{{Short description|1996 song by alternative rock band Garbage}} {{Infobox song | name = Supervixen | cover = | alt = | type = promo | artist = Garbage | album = Garbage | released = {{Start date|1996|10|15}} | recorded = 1994–1995 | studio = Smart Studios<br/>(Madison) | venue = | genre = Alternative rock | length = {{Duration|m=3|s=56}} | label = Almo | writer = Garbage | producer = Garbage }}
"'''Supervixen'''" is a song by American rock band Garbage from their debut studio album, ''Garbage'' (1995). It was released by Almo as a promotional single in October 1996, receiving airplay on alternative radio. The song takes its title from the 1975 film ''Supervixens''. Musically, "Supervixen" is an alternative rock song built around pitch-shifted guitars and repeated silences, while lead singer Shirley Manson wrote lyrics about idolisation and worship.
While the song did not have any major commercial impact, "Supervixen" was reviewed positively by critics, many of whom deemed it a highlight of its parent album. An early demo of the song was released in 2015 as part of ''Garbage''<nowiki/>'s 20th anniversary reissue.
== Writing == [[Image:ShirleySupervixenstudio.png|thumb|left|Shirley Manson recording her vocals for "Supervixen" at Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin, 1994]]"Supervixen" was written by Garbage in 1994 during sessions between band members Butch Vig, Duke Erikson, Shirley Manson and Steve Marker at Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Malins|first=Steve|title=What's Our Problem?|journal=Q|location=Detroit, Michigan|pages=50–53|date=September 1, 1996}}</ref> Madison session musician Mike Kashou performed bass guitar on "Supervixen".<ref name="liner">{{cite AV media notes |title=Garbage |type=liner notes |others=Garbage |publisher=Almo Sounds |year=1995 |id=AMSD-8004}}</ref> Manson felt that "Supervixen" was the hardest of all the debut set's songs to get right: "The lyrics of that song must’ve changed about 5 million times," adding that the track originally began as an ode to Chris Cornell.<ref name="SPIN2020">{{cite web|url=https://www.spin.com/2020/08/shirley-manson-on-the-misery-and-magic-of-garbages-genre-stomping-debut/|title=Shirley Manson on the Misery and Magic of Garbage's Genre-Stomping Debut|first=Bobby|last=Olivier|publisher=SPIN|date=2020-08-11|accessdate=2020-08-11}}</ref> "Then it turned into a song about obsession and worship. Lyrically, it went through a lot of changes and melodies — this, that and the next thing."<ref name="SPIN2020" />
Manson fought with the rest of the band over a rap-lite vocal she had ad-libbed in the recording booth ("Now I want it too much, now I wanted to stop, now I'm lucky like a falling star fell over me") that she was particularly fond of. She won out, and the part was looped as a backing vocal towards the end of the song.<ref name="rise">{{cite journal |last=Kaufman |first=Gil |url=http://www.addict.com/issues/1.10/Features/Garbage/page3.html |title=Garbage Rise From the House That Grunge Built |journal=Addicted to Noise |date=September 1995 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20020630205658/http://www.addict.com/issues/1.10/Features/Garbage/page3.html |archivedate=June 30, 2002 |accessdate=January 12, 2017}}</ref> Another part ("yeah, you worry too much, now it's got to be stopped") did not.<ref>{{cite video| people = Shirley Manson|date = 1994| title = ''Thanks For the Uhhh, Support'' |medium = DVD |publisher = Warner Music Video/UM<sup>e</sup>}}</ref>
==Composition== "Supervixen" is an alternative rock song.<ref>{{cite web |author=McLean, Craig |date=April 29, 2012 |title=Shirley Manson interview: Breaking up the garbage girl |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/apr/29/shirley-manson-interview-garbage |accessdate=August 26, 2014 |work=The Observer}}</ref> It takes its title from Russ Meyer's 1975 sexploitation film ''Supervixens'',<ref>{{cite web|last=Dinello|first=Dan|title=Pop And All That Junk|url=http://www.garbage.net/articles/@alt.htm|work=Alternative Press|accessdate=2011-07-20|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20010212093534/http://www.garbage.net/articles/@alt.htm|archivedate=2001-02-12|date=1995-12-01}}</ref> but was influenced by Pier Paolo Pasolini's art horror film ''Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom'', which had been playing on a monitor above the soundboard at Smart Studios when the band were working on it.<ref name="TITNTKMA">{{cite book| title=''This Is the Noise That Keeps Me Awake''|publisher=Akashic Books|year=2017|page=36 |author1=Garbage |author-link1=Garbage (band) |author2=Jason Cohen |author-link2=Jason Cohen |isbn=978-1-61775-550-7}}</ref> Lyrically, Manson stated that "Supervixen" "is all about saying 'idolise me, I'm going to give you everything you want, but you have to do something in return'. It's a bargaining song about a relationship. I'm not saying "I'm a wee Scottish lass fae Edinburgh and I'm great". It's actually about this supervixen, this Russ Meyer-type woman."