Shirley Manson est en interview dans la version australienne du magazine Harper's Bazaar , de août 2013. Shirley pose sous l'objectif du photographe Jez Smith.

Photographed by Jez Smith,
Styled by Thelma McQuillan,
Hair by Renya Xydis at The Artist Group,
Make-up by Jody Oliver at DLM,
Manicure by Gemma Barhan for Miss Frou Frou.

Grab a copy of the August issue of BAZAAR this month and you’ll find, wedged between some pretty inspiring women like Elle Macpherson, Coco Rocha and Christy Turlington, an icon and role model of a different breed, the fantastically provocative, and smoking hot Garbage front woman, Shirley Manson. We could all take a leaf out of Manson’s book – she’s incredibly genuine, unapologetic, intelligent, and she plays the game her way, completely unafraid to take a hit.
In February, a few hours before Garbage’s Sydney show, I sat down with her to talk about the band’s hiatus, female representation in music and why she’d hate to be a new artist right now.

We’ve really loved having you back, and it’s been too long between Australian tours. Can you tell me about the 8 year Garbage break?
“Funnily enough, we called it quits in Perth. Australia was the last place we wanted to play and we decided that we weren’t enjoying ourselves and thought, being in such a privileged position, there must be something wrong if we don’t feel good – it was a disservice not only to our profession and our fellow musicians but also to ourselves. We didn’t really know what was wrong, we just felt depressed. [Laughs] We were a group in depression! We were fatigued from working non-stop for a decade, we hadn’t spent time with our families and we just had no life.”

How did it feel for you switching to a normal life?
“The first year, I cannot lie, was really scary. I realised I hadn’t been anywhere by myself. I went to the supermarket the first month that I was home, by myself, and I started to shake because I realised for 15 years I always had somebody around. Always. I didn’t even know what the price of a pint of milk was! I was just lost. And so when that happens, you’re scared and fragile and I don’t think that’s a very good place to be as a human being. But I pushed through all of that and became acclimatised to regular life again and it was fantastic.”

What was the motivation behind reuniting Garbage?
“It was a lot of things. I think we had taken so much time off, so many things had happened to us in our personal lives. I’d gotten married, I moved to LA, I lost my mother, which was a huge deal for me – she was so sick for two years, I didn’t even want to make music, and then after she died, I didn’t feel there was any point and I didn’t have any music in me. Then, like all things, time heals you and you sort of start to think, ‘My mum, of everybody I’ve ever known in my whole life, would be so devastated to think that I was no longer making music.’ I think that was partly a spur. Then I started to want to be creative, I had ideas and I didn’t have anywhere to put that creative energy. I tried writing music with other people – to me it was a fantastic venture – but my record label didn’t think it was commercial enough so they didn’t want to release it, which drove me insane! Eventually I just waited until my deal came to a close with them and then I was free. I was singing at the memorial for a friend of ours’ little boy and it was a very emotional occasion and I bumped into [drummer] Butch there and he was crying and said, ‘It was so amazing to hear you sing.’ I was desperate to make music; he was too, so I think that was how we moved on and decided to call the boys.”

You’re an icon still, and you’ve endured whilst being completely true to yourself, what do you put that down to?
“I have endured, I realised, it’s funny because when we finally finished our new record, my manager said to me, ‘You realise that you’re probably one of a handful of women who have ever done this? Who have, in their 40s put out a record that popular media are interested in.’ I was kind of laughing like, I hadn’t even given it a thought. As we started to slowly immerse ourselves in the music scene again I was suddenly wondering ‘Yeah, where are all the female fronted bands that were playing in the 90s with us?’ There are very few left. I feel very grateful for that, I put a lot of it down to our fan base who have been remarkably loyal in a time where peoples’ attention spans are 2 seconds long; it’s a miracle to me that anyone gave a shit about us bringing out another record. [laughs]
There are very few women, with my kind of experience, who are interested in making a more defiant stance, because I am defiant – I do know that about myself – and I am truculent, I’m non-compromising in a funny way and I think that’s kind of an outmoded idea for women right now, it seems to me that women are very prevalent in the media but there is very little coming out intellectually or otherwise. I find that a wee bit weird.”

