Today we are going to take a dive into a Michigan Trailer Park.

I know, I know -- I can sense your excitement. Who doesn’t like going to a trailer park? It is here that we can find the archetypal artist who will lose themself in the music, the moment, they own it, they had better never let it go.

No, no, no….the trailer park is not on 8 Mile Road (though if I found Kim Basinger in a trailer park I would probably want to stay for some of that legendary spaghetti.)

And no, we are not looking for some guy in a feather boa who somehow pretends to be an American Badass. We are not visiting that guy who vociferously noted that he wasn’t straight out of Compton -- and he only dresses like he’s straight out the trailer. That guy (and presumably his weird fedora) grew up on a 6-Acre estate in a 5,000 square foot home.

Our hero really did come out of the trailer park. He has walked the stage with giants, and has stood bare-chested and leather-like among them. Today, we will focus on someone who seems to have developed a lifelong t-shirt allergy. A man that is accustomed to breaking the mold, forging something new, and of course, showing some skin. That's right. You could say this one’s got a real Lust for Life.

You guessed it, today’s artist is the one and only IGGY POP

About Them

I am willing to bet that there has never been a rock star named “James Newell Osterberg Jr”. It really doesn’t roll off the tongue.

Good thing young Jimmy realized this too. Born in 1947 and raised in that aforementioned tornado bowling alley, Iggy Pop was fortunate to have had exceptionally supportive parents, Louella Christensen and James Newell Osterberg Sr., who encouraged his forays into drumming and the music scene. After playing in a number of high school bands, Iggy adopted his trademark moniker after one of the first bands he recorded with, The Iguanas.

Yep. Now you are gonna look at him and think “Iguana Pop”. You’re welcome.

Iguana’s parents knew that their little reptile was exceptional from a young age. Though there was overwhelming societal pressure for him to live a normal life (and he did go to the University of Michigan before dropping out) they always supported him in his choices - no matter how weird they were. They went so far as to move out of their master bedroom to give him the space so that he could practice the drums. In contrast to this, Kid Rock had his own studio at age 13. (Side note: I may be completely making that up for dramatic contrast, but we all know that dude is a Chad). When Iggy dropped out to go to Chicago, his parents - while they worried - supported him.

Let’s not forget that his teenage years were the 1960’s, after all. In a time when the world was going absolutely crazy, many families were completely torn apart by conflict. Not the Osterbergs. But one must imagine that Iggy gave his parents plenty of reason to worry by his legendary on-stage antics, his self-destructive drug use, his multiple arrests, and his fuck-you punk attitude.

The transformative moment in Iggy’s musical career came when he moved off of the drum kit and out to the microphone. Iggy attributes this in part to seeing The Doors play live. Jim Morrison was high or drunk or both. He was rude and antagonistic and confrontational and pissed off everyone who came to the concert...and yet had a music career.

Iggy knew he could do that.

And so, the legendary punk band The Stooges was born. Joined by fellow Michigan natives guitarist Ron Asheton, Drummer Scott Asheton and bassist Dave Alexander, Iggy decided to do everything he could on stage to antagonize and fight his audience. In concerts, Iggy would bring out a blender or a vacuum cleaner just to increase the volume and the feedback from his mic.

The concerts were wild. They were primitive. They were outrageous. Iggy, bare chested, would cut himself with broken glass. He would smear peanut butter and ground meat on his chest. He threw watermelons at the audience, once concussing a fan. He snorted PCP and was immobilized and was only able to mumble the lyrics. He would expose his genitals. He was one of the first front men to go stage diving and crowd surfing.

Yeah, I know that this all sounds tame today. Hell, this is probably nothing compared to your last Tinder date. But in the late 1960’s, it was absolutely groundbreaking. The Stooges are widely considered to be one of the very first Punk Rock bands. The music did not matter so much as the attitude and the performance. They were the ultimate underground band and they lived the underground band life - absolute blowouts on stage, fueled by alcohol and drugs and addiction.

