Молоко (Песня Garbage)

1996 single by Garbage

"Milk" is a song written and produced by American alternative rock band Garbage from their self titled debut studio album (1995). The song was released internationally the following year as the album's fifth and final single. Garbage collaborated with trip hop musician Tricky on a new version of "Milk" for single release. Much media comment was made regarding a rumoured fall out over the sessions, when it became known that Garbage produced a further mix of "Milk" that only incorporated Tricky's vocals from that session. A mix that deleted Tricky's vocal, "Milk (The Siren mix)", charted in Germany, Australia and New Zealand. and pre empted the release of a home video compilation of all the band's music videos. Both "Milk" and "Supervixen" failed to chart when alternative radio chose to heavily support their soundtrack feature "#1 Crush" instead.

"Milk" was written and recorded by the band at their own recording studio in Madison, Wisconsin during the 1994–95 sessions for Garbage, and was the first track that Shirley Manson wrote from scratch. Guitarist Duke Erikson had happened to walk past Manson as she strummed an acoustic guitar in their studio lounge. He thought the melody she was humming was interesting and took the idea to the rest of the band: Steve Marker and drummer Butch Vig. Within an hour, they had set up a mic in the control room, Vig programmed some drum loops, Marker played bass and Erikson fired up the mellotron. Shirley's vocal (aside from overdubs) was recorded in a single take facing the control room speakers. At a later point, Garbage recorded some ambient textures for the track, and even had a clarinet part recorded, but these were ultimately removed in favour of keeping the production simple. "It just had a really beautiful kind of feeling to it", explained Manson, "We tried to recreate it in the booth, but it just sounded flat." She was inspired by a line in Michael Ondaatje's The Collected Works of Billy the Kid ("her throat is a kitchen") and alluded to it in her lyrics for the song. Manson later described the composition was "a seduction, almost like a siren song", "I really like the vulnerable and sinister side of "Milk". It sounds like it's an innocuous love song and it's not"

After Garbage's fifth single "Stupid Girl" had been released internationally, the band's record label were considering what the follow up single would be; at one point "Supervixen", "Fix Me Now", and "Milk" were all considered. The band performed a headline concert at New York City's Roseland Ballroom in mid April 1996 and were joined at the aftershow by English trip hop musician Tricky. The two groups hung out for the night, and decided to collaborate on a duet version of "Milk" featuring both Manson and Tricky on vocals. In May, the two acts spent a session in Chicago's CRC Studios working on the new recording. Tricky turned off all the lights in the vocal booth and pressed his mic against Manson's as they performed their parts. Internet rumors abounded that the session had been a disaster, with the band's audio engineer claiming the results were not as expected, and that Tricky himself had been difficult to work with. Tricky finished his duet version of "Milk" in New York's Platinum Island Studios; Garbage completed their own guitar led version of "Milk" in Madison during a break in their world tour. Garbage's rework was finished in two versions; the first was titled the Siren mix and featured only Manson's vocal; the second also incorporated Tricky's vocal and was titled the Wicked mix. Tricky took exception to Garbage releasing their own version as a single instead of his, and complained about the situation to the press.

