That reason is THE STOOGES! I'M GOING TO SEE THE STOOGES!!!! No, I'm not talking about Larry, Curly and Moe. I'm talking about the most kick-ass rock band on the face of the earth. I know most of you have no idea what I'm talking about. A few of you that do may be wondering just how the composers of such tunes as "I Wanna Be Your Dog" could possibly make one happy to be alive. I'll tell you. Art is by it's very nature life affirming. The better it's done, the more it explains why you are here in a way words never can. Music is art. Rock is music. Rock music when done well expresses an almost universal human contempt for authority, it's about being on your own and confident, about forging fearlessly forward asking for no quarter, making serious mistakes and not giving a flying fuck. Remember what it was like to be 20 years old and full of piss and vinegar? Have you ever felt as alive as you did then? That's what real rock and roll is about. Real rock and roll would never be caught dead at the Grammy awards or being used to sell SUV's.I saw Iggy Pop, lead singer for The Stooges, about 10 years ago when he opened for Pearl Jam. Had no idea who he was. I wasted most of the 90's chasing cars and a house and a secure money source. Spiritual death. Iggy played for around 30 minutes or so, then stopped everything, pointed to someone stage left and said something to the effect of....
"Hey...hey you.....you fat fucking bitch sitting there looking at your watch! I'm sorry if I'm fucking boring you, but I'm up here trying to give you dumbasses some music, and if you don't like it, if I'm not fucking good enough for you, you can kiss my fucking ass!!!!
Iggy then proceeded to turn around and moon the audience who up to that point had pretty much been just sitting around waiting for Eddie Vedder. As he stormed off the stage, he won a new fan in the future DrugMonkey, who got a little taste that night of what it was like to live.
Later I learned that what I had seen was the older, mellower, version of Iggy. The picture in this post is from a Stooges concert in 1974. The Nazi is fake. The blood is real. I'll leave it up to the amateur psychologists out there to pontificate on the inner workings of someone born with the last name Osterberg publicly cutting himself with glass and being led away by a Stormtrooper, but you could not be more Rock and Roll, more alive, than Iggy was that night.
Next month, I'll enter a concert hall and be alive for a few hours. Some of you know what I mean. Most of you have no idea, and will drive your SUV that day out of the cul-de-sac to earn some credits to be electronically deposited into your bank account. Good for you I guess. I hope you live someday though.
I'm glad I didn't kill myself last week.
(Note: For bonus content to this post, click to play "Loose" on Drugmonkey radio, to the right of this page.)
5 comments:
Dunno if you are aware of this, but they've been using "Lust for Life" in ads for cruise ships...
Ouch. No, I wasn't aware. I'm going to tell myself that this is a cruise of such debauchery, of such base hedonistic excess, that the laws of every country on earth make it necessary to head to the high seas in order to avoid incarceration.. That's what I'm telling myself. Please don't correct me.
Mitsubishi and Royal Carribean Cruises! But that cannot deter the true Iggy fan; I cannot believe you grew up in the midwest and did not know who Iggy was?
Viva la Stooges April 14th.
Gatorgal R.Ph.
To rip off the Blues Brothers, I grew up where there were two kinds of music, Country AND Western.
The new album rocks btw. Everyone should buy it.
"Remember what it was like to be 20 years old and full of piss and vinegar?"
Yes. You know every time you mention Iggy Pop, I think of The Adventures of Pete & Pete. I was like.. 7 at the time.
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