Sex Is Not the Enemy

Last updated
"Sex Is Not the Enemy"
Garbage - Sex Is Not the Enemy.jpg
Single by Garbage
from the album Bleed Like Me
B-side
  • "Never Be Free"
  • "Honeybee"
ReleasedJune 13, 2005
Recorded2003–2004
Studio Smart Studios,
Madison, Wisconsin
Genre Alternative rock, hard rock
Length3:07
Label A&E Records
Songwriter(s) Garbage
Producer(s) Garbage
Garbage singles chronology
"Bleed Like Me"
(2005)
"Sex Is Not the Enemy"
(2005)
"Run Baby Run"
(2005)

"Sex Is Not the Enemy" is a song by American alternative rock band Garbage, released as the second single from their fourth album Bleed Like Me (2005) in the UK. [1]

Contents

Written as a protest song, "Sex Is Not the Enemy" was influenced by the 2004 Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy, which led to a censorship row across American media after singer Janet Jackson's bare breast was exposed by Justin Timberlake in what was later referred to as a "wardrobe malfunction". [2] The lyrics incorporated themes that broached the Bush administrations efforts to roll-back gay rights, reproductive rights and in general, the civil liberties of the American people [2] as well as the rise of the moral right wing in the United States. [3]

"Sex Is Not the Enemy" was released as the second single from Bleed Like Me in the United Kingdom. [4] In North America, album centre-piece "Bleed Like Me" had already followed up "Why Do You Love Me", while in Europe and Australia, second single status was given to non-conformance anthem "Run Baby Run". [5] Garbage shot music videos for all three singles with Sophie Muller while on tour. [6] To date, "Sex Is Not the Enemy" is Garbage's most recent UK Top 40 hit. [7]

Song background

"Sex Is Not the Enemy" was written and recorded during sessions at the band's home base of Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin, [8] and along with "Right Between the Eyes", was one of the first songs developed for the fourth record. [9] Over the course of 2003, Garbage had been struggling to find an agreed-upon direction for the album. [10] Vocalist and primary lyricist Shirley Manson had also been struggling with writer's block, while recovering from surgery to remove a cyst on her vocal cords. [1] In August, Manson wrote in her online journal that "Sex Is Not the Enemy" sounded "like old school Garbage". [11] However by the following month, the band's disintegrating dynamic ultimately escalated into a three-month long split and cessation of all recording activity. [12]

After regrouping in Los Angeles to work with John King on some songs at the beginning of 2004, Garbage were prepared to return to Madison to overcome the difficulties that had derailed the previous years sessions. [1] "We came up with a whole slew of songs in the first week [in Madison] ... Shirley wrote the lyrics to "Sex is Not the Enemy" ... suddenly words started pouring out of her. " drummer Butch Vig later recalled, "Because we almost lost the band, there was a certain sense of desperation when we got back in the studio. Duke and Steve really upped the ante with their guitar playing. Shirley's lyrics got much more topical socially and politically." [13] Manson felt a need to respond to what she saw as the Bush administration clamping down on LGBT+ and reproductive rights and people's civil liberties. [2] Guitarist Steve Marker considered it as nothing more than "a party song" until the subject matter was refocused. [14] Around this time, Manson had seen the Super Bowl halftime show fall-out and incorporated how she felt about that into the song. [15]

At least three different versions of "Sex Is Not the Enemy" evolved throughout the Bleed Like Me sessions; towards the end of recording, Manson re-sung the entire vocal, as the band decided to return to the original verse melody. [16] Bass guitar parts were performed by Justin Meldal-Johnson, while drums were performed by Matt Walker, as Vig wanted to control the sound of some of the songs from "behind the glass" during the album sessions, which were engineered by Billy Bush. [17] To record the "pumping energy" of the drums, room mics were placed to capture the natural sound of the drums, which was then compressed at tracking stage. [17] The final recording was mixed by Vig at Smart Studios and mastered by Emily Lazar at The Lodge in New York City. [18]

