Results for Iggy Pop

interviews

Ron Asheton of The Stooges

A couple of weeks ago Jim and Greg talked about the punk pioneers The Ramones. This week it's time to look at the other pillar of punk: The Stooges. In the late '60s and early '70s the band released three major albums, and then disintegrated into drugs and power struggles. Now, almost 35 years later, three of the four original members reunited to record a new album, The Weirdness. Jim and Greg invite guitarist Ron Asheton to talk about the band's history and how they came back together.

Lead singer Iggy Pop (James Osterberg), guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton and bassist Dave Alexander formed The Stooges in Ann Arbor, MI in 1967. They were signed to Elektra Records a year later after opening for“big brother band”the MC5. There they had their first self-titled album produced by John Cale of The Velvet Underground. Jim and Greg talk to Ron Asheton about the band's first time in the studio (and their first in-studio strike), and learn about how they developed their signature, primitive sound. They point to the propulsive Bo Diddley-inspired rhythms of songs like "1969."

The Stooges went on to record Fun House, which reflected their love of James Brown and John Coltrane, and then things started to fall apart. Iggy went on to form a relationship with David Bowie (and with heroin), and got the band signed to Columbia Records. Ron Asheton was bounced down to bassist, however. He explains that their subsequent release, Raw Power, is a good album, but not indicative of their true sound.

Go to episode 66

Alex Cox

Repo Man Filmmaker Alex Cox joins Jim and Greg this week for a lively conversation about his punk rock-infused movies like Repo Man, Sid and Nancy, and Walker. Though originally from Liverpool, Cox first encountered punk rock through the Los Angeles scene of bands like Fear, Suicidal Tendencies, and Black Flag. When he made his debut film Repo Man in 1984, he enlisted all his favorite bands for the soundtrack. The movie was initially a flop, but the popularity of that legendary soundtrack album eventually turned it into a cult classic. Cox followed up that with another definitive punk film – Sid and Nancy, a biopic of the Sex Pistols' Sid Vicious and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen.

Sid and Nancy was the beginning of a long collaboration between Cox and Joe Strummer of The Clash. Strummer appeared in and composed for the spaghetti western homage Straight to Hell and the controversial 1987 film Walker. Alex Cox speaks with Jim and Greg about working with Strummer, enlisting both Iggy Pop and Michael Nesmith of The Monkees to make Repo Man, and the difficulties of making political films in Hollywood.

Go to episode 632

Kate Pierson

In 1976, Kate Pierson joined the genre-melding music powerhouse, the B-52s, and the rest is history. The Georgia-based band started out playing at local parties, then clubs in New York and eventually in venues around the world. Their self-titled first album showed their innovation, kitsch and creativity with hits like "Rock Lobster." However, the group reached the peak of their fame in 1989 with the release of their album, Cosmic Thing. Outside of the band, Pierson has collaborated with talented artists like R.E.M., Iggy Pop, The Ramones and most recently, Sia. Finally over 30 years after the inception of the B-52s, Kate Pierson is releasing her first solo album, Guitars and Microphones. She talks about the past, present and future of her career in music.

Go to episode 504

Peaches

Jim and Greg are joined this week by Peaches and her band Sweet Machine. The singer and performance artist was born Merril Nisker in Toronto, but took on the electro-clash alter-ego Peaches for her first solo album The Teaches of Peaches. Peaches is now based and her latest album is I Feel Cream. As she relays to Jim and Greg, she wanted to focus more on the singing. She's also had the opportunity to collaborate with Pink, Iggy Pop and Christina Aguilera. As Peaches says, she waited for the mainstream to come to her, rather than move towards it. She and Sweet Machine perform tracks from I Feel Cream on the show, and you can hear all the live tracks here.

Go to episode 218
reviews
Post Pop DepressionPost Pop Depression available on iTunes

Iggy Pop Post Pop Depression

The "godfather of punk" has released his 17th–and maybe final– album, Post Pop Depression. Jim and Greg are both huge Iggy Pop fans, but Jim thinks outside of a few moments of brilliance with tracks like Lust for Life, The Passenger, and Candy, his solo career is a disaster. Jim's opinion is that while Iggy's first three albums with The Stooges were perfect, the punk legend has never had much to say lyrically. Even Josh Homme's attempts to fire up the album don‘t work, and Jim’s got to call this record a Trash It. Greg couldn‘t disagree more. He’ll concede that Iggy's 80s output was less than stellar, but some of his solo records in the 90s and beyond have had great moments. Post Pop Depression is his best work since The Idiot and Lust for Life. Homme understands Iggy and provides a setting for him to do what he does best. Greg describes the lyrics as poetic and at different times dark, meditative, funny, and rageful. The record also shows off Iggy's underrated singing. Greg says Buy It. If this truly is Iggy's last album, what a way to go out.