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.geocities.com/boylikearose/articles-g-facesep96.html | title=Modern Life Is Rubbish | publisher=The Face |date=1996-09-01 | accessdate=2008-02-04|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20091025174954/http://www.geocities.com/boylikearose/articles-g-facesep96.html| url-status=dead |archivedate=2009-10-25}}</ref> Vig and Manson declared that the song's controlling tone is tongue-in-cheek, but Vig made sure to point out that during the live performances Manson's domination "[was] also kind of becoming real every night."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,292846_2,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912080346/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,292846_2,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 12, 2014|title= POP MUSIC : Beyond the Pail : How to turn Garbage into gold|work=Los Angeles Times|date=December 17, 1995|first=Elysa|last=Gardner |accessdate=2012-01-19}}</ref>
Much of the song is built around repeated silences peppered throughout the instrumental sections. The idea for the silences came when the tracking tape kept slipping during mixing.<ref name="SOSBV"/> The band had looped a sustained guitar part consisting of two separate pitch-shifted guitar lines<ref name="gearsltz"/> but their tape machine's playback function was faulty - parking instead of synching up both ends of the loop seamlessly. The band liked the way the effect had sounded, even though it originated from an unintentional hardware fault: "Basically it goes to dead air, and in a way it's just silence, but that also becomes a hook", Vig later commented.<ref name="SOSBV"/> These effects were utilized by the band throughout the structure of "Supervixen", with some of the sections featuring other elements continuing through the deliberate pauses. To achieve this, the band had to make use of extensive muting to keep the final mix tight.<ref name="SOSBV">{{cite web | first=Richard|last=Buskin|url=http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1997_articles/mar97/butchvig.html | title=BUTCH VIG: Nevermind The Garbage | publisher=Sound on Sound |date=1997-03-01 | accessdate=2011-02-03}}</ref> Scott Hull from Masterdisk digitally removed the muted sections during the mastering of "Supervixen" to emphasize the silences.<ref name="gearsltz">{{cite web |first=Butch|last=Vig|url=http://www.gearslutz.com/board/q-butch-vig/399076-supervixen.html|title=Supervixen |publisher=GearSlutz Q&A |accessdate=2011-02-03}}</ref>
==Release== Prior to its release, "Supervixen" was playlisted and hammered daily by stations in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Seattle.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite book|title=Supervixen impacting Modern Rock radio|publisher=Hits|location=USA|date=1996-10-01|quote=Supervixen is now playing on KROQ}}</ref> Following the international success of "Stupid Girl", Almo issued "Supervixen" as a promotional recording on October 15, 1996.<ref name="Promoonly1096">{{cite web | url=http://www.promoonly.com/search/issue_printfriendly.php?id_fp=5&year=1996&month=10 | title=Listings for Oct 1996 Modern Rock Radio | publisher=Promoonly.com | access-date=2008-02-04 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928142857/http://www.promoonly.com/search/issue_printfriendly.php?id_fp=5&year=1996&month=10 | archive-date=2007-09-28 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.garbage-discography.co.uk/supervixen_usa_cd_pro.php | title="Supervixen" US CD | publisher=Garbage-Discography.co.uk | accessdate=2008-02-04|first=Rob|last=Watson}}</ref> The song was then added to 45 station playlists and debuted at number 50 on ''R&R'''s Alternative Rock chart.<ref name=":0">{{cite book|title=R&R Alternative Top 50; November 1, 1996 (Airplay from October 21-27)|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Archive-RandR/1990s/1996/R&R-1996-11-01.pdf|page=86|publisher=R&R, Inc|date=1996-11-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=R&R Alternative Top 50; November 8, 1996 (Airplay from October 28-November 3)|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Archive-RandR/1990s/1996/R&R-1996-11-08.pdf|page=85|publisher=R&R, Inc|date=1996-11-08}}</ref> However, the song was dropped from stations in the weeks following as it was greatly outperformed by the album's other singles, "Stupid Girl" and "#1 Crush".<ref>{{cite book|title=R&R Alternative Top 50; November 15, 1996 (Airplay from November 4-10)|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Archive-RandR/1990s/1996/R&R-1996-11-15.pdf|page=84|publisher=R&R, Inc|date=1996-11-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=R&R Alternative Top 50; November 22, 1996 (Airplay from November 11-17)|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Archive-RandR/1990s/1996/R&R-1996-11-22.pdf|page=77|publisher=R&R, Inc|date=1996-11-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Bambarger|first=Bradley|title=The Modern Age|year=1997|publisher=Billboard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wQ4EAAAAMBAJ&q=Garbage%20%231%20crush&pg=PT88}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=garbage|chart=all}} | title=Single Chart History: Garbage | publisher=Billboard.com | accessdate=2008-02-04}}</ref>
