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Cover of Version 2.0 by Garbage
Cover: Version 2.0

Song · Garbage

“Special” by Garbage

From the album Version 2.0 (1998)

“Special” by Garbage appears on 34 radio countdowns from 15 stations between 1998 and 2023. It was first released in 1998 on the album Version 2.0. Its best result is #11 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1999. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #45 alternative song of 1999, #1,070 alternative song of all time and #147 of the '90s.

34countdowns
15stations
#11best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1998–2023years charted

Watch

Garbage - Special (w/Titles)

Video from YouTube (GarbageVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Special" is the third single from Garbage's second album, Version 2.0, a 1998 record polished until you could see your face in it. Shirley Manson sings it with a mix of hurt and contempt, sweet on top and cutting underneath, and slips in a line borrowed from the Pretenders' "Talk of the Town" along the way.

Duke Erikson and Steve Marker stack up bright, chiming guitars, Daniel Shulman plays bass and Butch Vig handles the drums, with the band producing and Billy Bush engineering. Manson, Erikson, Marker and Vig share the writing credit, and the whole thing hums with sheen and hooks, a big-chorus pop song dressed in rock clothes.

British buyers took it to 15, while it stopped at 52 on the Billboard Hot 100 and 54 in Australia, and it earned two Grammy nominations in 2000, one of them for Best Rock Song. It also took Song of the Year from the Wisconsin Area Music Industry awards and a Citation of Achievement at the BMI Pop Awards, while its sci-fi-flavored video won a D&AD Award, an MTV Video Music Award and a VH1 Visionary Video award. In 2007 it was remastered for the greatest-hits set Absolute Garbage.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1998 64 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1998 107
1998 65 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1998 106
1998 42 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1998 100
1998 51 WFNX Boston, MA WFNX Top 101.7 Songs of 1998 102
1998 77 The Buzz Burlington, VT / Plattsburgh, NY / Montreal, QC The Buzz Top 99 Songs of 1998 100
1998 101 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) WEQX Top 102.7 of 1998 103
1998 89 Triple J Australia (national) Triple J Hottest 100 of 1998 100
1998 102 Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) Radio & Records Top 103 Songs of 1998 102
1999 11 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1999 107
1999 37 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1999 106
1999 54 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1999 101
1999 51 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1999 100
1999 57 WFNX Boston, MA WFNX Top 99 Songs of 1999 99
1999 66 107.7 The End Seattle, WA The End Top 107 Songs of 1999 107
1999 16 89X Detroit, MI / Windsor, ON 89X Top 89 Songs of 1999 89
1999 36 Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) Radio & Records Top 104 Songs of 1999 104

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1999 108 KROQ KROQ Top 300 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 1999) 300
1999 49 WHFS WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) 500
1999 228 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 157 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 625 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
2004 332 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2005 1606 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 716 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2007 291 KROQ KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) 500
2007 257 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 257 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 274 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 277 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 274 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 276 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 269 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2021 748 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2023 327 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s 893

Charting alongside it in 1999

Best songs of 1999 →
  1. 1What's My Age Again?blink-182
  2. 2Scar TissueRed Hot Chili Peppers
  3. 3NookieLimp Bizkit
  4. 4Freak on a LeashKorn
  5. 5Praise YouFatboy Slim
  6. 6My Own Worst EnemyLit

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