Push It

"Push It" is a song by American rock band Garbage from their second studio album, Version 2.0 (1998). It was released on April 20, 1998, as the album's lead single. Lead singer Shirley Manson elaborated on the song's dreamy verse structure versus the confrontational chorus: "[It's about] the schizophrenia that exists when you try to reconcile your desires and demons with the need to fit in. It's a song of reassurance". The track contains a musical quotation of the Beach Boys' 1964 song "Don't Worry Baby". The music video for "Push It" received thirteen nominations between the MTV Video Music Awards, MTV Europe Music Awards, and the MVPA Music Video Awards. "Push It" was also nominated as Best Alternative Records at Miami's Winter Music Conference. In 2007, "Push It" was remixed for Garbage's greatest hits album Absolute Garbage; some elements were made more noticeable, while some elements were reduced or edited out. A rock version was also serviced to UK radio stations to promote the compilation. Writing and production Garbage began writing for their second album at the start of March 1997 at a vacation house in Friday Harbor, Washington. There, the group demoed and made rough outlines for new songs over a three-week period. When they felt that they had made a good start, they relocated to their Madison, Wisconsin, base at Smart Studios and began fleshing out the ideas and rough sketches that were made over the rest of the year. The group recorded all of the material for the second album through a 48-track digital system direct to hard drives utilizing a 24-bit Pro Tools rig. Vocalist Shirley Manson wrote the majority of her lyrics while ensconced in a hotel near the studio. Garbage completed recording, producing and mixing of their second album in mid-February 1998, and the album was given the title Version 2.0. During a vocal tracking session in which Manson was singing over music already written for "Push It", the band felt that one of the lines in "Push It" would benefit from having a vocal chorus answering the words back to her. Inspired by Manson's spontaneous ad-lib of the phrase "don't worry baby" over the music, guitarist Steve Marker sampled the Beach Boys song "Don't Worry Baby" and used it as a backing vocal. The sample didn't work with what the band had already recorded so Manson re-sang the lines to fit the key and tempo of the song.