| "Stupid Girl" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byGarbage | ||||
| from the albumGarbage | ||||
| B-side |
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| Released | January 22, 1996 (1996-01-22) | |||
| Recorded | 1994 | |||
| Studio | Smart (Madison, Wisconsin) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:18 | |||
| Label | Almo | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Producer(s) | Garbage | |||
| Garbage singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Stupid Girl" onYouTube | ||||
"Stupid Girl" is a song by Americanrock bandGarbage from theirself-titled debut studio album (1995). The song was written and produced by band membersDuke Erikson,Shirley Manson,Steve Marker andButch Vig. "Stupid Girl" features lyrics about a young woman's ambivalence and is a musical arrangement centered on a repetitivebassline and a drumsample fromthe Clash's 1979 song "Train in Vain".
The song was released byAlmo Sounds in North America, andMushroom Records worldwide, as the band's fourth international single in 1996. "Stupid Girl" became the band's highest-charting single in both the United States and the United Kingdom, with its performance on the charts driven by an innovative music video and remixes that gained massive airplay across the world. The success of "Stupid Girl" propelled sales of its parent albumGarbage into the top 20 of theBillboard 200 and into the top 10 of theUK Albums Chart.
Reviews of the song were positive, with praise for the production. "Stupid Girl" was nominated for twoGrammy Awards,Best Rock Song andBest Rock Performance by a Duo or Group, as well as theDanish Grammy for Best Rock Song, anMTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist and anMTV Europe Music Award for Best Song.
"Stupid Girl" began as a roughdemo around January 1994. It was recorded during informal studio sessions withDuke Erikson,Steve Marker andButch Vig in Marker's home basement recording studio inMadison, Wisconsin, prior toShirley Manson joining the group.[1] The band had beenjamming using anADATeight-track,AKAIsamplers and a smalldrum kit.[2] Vig took aloop from the drum introduction tothe Clash's "Train in Vain" and added further percussion including a sample of "Orange Crush" byR.E.M.[3] Later, Marker was asked to create a bassline like that ofCreedence Clearwater Revival's "Suzie Q", "something that's almost like aMotown feel." Erikson finished what became the song's core with a jangly guitar riff.[4][5]
After Marker saw Manson's groupAngelfish onMTV's120 Minutes, the band invited her to Vig and Marker'sSmart Studios to sing on a couple of songs, but after a "dreadful" first audition, she returned to Angelfish.[6] Manson eventually returned to Smart for a successful second attempt, when she began to work on the basic forms of "Queer", "Vow" and "Stupid Girl".[7]
Manson's lyrics for "Stupid Girl" became an "anthem for a girl who won't settle for less than what she wants."[8] She later added, "["Stupid Girl" is] really about squandering potential, [it's] our version ofMadonna's 'Express Yourself', but a little more subversive."[9] Manson intended the song as a rebuke toward a friend's foolish behavior: "A lot of females still find it difficult to find their own voice in society. It's just that women have a different set of problems from men... make the most of your potential."[10] Manson added that "Stupid Girl" was "a song of reproach to a lot of people we know", both male and female,[11] and that "we could have called it 'Stupid Guy,' but we thought another song about a strident female dissing a guy would be tedious."[12]
Garbage wanted to write a song that incorporated a thumping, repetitivebassline to act as ahook.[13] Continuing to develop the demo throughout the recording process for what would eventually become the band's debut album, the group decided to addtextures, guitars and keyboards to make "Stupid Girl"dynamic rather than the product of complicatedchord changes.[2] Marker and Vig then added in elements of ambient sound effects throughout theaudio mix, including the "glitchy" sound of a brokenDAT player used during thepre-chorus.[2] Marker had beendubbing betweenaudio tracks, resulting in scratchyfeedback; he sampled the sound and tuned it to fit the song, unintentionally created by an alternative hook.[13] When Manson recorded her first vocals for "Stupid Girl", the band realized that the song'skey was too low, but instead of re-recording the guitars, Vigre-printed them through apitch-changepatch on aneffects unit.[2] Erikson commented that the effects are "just ear candy, but they contribute to the character of the song, make the listener think in a certain way about the song."[5] Additional percussion on "Stupid Girl" was performed by Madison musician Pauli Ryan, while the bass guitar line was played on the record byMilwaukee session bassist Mike Kashou, both of whom performed on several other tracks on the album.[14]
