View source for A Screw

{{short description|1986 EP}}
{{other uses|Screw (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2020}}{{Infobox song
| name          = A Screw
| image         = Swansscrew.jpg
| alt           = A dollar sign with a yellow and black striped infill surrounded by a black outline on a yellow and black striped background.
| caption       =
| type          = Single
| artist        = [[Swans (band)|Swans]]
| album         =
| released      = {{Start date|df=yes|1986|05|02}}
| genre         = [[Industrial music|Industrial]]
| length        = {{Duration|m=15|s=02}}
| label         = K.422
| producer      = [[Michael Gira]]
| format        =
| prev_title   = [[Holy Money]]
| prev_year    = 1986
| next_title   = [[Public Castration Is a Good Idea]]
| next_year    = 1986
}}
{{Album ratings
|rev1 = [[Allmusic]]
|rev1score = {{rating|4|5}}<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web |first=Ned |last=Raggett |url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=r447686|pure_url=yes}}|title=A Screw |publisher=Allmusic |date= |accessdate=March 2, 2013}}</ref>
}}
'''''A Screw''''' is a single by the [[New York City]] [[experimental rock]] group [[Swans (band)|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|industrial dance music]], complete with [[Dub music|dubby]], distorted vocals and complex programmed rhythms, a distinct contrast to the naturalistic album version.<ref name="allmusic" /> The piano-driven ode to obsessive love, "Blackmail", was [[Jarboe]]'s first Swans track as lead vocalist.<ref name="allmusic" /> A reworked version of "Blackmail" appears on the 1987 album ''[[Children of God (Swans album)|Children of God]]''.<ref name="discogs1">{{cite web|title=Children of God Discogs entry|url=https://www.discogs.com/Swans-Children-Of-God/master/8807|website=discogs.com|publisher=[[Discogs]]|accessdate=December 14, 2017}}</ref>
Regarding his contribution to the single's title track, drummer [[Ted Parsons]] said:
{{quote|"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.""<ref name="parsonsint1">{{cite web|last1=Fernando|first1=S.H.|title=Interview: Swans, Prong, and Godflesh drummer Ted Parsons|url=http://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2015/01/ted-parsons-interview|website=daily.redbullmusicacademy.com|publisher=Red Bull Music Academy Daily|accessdate=December 14, 2017}}</ref>}}
==Track listing==
{{Track listing
| title1 = A Screw
| length1 = 5:40
| title2 = Blackmail
| length2 = 4:42
| title3 = A Screw (Holy Money)
| note3 = Mix
| length3 = 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.<ref name="discogs2">{{cite web|title=Original "A Screw" Discogs entry|url=https://www.discogs.com/Swans-A-Screw/release/388700|website=discogs.com|publisher=[[Discogs]]|accessdate=December 14, 2017}}</ref>
==Personnel==
* [[Michael Gira]]&nbsp;– vocals, samples, sounds, piano, bass
* [[Norman Westberg]]&nbsp;– guitar
* Harry Crosby&nbsp;– bass
* [[Algis Kizys]]&nbsp;– bass
* [[Jarboe]]&nbsp;– vocals, backing vocals, [[Ensoniq Mirage|mirage]]
* Ronaldo Gonzalez&nbsp;– drums
* [[Ted Parsons]]&nbsp;– drums
* Ivan Nahem&nbsp;– drums
* Greg Grinnell&nbsp;– trumpet
* Keene Carse&nbsp;– trombone
==Charts==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! scope="col" | Chart (1986)
! scope="col" | Peak<br />position
|-
| [[UK Indie Chart]]<ref>{{cite book|first=Barry |last=Lazell |url=http://www.cherryred.co.uk/books/indiehits/s.htm |title=Indie Hits 1980-1989 |publisher=Cherry Red Books |date=1997 |accessdate=September 5, 2014 |url-status=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606125645/http://www.cherryred.co.uk/books/indiehits/s.htm |archivedate=June 6, 2011 }}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|4
|}
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070701181609/http://www.swans.pair.com/DISCOGRAPHY/screw.html Swans official website&nbsp;– A Screw]
{{Swans (band)}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Screw, A}}
[[Category:1986 EPs]]
[[Category:Swans (band) EPs]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Michael Gira]]