Sex Is Not the Enemy
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"Sex Is Not The Enemy" was the second UK single from fourth Garbage album Bleed Like Me. It was released in June 2005, to support the band’s UK shows at London’s Brixton Academy and the Download and Glastonbury festivals, following the title track’s release as a single in North America.
"Sex Is Not The Enemy" has been confirmed as the third Australian single release from "Bleed Like Me" by their record label Festival Mushroom Records. It is also rumoured to be the third North American single however record company Geffen have not confirmed speculation.
Song profile
"Sex Is Not The Enemy was first written in 2003 during Garbage's troublesome sessions for their fourth album at Smart Studios. The song went through several re-writes before the final version was completed at the end of 2004, and was included on the finished album.Sleek and riding upon a seething bassline, "Sex Is Not The Enemy" was a return to the old-school pop that Garbage has become famous for, updated for the year 2005.
Bass on "Sex Is Not The Enemy" was played by Justin Meldal-Johnsen.
"Sex Is Not The Enemy" is published by Deadarm Music/Almo Music Corp (ASCAP) and Vibecrusher Music/Irving Music, Inc (BMI).
The song's full legal title is "Sex Is Not The Enemy". It is registered at ASCAP under 'Title Code: 492670992' and at BMI as 'BMI Work #7363921'.
Single release
"Sex Is Not The Enemy" was released in the UK on CD single, DVD single and with a special 7" release. At the start of the release week, all copies issued of the 7" were housed in a simple card sleeve, but by the end of that week, copies had been issued complete with a red tape cover, similar to the previous single release "Why Do You Love Me".The song was only playlisted by XFM and reached #24 on the chart. Nevertheless, it was one of the least successful Garbage singles in the band's history, falling to #66 the next week and then dropping out of the chart completely.
The single's failure may be explained because the song loses much of the energy present in its live performances in the studio recording that was released.
B-sides
Released with "Sex Is Not The Enemy" in the UK were the album cuts "Honeybee" and "Never Be Free", as well as a documentary on the making of the single's promo video.B-sides for the Australian release of the single have not yet been confirmed.
Music video
The video features a stunt Garbage played at one of their US shows. Shirley "exposed" her breasts (actually a flesh-coloured bra) and was dragged off the stage by policemen (actually impostors hired by Garbage).
The video was shot by Sophie Muller over two days in May 2005, with the stunt sequence filmed on-stage at Washington D.C.'s .
"We didn't tell the audience that this was a setup, that we were shooting a video," drummer Butch Vig explained. "It was weird; there was this huge, like, 'Ahhh.' I heard this groan and moan, and then everybody started going 'Booooo' and yelling 'Bull-shit!' and throwing stuff up on the stage. Most people thought that she had been arrested.
"We shot a lot of footage of Shirley running around New York - like, she was getting up on a soapbox with a bullhorn and just yelling at people. And it was funny, 'cause people thought, 'Oh, another crazy woman.' They just ignored her."
Remixes
Upon release in the UK, no remixes of the song appeared on any of the single formats, however in the following months a number of releases appeared featuring a wealth of new mixes by various artists.The first "Sex Is Not The Enemy" mixes to surface were on a CD-R promo, which appeared in late June 2005. This release contained mixes from Ils (Illian Walker) and a remix from Devil's Gun. In August 2005 two further promos, this time both on 12" vinyl, appeared containing mixes from either Freaks or Naughty (A.K.A. DJ Hell and Fischerspooner.
None of these mixes has appeared on a commercial Garbage release so far, however they may be issued in worldwide territories at a later date.
Complete list of remixes:
- Sex Is Not The Enemy (Devil's Gun remix) promotional only
- Sex Is Not The Enemy (Freaks abnormal speakeasy) ''promotional only' - Appears on an unofficial release'
- Sex Is Not The Enemy (Freaks revolting dub) ''promotional only' - Appears on an unofficial release'
- Sex Is Not The Enemy (Il’s dub remix) promotional only
- Sex Is Not The Enemy (Il’s vocal remix) promotional only
- Sex Is Not The Enemy (Naughty dub) ''promotional only' - Appears on an unofficial release'
- Sex Is Not The Enemy (Naughty instrumental) ''promotional only' - Appears on an unofficial release'
- Sex Is Not The Enemy (Naughty vocal) ''promotional only' - Appears on an unofficial release'
Live performances
"Sex Is Not The Enemy" has been performed at every show on the "Bleed Like Me" tour, and was first performed live onstage at the Olympia in Paris, France.It was performed live for television show "Album de'la Semaine" on Canal + (France) and on Fuse Comp'd in the US.
Sex Is Not The Enemy quote, unquote
Shirley Manson: (speaking in 2003) ""Sounds like old school Garbage to me but hey...what the hell do I know?"Shirley Manson: ""Sex Is Not The Enemy" is sort of a manifesto in a way. I had no idea it was until I looked back and thought ‘Oh my god, this really is an anthem to my sexual politics".
Steve Marker: "At first it wasn’t supposed to be anything other than a party song of course Shirley’s lyrics that she came up with gave it a new dimension. I think it’s touching on sexual politics and censorship."
Shirley Manson: "This is a party song on the surface, but it’s actually dealing with my amazement at how the Bush administration in America is really reactionary and clamping down on gay rights, and women’s reproductive rights and civil liberties in general. I thought it really weird that when Janet Jackson revealed her tit at the Super Bowl it was on the cover of USA Today for three days in a row and, meanwhile, there was no mention of the Iraq war. It was only focusing on Janet’s beautiful tit, which I thought was bizarre".
Comprehensive charts
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | "Sex Is Not The Enemy" | UK Singles Chart | #24 |
| 2005 | "Sex Is Not The Enemy" | Scottish regional chart | #22 |
External links
| Garbage |
| Butch Vig | Shirley Manson | Duke Erikson | Steve Marker |
| Discography |
|---|
| Albums and extended plays: Garbage | Version 2.0 | beautifulgarbage | Bleed Like Me | Absolute Garbage |
| Singles: "Vow" | "Subhuman" | "Only Happy When It Rains" | "Queer" | "Stupid Girl" | "Milk" | "Number One Crush" | "Push It" | "I Think I'm Paranoid" | "Special" | "The Trick Is to Keep Breathing" | "When I Grow Up" | "You Look So Fine" | "The World Is Not Enough" | "Androgyny" | "Cherry Lips" | "Breaking Up the Girl" | "Shut Your Mouth" | "Why Do You Love Me" | "Bleed Like Me" | "Sex Is Not the Enemy" | "Run Baby Run" |
| Related articles |
| Alternative rock | Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie | Angelfish | The World Is Not Enough | Mushroom Records | Almo Sounds | Interscope Records |
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