Your pretty face is going to hell…
Just in time for Halloween: UK company Funky Bunky is selling an Iggy Pop paper mask—made from heavy card stock and elastic band—for £3.20 (around $5.00).
If Iggy ain’t your thing, perhaps Limahl of Kajagoogoo would be better suited for your never-ending Halloween story…
Via Cherrybombed
Edward Colver’s photo of Stiv
When I think of Iggy and Stiv together, I might think of their mutual penchant for self-mutilation and animalistic performances. That it was supposed to have been Stiv who passed Iggy that famous jar of Skippy. Or maybe I think of midwestern punk and my heart swells with vulgar, snotty pride. At the very least, I think of their unbelievable drug stories I read about in Cheetah Chrome’s book. What I tend to forget is that they were friends and colleagues. It’s an unsettlingly earnest moment to watch, but when you get past the creeping threat of voyeurism one tends to feel at such a naked display of emotion, the warmth and sincerity of the eulogy is one of the most loving moments in punk rock.
Written by Iggy Pop and Ivan Kral and produced by Tommy Boyce, “Bang Bang” was in heavy rotation in dance clubs when it was released in 1981 but failed to cross-over to mainstream success at a time when Pop was under a lot of record company pressure to create some hits.
David Bowie later covered the tune on his less-than-stellar 1987 release Never Let Me Down, an album Bowie claimed “had good songs that I mistreated.”
Did Bowie mistreat “Bang Bang”? Or did he blow Iggy out of the water? Or neither?
Welcome to the battle of the “Bang Bangs.”
I miss Tony Wilson. I miss the idea of Tony Wilson. Someone who had an enquiring mind and was full of intelligent enthusiasms, like Tony Wilson. And who also didn’t mind making a prat of himself when he got things wrong. Or, even right.
I met him in 2005 for a TV interview. He arrived on a summer’s day at a small studio in West London. He wore a linen suit, sandals, carried a briefcase, and his toenails were painted a rich plum color - his wife had painted them the night before, he said.
Wilson was clever, inspired and passionate about music. He talked about his latest signing, a rap band, and his plans for In the City music festival before we moved onto the Q&A in front of a camera. He could talk for England, but he was always interested in what other people were doing, what they thought, and was always always encouraging others to be their best. That’s what I miss.
You get more than an idea of that Tony Wilson in this compilation of the best of his regional tea-time TV series So It Goes. Wilson (along with Janet Street-Porter) championed Punk Rock on TV, and here he picks a Premier Division of talent:
Sex Pistols, Elvis Costello, Buzzcocks, John Cooper Clarke, Iggy Pop, Wreckless Eric, Ian Dury, Penetration, Blondie, Fall, Jam, Jordan, Devo, Tom Robinson Band, Johnny Thunder, Elvis Costello, XTC, Jonathan Richman, Nick Lowe, Siouxie & the Banshees, Cherry Vanilla & Magazine….. The tape fails there!
The uploader ConcreteBarge has left in the adverts “for historical reference” that include - “TSB, Once, Cluster, Coke is it, Roger Daltery in American Express, Ulay, Swan, Our Price, Gastrils, Cluster & Prestige”.
So, let’s get in the time machine and travel back for an hour of TV fun.
Previously on Dangerous Minds
The Best of ‘So It Goes’: Clash, Sex Pistols, Iggy The Fall, Joy Division and more
With thanks to Daniel Ceci
I’m having an “I did not know this” moment right now. Apparently Iggy Pop guest-starred on an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in 1998 as a Vorta overseer named “Yelgrun” from the planet Kurill Prime.
Again, I shall repeat, “I did not know this.”
Below, a video montage of Iggy’s most memorable scenes as “Yelgrun” from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “The Magnificent Ferengi.”
With thanks to Dee Rollins for this gem!
Via EOMS/The Quietus
Here’s a little snippet from a recent New York Times interview with Iggy Pop:
Many date the birth of punk rock to a show the Stooges played in London in 1972, which was seen by founding members of the Clash and the Sex Pistols. What did you think when the punks started releasing music a few years later?
I reacted to it better than I had to the hippie thing. As it developed, I couldn’t stand the sincere punks. I never believed them. Still don’t.
The sincere punks?
Like the Clash were going to make the world politically correct for everybody’s benefit — but only if you kept buying Clash records. I never really went for the righteousness. I went more for the profligate, sneering groups. I also realized that it was good that I wasn’t doing that sort of music anymore. In penile, postpubescent rock, the generation is five years; it’s not 25 years. It would have been worse if I was still knocking out stuff that sounded like my first record but not as good.
It’s interesting that you call it “penile rock,” because your penis seems central to your image. You’re known for having had a lot of sex.
I wish I could have had more.
Read the rest of The Taming of the Stooge: Iggy Pop Isn’t Ready to Give Up the Carnal Life.
I had a good laugh with this one.
Via Retrogasm
Iggy
Talk about yer strolling bones…
To be fair to these aging rockers, anyone, and I mean anyone over the age of 40 would look unsightly photographed this close-up.
John Lydon
More after the jump…
Henry Rollins spins some of Iggy Pop’s classic tracks and a few lesser known songs in a nicely done career overview of America’s patron saint of punk rock.
Henry runs it down thusly:
We are going to go at it somewhat chronologically, although I may have a couple of songs out of order on that front but by and large, it’s a trip through the man’s catalog. Two hours isn’t enough time to be completely release-by-release, so I went for what I thought sounded good.”