Of the song's lyrical matter, Manson described it as "sort of heavy, but it's coated in this really anthemic, upbeat party song." [19] Manson was perplexed by the apparent hypocrisy of censorship on US television, when in her opinion there were much worse things shown on-screen that children were left to watch unsupervised, [19] yet as the Iraq War raged on, the USA Today featured the SuperBowl incident on their cover for three days in a row instead. Manson felt the media "was only focusing on Janet's beautiful tit, which I thought was bizarre". [15] "The chorus was just a tongue-in-cheek call to arms  ... I get frustrated with certain restraints that are placed upon me because I'm a woman," Manson elaborated, "And, equally, men are shoved into a corner." [20] At the completion of the album, Manson looked back and agreed, "'[It's] sort of a manifesto  ... I had no idea it was, until I looked back and thought, 'this really is an anthem to my sexual politics'". [14] Coming through in the verse was Manson's sympathy for committed same-sex couples fighting for their right to be married, while celebrities such as Nicky Hilton were able to abuse the institution ("and, besides the odd raised-eyebrow or two, totally get away with it just because they're heterosexual. lt's so unjust"). Manson used the song to register her protest that nobody she knew felt represented by the Bush administration. [21]

On March 28, 2005, "Sex Is Not the Enemy" was first performed for a live audience at a five-song promo set for a Canal+ Album de la semaine broadcast. The following night, on the opening night of the Bleed Like Me tour, [22] the song debuted onstage at Olympia in Paris. In 2016, "Sex Is Not the Enemy" was brought back into the set for the Strange Little Birds and 2017's Rage and Rapture tours.

Single release

Warner Music had originally scheduled "Bleed Like Me" as the worldwide second single from Bleed Like Me, however after the success of "Why Do You Love Me" in the UK charts, the label refocused onto "Sex Is Not the Enemy". Warner serviced a new radio mix of the song to broadcasters, however XFM was the only major radio station to playlist "Sex Is Not the Enemy"—neither Radio One or Radio 2 did. Ahead of the retail date, Garbage undertook some media interviews on TRL , Popworld , CD:UK and hit40uk , [23] and headlined a sold-out concert at London's Brixton Academy [2] and performed a slot at the Download Festival. [24] Unlike the release of "Why Do You Love Me", where Garbage had performed the single on all the major TV shows, along with pre-records for the then-planned "Bleed Like Me" single, Garbage were unable to do the same for "Sex Is Not the Enemy".

On June 13, 2005, "Sex Is Not the Enemy" was released on CD, DVD and 7" vinyl formats. [25] The single underperformed, debuting and peaking on the UK singles chart at number 24. [26] On June 19, Garbage appeared at T4's televised Party on the Beach coast-side festival in Weston-Super-Mare, promoting "Sex Is Not the Enemy" and "Why Do You Love Me" in front of thousands of sun-baked revellers. [27] Warners belatedly serviced a few club remixes of "Sex Is Not the Enemy" to DJs [28] and on July 3 a digital bundle of the single and B-side "Honeybee" was made available on iTunes. [29]

In September, "Sex Is Not the Enemy" was serviced to Australian radio and TV. [30] The song was used to promote the band's final Bleed Like Me tourdates [24] as well as the retail date for Bleed Like Me: Australian Tour Edition, a repackaged CD/DVD of the album for the Australian market. The bonus DVD featured the "Sex Is Not The Enemy" music video and "making of" documentary from the UK DVD single. [31]

Music video

Shirley Manson's "arrest" on stage at the climax of the "Sex Is Not the Enemy" video. SINTEvideoarrest.jpg
Shirley Manson's "arrest" on stage at the climax of the "Sex Is Not the Enemy" video.