Reflecting on the success of the song in 2002, Vig admitted: "People still ask us who the 'Stupid Girl' is, and that's impossible to answer. The song is sort of meant to be a wake up call. It could be about an ex-girlfriend. It could be about a rock diva that we all know, it could be about your sister. It could also be called 'Stupid Boy'."[4] Looking back, he also stated, "It's impossible to predict what will be a hit. But subconsciously, I knew the song was good when I kept playing the same rough mix over and over again on my car stereo for months."[4]
"Stupid Girl" is a moderately fastalternative rock[15] andelectro-rock[16][17] song with touches ofelectronica, set incommon time. It is built on aI–IV change in F♯, with bothchords, F♯7 and B7.[18]
Thetonal function of adominant seventh chord is to resolve up aperfect fourth. In non-classical harmony, the chord is often used similarly, but especially inblues,funk, and earlyrock music, it is also commonly used for its color, which seems to mesh major and minor together with itsmajor third,minor seventh and thedissonant interval between the two. When the F♯7 chord is played, it should traditionally resolve to a Bmajor 7th chord, the M7 being the major 3rd of thetonic.[18]
Instead, on the B note is another dominant seventh. Such chords are the basis of thetwelve-bar blues, and are used in this way to give "Stupid Girl" a bluesy, rock-'n'-roll feel. The chord change is manipulated to emphasize the B's flatted seventh (aminor third from the tonic), giving the song a sulky mood. Thischord change is used for the intro, verse, chorus and the instrumental sections, except for the pre-chorus, which is in therelative key of D♯ minor. Regardless of the chord progression, the song seems to fall somewhere betweenmajor and minor, and the use offour-note seventh chords (as opposed to"three-note" chords) help to form a rich atmosphere. "Stupid Girl" is mainly carried by this arrangement, along with the drum beats sampled from "Train in Vain".[18]
In the intro, four bars set the rhythm, adorned by only aguitar pick-slide and audio effects. The verse adds Manson's vocals and a bass riff that usesflattenedblue notes to give "Stupid Girl" a funky, unsettled feel. The eight-bar pre-chorus abruptly cuts in withminor chords, and sampled feedback replaces the bass, whichdrops out. This, coupled with Manson singing high in her vocal range, createstension and enables the presence of the bass to be felt when it re-enters on the chorus. Theguitar figures in the bridge include aphrase played low andrhythmic guitarstabs on the opposite side of theaudio mix. In the chorus, Manson's main vocal is answered by an "aah-ah" of voice andguitar together. The word "girl" lands on a flattened bass note (A against the F♯ note, instead ofA♯).[19]
"Stupid Girl" was first released in Australia and New Zealand on January 22, 1996,[20] whenWhite Label Records issued bothCD andcassette versionsbacked with "Trip My Wire" (previously included on the "Queer" single in the UK) and remixes of "Queer" byAdrian Sherwood andMartin Gore.[21] A week later, White Label issued a second CD featuring a cover version ofthe Jam's "Butterfly Collector" and a further two "Queer" mixes produced byDanny Saber andRabbit in the Moon[22] (also previously released in the UK).[23] In July, White Label released a limited-editionEP titledStupid Girl: The Remixes collecting the UK B-sides and remixes for the Australian market.[24]BMG released "Stupid Girl" across Europe on February 28.[25] The single was issued as aCD maxi backed with both "Butterfly Collector" and "Trip My Wire".[26] When Garbage returned to tour Europe'srock festivals in August, BMG reissued "Stupid Girl" in France[27] and Germany.[28]
