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Dale
Dale
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Curve v. Garbage - Tale of the Tape

Posted over 2 years ago
I've postulated before, in these pages, that Garbage owes their entire career to the genius of Curve. Thing is, it really doesn't matter; they're both out there. It's time to make a choice, MOG Nation: do you prefer Garbage or Curve?Here's a taster for the uninitiated.Curve - Horror Head (from the album Doppelganger):Garbage - Vow (from their eponymous album):Choose for yourselves. Later on, I'll comment with a detailed analysis of my pick, because I've got nothing to do all day and this post has been bouncing around my brain all week.Rest assured, no football contests' outcomes rest on your choices. ;)
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Comments (18)

  1. Joxley
    Joxley says I think I prefer Garbage..although that might just be because I fear Anna's wrath if I speak differently ;)
    Permalink posted 01/06/2007
  2. Zeroskilz
    Zeroskilz says Garbage; definitely Garbage. How many time you think you'd ever hear that phrase in a postive sense?
    Permalink posted 01/06/2007
  3. Kinoshawk
    Kinoshawk says I'll go with Garbage as well, even though "Fait Accompli" is a badass song and video.
    Permalink posted 01/06/2007
  4. Kid Charming
    Kid Charming says Garbage, but not by very much.
    Permalink posted 01/06/2007
  5. 1234chainsaw
    1234chainsaw says You know my answer already, Dale, from other threads. Curve. No contest.
    Permalink posted 01/06/2007
  6. Dale
    Dale says OK, this hasn't moved for a bit, so here I go: Curve v. Garbage - The Tale Of The Tape VOCALS - Both singers (Toni Halliday and Shirley Manson, respectively) are capable of insouciance, innocence, and gravity with their vocals. However, Toni has a greater range, check the video for evidence. SLIGHT ADVANTAGE - Curve INSTRUMENTS - Shirley and Toni aren't particularly adept, so they're about equal. Dean Garcia is a fair bassist, and so is Duke Erikson. That leaves Butch Vig and Steve Marker without competition. And while it may not be entirely fair, since Curve brings in studio musicians, I must go with ... ADVANTAGE - Garbage EYE CANDY - When the first Garbage album came out, Shirley Manson was *the* hawtness, with that gorgeous red hair, short skirts, and high boots. Then she chopped off all her hair and dyed it blonde. Yuck. She couldn't have killed her appeal for me quicker if she had pulled a penis out of her pants. She grew the hair back out, but by then, the damage was done. Similarly, when Curve first came out, the UK press was all over Toni Halliday, with that shoulder-length raven-black hair, pale blue eyes, et cetera. Now, subsequent photos have shown her aging perhaps a bit quickly, but she still looks good to me. That smile at the end of the video above ... wow. For the ladies, the remaining three members of Garbage aren't exactly a treat on the eyes, unless you think Butch Vig is cute, and I'm not seeing it. Meanwhile, Dean Garcia pulls off the dark, brooding, sunglasses-at-night thing nicely. Final word, from Anna, upon first seeing the video for "Horror Head": "Now I get it. I feel 30% lesbian now." Nuff said. HUGE ADVANTAGE - Curve LIVE - Sorry guys, can't help you here. I've never seen Curve live, and I've only seen Garbage live on Leno, and on the MTV Awards, so I'm in no position to judge. PUSH MOVIE PLACEMENT - Garbage scored the title track for a Bond film, and had the first song on the Romeo and Juliet soundtrack. Curve got their songs played in the commercials for Spiderman, but didn't get on the soundtrack. No contest here. HUGE ADVANTAGE - Garbage PRODUCTION - Butch Vig produced all four Garbage albums, and it can be easily said that he's had a hand in some big albums (Nevermind, Siamese Dream). So he's got definite bonafides as a producer. Curve had Flood produce their first two albums, Doppelganger and Cuckoo, but the band self-produced their final two studio albums proper, Come Clean and Gift. Alan Moulder also mixed all four Curve albums, which is no surprise, as Alan and Toni have been an item for a long time. Here's the thing; Alan Moulder could mix mewling cats, and I'd go get it, because his name alone sends me running. SLIGHT ADVANTAGE - Curve INDIE CRED - Garbage arrived, fully formed, on the Geffen