When Garbage released Version 2.0 in 1998, they weren’t trying to reinvent themselves—they were trying to upgrade. Bigger beats, bolder emotions, and a sleek digital sheen wrapped around Shirley Manson’s razor-sharp lyrics made it a defining album of the late ’90s. You may know the hits, but here are five strange, sweet, and sonically wild facts you probably didn’t know about Version 2.0.
The Album Almost Had the Saddest Circus Name Ever
Before it became the techy, polished Version 2.0, the working title of Garbage’s second album was… Sad Alcoholic Clowns. Yes, really. Equal parts tragic and hilarious, it sounds like a lost Tom Waits song or a Tinder bio that screams “ask me about my record collection.” The title was eventually scrapped for something more digital and tongue-in-cheek, but the vibe of that original name? Still in there—boozy, brooding, and brilliantly off-kilter.
2. Candy Factories Make Surprisingly Great Drum Rooms
Need the perfect echo for your industrial percussion? Step aside Abbey Road—Garbage recorded some of the drum tracks for Version 2.0 inside a disused candy factory in Madison. The acoustics were sweet, but the neighbours weren’t: the cops shut them down mid-session. Butch Vig and the gang still got what they needed, though—those reverb-heavy fills live on in “Temptation Waits” and “I Think I’m Paranoid.” Who knew licorice and snare drums had so much in common?
3. They Used Enough Tracks to Build a Sonic Skyscraper
Some songs on Version 2.0 had up to 120 audio tracks—and this was in 1998, long before it was cool to have your DAW crash every ten minutes. The band worked with Pro Tools like mad scientists, layering strings, loops, reversed snares, guitar feedback, and filtered vocals. Then they mixed it all down to just 14 analog tracks. It’s like baking a cake with 120 ingredients and only serving 14 slices. But wow, what a cake.
4. “Push It” Got Brian Wilson’s Blessing—And Then Some
Midway through “Push It,” you might catch a dreamy little line that sounds like the Beach Boys’ “Don’t Worry Baby.” That’s because it is—sort of. Shirley Manson ad-libbed it, the band re-recorded it in the right key, and they had the nerve to ask Brian Wilson for permission. Not only did he say yes, he reportedly kept the tape. Somewhere out there, Brian Wilson is vibing to Shirley whispering “don’t worry baby,” and that alone is worth a Grammy.
5. “Temptation Waits” Was the Showstopper That Never Got a Spotlight
It was the album opener, packed with haunted theremin sounds (well, a synth pretending to be one), sub-bass, wah-wah guitar filters, and disco nods to Isaac Hayes. Yet “Temptation Waits” was never released as a proper single—except in Spain, where it got airplay to celebrate the album’s long chart run. Instead, it became a cult classic in the TV world, popping up in Buffy, The Sopranos, and Dawson’s Creek. No big deal, just casually soundtracking angst, vampires, and suburban mafia drama.
Version 2.0 was a full-on digital symphony of distortion, elegance, and raw emotion, built by a band that wanted to be louder, poppier, and weirder all at once. Mission accomplished.