Temptation Waits
Encyclopedia
"Temptation Waits" is a 1998 alternative rock
song performed by the band Garbage
and is featured in their second studio album Version 2.0
as the opening song.
Despite not being released as an international single, "Temptation Waits" was released as an airplay-only sixth single in Spain
the following year to mark the year-long chart run of Version 2.0 on the Spanish album charts and to mark its certification of the European Platinum Award by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry for 1 million sales of Version 2.0 across Europe.
In North America, "Temptation Waits" was licensed to numerous television shows, such as Angel
, Dawson's Creek
, The Sopranos
and Buffy the Vampire Slayer; it also was the stand-out inclusion on the 1999 tie-in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Album
and featured heavily in promotional releases for the compilation.
began writing their second album, which would go under the working title of Sad Alcoholic Clowns, in March 1997 in the band's label-head Jerry Moss
's Friday Harbor, Washington, vacation house. The group demoed
and made rough outlines for new songs, of which "Temptation", was one of. When they felt they had made a good start, Garbage
took the work they made in Washington back to their Madison, Wisconsin
base at Smart Studios
and begin fleshing out the ideas and rough sketches over the following year.
Garbage
intended their second album to build upon the framework, music style and musical template laid down by their first release
; to create a rapprochement between the "high-tech and low-down, the now sound and of golden memories" and wear musical references to the sixties, seventies and eighties: the production of "Temptation" nodded towards Isaac Hayes
and Donna Summer
's disco
period; Steve Marker
describing it, at an early stage, as "a total 70's disco thing." Garbage
recorded all of their work for the second album through a 48-track digital system digitally, direct to hard drives utilizing a 24bit Pro Tools
rig.
Much of the percussion was recorded in a disused candy factory located in Madison; Butch Vig
, Marker and sound engineer Billy Bush set up a drum kit within the factory and recorded various fills
, utilising the acoustics of the dilapidated building. Forced to stop after local police officers responded to complaints about the noise, some of the percussion was later incorporated into "Temptation Waits" (and also found its way into "I Think I'm Paranoid
" and "Hammering in My Head"). The guitars would typically be run through either a filter
or a wah wah pedal, and then gated
off a sixteenth-note pulse
to create a keyboard-like
effect. Instead of using synth bass, Garbage
had Daniel Shulman
perform electric bass
on "Temptation", mixed in with sub-bass
. The band had wanted to use a theremin
to create the whistle-like melodic line
on the outro
, and had hired one for use at the studio. The band couldn't perform the instrument well, and so utilized a sound created by an analog modeling
synthesizer
instead.
Garbage
completed recording, producing and mixing of their second album in mid-February 1998, and the album was given the title Version 2.0. "Temptation", which had by now been finalized as "Temptation Waits", was tracklisted as the album's opening song. Version 2.0 was released worldwide on May 11 of that year; despite a slow start, Version 2.0 went on to equal its predecessor, selling over four million copies and achieving platinum-certification
in many territories, including United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Europe and Australia.
. During the last leg of the tour in 1999, it was replaced as opener by "#1 Crush
" and moved back into the mid-set, and led into by a sample of voice-over
dialogue
from the trailer
to the 1965 exploitation
film Bad Girls Go to Hell
. "Temptation Waits" was initially absent from the BeautifulGarbage tour set-list, but returned to the band's live set in mid-2002 where it remained a common feature of the band's show until the end of that year. "Temptation Waits" has not been performed since.
A live version of "Temptation Waits" recorded at the Roskilde Festival
, Denmark
in June 1998 was included on the repackaged Version 2.0 Special Live Edition, released by Mushroom Records
the following year.
journalist Bradley Bambarger wrote that the song's "slice of predatory swagger opens the album in fine style, with an '80s pop sound a la Psychedelic Furs
updated with aplomb" and added that the song showed the band was "burgeoning [with] songwriting prowess". David Stubbs of Uncut
wrote, "With its whiplash backbeat and matt black exteriors, ["Temptation..."] sets the tone – like some PVC panther, Shirley Manson establishes the character she maintains throughout the album, taunting, sensual, predatory, desperate, self-loathing, nasty". In a review for MTV Online
, Alexandra Flood wrote: "It's a rock/disco anthem about obsessive love. Continuous changing movements make it not only good, but also interesting. "Temptation Waits" is in itself a wolf in sheep's clothing. It comes on subdued at first, but opens up into a memorable, downright danceable, single-bound song." Peter Murphy of Hot Press
compared the song's "claustrophobic meshes of flesh and technology" thematic
to the protagonist
of Shinya Tsukamoto
’s 1989 cyberpunk
film Tetsuo
.
