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Rating: Pornography, of the auteur kind.
Music, just enough to be called loud and fucking captivating. The year is 1996 and Amphetamine Reptile - one of the most important independent and underground labels to date - releases this soundtrack gem, either for the desire to take a gamble and raise the stakes, or for the experimental and thunderous lineage of its roster of artists available. Completely against the tide compared to the revivalist frenzy that has affected easy listening and exotica over the last decade (with ultra-fetish reprints, presented in attractive packaging and generously illustrated booklets), an operation whose profit motive is quite evident and whose quality standard often leaves much to be desired, Amphetamine Reptile is the first and only one to make the leap into the void: it is the rock – raw and abrasive – with its innate propensity for transgression and the forbidden, that must play the leading role.
Screwed is exemplary in this sense and sounds like a unique and unrepeatable porno-rock-manifesto: a delightful collection of almost completely unreleased tracks, lasciviously composed to mimic and "defuse" the hottest scenes of the film in question. A lineup of the most authoritative disruptors in the music scene of the era. Hence, wild dances and rock'n roll delirium to hail the paradisiacal pairing of fellatio/cunnilingus and more generally to pay tribute to the triple X cinematic cult. An exchange of fluids – it's worth saying – that works perfectly. Especially when the irresistible Halo Of Kitten with their 'contradictory' "I Hate Porn" write the most nymphomaniac rock track in the history of music. Or when the sensual Cristina Martinez, accompanied by her illustrious spouse Jon Spencer, brings to life that stomped and sexy garage-stomp that is "Black Throat". Then there are the Hammerhead, here together with Kat Bjelland of Babes In Toyland and the schizoid-free trumpet of Mike Selle. The New Yorkers Guv’ner play at being the sonic youth dealing with lubricants and various tools, while the Strapping Fieldhands with their "Porn Weasel" mumble something halfway between Mr Bungle-style delirium and the debauched rock of the Cheater Slicks. The electro-fuzz riffs of the Cows are insane and the funkadelic silliness of Big Chief is unmissable. Mudhoney also show up, redeeming the disappointing trials of their "second phase" with an amphetamine – could it be any different? – track titled "Goat Cheese," almost like in the old days. However, the cherry on top is brought by the Melvins with "I Like Porn" (clear concept, right?) weaving an absolutely vicious and depraved funk-lounge number that alone is worth the price of the album.
Screwed is not only one of the most interesting soundtracks ever written but also a valuable testimonial on the '90s independent rock; stuff that only comes around once. Anyway, the film is a cult, your call.
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