The music video for "Sex Is Not the Enemy" was directed by Sophie Muller and filmed on two consecutive nights of April 20 and April 21. [32] On the first day of shooting, both Manson and Muller shot montage scenes in a New York City hotel room and at a street corner down from Times Square. [33] "She was getting up on a soapbox with a bullhorn and just yelling at people," Butch Vig later recalled, "And it was funny, 'cause people thought, 'Oh, another crazy woman'... They just ignored her." [32]

On the second day the band filmed live footage onstage at their show at Washington D.C.'s 9:30 Club. [34] This section of the video referenced both Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" and Jim Morrison's 1969 arrest for alleged on-stage indecent exposure, [1] choreographing a sequence where Manson exposed her breasts to the audience (in reality, a flesh-coloured bra) and dragged off-stage by hired actors posing as D.C. cops. [33] The rest of Garbage dropped instruments mid-song and stormed off. The audience were not told of the stunt and afterwards heckled the venue security. [33] Some of the audience assumed they had fallen victim to a Punk'd stunt. [32]

On May 15, the "Sex Is Not the Enemy" video streamed exclusively from Garbage.com, [35] a day before it was serviced to music stations. [36] The video premiered in the United States on July 4 [37] and in Australia on September 11. [30] The "Sex Is Not the Enemy" video became available to download on digital stores in 2006 and a slightly different edit of the clip uploaded to VEVO in 2015. [38]

B-sides

The "Sex Is Not the Enemy" single release was backed with b-sides "Honeybee" and "Never Be Free", both recorded during the album sessions for Bleed Like Me. Butch Vig described "Honeybee" as "Neil Young-esque, with a druggy feel", [39] while Manson described it as "pretty dark and twisted. It's a lusty, yearning moan". [40] "Honeybee" featured drums performed by Matt Walker, while "Never Be Free" credited John5 with guitar. All three tracks were written and produced by Garbage, although "Never Be Free" may have originally been a John Lowery co-write. [41] Producer James Michael may have also worked on the track at one point. [42] An acetate of an early version of "Never Be Free" leaked from Chrysalis Music Group in 2003, but the track did not end up on the internet. [41] Both b-sides were ported over to the European and Australian "Run Baby Run" singles. [4]

Remixes

In June 2005, Warner serviced three remixes to dance radio stations, one remix by filthy-electro duo Devil's Gun and a vocal mix and dub mix produced by breakbeat Ils. By the end of August, two separate 12" vinyl white labels were in circulation featuring further remixes of the song produced by Freaks [43] and by DJ Hell/Fischerspooner side-project Naughty. [44]

Critical reception

"Sex Is Not the Enemy" was generally well-received by music critics, a number of whom highlighted the track in their Bleed Like Me album reviews. Sian Llewellyn, in her Classic Rock review, thought the track was a "fuzzed up work of pop rock genius—complete with one of those cut-all-the-instruments-except-the-drums-and-the-vocal clap along moments" adding that "you can already hear its 'a revolution is the solution' chant reverbating through concert halls across the land". [45] while Chuck Arnold of People described the song as "anthemic". [46] Reviewers for NME were rather critical, Dan Martin writing that "tracks on the sober second-half [of the album] like "Sex Is Not the Enemy" revert to factory settings" and "could have been on any Garbage record of the past ten years," [15] while in their single review, their journalist wrote "a sludgy-yet-shiny rock song that rages against state prudishness while sounding like a less-gay re-write of "Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)". Good drums though." [47] Mike Shallcross, of Time Out London , declared Manson's lyrics as banal, adding "trying to gauge whether this song contradicts Pat Benatar's "Stop Selling Sex As A Weapon" and pondering whether the U.N. should start sending inspection teams to Sex". [48] Contrastingly, Leander Williams, of Time Out New York , wrote "Garbage's adventures in Wall of Sound multi-tracking make what's been called a return to basics impossible. What's interesting is how the band tops the guitar and explosive glitches of present day rock with the Blondie-tronic keyboard riffs of new wave pop on "Sex Is Not the Enemy" ... amongst others". [49] Some reviewers also noted the song's perceived similarity to the bassline of The Breeders 1993 single "Cannonball".