They’re being hushed.
“They’re being hushed! It’s kind of interesting, I do feel for women especially, that’s what was so amazing about the 1990s – there was me and then a billion other girls who were speaking out and pushing back against the mainstream idea of how women should present themselves in the media.”

What have your career and experiences taught you and how have they translated to what you’re doing now?
“I think I’ve had the luxury of a lengthy career, and that informs every decision you make and it’s taught me a lot about myself, about doing business, about engineering the life you want for yourself, and what I’m willing and not willing to tolerate – which sounds simple but is hard to learn who you are and what you want and what environment you thrive in. It’s tough – when you have a lot of pressure on you and your career, it’s very difficult to make smart decisions. What I have now realised is that I made a lot of really smart decisions, as did my band.”

And that’s something so many young artists struggle with now.
“Oh I would hate to be an artist right now; I think it’s very difficult- there’s no patience for building an artist. I look at what’s happening with someone like Azealia Banks, who I really admire and I think is an incredible talent, 212 was my favourite song bar none of last year, but there’s so much pressure on her now. I’m sure she feels it, maybe she doesn’t, maybe she is free of that concern, but I think that’s a pretty tough spot to be in, where you put out your first single and before you know it, everybody in the world literally knows who you are.
I think that can be a very stifling place for a young artists to try and thrive. I see the pressure on people now to be successful and huge and big right out of the starting gate, it’s insane and unnecessary.
They say that you don’t know how to do anything very well until you’ve done at least 10,000 hours -nobody gets that chance anymore. Artists are expected to have hit after hit, after hit, after hit. And if you don’t have a hit, the second you fail, you’re out the door because there are a billion people waiting to fill your shoes. The record companies have no patience with a failing artist so they just throw them out with the garbage and they get a new blood. I think what that leads to is 10-a-penny artists who all sound the same and nobody is taking chances, nobody is taking creative risks.”

There are a few that are doing it their own way, not someone else’s, which is something I know you’ve experienced… Who is getting your attention?
“Well they just want little auto-matrons, believe me, they just want you to sound the same and do the same as everybody else. ‘That’s worked for The Pussycat Dolls! That’ll work for Shirley Ann Manson!’ Uh no actually that formula will not work. But they don’t understand that…anyway, that’s a whole other conversation. [laughs] Who do I love? I like the girls who are an argument with the mainstream – I love Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, I love Savages out of the UK – so good and exciting and weird and sort of strident and not playing the pretty girl card or the people pleaser card. I would like to see a little bit more of that.”

Savages are fantastic. You wrote a track for Sky Ferreira too, didn’t you?
“I did! I was doing a shoot and I met a friend of Sky’s and he said ‘she is really struggling and a little lost and would you reach out to her? Because I think you’d really like her.’ And funnily enough, Greg Kurstin, a friend of mine and a writer in LA, had also been working with Sky right at that time and he’d said, ‘I think you’d love this kid! She’s kind of feisty and she’s got good music taste and she doesn’t know really how to deal with all the pressures of a record label’s expectations.’ So I emailed her and we hit it off. You can’t sit in a room with Sky and not think there’s something fucking incredible about her. I know she’s beautiful, and people write her off, but it’s nothing to do with beauty at all. I’ve seen a billion beautiful girls in my lifetime and I haven’t wanted to help them all out. I just see Sky and I think she’s got a spirit in her and she wants to be an artist and she’s curious and she’s willing to take risks and I love that in her.”

Do you have a natural mentor instinct?
“I do, because of what people did for me, I understand what a mentorship means. Tina Weymouth and Debbie Harry and Chrissie Hynde really played a big role in moments when I felt like I couldn’t do something, they told me I could. In general, I feel sympathy for any young artist, but I am really drawn to women because I identify with what they are up against- because you’re up against a lot. It’s not easy – I know that anyone who succeeds in the music industry, particularly if they are female, every single one of them has bled out. Every. Single. One. Even the ones who look like they are sort of puppets – even they have bled out. Even just to be in the game, let alone be great- I identify with that and I have a lot to teach.”