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...
song performed by the 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 is featured in their second studio album Version 2.0
Version 2.0
Version 2.0 is the second album by alternative rock group Garbage. It was released worldwide in May 1998 by Mushroom Records UK and in North America by Almo Sounds. Version 2.0 was the follow-up to the band's multi-platinum debut album Garbage. Despite a slow start, Version 2.0 went on to equal its...
as the opening song.
Despite not being released as an international single, "Temptation Waits" was released as an airplay-only sixth single 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...
the following year to mark the year-long chart run of Version 2.0 on the Spanish album charts and to mark its certification of the European Platinum Award by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry for 1 million sales of Version 2.0 across Europe.
In North America, "Temptation Waits" was licensed to numerous television shows, such as Angel
Angel (TV series)
Angel is an American television series, a spin-off of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series was created by Buffys creator, Joss Whedon, in collaboration with David Greenwalt, and first aired on October 5, 1999...
, Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek is an American teen drama television series which debuted on January 20, 1998, on The WB Television Network and was produced by Sony Pictures Television. The show is set in the fictional seaside town of Capeside, Massachusetts, and in Boston, Massachusetts, during the later seasons...
, The Sopranos
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
and Buffy the Vampire Slayer; it also was the stand-out inclusion on the 1999 tie-in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Album
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Album
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Album is a soundtrack album featuring music from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series.The album is made up mostly of tracks by little-known artists, though some better known ones, such as Garbage and Alison Krauss, are also featured. A small part of the television...
and featured heavily in promotional releases for the compilation.
Recording and Production
GarbageGarbage (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...
began writing their second album, which would go under the working title of Sad Alcoholic Clowns, in March 1997 in the band's label-head Jerry Moss
Jerry Moss
Jerome S. "Jerry" Moss is an American recording executive, best known for being the co-founder of A&M Records, along with trumpeter and bandleader Herb Alpert....
's Friday Harbor, Washington, vacation house. The group demoed
Demo (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...
and made rough outlines for new songs, of which "Temptation", was one of. When they felt they had made a good start, 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...
took the work they made in Washington back to their Madison, Wisconsin
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....
base 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....
and begin fleshing out the ideas and rough sketches over the following year.
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...
intended their second album to build upon the framework, music style and musical template laid down by their first release
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...
; to create a rapprochement between the "high-tech and low-down, the now sound and of golden memories" and wear musical references to the sixties, seventies and eighties: the production of "Temptation" nodded towards Isaac Hayes
Isaac Hayes
Isaac Lee Hayes, Jr. was an American songwriter, musician, singer and actor. Hayes was one of the creative influences behind the southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwriter and as a record producer, teaming with his partner David Porter during the...
and Donna Summer
Donna Summer
LaDonna Adrian Gaines , known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach...
's disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
period; 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:...
describing it, at an early stage, as "a total 70's disco thing." 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...
recorded all of their work for the second album through a 48-track digital system digitally, direct to hard drives utilizing a 24bit Pro Tools
Pro Tools
Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation platform for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, developed and manufactured by Avid Technology. It is widely used by professionals throughout the audio industries for recording and editing in music production, film scoring, film, and television...
rig.
Much of the percussion was recorded in a disused candy factory located in Madison; 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....
, Marker and sound engineer Billy Bush set up a drum kit within the factory and recorded various fills
Fill (music)
In popular music, a fill is a short musical passage, riff, or rhythmic sound which helps to sustain the listener's attention during a break between the phrases of a melody....
