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Foetus

Real Name:
James George Thirlwell (also Jim Thirlwell or J.G. Thirlwell)
Profile:
Native of Melbourne, Australia, J.G. (James George) (Jim) Thirlwell conceived the basic Foetus concept, when he relocated to London in 1978. His first appearance on record is with the post-punk synth-pop group pragVEC; the first Foetus release "OKFM / Spite Your Face" appeared in January 1981 on Thirlwell's own Self Immolation label. Relocated this time to New York City in 1984, he operates since then under many monikers: mainly Foetus, but also Wiseblood (with Roli Mosimann of Swans), Steroid Maximus, Garage Monsters (with skater artist The Pizz), Flesh Volcano (teamed with Marc Almond of Soft Cell), Baby Zizanie (a duo with "Cripple" Jim Coleman of Cop Shoot Cop), DJ Otefsu (his DJ'ing alter-ego), and Manorexia. Thirlwell has also produced, (re)mixed and/or performed on vast quantities of recordings including many of the releases on Lydia Lunch's Widowspeak label and artists as diverse as The The, Nurse With Wound, Pantera, Virgin Prunes, Nine Inch Nails, White Zombie, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Coil, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Arto Lindsay, Marc Almond, Front 242 and countless others. Thirlwell did the voice-overs for MTV Sports and his music has been used in numerous MTV series shows (i.e.: The Real World, Road Rules), has composed music for The Venture Bros. on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, and composed "bumpers" (30-second lead-in / lead-out music) for M2 / MTV2.
Sites:
foetus.org, MySpace, Facebook, Wikipedia
Aliases:
Bubba Kowalski, Clint Ruin, Frank Want, J.G. Thirlwell, Karl Satan And The Transvestites From Hell, Manorexia, Phillip Toss, Steroid Maximus, Xordox
Variations:
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Artist


Marketplace 2,212 For Sale

Vinyl and CD

Foetus Discography Tracks

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Albums
Foetus - Deaf album art You've Got Foetus On Your Breath* Deaf (Album) Self Immolation UK 1981 Sell This Version
Foetus - Ache album art You've Got Foetus On Your Breath* Ache (Album) Self Immolation, Self Immolation UK 1982 Sell This Version
Foetus - Hole album art Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel* Hole (Album) Self Immolation, Some Bizzare US 1984 Sell This Version
Foetus - Nail album art Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel* Nail (Album) Self Immolation, Some Bizzare Sweden 1985 Sell This Version
Foetus - Thaw album art Foetus Interruptus* Thaw (Album) Self Immolation UK 1988 Sell This Version
Foetus - Rife album art Foetus Corruptus* Rife (Album) Rifle UK 1988 Sell This Version
Foetus - Male album art Foetus In Excelsis Corruptus Deluxe* Male (Album) Big Cat UK 1992 Sell This Version
Foetus - Gash album art Foetus Gash (Album) Big Cat US 1994 Sell This Version
Foetus - Boil album art Foetus Boil (Album) Big Cat, Big Cat US 1996 Sell This Version
Foetus - Null/Void album art Foetus Null/Void (Comp, EP) Big Cat Japan 1996 Sell This Version
Foetus - Flow album art Foetus Flow (Album) Thirsty Ear Germany 2001 Sell This Version
Foetus - Blow album art Foetus Blow (Comp) Thirsty Ear US 2001 Sell This Version
Foetus - Love album art Foetus Love (Album) Birdman Records, Ectopic Ents UK 2004 Sell This Version
BMR-103, ECT ENTS 029 Foetus - Vein album art Foetus Vein ‎(CD, Album, Enh) Birdman Records, Ectopic Ents BMR-103, ECT ENTS 029 US 2007 Sell This Version
ECT ENTS 033 Foetus - Hide album art Foetus Hide ‎(CD, Album) Ectopic Ents ECT ENTS 033 US 2010 Sell This Version
ECT ENTS 035 Foetus - Soak album art Foetus Soak ‎(CD, Album) Ectopic Ents ECT ENTS 035 US 2013 Sell This Version