What advice would you give young female artists?
“Keep going and listen. If you really want to make this your life, you have to be willing to get smacked in the mouth and lie on the ground all bloodied and have everyone laugh at you and not believe in you and tell you you’re kind of worthless, and be prepared to stand back up and be defiant enough to say, ‘No I think you’re wrong. I think you are all are wrong!’ And that’s the only thing you have to do, keep trying. Now that doesn’t guarantee you success, but let me assure you, you won’t have a career if you’re not willing to do that.
Women in particular, I think, get defeated really easily. I’ve seen it with some of my friends, I’ve seen it sometimes with my family – they get a slap in the face and they go, “Well, that’s it! I tried to do this and it didn’t work out.” Okay, well then, you’re going to have to try again, aren’t you? I think people get scared to take that risk because, “Oh it hurts so bad, the first time I failed, I don’t think I can stand it again.” Well my news to you is yeah, you can stand it. All it is, is just a little loss of your dignity or your self-respect or whatever, you can get over it, if you really want it that bad.”

You’ve always talked about your own inner demons and self-doubt, is that something you still battle or have you overcome it now?
“No, I still have it. I have a woman in my life, my trainer, and she’s been incredibly inspiring to me. She said something once, a few years ago, that really resonated with me: ‘All this self-doubt that you have Shirley, everybody has really, deep down, if they want to tune into it. Your problem is, you’re listening to the negative. They’re just your feelings, they’re stupid and they have no base in reality, they are just things you think you feel. Switch that off and just start tuning in.’ When I put it into practice, the healthier I feel. Yeah, I get down, but then I think, ‘I’ve got to stop this,’ do something that takes my mind off it and then I forget I’m depressed or full of self-doubt.”

You wouldn’t know because you’re so fierce.
“I’m too superficial!” [Laughs]

Well, speaking of, can you tell me about your style and how it’s kind of evolved over the years?
“[Laughs] I’ve always been surprised that I’ve had any attention from the fashion world whatsoever! I do know that I have a big personality and that’s what designers like. They’re like, ‘I’m going to dress her because she’s not going to walk into a room and be quiet, she’s has something to say.’ I don’t let the clothes wear me – I tend to wear the clothes… One day I’ll be like, “Okay today I’m just in the mood to look really demure,” and I’ll wear a really demure dress with glasses and I’ll look like a librarian. And then the next day I’m like, “Fuck this! I’m going to wear my thigh-length leather boots!” and do the complete opposite. So I don’t have any real, real aesthetic but I know what I like and I guess I do want to look different to everyone else, particularly when I step on stage.”

I like that when we were prepping our shoot you had an opinion about what you would and would not wear – particularly no fur and no “rock chick” styling. So you still get pigeon holed in to that? Isn’t that boring?
“Yeah I do. It is boring, it’s so dull! It’s so uninspiring, because I always want people to dress me up like an actress from a 1960s Italian movie or like Catherine Deneuve in Belle Du Jour, I always want that! I don’t want to wear what I’d normally wear to the studio every day. The [BAZAAR] shoot was fantastic, so much fun. I mean, they aren’t clothes that I would probably ever wear, but Catherine Deneuve would, so I loved it! It’s like playing with dolls when you’re little and I love that. I guess I see fashion as creating; it’s about escapism and fantasy. And I love creating and I love telling a story.”

> source web:
site du magazine harpersbazaar.com.au

On poursuit la (re)découverte du premier album éponyme du groupe Garbage, avec le deuxième single intitulé Queer sorti le 30 octobre 1995 en Europe. 

