QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “Listen—it’s a dangerous time for songwriters in that a monkey can make a thing sound good now ... things sound better than they ever have. But I don’t know that there’s more content in stuff.” — Randy Newman

SONG OF THE WEEK: “What Are You?” — Bonnie “Prince” Billy & Matt Sweeney

I’m sure you know the way, you wonderful little deviant, you. Meanwhile, for the rest of the class, a brief back-history: Iggy Pop is kinda like the character Christopher Lloyd played on the ‘70s TV sitcom “Taxi.” You remember Jim “Iggy” Ignatowski, don’t ya? He was the cat who came to college as a highly intelligent, straight-laced heir to a fortune, and left as a drooling, shell-shocked dope casualty after sampling an errant tray of hash brownies. Well, that same kinda thing apparently happened to Iggy Pop, although in the beginning his only drug was high energy rock ‘n’ roll. As the drummer for the Detroit-area band The Iguanas, young Jim Osterberg was fresh from a run at high school class president, wore the fuzzy sweaters of academics and poets, and represented the most ambitious of his neighborhood crew.

Somewhere between 1965 and 1968, though, he underwent a massive chemical and physical transmogrification. By the time he’d dumped the drum stool and minor political aspirations in favor of a ratty microphone, long hair and the nickname “Iggy,” after his former band, he was barely recognizable.

Eventually hooking up with fellow delinquents Ron and Scott Asheton (and a few other memorable characters along the way), he helped pave the way for the coming punk rock movement. With his deceptively simple lyrics and the Asheton brothers’ almost primitive musical assault, the band cut through the pomp and artifice of the era’s rapidly-bloating hippie/jam movement. Though they would eventually implode (partially due to a complete lack of interest in that style of music from the record-buying public, but also because the boys in the band began to seriously live out the subject matter of their raw, self-destructive songs), The Stooges remain one of the prime templates for early American punk. And now (as Paul Harvey would say) the rest of the story: The Asheton brothers temporarily went AWOL (though The Stooges recently reformed and toured, with Minuteman co-founder Mike Watt taking up bass duties), the Ig-ster went on to a long and storied solo career, and drug abuse was about the only constant he would experience over the next few decades or so. Along the way, he met David Bowie, who took him under his wing. He also fully embraced his feminine side; sliced, slashed and slathered himself during live performances to appease his vicious inner demons and beloved audiences; and released a treasure trove of singles and album cuts. By this 1981 show—drugs or no drugs—Iggy had his live act honed to a fine edge, and his backing band was at the top of their game.

Touring for the album Party, this outfit (Blondie drummer Clem Burke, future David Bowie guitarist Carlos Alomar, axe men Gary Valentine and Rob Duprey, and bassist Mike Page) was a lean, mean, rockin’ machine. Absolutely nailing both classic Stooges material (“1969,” “T.V. Eye”) and Iggy gems (“Lust For Life,” “Rock & Roll Party”), these cats almost made you forget about the Asheton brothers. I said almost. But hey, when your lead singer is Iggy Stooge—a rock legend wearing eye shadow, a short leather skirt, a biker cap and black stockings, who looks like he’d rather be wrapping his riding crop around some tender young throat than prowling a dark stage with you, well, you damn well better play like your ass is on fire, pal. A great slice of rock history, even though the image of Iggy in that get-up minus his two front teeth will likely haunt me to my grave. Another reason why this man will never really be the world’s forgotten boy. Check it out at MusicDistributors.com.

The Pretenders
Greatest Hits DVD
(Warner Music/Rhino Home Video, 2005)

From aspiring music journalist to cutting edge rock queen to single mom to world-wise record biz survivor, Ohio native Chrissie Hynde has consistently proved that with a little sweat and blood and a whole lotta talent, the only true barriers for women in rock lie inside of their own hearts and heads. She hob-nobbed with some of punk’s most dangerous (and mostly deceased, these days) characters, had children with two famous rock stars (Ray Davies of The Kinks and Jim Kerr of Simple Minds), lost two original band members to drug overdoses, and managed to come through it all still a powerful force to be reckoned with.

This video compilation stays fairly true to the original vinyl release of The Pretender’s Greatest Hits, with a few updates and treats thrown in for good measure. Even if you’ve seen some of these vids a few hundred times (“Brass In Pocket” certainly got its share of MTV exposure back in the day), it’s still a real hoot to have them all collected in one place. The early footage might be a little cheesy (through no fault of the band), but it’s still great to both hear and see classics like “Message Of Love,” “Kid,” “Talk Of The Town,” “Stop Your Sobbing,” “Middle Of The Road,” and “Thin Line Between Love And Hate.” By the time the haunting first notes of “Back On The Chain Gang” ring out, you’ll have no doubts as to why you always loved this band. “No Turn Left Unstoned,” a cool, 45-minute documentary on the history of The Pretenders tops the whole delish mish-mash off in style. If you’ve ever wondered what impression Chrissie made on her contemporaries and other stars, here’s both the dish and the dirt. Interview clips with Nick Lowe, Bono, Kate Pierson and Lemmy reveal that, despite any personal differences she may have had with folks along the way, Chrissie Hynde is held in the highest regard with respect to her singing, songwriting and performing talents. A sometimes sad but ultimately triumphant, honest, absolutely REAL portrait of a great rocker and the band that stood behind her.

Gotta hang up the r&r shoes for this week, kiddies. Tune in again, same time, same space, for more of the same. Until then—make yer own damn news. ||

If you have local music news/gigs/events/CDs you’d like to see mentioned in this space, or you just know of a good balm for a humidity rash, send replies to: Tmygunn777@peoplepc.com.