01. The Stooges - 1969 / The Stooges
02. The Stooges - I Wanna Be Your Dog / The Stooges
03. The Stooges - Down On The Street / Fun House
04. The Stooges - T.V. Eye / Fun House
05. The Stooges - Search And Destroy / Raw Power
06. The Stooges - Raw Power / Raw Power
07. The Stooges - Open Up & Bleed / Heavy Liquid
08. The Stooges - Scene Of The Crime / Anthology Box - The Stooges & Beyond
09. The Stooges - Gimme Some Skin / Anthology Box - The Stooges & Beyond
10. The Stooges – Johanna / Heavy Liquid
11. The Stooges - Tight Pants / Anthology Box - The Stooges & Beyond
12. Iggy Pop & James Williamson - Consolation Prizes / Kill City
13. Iggy Pop – Funtime / The Idiot
14. Iggy Pop - The Passenger / Lust For Life
15. Iggy Pop - New Values / New Values
16. Iggy Pop - Get Up And Get Out / Soldier
17. Iggy Pop - Run Like A Villain / Zombie Birdhouse
18. Iggy Pop - Repo Man / Repo Man Soundtrack
19. Iggy Pop - Fire Engine / Anthology Box - The Stooges & Beyond
20. Iggy w/ Debbie Harry - Well Did You Evah! / Red Hot + Blue: Tribute To Cole Porter
21. Iggy Pop - Bang Bang / Party
22. Iggy Pop - He’s Frank / Heroes Soundtrack
23. Iggy Pop - This Is A Film / Arizona Dream
25. Iggy w/ Teddybears – Punkrocker / Soft Machine
26. Iggy Pop - Fix Me / Rise Above 24 Black Flag Songs to Benefit the WM3
Rollins, like myself, found much inspiration in the first Stooges album. For me, there was a delayed reaction. It took me seven years after hearing that seminal chunk of punk before I started my own band in 1976. One of my first gigs was at a country and western bar in Boulder, Colorado. The shitkickers, bikers and assorted mountain men grew homicidal when my group, The Ravers, tore into “I Wanna Be Your Dog.” At the end of the song, the place fell silent and it suddenly hit me as hard as a pool cue to the forehead that being a punk in the land of “Rocky Mountain High” was as about as much fun as being set upon by a pack of rabid wolves. But I got used to it.
Of all the records I own, some of the most frequently played, decade after decade, are ones that Iggy has had something to do with. One of the great hot-night listens of all time, perhaps the purest rock & roll recording I have ever heard, is the self-titled first album by the Stooges. So minimal and perfect. Every note, beat and lyric are essential to the whole. The older I get, the more I learn about music, the more amazing this album is to me.” H. Rollins.
So kick back and enjoy the show.
Happy 65th birthday Jim Osterberg.
One of my all-time favorite rock n’ roll experiences was seeing Iggy at The Ritz in New York City in 1986. Iggy had started to clean up his act, in no small part thanks to his wife Suchi, and was in fine form. And the band was badass.
Bass – Phil Butcher
Drums – Gavin Harrison
Guitar – Kevin Armstrong
Keyboards, Guitar – Shamus Beghan
It’s amazing that some rockers like Iggy and Keith Richards that you didn’t think would last might outlast us all. Rock and roll: what doesn’t kill just makes you stronger.
Iggy talks about lessons learned from David Bowie: “No,you’re not coming to the dinner table on heroin.”
Jérôme de Missolz’s documentary Wild Thing (2010) was made for French television and it’s a pretty good look at rock n’ roll outlaws from the 1960s thru to the present day.
Here are some excerpts featuring Richard Hell, Lydia Lunch, Iggy Pop and Jello Biafra. Lunch’s anecdote about The Dead Boys is a jaw-dropper. The Boys ate Lydia’s Lunch.
To watch the entire film (much of which is in French) click here. There’s some fascinating interviews (in English) with Eric Burdon, Genesis P-Orridge, Kevin Ayers and many more.
Here’s a brilliantly funny personal account of Ameera Chowdhury’s phone conversation with “Mister Pop” which won the LA Moth StorySlam. I can certainly see why. Enjoy!
Here’s what the 64-year-old is up to these days according to The London Sunday Times:
7:30 a.m.: Juice and Cuban coffee.
9:30 a.m.: Look at Koi Pond, listen to waterfall, look at clouds.
10:30 a.m.: 1/2 hour of Qigong.
11:00 a.m.: Breakfast (fruit, cheese, maybe a bagel)
11:30 a.m.: Look at email, but don’t answer them.
Noon: Iggy usually doesn’t eat lunch. Surprised?
1:00 p.m.: Shower. Apply moisturizer or leather polish to skin. Lament that it’s in vain.
2:00 p.m.: Read New York Times, books, etc.
3:00 p.m.: Lose mind listening to music.
5:00 p.m.: 15 more minutes of exercise then dress for dinner. If dinner is at home, Iggy prefers to wear only a smoking jacket and slippers. Iggy will also indulge in a couple of glasses of Claret, a dark, rose wine.
10:00 p.m.: (or earlier): Bed
With thanks to Cherrybombed
Footage shot somewhere in Canada (Toronto?) for Much Music TV in 1981 features a pissed-off Iggy Pop talking trash with a male heckler in the audience.
“You have tits. You have tits. You have little tiny tits with little pink nipples.”
“Fuck Bowie. You’d like to wouldn’t you?”
“You’re a pecker from the woods.”
Pop instructs the film crew to turn their cameras off and the screen goes blank.