La chanson fut initialement enregistrée sous forme de démo incomplète en janvier 1994, dans le studio d'enregistrement des 'gars' de Garbage: Butch Vig, Duke Erikson et Steve Marker, dans leur propre studio à Madison (dans le Wisconsin). L'inspiration de Butch Vig pour ce titre lui vient d'un roman qu'il avait lu à propos "d'une femme qui avait été engagée pour faire du fils d'un gars un 'homme'. Puis il réalisa que la femme qui venait le voir dans sa chambre se tapait aussi le père".
Lorsque les gars font venir Shirley de son Ecosse natale, la chanteuse enregistre une démo sur le titre Queer. Shirley va participer à la réécriture du titre en demandant d'y ajouter des arrangements trip-hop, et elle y apporte des paroles ambigües, de telles sortes que les auditeurs peuvent penser ce qu'ils veulent. Shirley va chanter cette fois-ci en adoptant un style plus minimaliste, plus discret; et c'est à ce moment que le groupe a su quelle direction prendre pour leur travail.
Le groupe incorpora un sample de batterie de la chanson "Man of Straw" du groupe néo-zélandais Single Gun Theory, en y superposant les boucles de batterie du percussioniste de Madison, Clyde Stubblefield (qui travailla notamment avec James Brown), qui joua aussi sur le titre "Not My Idea" de l'album de Garbage. La guitare basse a été complétée par la participation du bassiste de Milwaukee Mike Kashou. Le groupe voulait aussi ajouter un sample de clarinette d'un enregistrement de Frank Sinatra, mais abandonna l'idée car les droits d'auteurs s'avéraient bien trop onéreux. Finalement, ils utilisent un sample de clarinette de Les Thimming.
Pour les paroles, Shirley expliquera que "Ce n'est pas, comme vous pouvez le penser, de faire avec une personne gay, mais de la tolérance. Ma mamie a une expression 'Or's queer, except thee and me, and sometimes even thee's queer', ce qui veut dire que tu penses être normal et que le reste du monde est bizarre, mais nous sommes tous à blâmer." Le groupe n'a pas écrit la chanson pour faire particulièrement appel à la communauté gay, cependant Duke Erikson a déclaré "En tant que musiciens, nous sommes totalement ouverts. (...) La chanson n'est pas du tout sur le sexe, c'est sur la perte de l'innocence."

Paroles
Hey boy, take a look at me
Let me dirty up your mind
I'll strip away your hard veneer
And see what I can find

The queerest of the queer
The strangest of the strange
The coldest of the cool
The lamest of the lame
The numbest of the dumb
I hate to see you here
You choke behind a smile
A fake behind the fear
The queerest of the queer

This is what he pays me for
I'll show you how it's done
You learn to love the pain you feel
Like father like son

The queerest of the queer
Hide inside your head
The blindest of the blind
The deadest of the dead
You're hungry 'cause you starve
While holding back the tears
Choking on your smile
A fake behind the fear
The queerest of the queer

I know what's good for you, you can touch me if you want
I know you're dying to, you can touch me if you want
I know what's good for you, you can touch me if you want
But you can't stop

The queerest of the queer
The strangest of the strange
The coldest of the cool
The lamest of the lame
The numbest of the dumb
I hate to see you here
You choke behind a smile
A fake behind the fear
The queerest of the queer
The strangest of the strange
The coldest of the cool
You're nothing special here
A fake behind the fear
The queerest of the queer

I know what's good for you I know you're dying to
I know what's good for you
I bet you're dying to
You can touch me if you want
You can touch me if you want
You can touch me
You can touch me
But you can't stop

Le single: Comme pour tous ses singles, Queer sort en format collector, dans une pochette en plexiglas, sorti à seulement 5000 copies (autant dire qu'il est devenu très recherché !)
Le single Queer comporte différentes face-b selon l'édition ou le pays dans lequel il est sorti:

- Trip my wire
- Butterfly Collector
- Girl don't come
- Sleep

Le clip vidéo de Queer a été réalisé par Stéphane Sednaoui en juillet 1995 à Los Angeles. Le concept de la vidéo a été developpé par la propre expérience du réalisateur qui a été "mis en lambeau" par une belle femme. Le groupe a adoré le storyboard du clip, car cela collait bien à l'ambiguité de la chanson. C'est Shirley qui avait choisi Sednaoui comme réalisateur, après avoir vu le clip "Big Time Sensuality" qu'il a réalisé pour Bjork. Sednaoui filme en caméra subjective (de telle sorte que le spectateur prend part à l'action, comme s'il était le personnage qui filme).
Le clip fut diffusé pour la première fois aux Etats-Unis en août 1995. Le groupe fut nommé dans la catégorie "Breakthrough Video" aux MTV Video Music Awards en 1996, mais c'est Smashing Pumpkins qui remporta le prix pour le clip (excellent) de "Tonight, Tonight". Shirley déclarera en 2005: "Je suis très fière de "Queer", je pense qu'il s'agit de l'une de nos meilleurs vidéos". La robe argentée que porte Shirley dans la vidéo est aujourd'hui exposée au Hard Rock Hotel & Casino de Las Vegas.

