The song was written and produced by band members Duke Erikson, Shirley Manson, Steve Marker and Butch Vig.

"Stupid Girl" features lyrics about a young woman's ambivalence and is a musical arrangement centered on a repetitive bassline and a drum sample from the Clash's 1980 song "Train in Vain".

The song was released by Almo Sounds in North America, and Mushroom Records worldwide, as the band's fourth international single in 1996.

[2] Vig took a loop from the drum introduction to the Clash's "Train in Vain" and added further percussion including a sample of "Orange Crush" by R.E.M.

[6] Manson eventually returned to Smart for a successful second attempt, when she began to work on the basic forms of "Queer", "Vow" and "Stupid Girl".

[13] Continuing to develop the demo throughout the recording process for what would eventually become the band's debut album, the group decided to add textures, guitars and keyboards to make "Stupid Girl" dynamic rather than the product of complicated chord changes.

[2] Marker had been dubbing between audio tracks, resulting in scratchy feedback; he sampled the sound and tuned it to fit the song, unintentionally created by an alternative hook.

[13] When Manson recorded her first vocals for "Stupid Girl", the band realized that the song's key was too low, but instead of re-recording the guitars, Vig re-printed them through a pitch-change patch on an effects unit.

"[4] "Stupid Girl" is a moderately fast alternative rock[15] and electro-rock[16][17] song with touches of electronica, set in common time.

The verse adds Manson's vocals and a bass riff that uses flattened blue notes to give "Stupid Girl" a funky, unsettled feel.

This, coupled with Manson singing high in her vocal range, creates tension and enables the presence of the bass to be felt when it re-enters on the chorus.

[21] A week later, White Label issued a second CD featuring a cover version of the Jam's "Butterfly Collector" and a further two "Queer" mixes produced by Danny Saber and Rabbit in the Moon[22] (also previously released in the UK).

[26] When Garbage returned to tour Europe's rock festivals in August, BMG reissued "Stupid Girl" in France[27] and Germany.

[29] Mushroom issued "Stupid Girl" on March 11 as a double CD single set and limited-edition 7-inch vinyl packaged in two differing colors of cloth fabric, blue or red.

[36] On May 25, Almo sent "Stupid Girl" to alternative radio, while Garbage joined the Smashing Pumpkins' North American arena tour as the opening act through June and July.

[38] On July 9, Almo released "Stupid Girl" on CD and cassette single, backed with "Driving Lesson" and the Todd Terry version.

[41][42] On August 6, Almo issued a 12-inch vinyl featuring "Driving Lesson" and remixes of "Stupid Girl" produced by Todd Terry, Danny Saber, Rabbit in the Moon and Jason Bentley.

[24] Almo Sounds commissioned additional remixes from Danny Saber, Rabbit in the Moon, Jason Bentley and Todd Terry for the North American release of the single.

Garbage's management wanted Saber to retain the original's "Train in Vain" loop, as it had cost the band a significant amount to license.

[52] During the rehearsals, Garbage remixed their album track "Dog New Tricks",[53] wrote and recorded "Driving Lesson" and "Alien Sex Fiend".

The band also recorded the Vic Chesnutt song "Kick My Ass" for inclusion on the charity album Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation.

Select's Ian Harrison called the song "Duran-like", describing it as "mighty doomy pop neatly tailored to enhance one's natural discontentment.

"[57] Vox magazine's Craig McLean called it "malignant, dirty, devious, sneering pop",[58] while Metal Hammer's Pippa Lang compared Manson's "ever-so-sexy, sibilant" vocals to Trent Reznor's.

described "Stupid Girl" as "a classy piece of predatory pop perfection that wields an iron punch beneath it's [sic] velvet glove.

"[5] In 2005, "Stupid Girl" was featured in Curtis Hanson's film In Her Shoes,[64] while later that year, Alexz Johnson recorded a cover version of the track for the soundtrack album Songs from Instant Star.

[83] In North America, Almo Sounds serviced "Stupid Girl" to alternative radio on May 20,[84] where after its first week on air it debuted on the Modern Rock Tracks chart at number 38.

[85] Two weeks later, it broke into the Modern Rock top 20 with an "Airpower" rating, meaning the song had registered over 900 plays for the first time on alternative radio.

[96] In early September, "Stupid Girl" became a crossover success on both alternate and contemporary hit radio, and it reached number 25 on the Top 40 Mainstream chart.

[105][5] Bayer cut the film into pieces and soaked it in his bath, applying deliberate fingerprints and abrasions to the footage before putting it back together by hand.

"[111] To accomplish this, Bayer showed some of the filmmaking process itself; Manson is shown behind a clapperboard and reels visibly spool past the frame, while penned marks, sprocket holes, spots and reference numbers are seen.