Have you listened to Iggy Pop’s fantastic John Peel lecture? If not, go there immediately, it’s worth it… the beauty of it if that you can isolate a few sentences, and they totally make sense… better they are very deep! Although the main topic was about ‘free music in a Capitalist society’, he touched a lot of subjects, mentioned ‘the new electronic devices which estrange people from their morals’ and other bad things (mostly money) related to the music industry, but basically he gave a lot of advices to young artists… Iggy gives the impression to be aware of everything, to be at the top of the game! Here are the best parts (although everything is delectable):
‘To tell you the truth, when it comes to art, money is an unimportant detail. It just happens to be a huge one unimportant detail.’
On the money subject, Iggy is clear, he has never wanted to make money, but even a legendary punk rock star like him had to be clever to survive:
‘If I had to depend on what I actually get from sales I’d be tending bars between sets. I mean honestly it’s become a patronage system.’
Sad, sad, sad… but there are other ways:
‘If I wanna make money, well how about selling car insurance? At least I’m honest. It’s an ad and that’s all it is. Every free media platform I’ve ever known has been a front for advertising or propaganda or both. And it always colors the content. In other words, you hear crap on the commercial radio. The licensing of music by films, corps, and TV has become a flood, because these people know they’re not a hell of a lot of fun so they throw in some music that is. I’m all for that, because that’s the way the door opened for me. I got heard on tv before radio would take a chance. But then I was ok. Good. And others too. I notice there are a lot of people, younger and younger, getting their exposure that way. But it’s a personal choice. I think it’s an aesthetic one, not an ethical one.’
He has always found the right words to talk about meaningful music:
‘But, a good LP is a being, it’s not a product. It has a life-force, a personality, and a history, just like you and me. It can be your friend. Try explaining that to a weasel.’
Unfortunately, the music industry doesn’t have the same view:
‘We are now in the age of the schemer and the plan is always big, big, big, but it’s the nature of the technology created in the service of the various schemes that the pond, while wide, is very shallow.’
He is very lucid of the situation and brings some excellent points:
‘Some guys are born and raised to be the captain of the football team and some guys are just gonna be James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause and that’s the way it is. Not everybody is meant to be big. Not everybody big is any good.’
‘I’m mentioning this because the best way to survive the death or change of an industry is to transcend its form. You’re better off with an identity of your own or maybe a few of them. Something special.’
An identity of your own, something special? Iggy knows about this more than everybody else. Of course, he had to talk about the Yorke delivery method versus the U2’s:
‘I actually think that what Thom Yorke has done with Bit Torrent is very good. I was gonna say here: “Sure the guy is a pirate at Bit Torrent” but I was warned legally, so I’ll say: “Sure the guy a Bit Torrent is a pirate’s friend” But all pirates want to go legit, just like I wanted to be respectable. It’s normal. After a while people feel like you’re a crook, it’s too hard to do business. So it’s good in this case that Thom Yorke is encouraging a positive change. The music is good. It’s being offered at a low price direct to people who care.’
‘And the people who don’t want the free U2 download are trying to say, don’t try to force me. And they’ve got a point. Part of the process when you buy something from an artist. It’s a kind of anointing, you are giving people love. It’s your choice to give or withhold. You are giving a lot of yourself, besides the money. But in this particular case, without the convention, maybe some people felt like they were robbed of that chance and they have a point. It’s not the only point. These are not bad guys’
But at the end, it’s always about power and money, and Iggy rightly thinks it sucks:
‘So we are exchanging the corporate rip off for the public one. Aided by power nerds. Kind of computer Putins. They just wanna get rich and powerful. And now the biggest bands are charging insane ticket prices or giving away music before it can flop, in an effort to stay huge. And there’s something in this huge thing that kind of sucks.’
And the end is just great:
‘It’s good to remember that this is a dream job, whether you’re performing or working in broadcasting, or writing or the biz. So dream. Dream. Be generous, don’t be stingy. Please. I can’t help but note that it always seems to be the pursuit of the money that coincides with the great art, but not its arrival. It’s just kind of a death agent. It kills everything that fails to reflect its own image, so your home turns into money, your friends turn into money, and your music turns into money. No fun, binary code – zero one, zero one – no risk, no nothing. What you gotta do you gotta do, life’s a hurly-burly, so I would say try hard to diversify your skills and interests. Stay away from drugs and talent judges. Get organized. Big or little, that helps a lot.
I’d like you to do better than I did. Keep your dreams out of the stinky business, or you’ll go crazy, and the money won’t help you. Be careful to maintain a spiritual EXIT. Don’t live by this game because it’s not worth dying for. Hang onto your hopes. You know what they are. They’re private. Because that’s who you really are and if you can hang around long enough you should get paid. I hope it makes you happy. It’s the ending that counts, and the best things in life really are free.’
There is no bullshit with Iggy.
