The 56-year-old Scotland-born singer Shirley Manson almost never made it to Garbage. Her first audition went poorly, but given a second chance, she wowed the rest of the band and got the gig. Today, she’s recognized as an impactful frontperson and an icon to many, including and perhaps especially to many young women.
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But what does the singer of songs like “I’m Only Happy When It Rains” have to say about the world around her, about life and love, her craft, and more? Without further ado, here are the best 20 Shirley Manson quotes.
1. “I’m a loud person; I love noise and aggression. I crave contact.”
2. “It’s really difficult to navigate attention and stardom and celebrity status and still try to maintain yourself and hold onto your intelligence and integrity. It’s really challenging.”
3. “I’m 45 years old. I used to be a club girl, but that’s not my world anymore. That doesn’t mean I can’t make music that excites. I think it’s inspiring to see an artist you grew up with take another crack.”
4. “I just am fascinated by other female artists, probably because I feel a kinship with them, no matter who they are and what they do.”
5. “When somebody asks me a question, I try to be as straightforward about it as possible. I try not to overthink what I’m going to say in an interview.”
6. “It’s unhealthy for people to never express any kind of negativity or doubt. To have balance, you need to address that side of your thoughts as well as the positive. Otherwise, you tend toward crazy.”
7. “Until we command the exact same salary as every male counterpart, I feel a political desire to stand by other women. If we don’t stand together, that equality will never be fully realized, and that bothers me.”
8. “I am not a sexy woman, I’m not beautiful, I’m not a sex kitten, I don’t flirt with people, yet I’ve been tagged more of a sex symbol than women who truly are and I that’s solely because I don’t reveal too much: people are curious.”
9. “I’m afraid of happy people. They’re chemically unbalanced.”
10. “The sensation of never feeling good enough or pretty enough will always be there. It’s a constant dialogue, and you just learn to be more powerful than that other voice. When you hear it come up, you shut it down.”
11. “I think it’s a great thing to have failed in life and then pulled yourself up by the boot straps and actually done something because then you appreciate it more.”
12. “I would say I’m pretty well at ease with my sexuality, but I’m an individual before I am a female.”
13. “And then there’s all these other creeps that surround your band and suck off you like leeches and try to manipulate you and your business. You have to watch like a hawk. I’m always ready to fight. I see it very much as a battle.”
14. “I am a contradictory mess but I see it as my prerogative to change my mood like the weather.”
15. “I wanted to put out a solo record because I was stuck on a major label and sick of it.
16. “I think a lot of people in their lives feel like they don’t fit in, even if it looks like they do. People feel like outsiders even if others think we, the lives we live, have everything. If they are popular or they have everything they are supposed to have. Even then, people still don’t feel quite included.”
17. “I like the feeling that I’m giving young women self-confidence. It sounds so cliched, but it can be very moving.”
18. “I was a redhead and a middle child; both can make you feel excluded. It’s like fighting to be included, in the swim of things. After a while, you start to develop a bit of a victim mentality, which isn’t great for a happy life.”
19. “A lot of celebrities just want money, fame, power, fancy cars, and houses all over the world and have people bow down to them. To me, that’s frightful behavior.”
20. “You have to watch all sides of your advancement, you have to make sure people’s bodies and minds are healthy and their morale is cool before you can really go out and play great music.”
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