, utilising the acoustics of the dilapidated building. Forced to stop after local police officers responded to complaints about the noise, some of the percussion was later incorporated into "Temptation Waits" (and also found its way into "I Think I'm Paranoid
I Think I'm Paranoid
"I Think I'm Paranoid" is an alternative rock song written, performed and produced by Garbage and was the second single released from their second album Version 2.0....
" and "Hammering in My Head"). The guitars would typically be run through either a filter
Filter (signal processing)
In signal processing, a filter is a device or process that removes from a signal some unwanted component or feature. Filtering is a class of signal processing, the defining feature of filters being the complete or partial suppression of some aspect of the signal...
or a wah wah pedal, and then gated
Noise gate
A Noise Gate or gate is an electronic device or software that is used to control the volume of an audio signal. In its most simple form, a noise gate allows a signal to pass through only when it is above a set threshold: the gate is 'open'. If the signal falls below the threshold no signal is...
off a sixteenth-note pulse
Pulse (music)
In music and music theory, the pulse or tactus consists of beats in a series of identical yet distinct periodic short-duration stimuli perceived as points in time occurring at the mensural level...
to create a keyboard-like
Keyboard instrument
A 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...
effect. Instead of using synth bass, 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...
had Daniel Shulman
Daniel Shulman
Daniel Shulman is an American performer of bass guitar. Although he has made a significant contribution as a session musician, working with Run-DMC and Meredith Brooks, he is best known for his work with the Scottish-American band Garbage from 1995 until 2002....
perform electric bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
on "Temptation", mixed in with sub-bass
Sub-bass
Sub-bass is a term used to describe audible sounds below 90 Hz and extending downward to include the lowest frequency humans can hear, typically 20 Hz. Sound systems often feature one or more subwoofer loudspeakers that are dedicated solely to amplifying sounds in the sub-bass range...
. The band had wanted to use a theremin
Theremin
The theremin , originally known as the aetherphone/etherophone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox is an early electronic musical instrument controlled without discernible physical contact from the player. It is named after its Russian inventor, Professor Léon Theremin, who patented the device...
to create the whistle-like melodic line
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
on the outro
Conclusion (music)
In music, the conclusion is the ending of a composition and may take the form of a coda or outro.Pieces using sonata form typically use the recapitulation to conclude a piece, providing closure through the repetition of thematic material from the exposition in the tonic key...
, and had hired one for use at the studio. The band couldn't perform the instrument well, and so utilized a sound created by an analog modeling
Analog modeling synthesizer
An Analog Modeling Synthesizer is a synthesizer that generates the sounds of traditional analog synthesizers using DSP components and software algorithms to simulate the behaviour of the original electric and electronic circuitry, in order to obtain the sound in a more precise manner from the...
synthesizer
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...
instead.
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...
completed recording, producing and mixing of their second album in mid-February 1998, and the album was given the title Version 2.0. "Temptation", which had by now been finalized as "Temptation Waits", was tracklisted as the album's opening song. Version 2.0 was released worldwide on May 11 of that year; despite a slow start, Version 2.0 went on to equal its predecessor, selling over four million copies and achieving platinum-certification
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,...
in many territories, including United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Europe and Australia.
Live performances
"Temptation Waits" was performed at almost every show on the Version 2.0 tour; where it began as a mid-set inclusion before being promoted to open each show. Once established as the setlist opener, "Temptation Waits" was intro-taped by a recording of a section of the 4th Movement of Mahler's "Symphony No. 5", famously used in the climax scene of the 1971 movie Death in VeniceDeath in Venice (film)
Death in Venice is a 1971 film directed by Luchino Visconti and starring Dirk Bogarde and Björn Andrésen. The film is based on the novella Death in Venice by Thomas Mann.-Plot:...
. During the last leg of the tour in 1999, it was replaced as opener by "#1 Crush
Number One Crush
"#1 Crush" is a song by Garbage, released internationally on the b-side to their debut release "Vow", and in the United Kingdom on the b-side to second single "Subhuman"....
