STP - Smoke 'Em (Circuit Records)

In 1991, Hole's ferociously raw Pretty on the Inside was released, helping to kickstart Courtney Love's bizarre climb into the upper echelons of celebrity culture. Part of that rawness can be ascribed, at least in part, to the grunge-rock production dream team of Kim Gordon and Don Fleming. Fleming's time in Half Japanese was followed by the formation of several of his own bands, such as Shimmy Disc stalwarts B.A.L.L. and the powerpop-influenced combo Gumball, which in turn led to production duties for everyone from Teenage Fanclub to Alice Cooper. One year prior to Pretty on the Inside came this Gordon/Fleming produced single from New York City's STP. Guitarist Julie Cafritz put the all-girl line up of STP together shortly after the break up of Pussy Galore, released this magnificent statement of intent, then promptly disbanded the group. The reasons behind STP's split remain lost in the mists of time, but it's difficult to imagine where they could have gone after the down-at-heel scum rock of "Hey Bastard," which manages to condense the entire careers of (early) Hole and Babes in Toyland into a song that barely crawls over the one minute mark. Like Pussy Galore, there's no bass here, just three guttural guitars competing with rudimentary drums and the rasping vocals of singer (and former Dustdevil) Jacqui, who details the collapse of a relationship with begging pleas for her "bastard" boyfriend to "love me for what I am." Jacqui's forlorn appeal soon descends into hoarse and hopeless shrieks of "it's my nightmare!" as the song collapses in on itself. There are three other tracks included here, and a great back cover shot of the band by Michael Lavine, but "Hey Bastard" is all you need.