Number One Crush

"#1 Crush"
Single by Garbage
from the album William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet:
Music from the Motion Picture
Released October 29, 1996
Format Promo single
Recorded 1994–1995
Smart Studios,
Madison, Wisconsin
Genre Alternative rock, trip hop[1]
Length 4:50
Label Capitol
Writer(s) Garbage
Producer(s) Garbage
Nellee Hooper (remix)
Garbage singles chronology
"Milk"
(1996)		 "#1 Crush"
(1996)		 "Push It"
(1998)

"#1 Crush" is a song by Garbage, released internationally on the B-side to their debut release "Vow", and in the United Kingdom on the B-side to second single "Subhuman".

In 1996, the track was remixed by Nellee Hooper and Marius de Vries for the soundtrack to Baz Luhrmann's modernised William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet movie adaptation. The remix of "#1 Crush" peaked at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Modern Rock Tracks, where it stayed for four weeks, and as of 2014 is Garbage's sole #1 entry on any US chart. "#1 Crush" was the first of two hit singles from the Romeo + Juliet soundtrack; "Lovefool" by The Cardigans continued the success of the compilation. In 1997, "#1 Crush" was later nominated for Best Song from a Movie at the MTV Movie Awards.

In 2007, the remix of "#1 Crush" was remastered and included on Garbage's greatest hits album Absolute Garbage.[2]

Song profile

"#1 Crush" was written and recorded between March, 1994 and May, 1995 during sessions between band members Duke Erikson, Shirley Manson, Steve Marker and Butch Vig in either Marker's basement recording studio or at their own Smart Studios in Madison.[3] Manson was concerned that listeners wouldn't realise that the song was about a stalker: "It's about somebody who wasn't quite right. The song however were slightly autobiographical. Everybody's felt obsessive about something or somebody in their life. I've felt crazy about somebody before," she explained, "That feeling - usually when you've split up with somebody - when you're absolutely obsessed with what they are doing. It's all to do with being pathetic".[4]

Reflecting on the lyrics, Manson felt, "All real love is a form of obsession. If you love someone more than anything else, that degree of exclusivity requires an abnormal amount of passion and care. And that can be positive," contrasting with the protagonist of "#1 Crush, "It's just that keeping it short of unhealthy, short of violence, really requires a bit of moderation. You can't let something like that take over all of your thought processes".[5] Butch Vig later described "#1 Crush" as "disturbing".[4]

Garbage's debut international single release "Vow" featured "#1 Crush" on the b-side, and was released in Europe, South Africa and Australasia in June 1995. The August re-release for the United Kingdom saw the track order reversed, with accompanying b-side "Subhuman" released in its own right, with "#1 Crush" remaining as its b-side, and "Vow" being added as a CD single bonus track.[6] In Japan, both "#1 Crush" and "Subhuman" were included as bonus tracks on the Japanese pressings of the band's debut album (titled G in Japan).[7] At the end of 1995, BMG France included "#1 Crush" on an album sampler titled Rare Track Collection to give away free with copies of the debut album purchased in Virgin Megastores.

Nellee Hooper remixed "#1 Crush" for inclusion on the Romeo + Juliet soundtrack, working with producers Marius de Vries and Jim Abbiss. In addition to downplaying the guitars and reworking the percussion and synth elements of the song, Hooper added a distorted vocal sample from Madonna's 1995 single "Bedtime Story".[8]

Airplay release

The Romeo + Juliet soundtrack was released in North America on October 29, 1996, ahead of the movie which opened in cinemas on November 1; "#1 Crush" was the album opener, and began to receive airplay at alternative radio.[9] Romeo + Juliet debuted at No. 44 on the Billboard 200.[10] A week later "#1 Crush" debuted on the Modern Rock Tracks chart at No. 17 and on the Hot 100 Airplay at No. 49.[11] The song had received airplay at 71 monitored radio stations across the United States, and had become the driving force behind the soundtrack which shot up to No. 12 on the album chart.[11] In its second week, "#1 Crush" broke into the Modern Rock top ten (at No. 8).[12] At the start of 1997, "#1 Crush" hit No. 1 on the Modern Rock chart.[5] The same week, the song reached a peak of No. 29 on the airplay chart. Because "#1 Crush" was an album cut, and would not be commercially available as a domestic single, it was ineligible to chart on the Billboard Hot 100.[11] Due to the song's runaway success, Garbage contemplated filming a music video for it.[13] The song stayed at the top Modern Rock position for an entire month, before dropping to No. 2 at the start of February.[14] Top 40 radio picked up on "#1 Crush" and registered a single week on the Top 40 Mainstream at No. 39. During this period, the Romeo + Juliet soundtrack hit No. 2 on the album chart; the band's debut album also rebounded from the lower-seventies into the top 50.[15] By the end of its chart-run in May 1997, "#1 Crush" had spent a total of 16 weeks on the Hot 100 Airplay chart[16] and 22 on the Modern Rock chart.[17]

Critical reception

"#1 Crush" generated a mostly positive response from music critics and radio programmers. Don O'Neal, PD of KFRR in Fresno, California, praised Garbage for following up the mass-appeal crossover "Stupid Girl" with the "almost gothic" "#1 Crush.[18]

