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SNOG – “The Ballad” (1997)

May 25, 2023

You may have noted that all of these music-themed weeks have included at least one spaghetti western-themed work, and this week is no different.

“The Ballad”, from his album (aptly named) Buy Me… I’ll Change Your Life – is certainly the most melancholy track, and could easily be slipped into any western. It’s expertly executed, and the depth of his voice only exacerbates that. It’s a brilliantly evocative work that made me realize that Thrussell was more than just a musical engineer.

“When the working day is done, I refuse to belong to anyone.”

SNOG – “Corporate Slave” (1992)

May 22, 2023

I first heard this song as a young teenager, well before I had any knowledge of the Paddy Chayefsky-penned film NETWORK that Thrussell liberally samples from, and it lit a fire in young socialist me.

From his album Remote Control, lyrically, it’s soothingly provocative and musically it has a confident swagger that you don’t hear much with political musical screeds. It’s at odds with itself, which makes sense given the push-and-pull of capitalism.

This is, sadly, more relevant than ever, although a number of the corporate names have changed over the years.

SNOG – HOORAY!! (1998)

May 21, 2023

What sounds like a peppy electro song is a surprisingly dour and nihilistic track, which is SNOG in a nutshell. Nonetheless, it’s immaculately constructed and perfect to sway to.

(I’ll note that there’s an entire remix EP of the song, which is how I’m justifying posting this as well as “The Ballad”, both of which are on “Buy Me… I’ll Change Your Life.”)

“Hurry on madness. Hurry on, disease. Hurry on insanity. Hurry on, please.”

FOETUS – [RLGN]

May 10, 2023

FRONT 242 – “Religion [Pussy Whipped]”

Obviously, I love J.G. Thirlwell (even if I keep misspelling his name as Thirwell or Jim Thirlwell) as well as his FOETUS project.

However, one my favorite pieces of his is a remix of another band’s song that he doesn’t even remember remixing: FRONT 242’s “Religion [Pussy Whipped]”, from their 1993 album 06:21:03:11 Up Evil. (Yes, that’s the actual title of the album.) It’s also available via FRONT 242’s “Religion” single, along with two other Thirlwell remixes.

It’s wall-to-wall percussion and hard-hitting noise. He knew the assignment even if he was fucking shitfaced while doing so, and it’s inadvertently brilliant, and I routinely solo-rock out to it.

It’s a perfectly punctuated stereo realization of the original “Religion” and it echoes in my brain so many years after I first heard it.

“YOU LET ME DIE! YOU LET ME DIE! YOU LET ME DIE! YOU LET ME DIE! YOU LET ME DIE! YOU LET ME DIE! YOU LET ME DIE! YOU LET ME DIE! YOU LET ME DIE! YOU LET ME DIE! YOU LET ME DIE! Swallow your priiide. Swallow your priiiiddeeeeee. LET ME BURN YOU, LET ME BURN YOU, LET ME BURN IT DOWN! BURN IT DOWN!”

FOETUS – [ADAM]

May 9, 2023

“(Not Adam)”

As previously mentioned, Thirlwell is a consummate composer, and “(Not Adam)” — from his 2005 album LOVE, as well as the (NOT ADAM) EP — finds him firing on all cylinders: the rolling percussion, the screaming strings, and especially the harpischord; it’s an amalgam of aural hedonism.

I will note: the following video is a bit disturbing in phantasmagoric ways and not exactly safe for work; it’s basically a twisted fever dream. Kind of surprised it was even made, frankly. I do enjoy it but I am a pretty messed up individual.

“As serious as cancer, as subtle as a heart attack.”

FOETUS – [SLNG]

May 8, 2023

“Slung”

There was a brief period of time where, after roughly twenty years of hard work, it looked like Thirlwell would be ‘The Next Big Thing’ in a post NINE INCH NAILS world. Sony threw a bunch of money at him.

What did he do with that cash?

Why, during the heyday of the swing revival he, he recorded his full-band swing song “Slung”.

“That doesn’t sound unusual!” you may be asking yourself.

And the first three minutes are not. But “Slung” is almost 12 minutes long, and the bulk of it lacks vocals, so make of that what you will. Thirlwell loves to push boundaries and he loves to compose. He knew he’d never get another chance at this so he went for broke, and — at least for me — it paid off.

“Why am I so paralyzed by the majesty of thighs?!”

While I loved FOETUS’s prior works, “Slung” made me a lifelong member. It’s so crazed but also expertly handled, while also being filthy in the only way that Thirlwell can be. It’s an absolutely singular piece that I can’t help but return to every few months.

It’s an epic work, well-worth every dollar they wrung from Thirlwell — because if you know how studios work, you have to pay that shit back. It’s a fucking deal with the devil.

I’ll note: the album photo? That’s real. I don’t know how he pulled off that very expensive bit, but props to him and Sony. It’s not easy to show projected pseudo-wartime tits in Times Square, much less get a wide-release displaying all of it, plus under the title of FOETUS and your album being named “GASH” but I think we’re in a better world for it.

“I INSIST I STAY ALIVE!”

FOETUS – [CIRR]

May 6, 2023

“Cirrhosis Of The Heart (Amon Tobin mix)”

Normally, Thirlwell is a pretty self-possessed individual; one who remixes but doesn’t allow remixes of his own works.

I’m thankful he allowed for BLOW to exist because the results are amazing, especially this Amon Tobin remix of “Cirrhosis Of The Heart”.

Enjoy.

FOETUS – [VIVA]

May 4, 2023

“ANYTHING (VIVA!)”

This is an endless array of brilliant spoken words posited against an unrelenting series of industrial noises, escalating into an amazingly hooky guitar riff that matches perfectly with Thirlwell’s gruff voice, pausing only temporarily for a strange synth interlude.

“Fee. Fi. Fo. Fum. It takes two to tangle; it takes one to cum.”

“A pound of protection beats an ounce of lead.”

As with prior FOETUS songs, I prefer the MALE live version because of its more languid and refined pacing (until it escalates), but the studio version is still brilliant:

“Change your mind and mind your change!”

FOETUS – [PLND]

May 2, 2023

“I’ll Meet You in Poland Baby”

Ostensibly, this is a musical historical re-enactment.

Except, it really isn’t. At least, not the way I hear it.

When I hear it, it’s nakedly about a romance spectacularly self-destructing.

“I’ll Meet You in Poland Baby” is quintessential FOETUS: all mannered orchestrations and programming and subversive authoritarian groundwork and a lot of emotions.

Similarly with the upcoming “Someone Drowned in My Pool”, I prefer the live MALE version, but really, every version is brilliant and worth listening to.

“TODAY IS FIRST OF SEPTEMBER! SEE YOU AT YOUR FUNERAL, BABY!”