Exclusive: Shirley Manson on Strange Little Birds

Strange Little Birds was released on June 10, 2016 on Stunvolume. The release revisits the terrain of earlier albums such as the self-titled debut or Version 2.0, but Birds is a departure in that it focuses on atmospheric loops and feels emotive, naked, and free. It’s not over-produced, and it’s wholly befitting of Garbage’s long career as a sort of musical Lazarus, resurrected from the corpse of ‘90s rock—but then again, Garbage never really went away. Their peerless and outspoken singer, Shirley Manson, has maintained a staunch grip and stronghold carved out with her own brand of unapologetic brilliance.

And as Garbage matured, so, too, has Shirley Manson.

So many snippets of Manson’s long career paint her as something of a warrior. Here she is sitting next to Debbie Harry in a leather-lined limousine conveyance while both appear to be giggling uncontrollably among a flash of satiny pink, striped stockings, orange silk and black rubber bracelets. Here she is, mid-performance, telling off an audience member who spit on her. Here she is grabbing her breasts brazenly yet irreverently while making a fishy kissy face, disqualifying herself from being seen as a sex object. She’s said, “In all truth, being sexy has never been important to me. Focusing on sex appeal can be dangerous, since it’s the first thing to fade away, and I’d like to build my life on more solid ground than that.” Here she is flipping of the camera, defiant. And here she is falling off stage while continuing to sing unfazed during a May 14 performance at the KROQ Weenie Roast. She didn’t miss a single note during her performance of “Special.”

She told the UK’s Daily Record, “I’m still going strong in the music business because of my Scottish psyche. Being Scottish, you have values instilled in you that you will cling to for the rest of your life and stick up for no matter what. Being a Scot, you don’t give a damn what other people think of you.” Manson once protected herself with the armor of a smug attitude, but today, she’s broadcasting a new wisdom: maturity begets the ability to be vulnerable. She won’t go buy a set of fake tits or participate in the Plastic Surgery Disasters of Los Angeles. And she’ll remain DIY until the day she dies, platinum albums or no.     

Shirley Manson styled by B Akerlund for & Other Stories

You’ve said that you’re getting back into a “beginner’s headspace” with Strange Little Birds and that you don’t have anyone to answer to. How have you embraced your creative license now that you’re self-releasing the album? It seems like you’re coloring outside the lines a bit.

Yeah, I sorta felt going into making this record that I had the desire to not make any concessions. I wanted to be as authentic to us — as people in the band in the world today — as possible, and it’s something to do with my age. I’m aging, and it has to do with your perspective changing as you continue to grow. You want to explore different themes. This record is so much broader in scope, and probably the most personal that we’ve ever made.

Personal in what respect?

My lyrics in the past have been deliberately vague. I have the urge to be more frank than ever. There are so many women who are aging in the media, and a lack of representation about what that means. Women are encouraged by women’s magazines to try and pass themselves off as young as possible. I wanted to represent my personal philosophy about this in the lyrics.

Yes. I’ve always appreciated your authenticity and directness, but you seem to reach a new level of intimate and vulnerable with Strange Little Birds. You live in Los Angeles, right?

Yes.

I do, as well. The culture here, which I suppose is a byproduct of the film industry, is youth-obsessed. And if women are past a certain age, it’s a syndrome to embrace Plastic Surgery Disasters. Buy a new face and buy a set of tits. 

Yes, this peculiar obsession with youth I find really disturbing. Youth is beautiful and must be prized when it’s natural. I understand the yearning to have it forever, but it’s important to grow up and understand that you had your time. I’ve found nothing but comfort and joy in growing older. It’s empowering and emboldening. I wish there were more women who feel the same way as me. I feel like the entire culture has become infantilized. Everyone wants to push their thumb in their mouth and start sucking and let someone else deal with it. Culturally we’re shaming people who are over 30.

Yes. When I see recent articles about you in the media, so much emphasis is placed on how great you look for your age—not your talent. It’s disconcerting.

We’re all guilty of appreciating beauty and reluctant to let our beauty diminish. But are you a good person? Are you a good friend, girlfriend or husband? Are you great at your job? These are tangible, real things we should appreciate. Instead we’ve got an entire culture worshiping at the altar of madness. 

Yes. You seem like a moral person, and have been vocal about calling out people like Kanye West. It’s refreshing to see someone use fame for a cause with substance, and not just fluff and flash. How do you endure the backlash from being so vocal and standing for your morals?

I try not to pay too much attention to how people react to me. I try to focus on what I was taught by my mother, about what is good for me in the world, and how to engineer a good life for myself and those around me. I try to speak out when I believe I have an opinion or perspective I believe needs to be heard. You need to be the change in the world you want to see. I feel that I’m fed up looking at popular culture, and the media in particular, and seeing people embodying skewed values from a very privileged position. If you’re very wealthy, you can behave any way you’d like, and there won’t be consequences that can’t be fixed by throwing money at it. When these people are encouraging the masses to behave the way they do, it’s detrimental to the majority of people’s wellbeing.

