"Anna Molly" is the lead single from

Incubus An Incubus () is a demon, male demon in human form in folklore that seeks to have Sexuality in Christian demonology, sexual intercourse with sleeping women; the corresponding spirit in female form is called a succubus. Parallels exist in many c ...

's sixth album, ''

Light Grenades ''Light Grenades'' is the sixth studio album by alternative rock band Incubus, released on November 28, 2006, on Epic. The album sold 359,000 copies during its first week of release worldwide, and debuted at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' 200, sell ...

''. The single was released September 20, 2006, on the Sony Music Store almost a month before its scheduled release. However, it was soon withdrawn for unknown reasons. The song debuted at #19 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

chart and reached the #1 spot after 10 weeks on the chart. It stayed at the top for 5 weeks. The song makes use of a

Marxophone The Marxophone is a fretless zither played via a system of metal hammers. It features two octaves of double melody strings in the key of C major (middle C to C''), and four sets of chord strings (C major, G major, F major, and D7). Sounding ...

, a type of

fret A fret is any of the thin strips of material, usually metal wire, inserted laterally at specific positions along the neck or fretboard of a stringed instrument. Frets usually extend across the full width of the neck. On some historical inst ...

less

zither Zither (; , from the Greek ''cithara'') is a class of stringed instruments. The modern instrument has many strings stretched across a thin, flat body. Zithers are typically played by strumming or plucking the strings with the fingers or a ...

. The song's title is a play on the word "anomaly", and a Billboard article says the song describes "a woman who may or may not exist in real life". There is an acoustic version that is also available through

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

. The song is included in the video games '' Guitar Hero: On Tour'' the Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii edition of '' Shaun White Snowboarding'' as well as the documentary ''Warren Miller's Dynasty''.

Music video

On September 26, 2006, the Oil Factory Inc. produced and filmed the music video for "Anna Molly" in

Wilmington, California Wilmington is a neighborhood in the South Bay and Harbor region of Los Angeles, California, covering . Featuring a heavy concentration of industry and the third-largest oil field in the continental United States, this neighborhood has a high p ...

, and

Jamie Thraves James Thraves is a British film writer and director. He is known for many music videos and the feature film ''Treacle Jr.'' (2010), starring Aidan Gillen. Early life and education James Thraves began making early short experimental films in 198 ...

directed the video. The music video for the single features a woman played by Sasha Wexler who is found at a park, presumably deceased, and shows how she is passed from an ambulance on a stretcher, into a

morgue A morgue or mortuary (in a hospital or elsewhere) is a place used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification (ID), removal for autopsy, respectful burial, cremation or other methods of disposal. In modern times, corpses have cu ...

, and finally on an

autopsy An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of deat ...

table. Throughout the video, she is shown moving her fingers little by little, even as she is put in a freezer. At the end of the video, as a medical examiner is about to perform the autopsy, her fingers move again, accompanied by a stream of tears. As the doctor brings his saw to her head, she reaches up and grabs his wrist tightly. The final scene shows the saw spinning on the floor. There is no blood on it. The story is loosely based on the 1955 ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, airing on CBS and NBC, alternately, between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. Between 1962 ...

'' episode "Breakdown".

Track listing

UK single

#"Anna Molly" (Album Version) – 3:46 #"Anna Molly" (Live at

Edgefest Edgefest was an annual outdoor rock festival in Canada. It was founded by staff members of Toronto radio station CFNY-FM. From 1987 to 2015, the festival was held every year in the summer (except for 2007). The festival was most frequently held ...

2006) #"Drive" (Live at

2006) #"Love Hurts" ( Acoustic)

Personnel

Incubus

Brandon Boyd Brandon Charles Boyd (born February 15, 1976) is an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Incubus, with whom he has recorded eight studio albums. In addition to his work with Incubus, Boyd has released two solo alb ...

– vocals *

Mike Einziger Michael Aaron Einziger (born June 21, 1976) is an American musician, songwriter and producer. He is best known for being co-founder and guitarist of the rock band Incubus, and has also co-written, produced and collaborated with a wide array of a ...

– guitar *

Chris Kilmore Incubus is an American rock band from Calabasas, California. The band was formed in 1991 by vocalist Brandon Boyd, lead guitarist Mike Einziger, and drummer José Pasillas while enrolled in Calabasas High School and later expanded to include ...

–

marxophone The Marxophone is a fretless zither played via a system of metal hammers. It features two octaves of double melody strings in the key of C major (middle C to C''), and four sets of chord strings (C major, G major, F major, and D7). Sounding ...

, keyboards * Ben Kenney – bass *

Jose Pasillas Incubus is an American Rock music, rock band from Calabasas, California. The band was formed in 1991 by vocalist Brandon Boyd, lead guitarist Mike Einziger, and drummer José Pasillas while enrolled in Calabasas High School and later expanded t ...

– drums

Charts

References

{{authority control 2006 songs 2006 singles Incubus (band) songs Song recordings produced by Brendan O'Brien (record producer) Songs written by Ben Kenney Songs written by Brandon Boyd Songs written by Mike Einziger Songs written by Chris Kilmore Epic Records singles Songs written by José Pasillas