As you might expect, The Stooges’ antics drew a lot of attention. They got a record deal with Elektra (the same label that signed The Doors) and all kinds of attention from other artists. The most important connection for Iggy during this time was from the Thin White Duke himself, David Bowie. The Stooges released two albums - The Stooges and Fun House; toured; broke up; re-formed, released another album (Raw Power, produced by Bowie) and then broke up again.

Our favourite Iguana’s drug use got to the point where he was dancing with heroin. (Side note: who knew that broken glass, ground beef, and peanut butter use could lead to a heroin addiction? I mean, aside from being the worst possible version of PB&J, of course.) Iggy’s continued drug use would lead to the breakup of The Stooges. But it also launched his solo career.

As a solo artist, he completely changed his act and began singing Gospel music and hymns.

Nah, just kidding. When your night life involves snorting PCP and hurling melons, you are headed down a path of rock and roll debauchery. (Side note: if you are snorting melons and hurling PCP, you are doing it wrong.)

His antics continued, and amplified. He allowed himself to be whipped until he bled on stage. He fought biker gangs at concerts. He dove off the stage and face planted when an angry audience refused to let him crowd surf. Iggy checked himself into a mental hospital to clean up. Allegedly, Ziggy Stardust himself went to visit our saddle-skinned hero, and brought him some c-c-c-c-c-cocaine. I suppose that some people beat their addiction to one drug by becoming addicted to a different one...but replacing heroin with cocaine (though it might reduce your needle tracks) is gonna be hell on the nose. Bowie would recall the incident: “He wasn’t well; that’s all we knew. We thought we should bring him some drugs, because he probably hadn’t had any for days!”

Coke-toting Bowie proved to be one of the only visitors that Iggy received during his stay at the psyche ward. However, Major Tom’s continuing support soon saw Iggy joining him as a companion for the Station to Station tour. This was the Iguana’s first real experience in professional touring, and he was thoroughly impressed. That is, until both of them got caught handling the devils lettuce in Rochester, NY. Yeah, the drug addiction was still a problem - so what was the obvious solution?

Moving to West Berlin of course!

Yes, the pair went out to grand old, Soviet-surrounded free Germany. Berlin was a long way away from his Michigan trailer park, and Aladdin Sane wasn’t exactly a guy you’d meet in Muskegon. But Berlin - and Bowie - were just what he needed. See, Iggy was a bonafide performer, but Bowie and Berlin made him a songwriter. This collaboration - and a new deal with RCA records - led the leathery reptilian to create two amazing albums.

The Idiot features Bowie as a producer, on backing vocals, and on multiple instruments. It also has the first version of China Girl, a song they co-wrote. Bowie would famously re-record it for his multi-platinum album Let’s Dance. Admit it, that’s the version you know. The Idiot was released in March of 1977.

Bowie and Iggy went immediately back into the studio and recorded Lust for Life between April and June of 1977. This would prove to be his most iconic and enduring album, featuring the now quintessential title track and the Doors-inspired melodic song, The Passenger. While you may have heard these timeless tracks on car commercials, they represented an artist coming to a brand new stage of his career.

Critics hated it. Not because they weren’t great songs, but because the music was so completely different from anything he had done. Rolling Stone complained that his “...new stance is so utterly unchallenging and cautious.”

But Iggy did not care. When everyone else was into stadium rock, he fought his audience. Like, physically, with his fists. With the rise of Punk, he did the opposite, and became an actual singer. He is a walking, talking, peanut butter sandwich of contradiction.

When music went left, he went right. When everyone was going in one direction, he refused to move (perhaps because of the PCP). When synth-pop and Culture Club were big in the ‘80s, he recorded Real Wild Child. Somewhere along the way, the kid from upstate Michigan became more than anyone could have imagined.