Track listings

Charts

Chart performance for "Sex Is Not the Enemy"
Chart (2005)Peak
position
European Hot 100 ( Billboard /Music & Media) [54] 78
UK Scottish Singles (The Official Charts Company) [55] 22
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company) [26] 24

Release history

Release history and formats for "Sex Is Not the Enemy"
TerritoryRelease dateRecord labelFormat
United KingdomJune 13, 2005 A&E 7", CD single, DVD single
July 3, 2005 Digital single

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Butch Vig</span> American musician and record producer

Bryan David "Butch" Vig is an American musician, record producer, and songwriter who is the drummer and co-producer of the rock band Garbage. Known for producing the diamond-selling Nirvana album Nevermind (1991), Vig also produced for several other alternative rock acts of the 1990s, including the Smashing Pumpkins, L7, and Sonic Youth. Some notable production credits of Vig include L7's Bricks are Heavy (1992) and the Smashing Pumpkins' Siamese Dream (1993).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garbage (band)</span> Scottish-American rock band

Garbage is a Scottish and American rock band formed in 1993 in Madison, Wisconsin. The band's line-up consisting of Scottish singer Shirley Manson (vocals) and American musicians Duke Erikson, Steve Marker, and Butch Vig has remained unchanged since its inception. All four members are involved in the songwriting and production process. Garbage has sold over 17 million albums worldwide.

<i>Garbage</i> (album) 1995 studio album by Garbage

Garbage is the debut studio album by American rock band Garbage. It was released on August 15, 1995, by Almo Sounds. The album was met with critical acclaim upon its release, being viewed by some as an innovative recording for its time. It reached number 20 on the US Billboard 200 and number six on the UK Albums Chart, while charting inside the top 20 and receiving multi-platinum certifications in several territories. The album's success was helped by the band promoting it on a year-long tour, including playing on the European festival circuit and supporting the Smashing Pumpkins throughout 1996, as well as by a run of increasingly successful singles culminating with "Stupid Girl", which received Grammy Award nominations for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group in 1997.

<i>Bleed Like Me</i> 2005 studio album by Garbage

Bleed Like Me is the fourth studio album by American rock band Garbage. It was released worldwide on April 11, 2005, through Warner Music imprint A&E Records, with a North American release on Geffen Records the following day. For this album, the band chose a straight rock sound reminiscent of their live performances instead of the electronica that permeated their previous album Beautiful Garbage (2001). The first recording sessions took place in March 2003, but were mostly unproductive due to passive aggression between band members and a general lack of direction. As they struggled to record the album, Garbage quietly split for four months starting in October 2003. They reunited under producer John King in Los Angeles and, following a guest appearance by Dave Grohl on "Bad Boyfriend", they found a renewed focus on production. Garbage recruited drummer Matt Walker and bassist Justin Meldal-Johnsen for new recording sessions and completed the album by late 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Marker</span> American musician

Steven W. Marker is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the co–founder and guitarist of the alternative rock band Garbage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vow (song)</span> 1995 single by Garbage

"Vow" is a song by alternative rock band Garbage. It was released as their debut single in early 1995 by Discordant, a label set up by Mushroom Records to launch the group, and Almo Sounds in North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Why Do You Love Me</span> 2005 single by Garbage

"Why Do You Love Me" is a song by alternative rock band Garbage, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Bleed Like Me (2005).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Run Baby Run (Garbage song)</span> 2005 single by Garbage

"Run Baby Run" is a rock song by American alternative band Garbage from their fourth studio album, Bleed Like Me (2005). Described by Garbage guitarist Duke Erikson as a call to not-conforming, the track originated from an idea he had brought into the album sessions. "Being expected to go through life to behave a certain way, do certain things," Erikson explained later, "I think "Run Baby Run" is a plea to run from that. Run with your life, take it wherever it takes you."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bleed Like Me (song)</span> 2005 single by Garbage

