Supervixen
Encyclopedia
"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
.
In North America
, "Supervixen" was released as an airplay-only single
to alternative radio
in October 1996. At the time, "Stupid Girl" was still charting highly on the Hot 100, and the band's debut album had been certified platinum
by the RIAA for shipping a million units
within the United States
.
, Duke Erikson
, Shirley Manson
and Steve Marker
at Smart Studios
in Madison
, Wisconsin
. Madison session musician
Mike Kashou performed bass guitar
on "Supervixen". 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. Another part ("yeah, you worry too much, now it's got to be stopped") didn't.
Much of the song was built around repeated silences peppered throughout the instrumental sections. The idea for the silences came when the tracking tape kept slipping during mixing. The band had looped a sustain
ed guitar part
consisting of two separate pitch-shifted
guitar lines
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. The effect was 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. Masterdisk
's Scott Hull
digitally removed the muted sections during the mastering
of "Supervixen" to emphasize the silences.
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." During the recording of the song, Manson clashed with the band over keeping a rap
vocal she was particularly fond of; in the end she won out and the part made it onto the final mix.
an Garbage album release, a promotional disc for "Queer" was issued in Spain
by BMG
which also included "Supervixen".
A slightly shortened (mostly in the middle 8 section) radio edit
of "Supervixen" was sent to Modern Rock format radio stations in October 1996. It was playlist
ed by KROQ-FM
, however the song failed to register on any Billboard charts
.
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." Hot Press
reviewer Jackie Hayden wrote "The sound drop outs should act as a warning to be on your guard". Kerrang!
s Paul Rees described the song as "a whirlpool of clattering synth
stabs that break of in shattered shards", while Paul Yates of Q
magazine said that "Garbage's signature lies in songs like "Supervixen", good pop tunes dealt a rough treatment and brazen vocals". Jamie T. Conway, of Ikon, gave a negative review for the album but described "Supervixen" as Pixies-lite and a "strangely appealing" exception.
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."
Additional musicians
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...
group 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 opening track of the band's self-titled
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...
debut album. "Supervixen" was titled after Russ Meyer
Russ Meyer
Russell Albion "Russ" Meyer was a U.S. motion picture director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, actor and photographer....
's 1975 violent love-triangle movie Supervixens
Supervixens
Supervixens is a 1975 sexploitation film by American filmmaker Russ Meyer. The cast features Meyer regulars Charles Napier, Uschi Digard, and Haji...
.
In 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...
, "Supervixen" was released as an airplay-only 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 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 October 1996. At the time, "Stupid Girl" was still charting highly on the Hot 100, and the band's debut album had been certified platinum
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
by the RIAA for shipping a million units
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
within the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Song
"Supervixen" was written by Garbage in 1994 during sessions between band members Butch VigButch 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...
, 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...
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:...
at 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....
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...
. Madison session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
Mike Kashou performed bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
on "Supervixen". Manson fought with the rest of the band over a rap
Rap
Rap may refer to:*Rapping, performance in which rhyming lyrics are used, with or without musical accompaniment ; while an MC performs spoken verses in time to a beat/ melody**Hip hop subculture**Hip hop music...
-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. Another part ("yeah, you worry too much, now it's got to be stopped") didn't.
Much of the song was built around repeated silences peppered throughout the instrumental sections. The idea for the silences came when the tracking tape kept slipping during mixing. The band had looped a sustain
Sustain
In music, sustain is a parameter of musical sound over time. As its name implies, it denotes the period of time during which the sound remains before it becomes inaudible, or silent.Additionally, sustain is the third of the four segments in an ADSR envelope...
ed guitar part
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
consisting of two separate pitch-shifted
Pitch shift
Pitch shifting is a sound recording technique in which the original pitch of a sound is raised or lowered. Effects units that raise or lower pitch by a pre-designated musical interval are called "pitch shifters" or "pitch benders".-Pitch/time shifting:...
guitar lines
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
but their tape machine's playback function was faulty - parking instead of synching up
Synchronization
Synchronization is timekeeping which requires the coordination of events to operate a system in unison. The familiar conductor of an orchestra serves to keep the orchestra in time....
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
Dead air
Dead air is an unintended interruption in a radio broadcast during which no sound is transmitted.The term is most often used in cases where program material comes to an unexpected halt, either through operator error or for technical reasons, although it is also used in cases where a broadcaster...
, and in a way it's just silence, but that also becomes a hook
Hook (music)
A hook is a musical idea, often a short riff, passage, or phrase, that is used in popular music to make a song appealing and to "catch the ear of the listener". The term generally applies to popular music, especially rock music, hip hop, dance music, and pop. In these genres, the hook is often...
", Vig later commented. The effect was 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
Mute (music)
A mute is a device fitted to a musical instrument to alter the sound produced: by affecting the timbre, reducing the volume, or most commonly both.- Musical directions for muting :...
to keep the final mix tight. Masterdisk
Masterdisk
Masterdisk is an audio mastering and multimedia company in New York City, located on West 45th Street in Manhattan. They provide production services such as audio mastering, vinyl cutting and enhanced CD and DVD production....
