live appearance to perform the single on Top of The Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
, and performed both "Queer" and "Only Happy When it Rains" on MTV's Most Wanted
MTV's Most Wanted
MTV's Most Wanted was a 1990s MTV Europe television series broadcast from London, England, presented by Ray Cokes. It ran from 1992 until 1995....
.
Commercial track listings
- Australia cassette single White C1211
- Australia CD single White D1211
- Europe CD single BMG 74321 32776 2
- "Queer" – 4:05
- "Girl Don't Come" – 2:33
- "Sleep" – 2:31
- UK 7" Crystal™ sleeve Mushroom SX1237
- "Queer" – 4:04
- "Queer (The Very Queer Dub Bin) – 5:12
- UK CD1 Mushroom D1237
- "Queer" – 4:04
- "Trip My Wire" – 4:29
- "Queer" (The Very Queer Dub Bin) – 5:12
- "Queer" (The Most Beautiful Woman in Town mix) – 5:36
- UK CD2 Mushroom DX1237
- "Queer" – 4:04
- "Butterfly Collector" – 3:41
- "Queer" (F.T.F.O.I. mix) – 7:17
- "Queer" (Danny Saber mix) – 5:39
- France CD single BMG France 74321 38220 2
- "Queer" – 4:05
- "Queer" (F.T.F.O.I. mix) – 7:17
- "Trip My Wire" – 4:29
- UK 12" (Queer Remixes) Mushroom TRASH12
- "Queer" (Rabbit In the Moon Hefty mix) – 9:10
- "Queer" (Danny Saber mix) – 5:39
Collector's format
As the band had received significant attention from the special packaging of their first three releases, "Queer" was also released in this manner. Mushroom's product managerProduct Manager
A product manager investigates, selects, and develops products for an organization, performing the activities of product management.A product manager considers numerous factors such as intended demographic, the products offered by the competition, and how well the product fits with the company's...
had a longer time to design the package than the other singles; this was a result of "Queer" being held back three months so that "Only Happy When It Rains" could launch the album. Garbage's original suggestion for "Queer" was to create a jade velvet
Velvet
Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed,with a short dense pile, giving it a distinctive feel.The word 'velvety' is used as an adjective to mean -"smooth like velvet".-Composition:...
box, and burn both "Garbage" and "Queer" into the fabric. Mushroom vetoed the idea over the cost. The label sourced a plastics company to create the case, which was made from injection-molded
Injection molding
Injection molding is a manufacturing process for producing parts from both thermoplastic and thermosetting plastic materials. Material is fed into a heated barrel, mixed, and forced into a mold cavity where it cools and hardens to the configuration of the cavity...
polystyrene
Polystyrene
Polystyrene ) also known as Thermocole, abbreviated following ISO Standard PS, is an aromatic polymer made from the monomer styrene, a liquid hydrocarbon that is manufactured from petroleum by the chemical industry...
, similar to the process of manufacturing jewel cases. The company charged Mushroom £10,000 to have the mould created. The end product was finished with frosted effect
Frosting (decorative arts)
A decorative art technique based on the climatatogical nature of frost is the technique of Frosting.-Examples of ancient Egyptian steles:Eventually Ancient Egyptian steles became more than just statements about a topic or events, and became a means of decoration. Later period steles were made in...
for the "G" logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...
, which was sticker
Sticker
A sticker is a type of a piece of paper or plastic, adhesive, sticky on one side, and usually with a design on the other. They can be used for decoration, depending on the situation. They can come in many different shapes, sizes and colours and are put on things such as lunchboxes, in children's...
ed, and within placed the vinyl record in a card picture sleeve; this cost Mushroom £2.21 per unit (a loss of 95p for each sale). The production run consisted of 5,000 copies which were all numbered before distribution. To protect the plastic case, all copies were sealed and inserted into a bubble-wrap wallet. Initial copies were also sold within a pink logo-branded carrier bag.