> Bonus Vidéo
Shirley et Stephane Sednaoui parlent du clip

Images du Making-Of + le clip

> captures sur le tournage
   

La promo: Le groupe a interprété le titre en live dans diverses émissions TV à travers le monde:

> MTV Most Wanted - MTV, London / Europe - 22 Novembre 1995

> NULLE PART AILLEURS - Canal + / France - 02 avril 1996
 

> TOP OF THE POPS - London - 1er décembre 1995
 

Garbage, Le retour

publié le mardi 17 juillet 2012
en ligne sur laprovence.com

Après un long silence, le groupe se reforme autour de la rousse et magnétique Shirley Manson. Il joue ce soir à Arles.

Perdus de vue en 2005, Shirley Manson, le batteur et producteur Butch Vig, Duke Erikson et Steve Marker, écument, cet été, les festivals avec un nouvel album Not Your Kind of People, qui ravive leur formule pop-rock futuriste. Entretien.

Portez-vous toujours votre anorak orange ?
Shirley Manson : (Elle rit) Oui , je le porte de temps en temps !

Vous êtes de retour sur scène dans de grands festivals européens. Comment vous sentez- vous ?
S.M. : Faire une carrière dans l'industrie musicale est un privilège pour une femme. Je suis telle que j'ai toujours été. Je ne fais pas semblant d'être jeune. Et je n'ai pas peur de vieillir. Je suis fière d'être programmée dans de grands festivals.

Garbage a été l'un des premiers groupes à mélanger les grosses guitares à de l'électronique. Pensez-vous avoir influencé d'autres groupes?
S.M. : Certainement. Je vois l'influence de ma génération sur les jeunes dans la façon d'enregistrer en studio ou de jouer en live. Et pas uniquement dans le rock.

Vous avez tenté une carrière en solo. Que cherchiez-vous ?
S.M. : Je ne cherchais pas à faire une carrière en solo. Je cherchais à être moi-même. Je voulais "déshabiller" Garbage, faire un disque calme, sans me demander si cela plairait aux radios. Naïvement, j'ai cru que ma maison de disques allait me soutenir. On m'a fait comprendre que c'était trop abscons.

Comment vous êtes-vous retrouvé ?
S.M. : Notre agent nous a organisé des retrouvailles. Très vite, nous avons trouvé des points communs, avons lancé les mêmes vannes. Il a suffi d'une bonne bouteille de vin pour détendre la situation !

Vous vivez à Los Angeles. Edimbourg vous manque-t-il ?
S.M. : Bien sûr. La culture, la famille me manquent. Malheureusement, il n'y a pas d'industrie musicale en Ecosse. Si vous voulez faire carrière, il faut bouger. Sauf si vous aimez le folk.

Vous êtes à Arles ce soir. Aimez-vous des artistes français ?
S.M. : Oui, mon mari vient de produire le disque de Superbus. J'adore Air. Il y a beaucoup de Français que nous aimons !

Qu'attendez-vous du contact avec le public ?
S.M. : Je n'ai pas d'attente. Je vais profiter de chaque instant. Sept ans, c'est beaucoup dans le monde de la musique. Notre public a grandi. On a été surpris de recevoir un tel accueil. C'est incroyable !

Ce soir 21h30 au théâtre antique d'Arles en ouverture des Escales du Cargo
Propos recueillis par Marie-Eve BARBIER et Frédéric SANIERE

Le magazine Start Up n°173, de juin 2012, publie une interview de Shirley Manson (sur une page et demie). Le magazine est totalement gratuit, dispo chez les disquaires (perso, je l'ai trouvé à Cultura).
Site web du mag: startupmagazine.fr

Le 29 juin 2012:
le groupe Garbage est au Main Square Festival d'Arras.
 

La moitié du groupe -en fait, seuls Shirley Manson et Duke Erikson- est passé d'abord sous la tente de Virgin Radio pour une interview au micro des animateurs Double F. et Mathilde. (source: le site de Virgin Radio )

> photos de l'interview

 

> video de l'interview

Puis le groupe s'est produit à 19h30 sur la grande scène de la citadelle d'Arras (des infos sur le site de la chaîne tv Direct Star / photos sur le site La Voix du Nord ).