Well said.

Laughs.

Many think that you were the best female Terminator ever in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Why do you think that you’re cast in roles as a femme fatale?

Well she wasn’t a femme fatale, per se, but I know why I got this role: because the Director Josh Friedman had seen a video of me on tour where someone is spitting at me and I lose my temper, and he loved the fact that I lost my shit. I go absolutely berserk. He thought this was exciting and powerful and wanted to put that into the physical being of a machine. It was my personality in the body of a destroyer.

You were an original ‘90s icon, with manic panic pink hair… I used to dye my hair with Berry Blue Jell-O back during the first years of Lollapalooza. Or try. Now L’Oreal markets blue hair dye. What is it about the shocking that becomes manufactured?

I guess it gets appropriated by popular culture, and that’s totally fine in some regards. Rebellion comes from the intellect, not the clothes you’re wearing or the color you dye your hair. It’s about your spirit and about your freedom of thought. Many people look hip and are some of the most conservative people I know. I don’t pay attention to what people wear, but what they say. What people are thinking is always interesting to me.

To pivot here, let’s talk about the song “Queer” back in 1995, and now. So much has changed in 20 years for LGBT and transgender normalization and rights. You’re something of a progressive icon in these communities. So often in the media, being exposed to what is “other” creates a familiarity, normalizes it, and creates social change.

I think it’s the part of the artist to breed familiarity with otherness. When people are familiar, they’re not so scary any more. As a band, without being overtly political, we tried to make statements. Having come from a club scene myself, I had so many club friends from that community and was comfortable releasing “Queer” at a time when it was shocking. We were surprised people found it shocking. We’ve seen so many changes, particularly for gays, which is beautiful to see, and long may that continue, so that someday we will see gay people treated with the same respect as heterosexuals. During band practice just last week, we had a debate over whether we should honor a commitment to perform in North Carolina, and we finally decided that we would show up. By showing up, we’re showing our resistance to our opposition. With Bruce Springsteen boycotting his show in North Carolina, it was powerful: that wreaks a lot of economic havoc with politicians in that part of the country. That was effective. For smaller bands like us, you wouldn’t be hitting opponents where they hurt, so you choose your battles carefully.

You’re so well-spoken.

My father would be very happy to hear you say that. He thinks I’m a swearing hellion.

Speaking of that, your father was your Sunday school teacher, but you rebelled against organized religion at age 12. Do you remember a crucial moment that incited this rebellion?

It was a slow burn, because when I was very young I was very into God and attended all my religious classes with great enthusiasm. I won awards three times for my religious education, was always top of the class, and then the teenage hormones kicked in and I started thinking for myself and challenged him and the church. Although I respect anyone’s beliefs, I honor my rights to be able to negate them for myself.

You cited the “key man clause” to get out of a deal with Universal back in 2001. Given the lawsuit with Universal, where Rolling Stone claimed you were held hostage under a contract signed with subsidiary Radioactive Records in 1983, when [you were] a member of the now-defunct band Angelfish, then in 2008, you mutually exited a contract with Geffen, because as you told Vanity Fair, they “‘wanted me to have international radio hits and ‘be the Annie Lennox of my generation.’ I kid you not; I am quoting directly.” How do you feel about the state of the music industry now? The corporate vice grip on the industry is no longer a stranglehold, and you have your own label. Yet shifting legal landscapes with artist rights always seem to leave the artist behind. There’s the oppressor seeking money, and the visceral artist being ephemeral and creative. Has anything changed now that distribution channels are open, or is it more of the same?

Everything has changed and yet stayed the same. You have corporate ambition exploiting the desire of creatives. That’s been the case since the world began. People are exploiting those who create and are too busy to worry about being exploited. It’s Orwellian. There are some people who like to use their power to exploit others, and then there are others who care passionately and who rail against it. But I do take great umbrage—because it’s archaic, the laws surrounding the music industry and the contracts that in any other field the government would rule in the artists favor to rebalance artist contracts. No artists should be held hostage because there’s a breakdown of communication. I’ve been through that. Even if you join the army you can get out after 4 years. I can’t think of any executive who’s held hostage in that way. That’s the case with musicians, and it’s obscene. But people equate musical artists with success, fame and money. But 99% of all artists are struggling to pay their bills. They’re deserving of the public’s sympathy, but won’t get it because they’re placed under the umbrella. Now it’s worse than it ever was, with 360 deals—if you sign with a record label, you have to give them a percentage of your merchandise and absolutely everything you ever make and your touring income. Now musicians are only taking touring income.

You released Strange Little Birds on your own label, so you’re not suffering from that with this album, right?

We decided to set up our own label. We don’t have distribution that can compete with a major record label or create content without a big record label’s bank balance. By nature of being independent, you’re already operating at a disadvantage.

You’re fighting the good fight. DIY.

I think we’re playing the mug’s game, but it’s better to live freely than to die in chains.

This article was originally written for Napster in 2016.