"Stupid Girl" was Garbage's fourth international release, but the song was one of the first the band wrote together before Shirley Manson was even an official member of the group. They wrote it in about 30 minutes after sampling a The Clash drum loop. The Clash members Joe Strummer and Mick Jones were given writing credits on "Stupid Girl" because of it.
In a 1996 interview with
Seventeen
Magazine lead singer, Shirley Manson said, "The song is really about squandering potential - kind of our version of Madonna's '
Express Yourself
,' but a little more subversive."
It was nominated for 2 Grammy Awards, for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group.
The video was directed by Samuel Bayer, who was best known for Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video. To get the damaged film effect on this video he literally used film then dipped it in water and put cigarettes out on it. He did the same for the Green Day "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" video.
Garbage "Stupid Girl" 1995