Song · Garbage
“Vow” by Garbage
From the album Garbage (1995)
“Vow” by Garbage appears on 11 radio countdowns from 9 stations between 1995 and 2023. It was first released in 1995 on the album Garbage. Its best result is #15 on the Triple J Hottest 100 of 1995. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #97 alternative song of 1995 and #3,780 alternative song of all time.
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Video from YouTube (GarbageVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
"Vow" was Garbage's debut single, released in 1995 and later part of their self-titled album, and it arrives with its teeth bared. Butch Vig, Duke Erikson and Steve Marker had it started as a demo; Shirley Manson joined and helped finish it, turning a newspaper story about domestic abuse into a cool, clenched song about payback. The band produced it themselves, Vig on drums, Erikson and Marker splitting guitars, bass and keyboards, and Manson singing and playing guitar over layers of fuzz like she's already planned the getaway.
Its rise was pure word of mouth: a slot on a Volume magazine CD sampler late in 1994, spins from John Peel and Steve Lamacq on Radio 1, then modern rock stations in Los Angeles and Seattle. The first UK pressing came in a tiny run of embossed aluminium cases.
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 | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 66 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1995 | 107 |
| 1995 | 45 | John Peel (BBC Radio 1) | John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1995 | 50 |
| 1995 | 15 | Triple J Australia (national) | Triple J Hottest 100 of 1995 | 100 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 291 | KROQ | KROQ Top 300 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 1999) | 300 |
| 1999 | 201 | WHFS | WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) | 500 |
| 1999 | 906 | Q101 | Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 1017 |
| 1999 | 75 | WFNX | WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) | 500 |
| 2002 | 1574 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2005 | 910 | 99X | 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) | 1000 |
| 2007 | 498 | KROQ | KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) | 500 |
| 2023 | 834 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s | 893 |
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