Mushroom Records sent "Stupid Girl" to radio stations in the United Kingdom a month in advance of its release, and it wasA-listed atBBC Radio 1,Virgin andCapital.[29] Mushroom issued "Stupid Girl" on March 11 as a doubleCD single set and limited-edition7-inch vinyl packaged in two differing colors of cloth fabric, blue or red.[23] The song was backed with "Driving Lesson", a new version of "Dog New Tricks" and a remix of "Stupid Girl" produced byRed Snapper on the first disc,[30] with "Alien Sex Fiend" and two versions of "Stupid Girl" remixed byDreadzone on the second.[31] The vinyl was backed with the mix of "Dog New Tricks".[32] The single was supported by Garbage'sfirst UK tour, which began on March 19.[33] In the midst of the tour, Garbage performed the single onTop of the Pops[34] and a live showcase performance of "Stupid Girl" and "Only Happy When It Rains" onTFI Friday.[35]
In North America, where "Only Happy When It Rains" had been the band's breakthrough single,Almo Sounds planned either "Stupid Girl" or a re-release of Garbage's debut single "Vow" to follow it up.[36] On May 25, Almo sent "Stupid Girl" toalternative radio, while Garbage joinedthe Smashing Pumpkins' North American arena tour as the opening act through June and July.[1] The tour was halted after Smashing Pumpkins keyboardistJonathan Melvoin fatally overdosed, and the Smashing Pumpkins resumed without Garbage a month later.[37] Almo reissued "Stupid Girl", with a remix produced byTodd Terry, toTop 40 radio.[38] On July 9, Almo released "Stupid Girl" on CD and cassette single, backed with "Driving Lesson" and the Todd Terry version.[39] Almo provided remixes of the song to nightclubs. On July 11, Garbage performed "Stupid Girl" on theLate Show with David Letterman,[40] and in October performed the song at theVH1 Fashion Awards, which earned attention because of Manson'swardrobe malfunction.[41][42] On August 6, Almo issued a12-inch vinyl featuring "Driving Lesson" and remixes of "Stupid Girl" produced by Todd Terry, Danny Saber, Rabbit in the Moon andJason Bentley.[43]
In 1996, Mushroom released awhite label 12-inch vinyl to clubs featuring the Red Snapper and Dreadzone mixes in advance of the UK release of "Stupid Girl".[44] The Red Snapper mix was later released in Europe on the B-side to "Only Happy When It Rains",[45] while White Records released this mix along with the Dreadzone mixes on theStupid Girl (The Remixes)extended play.[24] Almo Sounds commissioned additional remixes from Danny Saber, Rabbit in the Moon, Jason Bentley and Todd Terry for the North American release of the single.[43] One of Todd Terry's mixes was also serviced to Top 40 radio.[38] Mushroom later released this version, along with the Danny Saber mix in the UK on the B-side of "Milk",[46] while White included the Todd Terry mix on the bonus disc of theGarbage: Australian Tour Edition.[47] In 1997, Mushroom released four Todd Terry mixes on a set of 12-inch vinyls (Stupid Girl Remixes) in the UK.[48] An instrumental version of the Red Snapper mix was also included on the compilation albumBig Beat Elite.[49] In 2007, Todd Terry's radio mix was remastered and included on theAbsolute Garbage bonus discGarbage Mixes.[50]
Danny Saber'sremix brief for his version of "Stupid Girl" sought to create a version of the song for radio airplay onnew wave/alternative rock stations. Garbage's management wanted Saber to retain the original's "Train in Vain" loop, as it had cost the band a significant amount tolicense. Saber opted for aSoft Cell/house music combination, incorporating the original vocal line, tempo, key and feedback. Saber created a new bassline for the remix, arranging the mix around it. Saber completed the remix in a single day, with one further day required to mix.[51]
Garbage recorded a number of tracks for the B-side of "Stupid Girl" in January 1996 during rehearsals for their first full-length concert tour.[52] During the rehearsals, Garbage remixed their album track "Dog New Tricks",[53] wrote and recorded "Driving Lesson" and "Alien Sex Fiend". The band also recorded theVic Chesnutt song "Kick My Ass" for inclusion on the charity albumSweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation.[36]Daniel Shulman plays bass on all four tracks.[54] On October 14, 1998, Garbage partnered withElectronic Arts,AT&T andBroadcast.com to promote a livewebcast from Garbage's headline show atDallas Bronco Bowl by offering a free .a2bfile formatdigital download of "Driving Lesson",[55] which registered over 6,000 downloads.[56]
