Of course my night began with getting a seat at the exclusive premiere of Search and Destroy: Iggy & The Stooges’ Raw Power, but I’ve since spent the last three-plus hours drinking free Maker’s and Coke at a Hollywood club owner’s birthday party down the street from where the premiere was held. I just kind of stumbled into the club, and no one bothered to check to see if I was invited. 27 is going to be a very good year if I can keep having nights like this.
The fine folks at Sony/BMG were kind enough to send me an invitation to this premiere tonight, which was held at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. I bolted from work five or ten minutes early to ensure my arrival by 7:30. As I was entering the theater, I saw my boss and some of his friends searching for seats, so I chose to join their party. It was beyond weird to see so many people I recognized from work sitting in the theater. I tried my best not to talk to anyone (because I’m anti-social and an awkward conversationalist) , but I’m sure people there had the same reaction to seeing me as I did to seeing them. “Oh, that guy? What’s his deal?”
After a brief introduction by the filmmaker responsible for creating Search And Destroy, the lights inside the Egyptian dimmed and the film began to roll. As far as I know, Search And Destroy is included in the newly-released Raw Power Limited Edition deluxe box set. It offers a fun and informative take on the events surrounding the album’s recording. If you’ve seen the VH1 Classic Albums series, the documentary is like a more in-depth, engaging version of that show. Most of the clips of Iggy, James and Scott discussing the record are filmed in recording studios, or feature the band members playing different riffs or songs while discussing how they were created. Listening to Iggy Pop is hilarious. He bobs his head excitedly to his songs, and calls out remarks like, “That sounds fuckin’ bitchin’!”  his one-liners are as precious as anything Lars Ulrich spouts off in the Metallica documentary Some Kind Of Monster, but in a more-real, less-obnoxious manner. I can’t stand Johnny Marr, but he’s featured a lot for his feverish fanboy reactions to the album, as is Henry Rollins. David Bowie is made out to be a villain, while James Williamson and Scott Asheton are heroes.
Following the screening, James Williamson and Robert Matheu participated in a Q&A session which featured some funny moments. Matheu (a noted “Stoogeologistâ€) spoke of his Stooges geography theory. He believes that that The Stooges was the band’s New York album, Funhouse was the band’s LA album, and Raw Powerwas the band’s London album. Personally, I think Funhouse was the best thing the band ever recorded. But watching the documentary — which focuses on the Raw Power sessions and the tour which followed — got me wondering about the album, and how it compares to what I believed to be the band’s greatest work. Maybe I’m not giving it enough credit. Then again, I’ve been drinking for a few hours and I had all these poignant things I wanted to say about my night that I’ve long since forgotten.
Following his stint in the Stooges, Mr. Williamson went onto a very successful career as an electrical engineer for Sony following his stint in the band. He worked in Silicon Valley pretty much from the time he left the band until he was asked by Iggy to rejoin the Stooges a year or two ago. What a nerd! I love it! In speaking about what would come to be known as the “punk rock” guitar riffs on Raw Power, Iggy speaks about Williamson’s “overactive thyroid” as they reason for all his up-tempo guitar riffs. One fan asked Williamson during the Q&A whether or not the Stooges were writing new songs right now. He responded yes, and joked that his thyroid was still overreacting. This seemed to appease many fans who would love to hear another Stooges album, perhaps one that is better than 2007′s The Weirdness. Before concluding the Q&A, Williamson commented that in the future the band wants to do things their own way, self-funding and self-releasing any future music they record. Also, a newly remastered edition of Kill City should be released this year. All in all, the Q&A made the evening quite memorable.
My invitation to the premiere coincides with the release of the new “Legacy Edition” of Raw Power. The new double-CD set includes the original 1973 David Bowie mix along with a full disc of unreleased live recordings from the tour to support the album as well as studio outtakes. Iggy mentioned that the sound was a precursor to both punk rock and speed metal, but really Raw Power has a completely unique sound. I’m not going to waste time heaping praise upon it because to do so would be redundant. Musical journalists have been raving over it for three decades now. I’m not going to be able to write anything new about it.
I have a copy of the Legacy Edition of Raw Power to give away to one registered Swan Fungus user, courtesy of Sony/BMG. If you want to win it, all you have to do is answer the poll question I just posted. What’s your favorite Stooges’ album. Answer the question and you’ll be entered into a drawing to win the double-CD set. Offer valid for registered Swan Fungus users only. If you’re not registered, do so now! Good luck.
April 27th, 2010
Their first album was by far their best. Unafraid to play whatever the hell they wanted to (though has Iggy ever really seemed afraid?), they were beholden to no man and capable of producing “I Wanna Be Your Dog,” and “We Will Fall,” in the same damn album! Maybe it’s because I turned 22 thirty years after Iggy, but I always felt something special when I heard “1969,” especially during my somewhat-lost college years. I’ll give you “T.V. Eye,” but as a whole, their first was insurmountable as an encapsulation- from speed-fueled twitching ennui to half drunk/half stoned droning nihilism- of all the fury and majesty the Stooges could create.
On a different note, was there a Q&A? I can just see you standing up there, drool on your chin, hand down your trousers, asking if they got to meet Sawyer or Locke when “Search and Destroy” was played during the LOST episode.
April 27th, 2010
Gotta go with “Funhouse” as well. I was always borderline between the first two album but after listening to “The Complete Funhouse Sessions” boxset that Rhino Handmade put out a few years ago that finally put me over the top.
April 27th, 2010
Raw Power was always my favorite, since it was the first one I heard. I remember my oldest sister ConJo had a massive stash of 70′s rock/pop star magazines and as a wee child I’d devour them, looking for pictures of Alice Cooper, who I thought was just fucking awesome because he seemed so evil. But then I began to notice the photos of Iggy and he tended to make Mr. Furnier seem like a sweater wearing conservative golfer, cause he seemed crazy as shit. Like, nuttier than squirrel turds. It wasn’t until my early teen years that I finally found a cassette of Raw Power at a PharMor cutout bin, and I realized he sounded as crazy as he looked. Yeah.
April 29th, 2010
Raw Power’s my fave, also because it was the first one I heard. I had it on friggin’ cassette and oh man, wore it out….
April 30th, 2010
Bowlin’s comment reminded me of my first inkling that Iggy was lurking out there somewhere in the rock netherworld — I was looking at rock mags at a drugstore and saw an article about Iggy and his British fans. One fan was wearing assless chaps and a studded leather jacket with the words “IGGY IS KOMING” on the back. It all seemed so mysterious, transgressive and dangerous. But I gotta vote for Funhouse as the best Stooges album.