In 1997, "Supervixen" was initially licensed to the soundtrack of the horror movie ''Nightwatch'', but after a release delay of 18 months, was replaced with R.E.M.'s "The Wake Up Bomb".<ref>{{cite web |title=Garbage's "Supervixen" in Nightwatch (1997) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTNtJBJ0ZRc |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211214/pTNtJBJ0ZRc |archive-date=2021-12-14 |url-status=live|publisher=Miramax workprint via YouTube |date=1997 |accessdate=2019-09-17}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Steven Jay |first1=Schneider |title=The Vanishing and Nightwatch |journal=Kinema: A Journal for Film and Audiovisual Media |url=https://openjournals.uwaterloo.ca/index.php/kinema/article/view/996/1082 |publisher=Kinema |date=2002 |doi=10.15353/kinema.vi.996 |accessdate=September 17, 2019|doi-access=free }}</ref> In 2015, an early demo mix with alternate chorus lyrics was included as a previously unreleased bonus track on ''Garbage''<nowiki/>'s 2015 reissue.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.spin.com/2015/09/garbage-20th-anniversary-self-titled-deluxe-edition-album/ |title=Garbage Announces Release Date, Track List for 20th Anniversary Edition of Debut Album |publisher=Spin |accessdate=2015-09-02 |first=Rachel |last=Brodsky}}</ref>
==Reception== "Supervixen" was well-received by music critics, many of whom deemed it a highlight of ''Garbage''. ''Hot Press'' reviewer Jackie Hayden wrote, "The sound drop outs should act as a warning to be on your guard".<ref>{{cite book|last=Hinden|first=Jackie|title=Dump It Up|publisher=Hot Press|location=Ireland|date=1995-09-23}}</ref> Though Jamie T. Conway of ''Ikon'' was critical of its parent album, Conway described "Supervixen" as Pixies-lite and a "strangely appealing" exception.<ref>{{cite book| title=Garbage album review|publisher=Ikon |date=1995-11-01|first=Jamie T. |last=Conway}}</ref> ''The Jewish Chronicle'' wrote, "from the staccato riff that dominates 'Supervixen' the scene is set – Eurythmics meets Patti Smith in some Grungy nightclub where bitchy back-biting is the name of the game."<ref>{{cite book|publisher=The Jewish Chronicle|title=Garbage album review|date=1995-09-30}}</ref> ''Kerrang!'''s Paul Rees described the song as "a whirlpool of clattering synth stabs that break of in shattered shards".<ref>{{cite book|title=Sweet, Litter and Twisted|publisher=Kerrang!|date=1995-09-29|first=Paul|last=Rees}}</ref> Paul Yates of ''Q'' said that "Garbage's signature lies in songs like "Supervixen", good pop tunes dealt a rough treatment and brazen vocals".<ref>{{cite book |title=Albums: ''Garbage''|publisher=Q|date=1995-11-01|first=Paul|last=Yates}}</ref> Hunter James of ''Rolling Stone'' wrote, "Immediately, as the mangy riffs of "Supervixen" begin to chum through space, Garbage drags you someplace else. As Manson's violet throatiness offers to create "a whole new religion," beats chatter, and delicate acoustic guitar notes and those opening riffs float in and out of the songs gently pounding rhythmic foundations. At times the main riff pauses to halt the music altogether."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/garbage-19950921|title=Garbage Album Review|last=Hunter|first=James|publisher=Rolling Stone|date=21 September 1995|accessdate=12 October 2014}}</ref>
Peter Murphy of ''Hot Press'' wrote of "Supervixen" in his biography for 2007's ''Absolute Garbage'' sleeve notes: "The song used silence in a way I'd never heard before. When the music stopped, it wasn't a pause for effect. There was no residual cymbal swish or reverberation or amp hum. That silence was total. It meant business. It was a sort of black hole implosion into which you feared your soul might be sucked."<ref>''Absolute Garbage'' biography (Retrieved - 2008-02-04)</ref> Reflecting on the production 25 years later, Manson stated in 2020: "These really incredible stops at the beginning of that song... Nowadays that’s so easy to replicate because we’re all recording digitally, but what’s so astounding about "Supervixen" was [that] it was all done on analog. It was quite difficult to do when you couldn’t just flip a button."<ref name="SPIN2020" />
==Personnel== Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Garbage''.<ref name="liner" />{{col-begin}} {{col-2}}
'''Garbage''' * Shirley Manson – vocals, guitar * Steve Marker – guitars, bass, samples, loops * Duke Erikson – guitars, keyboards, six-string bass, fuzz bass * Butch Vig – drums, loops, noise, EFX
'''Additional musicians''' * Mike Kashou – bass {{col-2}}
'''Technical''' * Garbage – production, recording * Howie Weinberg – mastering * Scott Hull – editing, post-production * Mike Zirkel – second engineer{{col-end}}
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== {{Wikiquote|Garbage (album)}}
{{garbage}} {{Authority control}}
Category:1995 songs Category:Garbage (band) songs Category:Song recordings produced by Butch Vig Category:Songs written by Shirley Manson Category:Songs written by Duke Erikson Category:Songs written by Steve Marker Category:Songs written by Butch Vig