Dès que je vous trouve des photos ou vidéo du concert, je les ajouterai...

Shirley Manson est en cover du magazine américain LadyGunn, issue 5, de juin 2012. Shirley pose sous l'objectif du photographe Frank W. Ockenfels.

Le magazine Grazia du 25 mai 2012, n°141, publie une interview de Shirley Manson.

Une nouvelle bannière

Shirley Manson photographiée par Mason Poole en 2012

Mercredi 30 mai 2012, un sujet sur le retour du groupe Garbage a été diffusé au JT du 12.45 sur M6.

Attitude grunge, rock acide, Garbage n'a toujours pas appris les bonnes manières. Depuis leur séparation, les trois garçons ont enfin retrouvé leur rousse sexy, Shirley Manson, toujours aussi mordante que dans leur tubulesque "Stupid Girl". Après de nombreux succès, fatigués du rythme des tournées, le groupe Garbage est en manque d'inspiration, et décide de faire une pause qui durera sept ans. La chanteuse écossaise brise le silence en 2011 et en un coup de fil, le groupe se reforme.

Shirley Manson: "Nous étions excités de rejouer ensemble. On avait des choses à dire. C'est la force de cet album. On peut y entendre notre passion, notre énergie, et l'impatience de se retrouver."

Sur scène, Shirley Manson apparaît en déesse vaporeuse, pour porter cette pop-rock futuriste, un style, propre à Garbage.

Butch Vig: "On n'est jamais rentré dans des cases, que ce soit pour notre style ou notre façon de jouer de la musique. Notre chanson, Not that kind of people, fait l'éloge de la différence, mais encore faut-il l'assumer pour être en paix avec soi-même."

Une complicité retrouvée entre les membres sur scène, mais aussi avec le public:
"Ils n'ont pas changé, ils ont toujours cette pêche".
"Cela fait sept ans qu'on attend de les voir en concert et ils étaient... c'était un très bon concert".

Sensuelle, agressive, électrique, Garbage incarne une pop-rock moderne. Garbage, en anglais ordure, connaît la recette pour se recycler.
  

Shirley Manson est en cover du magazine américain Nylon de juin/juillet 2012. Avec deux covers au choix: sur l'une, elle porte une robe de Gauray Gupta avec une ceinture d'Alexander McQueen; sur l'autre, elle porte une robe blanche signée Marc Jacobs pour Louis Vuitton. Pour la séance photos, Shirley ressemble à une véritable poupée.

Photographe: Marvin Scott Jarrett
Styliste: Marjan Malkapour
Coiffure: Clyde Haygoof
Maquillage: Torsten Witte
Ongles: Jamayka Hamilton 

    On Being an Adult in an Industry Full of Teen Sensations:
    I used to torture myself because I thought I wasn’t pretty enough, that I wasn’t young enough, I wasn’t this or that enough. Now I’m like, fuck it… I love youth culture, but I also want some wisdom and I want some experience and I want some knowledge. I think we put far too much responsibility on young people’s shoulders.

    On Why Garbage Took a Break in 2005:
    I felt that we had worn out our welcome as a band. We had enjoyed such a zeitgeist moment as with our first two records – people were excited by us – and then the music scene shifted so completely. Garage bands like The Strokes and The White Stripes came in and put us out of business, for lack of a better term. And I knew it: Oof, we are fucked. And I don’t think we were quick enough to adapt. I just didn’t know how to fix it. Nobody in the band did. We’d been on the road for so long in our little microcosm, and we had no idea what was happening in the rest of the world, and I think that affects your ability to be an effective artist.

    On Becoming “Normal” After Fame:
    For a decade I’d walk into a room, and I’d feel the temperature change – and you sort of get used to that, which I don’t think is good for you as a human being at all. But it’s like being a junkie: You have to be weaned off it. I went totally cold turkey. And there were a lot of tears and a lot of feelings lost and not being sure what to do about it.

    On the Name of their New Album, Not Your Kind of People:
    It felt almost like a war cry in a sense, because I think we have always felt like the oddball outsiders. But we inverted that idea this time around: Yes, we are outsiders, we are oddballs. Come join us if you feel the same way. We just sort of turned our gaze outward, and that was empowering for us.

> source web:
site du magazne nylonmag.com