label. OK, you could say they were on Almo Sounds, but that was a sub-label for Geffen, fully funded by the monetary might of David Geffen. Curve, on the other hand, started on Anxious Records in the UK, and Charisma Records in the US, achieving major-label notice for Come Clean. Then they watched Gift get buried by Universal, so they went online, and released MP3's of new songs on their website. Finally Universal relented and released Gift, but not until their mail-order album Open Day At The Hate Fest sold loads of copies. HUGE ADVANTAGE - Curve BALLADS - I picked two representative tracks, Garbage's "Medication" from Version 2.0, and Curve's "Perish" from Gift. They're both lovely songs, no doubt. "Medication" features a lovely picked guitar line, and a relatively explosive chorus backdrop, as Shirley excoriates an ex-lover. "Perish" starts low and slow, with a bubbling synth line under the surface, staying restrained in the bridge and chorus. However, when the music almost completely drops out of "Perish" and Toni sings softly, "I'm scared, I'm scared...", it cuts me to the quick every time. I can't say the Garbage song does that for me, although it is very pretty. ADVANTAGE - Curve CLUB ANTHEMS - Garbage's first two albums were chock-full of dance fodder: "Vow", "Only Happy When It Rains", "Stupid Girl", "Push It", "I Think I'm Paranoid", "Special", etc. Curve wasn't really doing dance fodder early on, but I could easily see "Chinese Burn" or "Hell Above Water" on dance floor rotation. Still, no contest. HUGE ADVANTAGE - Garbage REMIXES - Tricky remixed "Milk" for Garbage, Kevin Shields remixed "Coming Up Roses" for Curve. Can't mess with any of those. PUSH FINAL VERDICT - Curve, although I do still find much to admire and enjoy about Garbage. This, of course, will come to no surprise to anyone on here who knows me well.
    Permalink posted 01/06/2007
  7. Torch
    Torch says Spot on Dale!! Well done/written. Being a Garbage fan, I'm definitely grabbing Curve next time I see it! Thanks.
    Permalink posted 01/06/2007
  8. BellaVendetta
    BellaVendetta says Garbage. My friend had a dream she got to meet the human embodiment of evil, and it was the singer of Curve -- weird eh?
    Permalink posted 01/07/2007
  9. Dale
    Dale says Weird and creepy at once.
    Permalink posted 01/07/2007
  10. Anna
    Anna says ANOTHER POST I MISSED 'CAUSE OF THE NOTIFICATIONS!! .................... I feel 70% gay when I'm looking at Manson, Dale ;) I can't really pick. Garbage have been messing me up (the good way) for years now. And, on the other hand, when I first listened to Curve recently, I loved them & realized that Garbage are (first album excluded) their mainstream, polished version. I can't pick, I dig them both. And isn't that better? :)
    Permalink posted 01/09/2007
  11. Dale
    Dale says No, that's not better, that's the easy way out. Choose! :P
    Permalink posted 01/09/2007
  12. Anna
    Anna says No! I want the luxury of loving them both equally, and I want it now now now!
    Permalink posted 01/09/2007
  13. Dale
    Dale says Nope, I'm not letting you off the hook. I'm gonna need an answer tomorrow.
    Permalink posted 01/09/2007
  14. lemontwist
    lemontwist says I'm thinking Curve, because I've never been a huge Garbage fan (not that I don't like 'em, I do). Dale, you didn't get your answer. Maybe Anna has been too busy staring at Toni and Shirley pictures?
    Permalink posted 01/14/2007
  15. Dale
    Dale says Hey, you're right. I need to get her answer, doggone it!
    Permalink posted 01/14/2007
  16. Augusts1
    Augusts1 says Well, let's see here. According to MY record collection, I have ONE Garbage cd & THREE full length Curve cds & ONE Curve ep & ONE Curve single. And in my book Tony Halliday is model perfect whereas Shirley Manson usually looks like an evil clown of some sort(although she can look pretty) most of the time. So for me it's CURVE all the way, yay!!!
    Permalink posted 02/19/2007
  17. Oppositeoffaith
    Oppositeoffaith says

    Curve kills it.  Gabarge is cool, but easier to swallow-that's not a dis.  Curve were really creative and their sound was much more edgy and innovative.

    Thanks for the post!

    Permalink posted 09/17/2008
  18. Dale
    Dale says

    Glad you liked. :)

    Permalink posted 09/17/2008

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