"I Think I'm Paranoid" is a song written, performed and produced by Garbage and was the second single released from their second album Version 2.0.
The song was released internationally in July 1998, following up on the success of the band's prior hit, "Push It". "I Think I'm Paranoid" reached the Top Ten on the UK Singles chart and Airplay charts, while across the Atlantic also becoming a hit on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart. "I Think I'm Paranoid" became the biggest hit from Version 2.0 in Italy, where it featured on a 30-second advert campaign for Breil Watches and was placed in rotation by MTV Italy.
In 2007, "I Think I'm Paranoid" was remastered and included on Garbage's greatest hits album Absolute Garbage.
Composition and recording
Garbage began writing their second album, which would go under the working title of Sad Alcoholic Clowns, in March 1997 in the band's label-head Jerry Moss's Friday Harbor, Washington, vacation house. The group demoed and made rough outlines for new songs, of which "Bend Me" was one. When they felt they had made a good start, Garbage took the work they made in Washington back to their Madison, Wisconsin base at Smart Studios and begin fleshing out the ideas and rough sketches over the following year.
Garbage intended their second album to build upon the framework, music style and musical template laid down by their first release; to create a rapprochement between the "high-tech and low-down, the now sound and of golden memories" and wear musical references to the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Garbage recorded all of their work for the second album through a 48-track digital system digitally, direct to hard drives using a 24bit Pro Tools rig: the production of "Bend Me" would feature almost 120 audio tracks.
Duke Erikson created the opening guitar riff and arranged the backing chords, over which Shirley Manson sang. Manson's vocal was manipulated in various parts of the song by running the feed to the mixing console through a filter or a stomp box to provide distortion and by using Pro Tools plug-ins to time-stretch the vocal take. Much of the percussion was recorded in a disused candy factory located in Madison; Butch Vig, Steve Marker and sound engineer Billy Bush set up a drum kit within the empty building and recorded various fills, using the favourable acoustics therein. Forced to stop after local police officers responded to complaints about the noise, some of the percussion was later incorporated into the chorus of "Bend Me" (and also found its way into "Temptation Waits" and "Hammering in My Head"). The intro section made use of many percussive loops of kick, snare and hi-hat sounds. Some loops were flipped backwards, filtered and ran through an amp to create some white noise effects. Garbage employed touring bassist Daniel Shulman to perform electric bass on the song, while Vig approached a DJ he met in Los Angeles, Todd Malcolm Michelles, to provide a record scratching effect under the chorus.
Garbage completed recording, producing and mixing of their second album in mid-February 1998, and the album was given the title Version 2.0. "Bend Me", which had by now had its official title finalized as "I Think I'm Paranoid", was track listed as the album's second song. Version 2.0 was released worldwide on May 11 of that year; despite a slow start, Version 2.0 went on to equal its predecessor, selling over four million copies and achieving platinum-certification in many territories, including United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Europe and Australia.
Song history
Garbage debuted "I Think I'm Paranoid" live on May 15, 1998, at a concert Ryan's Ballroom in Combined Locks, Wisconsin; the first date of the Version 2.0 tour. Garbage took to Europe from June 1 to join the festival circuit, as well as perform a number of their own headline shows, helping support the single release for "I Think I'm Paranoid". The single was preempted by a televised performance of both "..Paranoid" and "Push it" on French show Nulle Part Ailleurs, and on British entertainment show TFI Friday.