JimGreg
Go to episode 538
Real AnimalReal Animal available on iTunes

Alejandro Escovedo Real Animal

Alejandro Escovedo has been making music since the late '70s, and now he's back with a new album called Real Animal. Escovedo has had a checkered career that's been mostly under the radar, but has worked with some of the most influential musicians in rock history. A lot of these names pop up on Real Animal, but as with other releases, Jim doesn‘t think Escovedo delivers the goods on record. He’s much more impressive live. Jim can hear the riffs pilfered from Iggy Pop, David Bowie and Lou Reed and doubts he'll ever listen to this album again. He gives it a generous Try It. Greg thinks Jim missed a good deal of the album. To Greg, the pilferings are more homages, especially to Mott the Hoople's Ian Hunter. The emotional temperature of this album is so high that Greg thinks listeners should Buy It.

JimGreg
Go to episode 134
kink khan and the shrines

King Khan and the Shrines The Supreme Genius of King Khan & the Shrines

The day after The Hold Steady took the stage, Pitchfork fans were wowed by the antics of King Khan and the Shrines. Jim was less wowed with Khan's own wardrobe malfunction, which he felt distracted from the music. He's impressed with Khan's collection of past recordings, The Supreme Genius of King Khan & the Shrines, which is almost like Iggy Pop meets James Brown. Greg hears Nuggets-era soul, and thinks The Supreme Genius is a great introduction into Khan's music. Both critics give the album a Buy It rating.

JimGreg
Go to episode 139
lists

Better Campaign Songs

Presidential candidates keep reusing the same generically inspirational anthems (Springsteen, Mellencamp, U2, etc.) on the campaign trail. They rarely seem to pay attention to what the lyrics of the songs are actually about. So Jim and Greg are offering their services as political consultants to help freshen up the campaign rallies. Here are their picks for campaign songs that candidates should use as they run for office:

Go to episode 555

Best Albums of 2016…So Far

Greg and Jim just couldn't wait until December to talk about some of their new favorite albums. They discuss some of the best records of 2016 so far. Here are their complete lists:

Go to episode 553
news

Music News

Sound Opinions is sad to report the death of Stooges drummer Scott Asheton at age 64. This punk pioneer took the rhythms of Bo Diddley and the Velvet Underground's Moe Tucker and piled on the aggression, carving out the sound that would soon define punk, Jim explains. Listening to him pummel the drums on early Stooges albums, it's no surprise that Asheton (whose family couldn't afford a proper trap set) first learned to play by banging hammers on oil cans. Along with his brother Ron on guitar, Scott was described as the gasoline that Iggy's match set aflame. Jim and Greg honor the drummer by playing "1969" from the Stooges‘ debut album, a punk inferno that Asheton’s brutal rhythms kept burning bright.

It's the double feature that everybody was waiting for… in 1994. Nine Inch Nails and Soundgarden are teaming up for a summer tour, just in time for the 20th anniversaries of NIN's Downward Spiral and Soundgarden's Superunknown. Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell says he's always been a NIN fan, and that he'd love to jam with the band onstage—but Trent Reznor might not be so enthused. Back in 2009, Reznor took Cornell to task on Sound Opinions, calling his Timbaland-produced solo album an“impressively bad”sell-out. Maybe NIN will bring on a more suitable collaborator for its next tour.

The 2014 SXSW Music Conference, normally a festive event, which brings tens of thousands of people to Austin every year, will unfortunately be remembered as a tragic one. A horrific car crash early Thursday morning resulted in the death of three people and the injury of many more. Also making headlines was Lady Gaga. The pop diva not only performed at a contoversial event for a snack food company, she gave the keynote address. According to Gaga, without sponsors, there wouldn‘t be music events; labels can’t afford it. A surprising assertion from a woman who later touted her music industry rebellion.

Go to episode 434