Sleep Together

In this randy song, Garbage frontwoman Shirley Manson makes a not-so-subtle proposition, looking to satisfy her hungriness with some passionate lovemaking. It's an homage of sorts to the 1981 song "Never Say Never" by the San Francisco band Romeo Void, whose lead singer, Debora Iyall, tells the guy she's after: I might like you better If we slept together Manson sings: If we sleep together Will you like me better?

Along with Courtney Love, Shirley Manson was one of the few frontwomen to make a big impact on the '90s alternative rock scene, which was dominated by men. This song shows her talent for falling headfirst into an emotion, which in this case is also a deadly sin: lust. Her look - flaming red hair and bold makeup - also earned her a lot of attention. Describing her most ardent fans to The Guardian, she said: "I get a lot of women fans and a lot of incarcerated men." She married her first husband, Eddie Farrell, in 1996, two years before this song was released.

This is a song from the second Garbage album, Version 2.0, which leans heavily into electronica. Based in Wisconsin, the band is unusual in that all three musicians backing Shirley Manson are also producers with credits for other artists as well, including Nirvana (Butch Vig of Garbage produced their album Nevermind). They had been making music together for about 10 years before they formed the band, recruiting Manson as lead singer all the way from Scotland. Their first (self-titled) album was a worldwide success, with the hits "Only Happy When It Rains" and "Stupid Girl." Version 2.0 also did very well, with the hits "Push It" and "Special."