Customer Rating: 
Summary: Garbage reaches their peak with this hybrid rock masterpiece
Comment: NOTES: Garbage is my favorite band.
1=bad, 2=average, 3=good, 4=great
Temptation Waits is the first "upgraded" showstopper in Garbage's arsenal, beamed in from outer space and distorted like a fuzzy satellite dish transmission at judiciously selected intervals. Throbbing, dancehall-tested metallic beats wrapped in a sparkling outer coating make it an infectious treat that's leagues beyond anything on the previous CD. Half the chorus is warped unrecognizably (I had to look up the lyrics) but it's complementary instead of hindering. Shirley sings about temptation itself, which is the perfect, alluring subject for such a hyper, shape-shifting sonic threat.
4 / 4
I Think I'm Paranoid is lovingly remembered for the hurricane-strength guitar blasts descending the chorus, but it's unmistakably a pop confection to the core. The entire production glides forward with gleaming efficiency thanks to virtuosic studio wizards Butch, Steve and Duke. What's actually amazing though is that what amounts to an industrial anthem for Raymond Shaw in The Manchurian Candidate became a hit single and temporarily cemented Shirley's status as modern rock's preeminent glam-gal.
4 / 4
When I Grow Up upholds Version 2.0's manifesto of positioning its front woman as a bipolar black widow who's "on a cruise to freak you out". Tossing a few aspects of someone's life (maybe hers, maybe yours) into a blender, this tune sprays them out verse by verse in a more calculated, pedestrian manner than usual. On the other hand, in a switch from the dominatrix/rock star swaggering of erstwhile selections to something a bit more submissive, Shirley keeps us guessing which of her Jekyll/Hyde personalities we're in store for next. I love this woman!
3 / 4
Medication is a hymn for those who've had to take pills to keep from sinking lower. Languishing in life, Shirley tries to survive while relying on prescription remedies that only placate her boiling temperature. "Nobody gives a damn about me or anybody else" she moans, hoping to attain solace through the admission that "I've got to make a point these days/to extricate myself". The only downside is that despite superior songwriting, its grimy acoustics and hi-tech cacophony grate on the ears.
3 / 4
In Special, Shirley shuns a fool who has done her wrong with a polished fusion of harmonious, layered vocals and swirling power chords. She's learned a little from her indiscretions in Garbage: instead of remaining spiteful she just laughs in her former lover's face: "Now you're here and begging for a chance/there's no way in hell I'd take you back". The entire fling has sapped her interest and refreshingly, this time she has her back turned and door slammed. It's an upbeat admonishment of people who get our hopes up.
4 / 4
Hammering In My Head is pure blazing energy, with lightning-quick tempo shifts and devastatingly sexy lyrics about one of Shirley's hottest bedroom romps. The guys reinforce her with an everything-and-the-kitchen-sink approach; flooding every single second with a seamless battery of drum loops, beeps, thuds, whirrs, hums, pings, clicks and whatever additional racket they were able to program into their hardware. Each line comes without warning and words tumble over one another like an avalanche of naughty thoughts. This could be Shirley's most alpha-female accomplishment to date, barely commenting on her sexuality (just sweating it out to remind us what she's capable of). Bonus points for containing my all-time favorite lyric: "I'm overworked but I'm undersexed".
4 / 4
Is Push It the zenith of Garbage's twelve-year run? Well, there's no denying the seismic thrust of its fiery, pounding chorus. The beats are pushed harder here than in anything else by the foursome so on the basis of pure pandemonium, it's the greatest. Moreover, the verses are insanely memorable ("This is the noise that keeps me awake/my head explodes and my body aches"). After cresting over a hundred tiers of interlocking melodies, it all disintegrates into a vortex of unrestrained power, permanently burning the phrase "push it" into our memories.
4 / 4
The Trick Is To Keep Breathing: Slowing it down a notch, Shirley cautions against the usual jackasses but this time, she tells us, the solution is to calm down, cool off and try again later. The old X-Files catchphrase "Trust No One" is modified slightly and used repeatedly to sustain Version 2.0's conspiratorial undertones. Every so often the deep, aqueous grooves stifle some mercurial gasps for air. As the music fades we can hear the girl who "knows the human heart/and how to read the stars" learning to carefully inhale and exhale (ad nauseum).
3 / 4
Dumb is a solid-as-granite thrasher that starts off well and marches competently along until its rousing conclusion. I enjoy hearing how misunderstood Shirley is ("You should get to know me better/no one's ever what they seem") but soon she switches gears and insists we're better off not peering inside her ("Now that you know what you know/I bet you wish you could let it go"). The unfortunate scattered splicing of discordant radio interference becomes quickly aggravating, however.