"Bleed Like Me" is a song by American rock band Garbage and the title-track of their fourth studio album (2005). It was released as the album's second single in North America by Geffen Records imprint Almo Sounds on May 9, 2005. It reached number 27 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. Club mixes of the track sent the remix package into the top ten of the Billboard dance chart. The song received positive reviews from critics, who highlighted it as the centrepiece of the album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queer (song)</span> 1995 single by Garbage

"Queer" is a song by American rock band Garbage from their self-titled debut studio album (1995). The song started as a demo during sessions between band members Butch Vig, Duke Erikson, and Steve Marker, and finished after singer Shirley Manson joined the band. Manson rewrote the sexualized lyrics to be more ambiguous, and rearranged the song into a subdued trip hop and rock crossover composition.

<i>Absolute Garbage</i> 2007 greatest hits album by Garbage

Absolute Garbage is a greatest hits album by American rock band Garbage. It was released worldwide on July 23, 2007 through Warner Music imprint A&E Records with a North American release through Almo Sounds, Geffen Records, and Universal Music Enterprises the following day. The compilation was issued while the band was on hiatus following a one-off reformation to perform at a benefit concert early in the year.

"Supervixen" is an alternative rock song written and performed by alternative rock band Garbage and is the opening track on their self-titled debut studio album (1995). The song was titled after Russ Meyer's 1975 sexploitation film Supervixens but was influenced by Pier Paolo Pasolini's period horror art film Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom, which had been playing on a monitor above the soundboard at Smart Studios when the band were working on it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garbage discography</span>

Garbage is a Scottish and American rock band formed in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1993. The group's discography consists of seven studio albums, three compilation albums, one remix album, one extended play, 37 singles, four promotional singles, three video albums, and 38 music videos. The line-up consists of Scottish vocalist Shirley Manson and Americans Duke Erikson, Steve Marker, and Butch Vig. They have amassed worldwide album sales of over 17 million units.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tell Me Where It Hurts (Garbage song)</span> 2007 single by Garbage

"Tell Me Where It Hurts" is the 2007 lead single from alternative rock band Garbage's career-spanning greatest hits album Absolute Garbage, and was released as a physical single by A&E Records in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and as a digital single or airplay-only release in other worldwide territories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bleed Like Me World Tour</span> 2005 concert tour by Garbage

The Bleed Like Me Tour was the fourth world concert tour cycle by American/Scottish alternative rock group Garbage. The tour launched in Paris, France and took the band throughout North America, Europe and Australia in support of the band's fourth studio album Bleed Like Me which was released internationally in April 2005. The tour took in combinations of headline performances, slots on the bills at rock festivals, television and radio shows. After being initially organised low-key, the tour snowballed into bigger venues when the parent album and its lead single "Why Do You Love Me" became surprise hits internationally. The tour concluded in Perth, Western Australia after six months on the road; when the tour leg of dates in France, Belgium and United Kingdom were cancelled. A press statement from the band stated that they had "somewhat overextended themselves".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shirley Manson discography</span>

This is a list of the discography of Scottish recording artist Shirley Manson, who has performed as the lead singer of American rock band Garbage since 1993. Prior to joining Garbage, she was a backing vocalist and keyboard player for Goodbye Mr Mackenzie from 1981–1992. The band had one UK Top 40 single, "The Rattler", and a string of UK Top 100 singles – "Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie", "Love Child", "Blacker Than Black" and "Now We Are Married".