"Stupid Girl" received an overwhelmingly positive response from music critics both upon the release ofGarbage and upon its single release.Select's Ian Harrison called the song "Duran-like", describing it as "mighty doomy pop neatly tailored to enhance one's natural discontentment."[57]Vox magazine's Craig McLean called it "malignant, dirty, devious, sneering pop",[58] whileMetal Hammer's Pippa Lang compared Manson's "ever-so-sexy, sibilant" vocals toTrent Reznor's.[59]Kerrang! described "Stupid Girl" as "a classy piece of predatory pop perfection that wields an iron punch beneath it's [sic] velvet glove."[4]
The song was nominated for twoGrammy Awards,Best Rock Song andBest Rock Performance by a Duo or Group,[60] but lost toTracy Chapman's "Give Me One Reason" andDave Matthews Band's "So Much to Say", respectively.[61] "Stupid Girl" was also nominated for aDanish Grammy for Best Rock Song,[56] and for theMTV Europe Music Award for Best Song.[62] In 1997,Broadcast Music, Inc. awarded "Stupid Girl" a Citation of Achievement for Best Pop Song, meaning it was among the year's most-performed songs.[63] Erikson said the song was "a crowd favorite" that improves the set list's mood whenever it gets played, and Vig added that "we've played 'Stupid Girl' on stage more than a thousand times and I'm still not sick of it."[5]
In 2005, "Stupid Girl" was featured inCurtis Hanson's filmIn Her Shoes,[64] while later that year,Alexz Johnson recorded a cover version of the track for the soundtrack albumSongs from Instant Star.[65] In 2011, it was nominated for the final track listing onSTV'sScotland's Greatest Album.[66]
"Stupid Girl" made its first chart appearance on the AustralianARIA Singles Chart in the week ending February 4, 1996, debuting at number 99[67] and peaking at number 47 on March 24, 1996.[68] The single charted for two non-consecutive weeks on theNew Zealand Top 40, peaking at number 32 in February.[69] In Iceland, "Stupid Girl" debuted at number 18 in early April,[70] and rose to number 4 the following week,[71] where it remained for three weeks.[72] In Spain, "Stupid Girl" peaked at number 40 on the airplay chart.[73] In Ireland, "Stupid Girl" peaked at number 16.[74] In France, "Stupid Girl" peaked at number 38 on thesingles chart.[75]
On March 4, 1996, "Stupid Girl" debuted at number 48 on the UK Airplay Chart.[76] Two weeks later, the song debuted as the highest new entry on theUK Singles Chart at number four,[77] becoming Garbage's highest-peaking single in the United Kingdom to date.[78] In its second week, "Stupid Girl" dropped to number 10.[79] On the airplay chart, "Stupid Girl" peaked at number five[80] and spent the entire following month within the top 10.[81] "Stupid Girl" spend seven weeks in the top 75 and sold 120,000 copies.[82] In August 2007, the single re-entered the UK Singles Chart at number 194, based on digital sales from Garbage's greatest hits albumAbsolute Garbage.[83]
In North America, Almo Sounds serviced "Stupid Girl" to alternative radio on May 20,[84] where after its first week on air it debuted on theModern Rock Tracks chart at number 38.[85] Two weeks later, it broke into the Modern Rock top 20 with an "Airpower" rating, meaning the song had registered over 900 plays for the first time on alternative radio.[86] The song debuted at number 66 on theHot 100 Airplay chart.[87] At the end of the month, "Stupid Girl" reached the top 10 on the Modern Rock chart,[10] peaking at number two in August,[88] and not leaving the top 10 until September.[89] The remixes were featured on the Hot Dance Breakouts list,[90] as "Stupid Girl" debuted at number 46 on theHot 100.[91]
By August, "Stupid Girl" continued to chart, debuting at number 68 on theHot 100 Singles Sales chart,[92] at number 47 on theTop 40 Mainstream chart and at number 46 on theHot Dance Music/Club Play chart.[93] The remix album peaked at number 30 on theHot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart.[94] In mid-August, "Stupid Girl" peaked at number 26 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart[95] and picked up enoughmainstream rock airplay to spend two weeks at number 39 on theMainstream Rock Tracks chart.[96] In early September, "Stupid Girl" became a crossover success on both alternate andcontemporary hit radio, and it reached number 25 on the Top 40 Mainstream chart.[97] Two weeks later, the song became Garbage's highest-peaking single on the Hot 100 when it reached number 24.[98] It also peaked at number 33 on the Hot 100 Singles Sales chart[99] and at number five on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.[100] "Stupid Girl" continued to gain a larger crossover audience throughout October, debuting on theAdult Top 40.[101] The song left the Modern Rock chart in mid-November after 25 weeks[102] and remained on the Hot 100 for 20 weeks until the start of December.[103]