's Scott Hull
Scott Hull (mastering engineer)
Scott E. Hull is a mastering engineer based in New York City, and the owner of Masterdisk.Hull began his career as an intern at Masterdisk in 1983. He became Bob Ludwig's assistant in 1984, and was promoted to Chief Engineer in 1994...
digitally removed the muted sections during the mastering
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...
of "Supervixen" to emphasize the silences.
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
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
lass fae Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
and I'm great". It's actually about this supervixen, this Russ Meyer-type woman." During the recording of the song, Manson clashed with the band over keeping a rap
Rap
Rap may refer to:*Rapping, performance in which rhyming lyrics are used, with or without musical accompaniment ; while an MC performs spoken verses in time to a beat/ melody**Hip hop subculture**Hip hop music...
vocal she was particularly fond of; in the end she won out and the part made it onto the final mix.
Release
In late 1995, around the time of the EuropeEurope
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...
an Garbage album release, a promotional disc for "Queer" was issued 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...
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...
which also included "Supervixen".
A slightly shortened (mostly in the middle 8 section) radio edit
Radio edit
In music, a radio edit is a modification to make a song more suitable for airplay, whether it be adjusted for length, profanity, subject matter, instrumentation, or form...
of "Supervixen" was sent to Modern Rock format radio stations in October 1996. It was playlist
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:...
ed by KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM — branded 106.7 KROQ — is a commercial modern rock radio station licensed to Pasadena, California serving the Greater Los Angeles. The call sign is pronounced "kay rock." It is the flagship station of Loveline hosted by Dr...
, however the song failed to register on any Billboard charts
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
.
Critical reception
"Supervixen" received a largely positive response from music critics, many of whom chose to single out the track in their reviews of the Garbage album. The Jewish ChronicleThe Jewish Chronicle
The Jewish Chronicle is a London-based Jewish newspaper. Founded in 1841, it is the oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the world.-Publication data and readership figures:...
wrote "from the staccato
Staccato
Staccato is a form of musical articulation. In modern notation it signifies a note of shortened duration and separated from the note that may follow by silence...
riff that dominates "Supervixen" the scene is set - Eurythmics
Eurythmics
Eurythmics were a British pop rock duo, formed in 1980, currently disbanded, but known to reunite from time to time. Consisting of members Annie Lennox and David A...
meets Patti Smith
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....
in some Grungy
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
nightclub where bitchy back-biting is the name of the game." 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...
reviewer Jackie Hayden wrote "The sound drop outs should act as a warning to be on your guard". 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...
s Paul Rees described the song as "a whirlpool of clattering synth
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
stabs that break of in shattered shards", while Paul Yates of Q
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
magazine said that "Garbage's signature lies in songs like "Supervixen", good pop tunes dealt a rough treatment and brazen vocals". Jamie T. Conway, of Ikon, gave a negative review for the album but described "Supervixen" as Pixies-lite and a "strangely appealing" exception.
Peter Murphy 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 of "Supervixen" in his biography
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
for 2007's 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...
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
Cymbal
Cymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
swish or reverberation
Reverberation
Reverberation is the persistence of sound in a particular space after the original sound is removed. A reverberation, or reverb, is created when a sound is produced in an enclosed space causing a large number of echoes to build up and then slowly decay as the sound is absorbed by the walls and air...
or amp
Amplifier
Generally, an amplifier or simply amp, is a device for increasing the power of a signal.In popular use, the term usually describes an electronic amplifier, in which the input "signal" is usually a voltage or a current. In audio applications, amplifiers drive the loudspeakers used in PA systems to...
hum. That silence was total. It meant business. It was a sort of black hole
Black hole
A black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing, not even light, can escape. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will deform spacetime to form a black hole. Around a black hole there is a mathematically defined surface called an event horizon that...
implosion into which you feared your soul might be sucked."
Credits and Personnel
Garbage- Shirley Manson – vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Steve Marker – guitars, bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, samples and loops - Duke Erikson – guitars, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, six-string and fuzz bass - Butch Vig – drumsDrum kitA 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 ....
, loops, noise and efxSound effectFor the album by The Jam, see Sound Affects.Sound effects or audio effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds, or sound processes used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media...
Additional musicians
- Mike Kashou – bass
- RecordedSound recording and reproductionSound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
& producedRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by Garbage - Recorded at Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- Second engineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
: Mike Zirkel - MasteredAudio masteringMastering, 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...
: Howie WeinbergHowie WeinbergHowie Weinberg is a music mastering engineer who has worked with numerous bands.- Career :He has worked at Masterdisk, New York City, since 1977...
(MasterdiskMasterdiskMasterdisk is an audio mastering and multimedia company in New York City, located on West 45th Street in Manhattan. They provide production services such as audio mastering, vinyl cutting and enhanced CD and DVD production....
) - Editing & post productionPost-productionPost-production is part of filmmaking and the video production process. It occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, advertising, audio recordings, photography, and digital art...
: Scott Hull (Masterdisk)