A Screw
"A Screw" | ||||
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Single by Swans | ||||
Released | 2 May 1986 (1986-05-02) | |||
Genre | Industrial | |||
Length | 15:02 | |||
Label | K.422 | |||
Producer(s) | Michael Gira | |||
Swans singles chronology | ||||
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Allmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
A Screw is a single by the New York City experimental rock group Swans. The single's three songs were later appended as bonus tracks to the CD release of Holy Money.
Background and composition
The single's title track sees the band diving their farthest into the realm of industrial dance music, complete with dubby, distorted vocals and complex programmed rhythms, a distinct contrast to the naturalistic album version.[1] The piano-driven ode to obsessive love, "Blackmail", was Jarboe's first Swans track as lead vocalist.[1] A reworked version of "Blackmail" appears on the 1987 album Children of God.[2]
Regarding his contribution to the single's title track, drummer Ted Parsons said:
"But you know the first recording I did with Swans, was "A Screw" on Holy Money? I get in there – I can’t remember what the studio was – and Michael Gira the singer said, "Well, you know what? There’s no drum kit here, we just want to set a snare drum up in the hallway and have you hit it." And I was like, "What? OK." So they set the snare up in this big hallway down this corridor, and I hit the drum, and that was it. They sampled it, and he said, "OK, that’s great, go home." That was it. That was "A Screw.""[3]
Track listing
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "A Screw" | 5:40 |
2. | "Blackmail" | 4:42 |
3. | "A Screw (Holy Money)" (Mix) | 4:58 |
Total length: | 15:20 |
Notes
- Track 1 and 3 were mislabeled on most original releases. Later issues like the "Greed/Holy Money" compilation corrected this.[4]
Personnel
- Michael Gira – vocals, samples, sounds, piano, bass
- Norman Westberg – guitar
- Harry Crosby – bass
- Algis Kizys – bass
- Jarboe – vocals, backing vocals, mirage
- Ronaldo Gonzalez – drums
- Ted Parsons – drums
- Ivan Nahem – drums
- Greg Grinnell – trumpet
- Keene Carse – trombone
Charts
Chart (1986) | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Indie Chart[5] | 4 |
References
- ^ a b c Raggett, Ned. "A Screw". Allmusic. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
- ^ "Children of God Discogs entry". discogs.com. Discogs. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
- ^ Fernando, S.H. "Interview: Swans, Prong, and Godflesh drummer Ted Parsons". daily.redbullmusicacademy.com. Red Bull Music Academy Daily. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
- ^ "Original "A Screw" Discogs entry". discogs.com. Discogs. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
- ^ Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1989. Cherry Red Books. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
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External links
- Swans official website – A Screw
- v
- t
- e
- Filth
- Cop
- Greed
- Holy Money
- Children of God
- The Burning World
- White Light from the Mouth of Infinity
- Love of Life
- The Great Annihilator
- Soundtracks for the Blind
- My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky
- The Seer
- To Be Kind
- The Glowing Man
- Leaving Meaning
- The Beggar
- I Am Not Insane
- We Rose from Your Bed with the Sun in Our Head
- Not Here / Not Now
- The Gate
- What Is This?
- Is There Really a Mind?
- Public Castration Is a Good Idea
- Feel Good Now
- Anonymous Bodies in an Empty Room
- Real Love
- Omniscience
- Kill the Child
- Swans Are Dead
- We Rose from Your Bed with the Sun in Our Head
- Not Here / Not Now
- The Gate
- Deliquescence
- Swans
- Young God
- A Screw
- Love Will Tear Us Apart
- Die Tür ist zu
- Oxygen
- "Time Is Money (Bastard)"
- "New Mind"
- "Can't Find My Way Home"
- "Saved"
- "Paradise Is Mine"
- Discography
- Young God Records
- Angels of Light
- The Body Lovers / The Body Haters
- Cop Shoot Cop
- Of Cabbages and Kings
- Prong
- Sulfur
- Unsane
- World of Skin
- Where Does a Body End?