Music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Queer" directed by Stéphane Sednaoui
Stéphane Sednaoui
Stéphane Sednaoui is a French-American photographer, director and producer whose work includes music videos, art projects, photographic essays, portrait photography, fashion photography and photojournalism....
for Propaganda Films
Propaganda Films
Propaganda Films was a prolific and successful music video and film production company founded in 1983 by producers Steve Golin and Sigurjón Sighvatsson and directors David Fincher, Nigel Dick, Greg Gold and Dominic Sena...
and was filmed in July 1995 in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Sedanoui's video concept
Concept
The word concept is used in ordinary language as well as in almost all academic disciplines. Particularly in philosophy, psychology and cognitive sciences the term is much used and much discussed. WordNet defines concept: "conception, construct ". However, the meaning of the term concept is much...
developed from his own personal experience of being "shredded into pieces" by a beautiful woman. Garbage loved his storyboard
Storyboard
Storyboards are graphic organizers in the form of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence....
for "Queer", feeling it matched the ambiguous nature of the song. Manson had chosen Sednaoui as director after she saw the "Big Time Sensuality
Big Time Sensuality
"Big Time Sensuality" is a song by Björk, released as the fourth single from her 1993 album Debut. The song helped boost Björk's popularity worldwide, particularly the U.S., where she charted for the first time.-Background:...
" music video he directed for Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
. "He doesn't just take an idea an apply it to different artists, he seems to be able to figure out where the artist is coming from and make the photographs and the videos unique to that group" she later recalled.
The black and white storyline of the video saw a young male's first person perspective
First-person narrative
First-person point of view is a narrative mode where a story is narrated by one character at a time, speaking for and about themselves. First-person narrative may be singular, plural or multiple as well as being an authoritative, reliable or deceptive "voice" and represents point of view in the...
of exiting an elevator
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
onto a Los Angeles street and meeting Manson. She coyly entices him to follow her to her home where the men from Garbage are waiting. They detain him inside, forcing him up onto the second-level of the house, where Manson throws him to the floor, strips him of his clothing and blinds him with gaffer tape
Gaffer tape
Gaffer tape, gaffer's tape, gaff tape or gaffa tape is a strong, tough, cotton cloth pressure sensitive tape with strong adhesive properties. It is used in theater, film and television productions as well as during live performances and any other kind of stage work...
. He recovers to find Manson shaving his head, before she drags him outside by his legs. He is then seen strangely happy, and in full colour, leaving the street.
Sednaoui operated the camera for the whole shoot. To capture the victim's struggle, Sednaoui positioned the camera
Camera
A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...
at ground-level facing upwards towards Garbage, who were standing on a rotating platform. To suggest the victim was almost hallucinating, strobe lighting was combined with the rotation of the platform, however the effect caused the band to suffer from vertigo
Vertigo
Vertigo is a form of dizziness.Vertigo may also refer to:* Vertigo , a 1958 film by Alfred Hitchcock**Vertigo , its soundtrack** Vertigo effect, or Dolly zoom, a special effect in film, named after the movie...
after a number of takes. Manson later claimed that the video helped establish her group; "He really defined for us who we were visually. Stéphane was able to look at the band and listen to the music and figure out what was the perfect visual partner for the band. People think we're a very stylish band, and it's all to do with him". She added, "I'm really proud of "Queer", I think it's one of our best videos."
The "Queer" video premiered on North American networks on August 14, 1995; where it was given heavy support by MTV, who certified it a Buzz Clip
Buzz Bin
MTV's Buzz Bin was a select group of music videos by up and coming artists and bands that the network deemed "buzz worthy", "cutting edge", or "the next big thing"...
. MTV requested an edit to obscure the shot of Manson blinding the video's protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
before playlisting it. The music video for "Queer" was nominated in the Breakthrough Video category at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards
1996 MTV Video Music Awards
The 1996 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 4, 1996, honoring the best music videos from June 16, 1995, to June 14, 1996. The show was hosted by Dennis Miller at Radio City Music Hall in New York City....