He has 20 different solo albums and has collaborated on various projects with the B-52s, Bootsy Collins, Andy Warhol, Ridley Scott, Wes Craven, Nickelodeon, Debbie Harry, Guns ‘n’ Roses, Marilyn Manson, White Zombie, and has appeared as a mother-fucking-Vorta on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He reunited with The Stooges and recorded and released two more albums. He has won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Hell, he probably filled in on drums with your Great Uncle’s bar band for a week back in the 60s. He’s seen it all, and has done even more. He defines what it means to be an icon.

So it is not surprising that his discography is like a visit to a BDSM dungeon: it takes you to uncomfortable places, but might just awaken something in you. Seriously, he has gone in every direction you can imagine -- plus some that you can’t, you uncreative clod. That’s why she left you, you know! You need to up your game in the bedroom!

Fuck. I might be projecting a bit there.

Anyway, we know that his music career led him to film, television, radio, guest appearances, and cruise line ads. But for our purposes, we also know that Iggy Pop was an absolute inspiration for a young and impressionable Joshua Michael Homme. When he had the opportunity, Josh cut an album with Iggy (Post Pop Depression 2016), shot a documentary with him (American Valhalla, 2017), and went on a world wide tour. Or, well, a tour of the US and Europe (plus one show in Canada). Suck it, rest of the world.

And if that kind of endorsement is not enough for you to take a dive into his back catalogue, I am going to hit you with a fucking melon. No, not just a melon - a melon in the middle of a carnal act. And those are goddam hard to find, I don’t mind telling you.

Links to QOTSA

Man, if you haven't seen American Valhalla, then what are you even doing here? Trust me, that movie makes every connection pretty clear.

But for those without a spare hour and a half, here’s a quick rundown. Josh and Iggy, Rock Gods that they are, blessed us in 2016 with the album Post Pop Depression. This joint effort, which also included Matt Helders (Arctic Monkeys) and Dean Fertita (You should already know what band this guy is in), was recorded at the legendary Rancho de la Luna. They even set out on a tour across the US and Europe in support of it.

There’s a lot more to talk about considering all the thought and effort that the two put into the record, but I’ll leave that to you and your movie watching habits. Trust me, it’s worth your time.

But before we go, it's worth mentioning again that Josh grew up listening to Iggy Pop, and, well, everyone and their mom has been influenced by this guy. He just exudes and embodies that kind of pure rock-star power. I’d bet that the Godfather of Punk has been a pretty important influence on our boy Josh, just for stage antics alone.

To quote Josh:

“What I thought (punk rock) was, was a total lie. And then I heard Iggy Pop’s Lust for Life and The Idiot for the first time”.

Their Music

SOLO STUFF BY IGGY:

Gardenia - From Post Pop Depression, the lead single from the record

American Valhalla - Also from Post Pop Depression, I swear the link goes to the song and not the full hour and a half long movie, trust me

Lust For Life - You’ve got some Royal Caribbean coming.

Nightclubbing - We’re an ice machine

The Passenger - I ride through the city’s back side

China Girl - Ooo Baby, just you shut your mouth.

Real Wild Child (Wild One) - wild one wild one wild one wild one wild one wild one wild one wild one wild one….just in case you made it this far, in the video, that’s not a coat, that’s just his skin

Candy - I just can’t seem to let this one go

Kill City - You know you want to turn that boy loose

I’m Bored - I’m the Chairman of the Bored.

STUFF BY THE STOOGES:

Search and Destroy - Iggy’s hardly a forgotten boy now, but boy is he still searching’ to destroy

T.V. Eye - LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

I Wanna Be Your Dog - Everyone’s favourite Christmas Song

Gimme Danger - This one is a “”Little Stranger”” than the rest (Ba dum tsss)

1969 - Its 1969 today, all across the USA

Show Them Some Love

/r/IggyPop -- it is absolutely criminal that this sub has so few members. Consider joining and adding content.

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