Media appearances

Actor Lee Pace performed "#1 Crush" in a drag show in the 2003 movie Soldier's Girl,[19][20] while a year later, "#1 Crush" became the theme tune to the UK TV series Hex.[21]

The song also appeared in the 2014 episode of "True Blood" titled 'Death Is Not The End'.[22]

Credits and personnel

Garbage

Publishing

  • Written by Garbage
  • Copyright 1995 Vibecrusher Music / Irving Music, Inc (BMI) / Deadarm Music (ASCAP)

Production

"#1 Crush (Remix)"

Release history

Release Date Territory Record Label Format(s)
October 29, 1996 United States Capitol Airplay

Comprehensive charts

Chart (1997) Peak
position
Canadian Singles Chart (RPM)[23] 20
Canadian Alternative 30 (RPM)[24] 1
Iceland Topp 40 (IFPI)[25] 2
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Airplay[26] 29
U.S. Hot Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[27] 1
U.S. Top 40 Mainstream (Billboard)[28] 39

Year-End charts

Chart (1997) Position
Iceland Topp 40[29] 6
U.S. Hot Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[30] 11

Preceded by
"Swallowed" by Bush		 Billboard Modern Rock Tracks
number-one single
January 4–31, 1997 		Succeeded by
"Discothèque" by U2
Preceded by
Swallowed by Bush		 Canadian RPM Rock/Alternative 30 number-one single
January 20–27, 1997 		Succeeded by
"Discothèque" by U2

References

  1. ↑ "Garbage - #1 Crush (CD) at Discogs". Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  2. ↑ "New Best Of Album". Garbage.com. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
  3. ↑ "Q (issue 09/01/1996)" (Retrieved - 2008-02-10)
  4. 1 2 Simpson, Dave (1995-08-12). Vig's Atomic Dustbin. UK: Melody Maker.
  5. 1 2 Bambarger, Bradley (1997). The Modern Age. Billboard.
  6. ↑ "Vow (Discordant) / Subhuman (Mushroom)". Press release. Mushroom Records UK. Retrieved 2011-07-15.
  7. ↑ Watson, Rob. "Garbage BVCP-881 (1st Japanese Pressing)". Garbage-Discography.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-07-15.
  8. ↑ Sandiford-Waller, Theda (1996-12-07). "Hot 100 Singles Spotlight; Wherefore Art Thou". Billboard: 91.
  9. ↑ Mayfield, Geoff (1996). Between the Bullets. Billboard.
  10. ↑ The Billboard 200. Billboard. 1996. p. 96.
  11. 1 2 3 Sandiford-Walller, Theda (1996). Hot 100 Singles Spotlight. Billboard.
  12. ↑ Modern Rock Tracks - December 7th, 1996. Billboard. 1996. p. 85.
  13. ↑ `Romeo, Juliet' doth climbeth albums chart. Chicago Sun-Times, December 27, 1996 issue. Archived from the original on 2008-02-10.
  14. ↑ Modern Rock Chart (Feb 1st 1997). Billboard. 1997.
  15. ↑ Billboard 200 (Jan 25, 1997). Billboard. 1997.
  16. ↑ Hot 100 Airplay (March 15, 1997). Billboard. 1997.
  17. ↑ "Visualiser: "#1 Crush"". Billboard. Retrieved 2011-07-15.
  18. ↑ Carter, Kevin (1997). Maintaining an Acts Modern Base. Billboard.
  19. ↑ "Soldier's Girl (TV Movie 20013) - Soundtracks". IMDb. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  20. ↑ Lee Pace performing to "No 1 Crush" in Soldier's Girl on YouTube
  21. ↑ "Hex (TV Series 2004-2005) - Soundtracks". IMDb. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  22. ↑ Woerner, Meredith (14 July 2014). "True Blood Brings Back Everything We Love About This Series". io9.
  23. ↑ "Top Singles - Volume 64, No. 26, March 03 1997". RPM. Retrieved 18 Jan 2011.
  24. ↑ "Rock/Alternative - Volume 64, No. 20, January 20, 1997". RPM. Retrieved 18 Jan 2011.
  25. ↑ Islenski Listinn (in Icelandic). Föstudagar. 1997-05-02. p. 30.
  26. ↑ Billboard Hot 100 Airplay. Billboard, issue dated January 11th, 1997, reproduced on Google Books. Retrieved 2011-02-08.
  27. ↑ Hot Modern Rock Tracks. Billboard, issue dated January 11th, 1997, reproduced on Google Books. Retrieved 2011-02-08.
  28. ↑ ""#1 Crush" Top 40 Mainstream Listing For The Week of February 8, 1997". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 10, 2015. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
  29. ↑ 1997 Árslistinn (in Icelandic). Föstudagar. 1998-01-02. pp. 16–18.
  30. ↑ The Year In Music 1997: Hot Modern Rock Tracks. Billboard, issue dated 27th December 1997, reproduced on Google Books. Retrieved 2011-02-28.
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