Singles & EPs
Foetus - Spite Your Face / OKFM album art Foetusunderglass* Spite Your Face / OKFM (Single) Self Immolation UK 1981 Sell This Version
WOMB ALL007 Foetus - Wash It All Off album art You've Got Foetus On Your Breath* Wash It All Off ‎(7") Self Immolation WOMB ALL007 UK 1981 Sell This Version
WOMB WSUSC 12.5 Foetus - Custom Built For Capitalism album art Foetus Over Frisco* Custom Built For Capitalism ‎(12", EP) Self Immolation WOMB WSUSC 12.5 UK 1982 Sell This Version
WOMB KX 07 Foetus - Tell Me, What Is The Bane Of Your Life album art Phillip And His Foetus Vibrations* Tell Me, What Is The Bane Of Your Life ‎(7", Single) Self Immolation WOMB KX 07 UK 1982 Sell This Version
Foetus - Calamity Crush album art Foetus ~ Art ~ Terrorism* Calamity Crush (Single) Self Immolation, Some Bizzare Japan 1984 Sell This Version
Foetus - Wash & Slog album art You've Got Foetus On Your Breath* Wash & Slog Self Immolation, Some Bizzare UK 1984 Sell This Version
Foetus - Finely Honed Machine album art Foetus Über Frisco* Finely Honed Machine Self Immolation UK 1985 Sell This Version
Foetus - Ramrod / Boxhead album art Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel* Ramrod / Boxhead (EP) Self Immolation UK 1987 Sell This Version
Foetus - Bedrock album art The Foetus All-Nude Revue* Bedrock (EP) Self Immolation, Some Bizzare Netherlands 1987 Sell This Version

Reviews Show All 7 Reviews

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mattyg107

mattyg107

February 2, 2012
edited over 6 years ago
J.G. Thirlwell? Clint Ruin? Karl Satan? Frank Want?? The many aliases he has just hint at the level of cerebral brilliance he has. The man who has been mimicked or turned mainstream like a previous review stated, which is fact that some fools don't want to accept (NiN, Manson, even Ministry, but they are actually creative and good) over and over he's been ripped off and still remains on top and much more creative. Where the previous bands mentioned had some moments but never really surpassed any of his work, this man has kept evolving and evolving. The multiple layered orchestral, bombast movements he focuses on now are not at all like the noisy frank zappa meets einsturzende nuebaten barrage of sound he was known for coining, but much more mature. Steroid Maximus, Manorexia (which is now him working with an actual symphony) Baby Zizanie, Wiseblood, his work with Marc Almond, Lydia Lunch, Chrome Cranks, How many side projects do the phonies have?? They are too busy milking an album for 5 years cause they have no real material but what they've stolen from this genius.
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tanzcafe

tanzcafe

April 5, 2011
He will ever be THE diamond for all the people how know him! A totaly master of post-industrial music. I would say every household needs a minimum of 3 CDs of foetus!
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playbackwards

playbackwards

June 9, 2010
edited over 4 years ago
JGT is exceptionally talented. He has never compromised. He's always unique. He doesn't satisfy a target market. "How many centuries does a spirit need in order to be understood?"
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marc23133

marc23133

August 20, 2009
Genius is a much overused word in the music world, but it barely comes close to describing the magnificent and utterly unique Jim Thirlwell. It amazes me that his talent is not spoken of or written about or recognised in the same breath as only a very select few are - lee perry, george clinton, prince, even james brown and phil spector.

Jim certainly deserves to be up there, his early releases are must haves, simply for their sheer energy and virtuosity (in terms of musicality and production).

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DougieBoomBoom

DougieBoomBoom

July 24, 2005
edited over 13 years ago
When the Queen remasters where being made he was approached to do the remixes that are featured at the end of each cd and for quite a large sum of money. However, he turned it down because he wasn't intersted. Now that's punk rock.
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Richard_23

Richard_23

January 27, 2005
edited over 13 years ago
Foetus is not "huge," relatively speaking, because the industry does not view Thirlwell's gift as a commercial product that can be sold (dumped) in bulk like "hit" driven top-40 drivel. JGT launched and released material on Self Immolation when existing labels expressed no interest in his recordings. He somehow managed to be every bit as powerful and uncompromising live when I saw him in Seattle maybe eight years ago. The boot shaped bruise on my former roomate's forehead from a Clint Ruin headkick was enough to get me to the next show. Oh yeah, baby!

"I'll Meet You in Poland Baby," "Anything," "The Throne of Agony," Wiseblood's "0-0 Where Evil Dwells" are personal favorites that never get old. "Wash It All Off" and dammit, every Foetus track deserves special mention as well. Thirlwell is the real deal: authentic, original, unforgettable.

Helpful tip for virgins: It's not loud enough, turn it up. That's why you're perplexed. You'll know when it's right, you'll feel it.
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mudslut23

mudslut23

August 9, 2003
Why isn't this guy huge! He influenced everybody. Foetus means alot to me. His early sonic explorations were always on my mixtapes. Plus his lyrics were deranged, ironic and super clever. He employed the use of sampling early on. His collaborations with Lydia Lunch were amazing and his remixes for all those metal bands (Prong, White Zombie, Pantera, etc...) were ground breaking. An absolute genius.
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