(it lost to Smashing Pumpkins' "Tonight, Tonight"). The silver dress Manson wore in the video was later donated to the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
for indefinite display.
The "Queer" video was first commercially released, accompanied with out-take footage from the shoot, on 1996's Garbage Video
Garbage Video
Garbage Video, also known as Home Video, was a 1996 short-form VHS and Video CD release that included all of Garbage's promotional music videos filmed up until that point...
VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
and Video-CD. A remastered version was included on Garbage's 2007 greatest hits DVD Absolute Garbage and made available as a digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
via online music services
Online music store
An online music store is an online business which sells audio files, usually music, on a per-song and/or subscription basis. It may be differentiated from music streaming services in that the music store offers the actual music file, while streaming services offer partial or full listening without...
the same year.
Alternate versions
| Track title | Length | Remixer/Producer |
|---|---|---|
| "Queer" (Radio edit) | 4:06 | Garbage Garbage (band) Garbage are an alternative rock band formed in Madison, Wisconsin in 1994. The group consists of Scottish singer Shirley Manson and American musicians Duke Erikson , Steve Marker and Butch Vig . All four members are involved in songwriting and production... |
| "Queer" (The Very Queer Dub Bin) | 5:12 | Adrian Sherwood Adrian Sherwood Adrian Sherwood is an English record producer best known for his work with dub music as well as for remixing a number of popular acts such as Coldcut, Depeche Mode, The Woodentops, Primal Scream, Pop Will Eat Itself, Sinéad O'Connor, and Skinny Puppy... |
| "Queer" (The Most Beautiful Woman In Town mix) | 5:36 | Martin Gore Martin Gore Martin Lee Gore is an English songwriter, lyricist, singer, guitarist, keyboardist, remixer and DJ. He is a founding member of Depeche Mode and has written the vast majority of their songs... |
| "Queer" (F.T.F.O.I. mix) | 7:17 | Rabbit in the Moon Rabbit In the Moon Rabbit in the Moon was an American electronic music group. Their style draws from psychedelic trance, house music and breakbeat, along with other diverse influences.-History:... |
| "Queer" (Heftybag mix) | 9:10 | |
| "Queer" (Danny Saber mix) | 5:39 | Danny Saber Danny Saber Danny Saber is a Los Angeles, California musician, audio engineer, record producer, and remixer. A former member of Black Grape and Agent Provocateur, Saber plays guitar, bass, organ, and keyboards, and is also a prominent Los Angeles DJ.... |
"Queer" was the first Garbage single to include remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
es as a commercial b-side; Mushroom spread four across the UK formats. These were completed by producers Adrian Sherwood
Adrian Sherwood
Adrian Sherwood is an English record producer best known for his work with dub music as well as for remixing a number of popular acts such as Coldcut, Depeche Mode, The Woodentops, Primal Scream, Pop Will Eat Itself, Sinéad O'Connor, and Skinny Puppy...
, Danny Saber
Danny Saber
Danny Saber is a Los Angeles, California musician, audio engineer, record producer, and remixer. A former member of Black Grape and Agent Provocateur, Saber plays guitar, bass, organ, and keyboards, and is also a prominent Los Angeles DJ....
, Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
's Martin Gore
Martin Gore
Martin Lee Gore is an English songwriter, lyricist, singer, guitarist, keyboardist, remixer and DJ. He is a founding member of Depeche Mode and has written the vast majority of their songs...
and Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
-based group Rabbit In the Moon
Rabbit In the Moon
Rabbit in the Moon was an American electronic music group. Their style draws from psychedelic trance, house music and breakbeat, along with other diverse influences.-History:...
. Almo serviced both the Adrian Sherwood and two Rabbit In the Moon mixes to North American clubs. In 1996, the same remixes from the UK release of "Queer" were later used for the Australian pressings of "Stupid Girl" and the Danny Saber mix featured on the b-side to "Only Happy When it Rains" in Europe. The Danny Saber mix also saw inclusion on the bonus disc of the Australian Tour Edition of Garbage's debut album. At the end of the year, Almo re-serviced the Heftybag remix of "Queer" to clubs, along with Rabbit In the Moon's mixes of "Milk
Milk (Garbage song)
"Milk" is a 1996 single written, recorded and produced by alternative rock group Garbage. "Milk" was issued as the fifth and final single to be taken from the band's multi-platinum debut album Garbage...