<i>Not Your Kind of People</i> 2012 studio album by Garbage

Not Your Kind of People is the fifth studio album by American rock band Garbage. It was released on May 11, 2012, through the band's own record label, Stunvolume. The album marks the return of the band after a seven-year hiatus that started with previous album Bleed Like Me. Guitarist Duke Erikson said at the launch of the record that "working with Garbage again was very instinctual. Like getting on a bicycle...with three other people." The band emphasized that they did not want to reinvent themselves, but embrace their sonic identity, reflecting their classic sound whilst updating it for 2012. Although Shirley Manson's morose dispositions have a presence on the record, many of the songs share a more optimistic outlook on life, influenced by some of Manson's personal experiences during their hiatus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle in Me</span> 2012 single by Garbage

"Battle in Me" is a song from rock band Garbage's fifth studio album Not Your Kind of People. It was released as the lead single to promote the album in United Kingdom. "Battle in Me" preceded the band's underplayed headliner concert in London, and served as the band's Record Store Day 2012 release in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Girls Talk (Garbage song)</span> 2014 single by Garbage

"Girls Talk" is a stand-alone single released by alternative rock band Garbage for Record Store Day 2014, backed with the b-side "Time Will Destroy Everything". Both tracks would be remastered and included on Garbage's seventh studio album No Gods No Masters in 2021.

