Shirley Manson: What’s on your iPod?

Garbage collection: The rock chick talks GQ through her digital playlist click by click
“I’m attracted to all the fucked-up artists. They are my touchstones!” So says Shirley Manson, the face and voice of Garbage, the Edinburgh-Wisconsin band that have sold ten million albums since exploding onto the scene in 1995 with ‘Queer’ and ‘Only Happy When It Rains’ Now after a four year wait, Garbage have returned with their fourth album, Bleed Like Me.

Favourite Front Men
Manson owns one of the first generation of iPods. “I work with geeks so the minute it came on the market I had one”, she says. Although she splits her time between America and Edinburgh, an upstart London band is high on her playlist. “I love the Razorlight record Up All Night,” she says. “I think particularly in the UK men who front bands fell they have to be a little cocky as a defence mechanism.” Her guilty pleasure is New Jersey rock band My Chemical Romance, particularly the single ‘I’m Not Okay’. “I screamed when I first saw the lead singer [Gerard Way] on MTV – I thought he was so cute. He’s a sort of super-eager Billy Corgan mixed with Jack White. Which in my book is a dynamite combination.”
Fantastic Femmes
Given Manson’s own musical output, it’s unsurprising that both Debbie Harry and Chryssie Hynde figure heavily among her favourites. “They defined female roick for the past 20 years.” Her Blondie track of choice is ‘Hanging On The Telephone” and she recently sang with the band at an LA benefit. “You have no idea what an amazing feeling it is to sing with someone who you loved since you were a kid.” Manson also recently sang with Hynde. “’Stop Your Sobbing’ is so utterly heartless. She’s got as much snarl in her now as she first came out in the punk scene. I don’t see her mellowing anytime soon.” Manson also relishes the venom of the original punk queen Patti Smith. The favourite is ‘Revenge’ from Wave 1979. “It’s so wicked and sinister. How can you not love a song that starts ‘I feel upset. Let’s do some celebrating’?”
Undiscovered country
From punk we move to country. “I love Willie Nelson”, says Manson, who doesn’t feel that Nelson’s credibility has suffered from collaborations with Jessica Simpson and Norah Jones. “I don’t think Willie Nelson needs to give a fuck what anyone thinks.” Fellow Nashville outsider Gillian Welch is also on the iPod. “Gillian has a black heart”, laughs Manson. “She looks really mumsy, but when she plays, this unbelievably sexy force comes off her – it’s frightening.”
Computer love
Although Bleed Like Me strays into rockier territory, Manson still enjoys electronica, particularly Bjork. “When I heard her last album, Medulla, it reminded me of her early Sugarcubes stuff. Bjork has always managed to do her own thing and push the boundaries.” Equally progressive is scantily clad electro-hussy Peaches. “She’s just a provocative, sexy slut. I loved Fatherfucker, though I wasn’t sure about her beard on the front cover.”
Heavenly harmonies
Manson has a number of old-school girl groups on her iPod. She loves ‘Leader Of The Pack’ by The Shangri-Las and ‘Baby Love’ by The Supremes. Asked about her fantasy girl group, Manson doesn’t hesitate. “Gwen Stefani and Brody Dalle from The Distillers.” The line-up has already united for their debut gig. “We were on tour together and sang ‘Call Me’ by Blondie. That was hilarious.” Manson toured with Stefani during her No Doubt days, and has relished her transformation into a solo artist. “I loved ‘What You Waiting For? [from Love Angel Music Baby].” As for Dalle, Manson has ‘Hunger’ on her iPod, from The Distillers debut Coral Fang. “Brody Dalle is the Ava Gardner of rock’n’roll.”
Ladies in waiting
Until 2003, Manson wasn’t optimistic about the future of female rock. “For a long time, I was touring all over the world, headlining festivals where I was the only female on the bill.” So along with Peaches and The Distillers, Manson was delighted with the emergence of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. “Karen O is one of the greatest rock stars since Courtney Love.”
Miss understood
“I feel for all those female artists who are a little of the charts and are ridiculed in the press,” says Manson, as she reveals a particular love for Sinead O’Connor. “I’m so devastated that’s she’s become a figure of ridicule. It breaks my heart, because although she’s outspoken and provocative, she’s obviously not that tough.” Her favourite O’Connor album is I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, particularly the track ‘Black Boys On Mopeds.’ The treatment of New York singer Fiona Apple’s third album Extraordinary Machine, currently shelved by the record company, draws Manson’s disgust. “I don’t understand why record companies spend a fortune on mindless little fools who’ve been to stage school and don’t have anything of interest to say, then they leave Fiona languishing.”
Grunge match
Nirvana’s influence on any modern rock band is never far away, and Butch Vig, Garbage drummer and producer of Nevermind, secured a guest appearance by Dave Grohl on the new album. Manson also adores Courtney Love and picks Hole’s ‘Violet’, from Live Through This, as her essential track. “I didn’t like seeing Courtney falling to pieces. The way the media dealt with it sickened me. She’s made some great albums that will be remembered for generations to come. If any other female artist had come out with her last record [America’s Sweetheart] it would have topped every critic’s list.”
[source: garbagedisco.com/forum – thanks to Breakinguptheguy]