". In 1997, Mushroom released a set of four commercial 12" vinyl remix sets to record stores in the United Kingdom, the first was titled Queer Remixes and included the Danny Saber mix, and the Heftybag mix which had not been released in the UK at that point. In 2007, the Heftybag mix was remastered and included on the Absolute Garbage bonus disc Garbage Mixes.
Critical reception
Upon both the release of Garbage, and the release of "Queer" as a single, the song received a positive reception from music journalists. Leo Finlay, in a Music WeekMusic Week
Music Week is a trade paper for the UK record industry.Founded in 1959 as Record Retailer, it was relaunched on 18 March 1972 as Music Week . On 17 January 1981 the title was again changed, owing to the increasing importance of sell-through videos, to Music & Video Week...
article highlighting the campaign for the debut albums release wrote, ""Queer" is eerily reminiscent of Magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
's stranger moments". A reviewer for NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
wrote that the single was "an ode to recognising and tolerating those mis-shapen
Mis-Shapes
"Mis-Shapes" is a song by Sheffield band Pulp. Taken from the number-one album Different Class, it was released as a double A-sided single with "Sorted for E's & Wizz" in September 1995, and reached number two in the UK charts....
ones among us", and when reviewing the album, their own Shannon O'Connell wrote, "there is a bit of Pat Benatar
Pat Benatar
Pat Benatar is an American singer and four-time Grammy winner. She had considerable commercial success particularly in the United States...
in [this songs] back-alley swagger". A reviewer for VOX
Vox (magazine)
Vox was a British music magazine, first issued in October 1990. It was published by IPC Media, and was later billed as a monthly sister-magazine to IPC's music weekly, the NME....
described "Queer" as "Voice of the Beehive
Voice of the Beehive
Voice of the Beehive is an Anglo-American alternative pop rock band formed in London in 1986 by Californian sisters Tracey Bryn and Melissa Brooke Belland, daughters of The Four Preps singer, Bruce Belland.- Career :...
roughing up L7
L7 (band)
L7 was an American rock band from Los Angeles, that was active from 1985 to 2000. Due to their sound and image, they are often associated with the grunge movement of the late 1980s and early 1990s.-History:...
", Jackie Hinden of Hot Press
Hot Press
Hot Press is a fortnightly music and political magazine based in Dublin, Ireland founded in 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it had a circulation of 19,215 during 2007...
wrote that the song was "a slinky work-out against a restrained work-to-rule
Work-to-rule
Work-to-rule is an industrial action in which employees do no more than the minimum required by the rules of their contract, and follow safety or other regulations to the letter in order to cause a slowdown rather than to serve their purpose. This is considered less disruptive than a strike or...
industrial
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
backing", while a writer for Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
wrote that "Queer" was "sleek, cultivated perversion
Perversion
Perversion is a concept describing those types of human behavior that are a serious deviation from what is considered to be orthodox or normal. Although it can refer to varying forms of deviation, it is most often used to describe sexual behaviors that are seen by an individual as abnormal,...
... sinister and menacing". Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
rated "Queer" as their Single of the Week, stating "an incredible knee-trembling fuck tune... the dirtiest pop tune you'll hear all year. [You'll be] sucked into dark satin
Satin
Satin is a weave that typically has a glossy surface and a dull back. It is a warp-dominated weaving technique that forms a minimum number of interlacings in a fabric. If a fabric is formed with a satin weave using filament fibres such as silk, nylon, or polyester, the corresponding fabric is...