<i>Witness to Your Love</i> 2023 EP by Garbage

Witness to Your Love is an EP released by alternative rock band Garbage for Record Store Day 2023, on April 22.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Garbage; Jason Cohen (2017). This Is the Noise That Keeps Me Awake. Akashic Books. pp. 150–153. ISBN   978-1-61775-550-7.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "'SEX' TALK; The band get political..." NME. 2005-05-17. Archived from the original on 2005-12-20.
  3. Speed Dial: Garbage. Rip & Burn. 2005-05-01.
  4. 1 2 "Run Baby Run Commercial Singles". Garbage.com. Archived from the original on October 26, 2007. Retrieved July 2, 2007.
  5. "3 Different Singles Planned". Garbage-Discography.co.uk. Archived from the original on February 20, 2006. Retrieved July 2, 2007.
  6. Paoletta, Michael (2005-04-16). For The Love of Garbage. Billboard. pp. 11, 14.
  7. "GARBAGE UK CHART HISTORY". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  8. "Triple-J Butch Vig interview". ABC.net.au. Archived from the original on 2007-08-07. Retrieved 2007-07-03.
  9. Molenda, Michael (2005-07-01). Messy Relations. Guitar Player.
  10. Aquilante, Dan (2005-04-11). "RECYCLED – NEW ALBUM NEARLY CAUSED GARBAGE TO GET THROWN OUT". New York Post . Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  11. "08.11.03 Studio Diary #2". Garbage.com. Archived from the original on 2006-10-19. Retrieved 2007-07-03.
  12. "Blood On The Tracks". Hot Press. Archived from the original on October 25, 2007. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  13. "Interview: Butch Vig of Garbage". Soundspike.com. 2005-04-13. Archived from the original on 2013-10-20. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  14. 1 2 "Bleed Like Me Electronic Press Kit". Geffen.com. Archived from the original on 2009-02-02. Alt URL
  15. 1 2 3 Martin, Dan (2005-04-08). Blood on the Tracks. NME.
  16. "11.15.04 Studio Diary #33". Garbage.com. Archived from the original on 2009-02-02. Retrieved 2007-06-21.
  17. 1 2 Mclachlan, Jordan (2005-06-01). The Trick Is To Keep Breathing. Rhythm. p. 40.
  18. Johnson, Heather (2005-05-01). "Garbage Cleans Up New Album at The Lodge". Mix Online.
  19. 1 2 Moss, Corey (2005-04-12). "GARBAGE WORK ON ISSUES, GET INSPIRED BY LOUD ROCK ... AND A BREAST". MTV News. Archived from the original on December 31, 2014.
  20. Johnstone, Emma (2005-04-09). Drain the Blood. Kerrang!.
  21. Ryan, Gary (2005-04-01). Big Mouth Strikes Again!. Attitude.
  22. "2005 Garbage tour dates". Garbage Disco Box. Retrieved 2020-06-15.
  23. "Garbage on CD:UK and Hit40UK today". Garbage.com. Archived from the original on 2007-10-24. Retrieved 2007-07-03.
  24. 1 2 "2005 Setlists". Garbagebase.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-11. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
  25. "New single! Sex Is Not The Enemy, out today (UK)". Garbage.com. Archived from the original on 2007-10-27. Retrieved 2007-07-03.
  26. 1 2 "TOP 40 OFFICIAL UK SINGLES ARCHIVE (25th June 2005)". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 2010-01-17.
  27. "Sunshine, sea and... Garbage. T4 on the Beach!". Garbage.com. Archived from the original on 2007-10-27. Retrieved 2007-07-03.
  28. "SINTE Re-Mixes surface". Garbage-Discography.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-07-03.
  29. "iTunes online release information" (Retrieved - 2007-07-03)
  30. 1 2 "Festival Mushroom Records :: Artists". FMRecords.com.au. Archived from the original on 2005-11-05. Retrieved 2007-07-03.
  31. "Garbage down under + "Bleed Like Me" special edition". Garbagediscobox.com. 4 August 2005. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
  32. 1 2 3 "Garbage Single: Sex Is Not The Enemy". FMRecords.com.au. Archived from the original on 2005-11-05. Retrieved 2007-07-03.
  33. 1 2 3 Garbage-Making of "Sex is not the enemy" 2005. A&E Records. 2005-06-13. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21.
  34. "Fans Comment: Garbage punks fans at the 9:30 Club". Garbagediscobox.com. 26 April 2005. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  35. "'Sex Is Not The Enemy' video online". Garbagediscobox.com. 15 May 2005. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  36. "Garbage: Sex Is Not The Enemy". MVDBase.com.com. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  37. "DIRECTV FREEVIEW Events - July 2005". DirectTV.com. Retrieved 2007-07-03.
  38. "Garbage - Sex Is Not The Enemy". PIAS, UMG, Liberation Music. 2015-09-29.
  39. "Q magazine March 2004 issue"
  40. "08.18.03 Studio Diary #3". Garbage.com. Archived from the original on December 17, 2010. Retrieved August 18, 2007.
  41. 1 2 "Bleed Like Me: Never Be Free CDR". Garbage-Discography.co.uk. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved August 18, 2007.
  42. "Marilyn Manson's John 5 to participate on Garbage's next album". Garbagediscobox.com. June 2003. Retrieved August 18, 2007.
  43. "Freaks". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2007-07-03.
  44. "New Sex is not the Enemy mixes surfaces". Garbage-Discography.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2007-08-17. Retrieved 2007-07-03.
  45. LLewellyn, Sian (2005-04-01). Letting It Bleed. Classic Rock.
  46. Arnold, Chuck (2005-04-08). Music Reviews: Garbage - Bleed Like Me (Critic's Choice). People.
  47. Single Reviews. NME. 2005-06-11.
  48. Shallcross, Mike (2005-04-11). Album Reviews: Garbage; Bleed Like Me. Time Out London.
  49. Williams, Leander (2005-04-11). Album Reviews: Garbage; Bleed Like Me. Time Out New York.
  50. Sex Is Not the Enemy (UK CD single liner notes). Garbage. A&E Records/WEA International. 2005-06-13. WEA391CD.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  51. Sex Is Not the Enemy (UK DVD single liner notes). Garbage. A&E Records/WEA International. 2005-06-13. WEA391DVD.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  52. Sex Is Not the Enemy (UK 7" single liner notes). Garbage. A&E Records/WEA International. 2005-06-13. WEA391.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  53. Sex Is Not the Enemy (UK Digital single listing). Garbage. A&E Records/WEA International. 2005-07-03. None.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  54. "Garbage Singles: Hot 100 Europe". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  55. Regional Scottish Chart published in Daily Record newspaper, dated 25th June 2005, compiled by The Official Charts Company