" and moved back into the mid-set, and led into by a sample of voice-over
Voice-over
Voice-over is a production technique where a voice which is not part of the narrative is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations...
dialogue
Dialogue
Dialogue is a literary and theatrical form consisting of a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people....
from the trailer
Trailer (film)
A trailer or preview is an advertisement or a commercial for a feature film that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema. The term "trailer" comes from their having originally been shown at the end of a feature film screening. That practice did not last long, because patrons tended to leave the...
to the 1965 exploitation
Exploitation
This article discusses the term exploitation in the meaning of using something in an unjust or cruel manner.- As unjust benefit :In political economy, economics, and sociology, exploitation involves a persistent social relationship in which certain persons are being mistreated or unfairly used for...
film Bad Girls Go to Hell
Bad Girls Go to Hell
Bad Girls Go to Hell is an American 1965 sexploitation film, written, produced and directed by Doris Wishman. The film stars Gigi Darlene, George La Rocque, Barnard L...
. "Temptation Waits" was initially absent from the BeautifulGarbage tour set-list, but returned to the band's live set in mid-2002 where it remained a common feature of the band's show until the end of that year. "Temptation Waits" has not been performed since.
A live version of "Temptation Waits" recorded at the Roskilde Festival
Roskilde Festival
Roskilde Festival is a festival held south of Roskilde in Denmark and is one of the six biggest annual music festivals in Europe . It was created in 1971 by two high school students, Mogens Sandfær and Jesper Switzer Møller, and promoter Carl Fischer...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
in June 1998 was included on the repackaged Version 2.0 Special Live Edition, released by 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...
the following year.
Critical reception
"Temptation Waits" received a mostly positive reception from music critics around the time of Version 2.0s release. BillboardBillboard (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...
journalist Bradley Bambarger wrote that the song's "slice of predatory swagger opens the album in fine style, with an '80s pop sound a la Psychedelic Furs
Psychedelic Furs
The Psychedelic Furs are an English rock band founded in 1977. Led by singer Richard Butler and his brother Tim on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from the British post-punk scene...
updated with aplomb" and added that the song showed the band was "burgeoning [with] songwriting prowess". David Stubbs of Uncut
UNCUT (magazine)
Uncut magazine, trademarked as UNCUT, is a monthly publication based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections...
wrote, "With its whiplash backbeat and matt black exteriors, ["Temptation..."] sets the tone – like some PVC panther, Shirley Manson establishes the character she maintains throughout the album, taunting, sensual, predatory, desperate, self-loathing, nasty". In a review for MTV Online
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, Alexandra Flood wrote: "It's a rock/disco anthem about obsessive love. Continuous changing movements make it not only good, but also interesting. "Temptation Waits" is in itself a wolf in sheep's clothing. It comes on subdued at first, but opens up into a memorable, downright danceable, single-bound song." 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...
compared the song's "claustrophobic meshes of flesh and technology" thematic
Theme (arts)
In the visual arts, a theme is a broad idea or a message conveyed by a work, such as a performance, a painting, or a motion picture. This message is usually about life, society or human nature. Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a work. Themes are usually implied...
to the 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...
of Shinya Tsukamoto
Shinya Tsukamoto
is a Japanese film director and actor with a considerable cult following both domestically and abroad.-Biography:Tsukamoto started making movies at the age of 14, when his father gave him a Super 8 camera. He made a number of films, ranging...
’s 1989 cyberpunk
Japanese cyberpunk
Japanese Cyberpunk is a genre of underground film produced in Japan starting in the late 1980s. The genre is not very closely related to Cyberpunk as understood in the west — the focus is industrial and incomprehensible, not high-tech and scientific...
film Tetsuo
Tetsuo: The Iron Man
Tetsuo: The Iron Man is a 1989 Japanese cyberpunk film by cult-film director Shinya Tsukamoto produced by Japan Home Video. This, his third film, is an extremely graphic but also strikingly-filmed fantasy shot in the same low-budget, underground-production style as his first two films...
.
Release history
| Release Date | Territory | Record Label | Format(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 20, 1999 | 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... |
RCA RCA RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor... /BMG Espagna 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... |
Airplay |
Comprehensive charts
| Chart (1999) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Spain Top 40 Airplay Chart (AFYVE) | 39 |