3 / 4
Sleep Together advances the progressive, voyeuristic unveiling of Shirley's sexual appetite. The lyrics have a hilariously dirty subtext ("If we come together/we'll go down forever") that practically undercuts the earnestness on display. Fortunately there's a killer guitar arrangement that goes a long way to salvaging this seduction quandary. A letdown when compared to "Hammering In My Head", the fact is there's not much being said in "Sleep Together".
2 / 4
With Wicked Ways, Shirley has scribed everything she plans to say at the rapture. Its pulpy, radioactive vibe suggests the ambience of a bar in hell. We discover our femme fatale's baggage equals the full cosmic weight of Judgment Day plus the Earth's entire atomic payload. The rollicking chorus ("Clutch your pictures of the Pope/pray to God for love and hope/bring the Virgin home for luck/bolt the door down, keep it shut") elevates this sinful explosion to new heights.
3 / 4
You Look So Fine is a bittersweet sendoff and a major improvement on its compatible predecessor, "Milk". There's plenty to appreciate, from a slinky piano loop interlaced with the requisite keyboard circuitry to a full minute of the soundtrack dissolving sans vocals. Shirley has never been sultrier and her mood swings are more pronounced than before ("You've got me tethered and chained/I hear your name and I'm falling over" contrasted with "I won't share it like the other girls/that you used to know"). She's lonelier by the "happy end" of this sequel than she was on the eponymous debut, leaving behind a tangible sting of longing and apprehension.
4 / 4
Best: Push It
Worst: Sleep Together
Customer Rating:
Summary: I hold a force I can't contain
Comment: If you liked their first release you will like this one. They maintain the same high level musicianship with the smart contemporary lyrical style. In short, this CD is an extension of their initial sound, just a more polished approach to it. Still great for dancing, great for cruising, brushing up against depressive lows and exhilarating highs, the continued mania of Manson's tongue in cheek lyrics all along the way.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Thundering and sultry
Comment: Version 2.0 is a very dynamic CD... yes, there are lots of other influences on it, but nothing very original has come out in the electronica genre in many years... everything out there builds on something else. We all have our own tastes and faves, and mine are "Hammering in my Head", "Push It", "The Trick is to Keep Breathing" and "You Look So Fine". "Hammering" and "Push It" have to be listened to very LOUD, preferably on a serious system. The bass on those tracks is seriously fat... and it sounds great. Shirley Manson makes this CD though - in every way.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Rip it all to shreds and let it go
Comment: If there were a such thing as 90s new wave, this would be it. Here's some awesome techno-influenced rock...this came out almost ten years ago but the songs still sound pretty cool. I don't care if this was directed towards the 14-year-old girl demographic or whatever...I've always really dug this CD, and the one before it. I wish more pop music sounded like this album! It's been said by some that this is Garbage's best, but for me it's a toss up between this one and the debut (I personally think the debut had better lyrics)... in any case the band's music definately went downhill after this point. Not the most original thing in the universe I guess, but for sure still a good listen.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Pretenders + Romeo Void + Beach Boys + Salt'n'Pepa = Garbage V2.0
Comment: Naming their sophomore album like it was the latest product from Microsoft made me initially distrust Garbage's second album, but time has really given this a fair shake. More guitar heavy than the debut "Garbage" but cut from a lot of the same cloth, Shirley Manson pouts, preens, breathes heavily and makes like a world class rock lady on the whole album.
My initial frustrations with the album are still there, however. "Version 2.0" There is way too much here that is outright swiped from other artists, and with nary a wink to hide it. Romeo Void pops up in "Sleep Together," The Pretenders are quoted in "Special" (down to Manson singing "Talk of the Town" during the song's fade and Chrissie Hynde getting a thank you in the liner notes), while "Push It" at least gives Brian Wilson and Herbie Azor (the writer behind Salt'n'Pepa) songwriter credits.
That shouldn't stop you from enjoying "Version 2.0." Garbage takes the 'influences' -- and I use that term broadly -- to make memorable music. Butch Vig played some great guitar on this cd, like on "Hammering in My Head." Veering from the giddy new-wave of "Special" to the emotionally delivered ballad "The Trick is to Keep Breathing," this was a band that was in their moment. Nine years later, "Version 2.0" remains a listenable artifact from 1998.
|
