Sunday Music: Iggy Pop Making Punk From Country

January 07, 2024

Inspiration can come from anywhere. And a 3% change confers ownership (h/t Virgil Abloh). Iggy Pop will explain it to you now, as only he can – 

It started as the first two chords. Like most Stooges songs, we were stoned on our smoke and jamming, and Ron came up with the two chords over and over, which is just [listening], just those two back and forth. 

I was the one who said (because) I had written poetry in high school and songs in my early bands, I was the one who said let’s take this and do a little more with it. Make it into a song. And I used Johnny Cash’s “I Walk The Line” as a model for this. 

You could actually hear it if you listened to “I Walk The Line.” You got, “I keep a close watch on this heart of [gesturing chord change lower] mine, I keep my eyes wide open all the [gesture] time, I keep the ends out for the tie that [gestures] bind, because you’re mine [gestures back up] I walk the line.” 

So we used that structure in this song. 

Then the middle 8 is a typical Stones middle 8. I did use a lot from the stones. I took a lot from the Stones. And the Velvettes. A lot from the Velvettes. Which, the Velvettes at that time were an influential art band and effected me a lot. 

The words were just… an attempt… what we didn’t want to do was sing a song like, “oh baby, I’m gonna keep on rocking, and I’m gonna rock your p****, and I’m gonna rock your little ears, and I’m gonna rock rock rock, uhhh.” That was right out. 

We wanted to make songs about how we were living in the midwest. What was this life about?  

Basically there was just no fun and nothing to do. So I wrote about that. 

It’s a stripped down, super-simple rock song. They knew their influences, roots, and source material. They used it all to make something NEW. 

If they can do it, you can too. 

Here’s the OG “No Fun,” then a fun backstage cover with Rancid I’ve always loved since finding it years go. This is how you pass traditions on people.