Synopsis

Shirley Manson moves through a bizarre, dreamlike world where relationships, identities, and even time seem unstable. In a supermarket, a fuzzy-faced companion is targeted by disguised assassins. Later, a lightbulb-headed partner meets a similar fate, while childlike versions of both men appear alongside Manson. She walks through a cemetery, encounters a hooded figure, and ultimately confronts a reflection of herself. The video closes without resolving its strange narrative, favoring surreal imagery, shifting realities, and darkly comic visual shocks over a conventional storyline.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was shot in Los Angeles over four days in March 1998, with reported production costs of approximately $750,000.

• Its visual style changes repeatedly between sepia, black and white, false color, and heavily processed color footage. The alterations were added during post-production to give the video a deliberately timeless, unstable appearance.

• Shirley Manson explained that the concept was designed not to belong to any particular era or location. The band's reaction to the storyboard was reportedly that it was bizarre, but also closely matched Garbage's own sense of musical timelessness.

• Production was unusually accident-prone. A stuffed deer mounted on wheels broke loose during the supermarket shoot and caused a minor car accident. The filmmaker also injured himself in a fall while filming at the hospital location.

• The makeup and prosthetic work on the video earned a Best Make-Up award at the 1999 MVPA Music Video Awards, particularly for the conjoined twin characters.

• "Push It" received eight nominations at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards, including Best Group Video, Best Alternative Video, Best Editing, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Special Effects. It did not win any of them.

• The video premiered in the United States on April 6, 1998, and was kept as an MTV exclusive for the rest of that month.