The music video for "Stupid Girl" was filmed on January 16, 1996, in a Los Angeles warehouse by directorSamuel Bayer. The four-hour[104] shoot took place after filming the "Only Happy When It Rains" music video.[105] The "Stupid Girl" video was given a smaller budget, as Almo Sounds believed that "Only Happy When It Rains" would be more commercially successful than "Stupid Girl".[106] According to Manson, the other band members were drunk and exhausted after three days shooting the first video.[5]
The "Stupid Girl" video debuted internationally on February 1, 1996,[107] and in North America on May 5.[108]MTV added the video the week of May 13[109] and certified "Stupid Girl" aBuzz Clip. It was the band's third consecutive video to be guaranteed heavy airplay on the network.[38]VH1 added the video in early September[110] and featured it in aPop-Up Video episode.[106]
The video for "Stupid Girl" is a performance piece inspired by thetitle sequence fromDavid Fincher's 1995 filmSeven.[104] The clip was shot in a warehouse decorated withplexiglas sheets upon which the song's lyrics were written.[105][5] Bayer cut the film into pieces and soaked it in his bath, applying deliberate fingerprints and abrasions to the footage before putting it back together by hand.[53] "Film is generally treated like this pristine canvas", Bayer later explained, "If it's scratched, it's considered ruined. I wanted to add to the excitement of "Stupid Girl" with a really organic video, something that had a handmade quality."[111] To accomplish this, Bayer showed some of the filmmaking process itself; Manson is shown behind aclapperboard and reels visibly spool past the frame, while penned marks, sprocket holes, spots and reference numbers are seen. At one point, the frame lurches, as if to suggest that the camera operator has lost control of the camera. Bayer's colorist made use of sepia, blues, greens and reds to suggest that each frame was individually hand-tinted.[111] Vig would compliment the video for mirroring the band's sound: "some of it looked beautiful, some of it looked distorted, and kinda fucked up - and it sorta described some of our music visually."[5] Bayer later re-edited a second version of the video, with alternative footage from the original shoot, for a remix version of "Stupid Girl" by Todd Terry.[112]
The "Stupid Girl" video earned Garbage a nomination forBest New Artist in a Video at the1996 MTV Video Music Awards,[113] losing toAlanis Morissette's "Ironic".[114]
The "Stupid Girl" video was first commercially released onVHS andVideo-CD on 1996'sGarbage Video, along with "making-of"outtake footage.[115] A remastered version was later included on Garbage's 2007 greatest-hits DVDAbsolute Garbage,[50] and was made available as adigital download via online music services the same year.[116] The video was officially uploaded toYouTube in November 2013.[117]
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Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
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| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[132] | Gold | 15,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[133] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
As we worked, it became an anthem for a girl not settling for less than what she wants.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)Stupid Girl will be released on 28.2.96 in Europe and 11.3.96 in UK
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)New Top 40 Remix by Todd Terry out now!
SR0000224297; Stupid girl : LP version ; Stupid girl : radio mix ; Driving lesson / Garbage; AMSDS-89004; Compact disc; ℗ Almo Sounds, Inc.
SR0000226624; Stupid girl; Driving lesson; Almo Records AMS12-88004; 33 1/3 rpm; 12 in; 5 versions of selection 1; ℗ Almo Sounds, Inc.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)PA0000793577; Stupid girl / director, Samuel Bayer; Videocassette; 3/4 in; Music video performed by Garbage; Almo Sounds, Inc
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