sexiness and you'll never want to leave. Gorgeously decadent and utterly fabulous"; Hot Press made it their Single of the Fortnight: "Almost indecently brilliant. There's an intelligence at work here in the lyrics and in the music which makes "Queer" a unique proposition, and Garbage utterly indispensable". A reviewer for Raw
Raw magazine (rock)
Raw Magazine was founded in the summer of 1988 by Dante Bonutto, Malcolm Dome, Mark Putterford and Steve McTaggart& photographer Tony Mottram drafted in from Metal Hammer. They had come together on Metal Hammer magazine having split from Kerrang!, where Bonutto had been deputy-editor...
wrote, "it's brilliant. Seductive and slow-burning", while the single reviewer for NME added "[Manson's] performance on "Queer" elevates a sing-song shuffle
Shuffle
Shuffling is a procedure used to randomize a deck of playing cards to provide an element of chance in card games. Shuffling is often followed by a cut, to help ensure that the shuffler has not manipulated the outcome.-Shuffling techniques:...
into a lullaby
Lullaby
A lullaby is a soothing song, usually sung to young children before they go to sleep, with the intention of speeding that process. As a result they are often simple and repetitive. Lullabies can be found in every culture and since the ancient period....
to sexual non-conformity".
Release history
| Release date | Territory | Record label | Format(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 1995 | United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Almo Sounds Almo Sounds Almo Sounds is a record label which was started in 1994 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss after they sold A&M Records to PolyGram. The intent of the label was to recreate the initial concept of A&M Records as a small, "boutique" label.... |
Airplay Airplay * Airplay is the amount of time a song is played on the radio.It may also refer to:* AirPlay, an audio & video streaming technology from Apple Inc.* Airplay , Foster & Graydon music project from 1980* Citroën C1, Citroën C1 Airplay... : Modern rock Modern rock Modern rock is a rock format commonly found on commercial radio; the format consists primarily of the alternative rock genre... |
| Oct 30, 1995 | Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... |
White Records Mushroom Records Mushroom Records is an Australian recoJrd company formed by Michael Gudinski and Ray Evans in Melbourne in 1972. After its sale in 1998, it merged into Festival Mushroom Records. From 2005 to 2009, it is one of the record labels operated by Warner Bros... |
CD single CD single A CD single is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact Disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single, which uses a smaller form factor. The format was introduced in the mid-1980s, but did not gain its place in the market until the early 1990s... , cassette single Cassette single A cassette single is a music single in the form of a Compact Cassette.- History :... |
| Europe Europe Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting... |
BMG BMG Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann... |
CD maxi | |
| Nov 11, 1995 | United States | Almo Sounds | Club play Nightclub A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night... (12" promos 12-inch single The 12-inch single is a type of gramophone record that has wider groove spacing compared to other types of records. This allows for louder levels to be cut on the disc by the cutting engineer, which in turn gives a wider dynamic range, and thus better sound quality... ) |
| Nov 20, 1995 | United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
Mushroom Records UK | 7" single Gramophone record A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove... , 2×CD single set |
| April 1996 | France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... |
BMG France | CD single |
| May 5, 1997 | United Kingdom | Mushroom Records UK | 12" vinyl (as Queer Remixes) |
Comprehensive charts
| Chart (1995) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia Singles ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... (ARIA Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956... ) |
55 |
| New Zealand Singles Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... (RIANZ) |
37 |
| UK Singles UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... (CIN) |
13 |
| US Hot 100 Airplay (Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... ) |
57 |
| US Hot Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... ) |
12 |
| Chart (1996) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium Ultratop 40 Ultratop 40 Ultratop 40 singles, often just Ultratop 40, is the weekly chart of best-selling singles in Wallonia and Brussels Capital Region, the french-speaking parts of Belgium. Its equivalent covering the Flanders region is Ultratop 50. Both charts are produced and published by the Ultratop organization... (GfK GfK The GfK Group, established in 1934 as Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung is Germany's largest market research institute, and the fourth largest market research organisation in the world, after Nielsen Company, Kantar Group, and IMS Health... ) |
24 |
| Iceland Singles (IFPI) | 7 |
| Spain Airplay (AFYVE) | 33 |