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Some really prosaic things lent themselves to that,” he says of the tide turning for his work. “Society and music in general went in a direction that made it easier for people to realise the virtues of the music I’m involved in,” he says, pointing to the popularity of hip-hop’s simple riffs and recent technological advances.
Every Loser’ marks Pop’s first release on Atlantic’s partnership with Gold Tooth Records, the label founded by producer Andrew Watt, an avid Stooges fan and award-winning mastermind behind releases from Ozzy Osbourne, Miley Cyrus and Post Malone. Despite the downsides, however, it seems to be his winning formula. When asked what advice he’d offer to up-and-coming punks seeking longevity in their careers, he answers succinctly: “do two for yourself and one for the man.”Every Loser’ also delves into how punk has leaked into the greater pop culture subconscious since artists like Iggy incited the genre half a century ago. In ‘Neo Punk’, Pop rattles off the lines, “ I don’t have to sing, I’ve got publishing/ I’m a neo punk” and “ my hair is blue and my prescription too / I never have enough to do.” Not that Iggy shies away from all commercial plugs. He’s taken part in Gucci campaigns, lending his svelte aesthetic to the brand’s bright tailored suits. There was also his appearance in Swiftcover insurance ads in the ‘00s, which were called “misleading” by the Advertising Standards Authority and “embarrassing” by Pop. Ouch. With his influence present in everything from designer jewellery to the music of up-and-coming acts, is he able to wrap his mind around his level of impact? “No, I’m not fully aware,” he responds. “I suppose if I was another person, I could sit down and graph all that out and come up with some sort of a schematic plan to capitalise a little bit more, but I’m not. I have noticed life has become a little easier and more rewarding in certain areas than it used to be and seems to continue that way, which really surprises me. Mostly I’m grateful there are people who’ve listened to the music and enjoy it.” Every Loser’ has few subdued moments, like the slow-burning ‘Morning Show’, which hits on Iggy’s “disappointed areas where I don’t feel 100 per cent wunderbar”. There’s also the poetic ‘Atlantis’, a tribute to the miscreants and sinking land of the “shitty, shady, paradise” Pop calls home. Even with those fleeting serenades in tow, the album is begging to be played loud and live. “That’s what I like about it,” Iggy says It really surprises me. I always assumed there would be an arc and things would quiet down after I hit 65,” he says. “That hasn’t been the case.”
Pop’s first commercial success came at an eerie time, five long decades after The Stooges released their self-titled debut and a short three months after his close friend and collaborator David Bowie had passed, aged 69. Iggy’s Bowie-produced seminal proto-punk albums in ‘70s, ‘Lust For Life’ and ‘The Idiot’, heavily inspired ‘Post Pop Depression’, with much of the album mirroring the production and arrangements of Pop’s first solo debuts. One thing that comes with the particular game I’m involved in to make a living, depending on your position and phase of life, you get a lot of aggro from other places,” he says. “I’m not a celebrity culture person. I’m not gonna go out and tweet an insult to my enemies. It’s just not me. I had a lot of stuff saved up, if you will. A few things were pushing my buttons, and I just said it, it popped out.” Has the grandfather of punk mellowed with age? While it may appear that way, it really isn’t. How so? While it is true that Iggy achieved such legendary status as a Wildman from his early Stooges days in the late 1960’s. He’d threaten the audience. Cut himself with broken bottles hurled at him by the audience. Basically, he’d appear out of control. He was. But as the 70’s wore on, he started to change musically. He experimented with more somber music; Especially on his classic album, “The Idiot”. Teaming up with Bowie on that particular album, Iggy showcased his darker, more melancholy side. Songs like “Night clubbing” and even “Sister Midnight” came off like neo-modern cabaret songs. The original Stooges [records], they were all inappropriately mastered. They sounded wimpier than they really were. Then later, as CDs came in and then, especially in the digital age with streaming, suddenly the same records sound the way they should have.”
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More than half a century into his career, Iggy Pop now takes many forms. To most he remains the proto-punk showman who used to roll around in broken glass or crowd-surf covered in peanut butter. His early records with the Stooges on the 1960s/70s cusp remain some of the most influential in the canon – documents of devil-may-care nihilism that provided a scuzzy counterweight to the era of peace and love. Others immortalise Iggy in the 70s alongside his buddies David Bowie and Lou Reed, a triad of exalted reprobates. The Stooges records were inappropriately mastered. They sounded wimpy, but digital streaming and CDs has fixed that”
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