"Milk" was first released as a single in Australia and New Zealand by Mushroom Records imprint label White. The single was released on October 7, 1996, on CD and cassette single and featured the Siren mix as the A side, and was backed up with the Wicked mix, Tricky's remix and the original album version. The single coincided with the band's first live dates in both countries, which saw the release of a tour edition of the album reach number four on the ARIA chart and number one on the RIANZ chart. Garbage made their first televised performance on Australian television on Hey Hey It's Saturday performing the single. A second "Milk" CD single was subsequently issued to stores containing the B side "Alien Sex Fiend", the band's own house mix of "Dog New Tricks", and remixes of "Milk", "Stupid Girl" and "Queer" by Rabbit In the Moon, Todd Terry and Danny Saber respectively. "Milk" debuted at number 48 on the Australian Singles Chart in early November 1996; the single then re entered the chart in December and peaked at number 44. "Milk" subsequently reached number 19 on the airplay chart. The 14,000 copy limited edition 7 inch vinyl format came housed in a white ripple effect card sleeve, with a videogram image mounted on front, and a nine panel white and blood red poster within. and climbing to number 24 on the European Top 50 airplay chart by January. Bertelsmann Music Group released two CD singles for "Milk", backed with remixes, to record stores. In Germany, modest sales of "Milk" led to a seven week run on their singles chart, peaking at number 84. In North America, Almo Sounds enacted a dual single release strategy; "Supervixen" would go to alternative radio, followed by "Milk" at Triple A radio stations However, only "Milk" would be commercially released to retail, a cassette single initially, followed by the CD single a week later, both backed with the new versions and a Rabbit in the Moon remix. On November 18, Almo serviced additional Rabbit in the Moon mixes to nightclubs. The single sales of "Milk" posted a modest number 18 entry on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, which ranks the most popular songs in the United States that have yet to enter the Hot 100. The chart impact of both singles was curtailed by the late October impact of a new remix of "#1 Crush" (from William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet: Music from the Motion Picture) on Capitol Records, which alternative stations quickly added, dropping "Supervixen" almost immediately from their playlists throughout the country. As the soundtrack was not on their label, Almo refused to support "#1 Crush" and were adamant on making "Milk" a hit. and gain modest traction at Top 40 radio. Despite not gaining much traction at radio, commercial sales of "Milk" enabled the single to re enter the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart at number 15 and peak a week later at number six and hanging on until at the end of February.

The music video for "Milk" was shot in London by director Stéphane Sednaoui. Originally scheduled to shoot in Paris while the band were in France on tour, it was more cost effective to relocate the shoot to the UK and fly the band over and back. Two edits were completed: a single take version for the album mix and a second version with some extra shots of Shirley for the Wicked/Siren mix. In the United States, VH1 added the "Milk" video to its playlist from November 11, MTV following suit. a week later. In December, MTV Europe certified the video a Buzz Bin clip. The single take album version "Milk" video was first commercially released on 1996's Garbage Video VHS and Video CD. A remastered version (a hybrid of the footage from the remix dubbed with the album version) was included on Garbage's 2007 greatest hits DVD Absolute Garbage. In 2015, "Milk", the Tricky remix, both Wicked and Siren mixes, and nine club remixes were remastered and released on Garbage (20th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition). The digital bundle also included the previously unreleased "Primal mix" by Massive Attack.

In a review of the debut album for Kerrang!, Paul Rees called "Milk" an "elegant hymn", adding that "impressive and evocative of Ridley Scott's vision of the dark, decaying cityscape of future Los Angeles in Blade Runner. A year later, the same publication reviewed the "Wicked Mix", stating "a bristling, brilliant reworking of the album track an inspired fusion. Deep blue shuddering beats and a guitar sound so chilled out it's virtually refrigerated." Jackie Hayden, in an album review for Hot Press, told readers to "pay attention to the "Strawberry Fields Forever" keyboards which float in to make fleeting appearances". RASP! magazine declared the track the album's highlight, writing ""Milk", a song SexKylie would die for, is an indie "Confide In Me" that soars ever upward in its frosty majesty". In their album review, The Guardian wrote, "Manson gives her dreamy all on this one, an unbearably lovely, lush ballad. "A divinely spooked, penumbral beauty", wrote Sharon O'Connell in her Melody Maker album write up, "["Milk" recalls] Julee Cruise's work with Angelo Badalamenti". "Depeche Mode in a pensive mood" wrote Emma Morgan in her NME review, while her colleague M. B. 's write up for their sister title Vox described "Milk" as "a stoners midnight Manhattan taxi tour". Pippa Lang, in a review for Metal Hammer, referred to the subtle strain of sadness within songs such as "A Stroke of Luck" and "Milk", describing them as "beautifully melancholic pieces of trancey tragedy".