Tour Riders

How much can you really know about your favorite band until you've seen a list of all the crazy requests they make to venues while they're on the road?

For this reason I love The Smoking Gun's "Backstage" section, which features a running database of tour riders from various acts, old and new. The best, most redeeming riders are of course the funny ones, which are even sometimes worth reading front to back. I suggest checking out the riders of both Iggy Pop and the Stooges and then the Foo Fighters. For your information, Bob Dylan needs incandescent lighting.

When I'm a star the only extravagant request I'll have will be a few bowls of Chex Mix with everything but the chex removed.

The Passenger

Frodo Baggins is supposedly playing the part of Iggy Pop in a biopic about the singer due out this summer. Frodo Freakin' Baggins.

Elijah Wood To Star in Iggy Pop Biopic - 'The Passenger'

Iggy & Pete

If wikipedia is to be believed, Iggy Pop's long career didn't really become lucrative until 1983 when his long time friend David Bowie recorded a cover of his song "China Girl." As co-writer of the song Iggy received enough royalty money to clean up his heroin addiction, get married, and, among other things, take acting classes. As of 2009 he's appeared in a few films and has done some notable voice acting work, none of which I can remember. But in 1994 he began what I think is his most notable acting work--as James Mecklenberg, father of Nona Mecklenberg-- in the Adventures of Pete & Pete. A scene which should act as proof of this can be seen HERE, in which Iggy calls someone a Stooge--something which would have been way over my head as a 9 year old. But that just goes to prove that Pete & Pete was a show for kids that parents could enjoy.

In fact, for a Nickelodeon show, Pete & Pete sure had a lot of obscure cameos. Here's a list:

Patty Hearst / David Johansen (New York Dolls) / Ann Magnuson / Martin Donovan / Suzzy Roche (The Roches) / Sarah Shannon (Velocity Girl) / Chris Elliott / Bebe Neuwirth / Syd Straw / Steve Buscemi / Gordon Gano (Violent Femmes)/ Janeane Garofalo / Debbie Harry / Heather Matarazzo / Kate Pierson (the B52s) / Marshall Crenshaw/ Juliana Hatfield / Luscious Jackson/ Hunter Thompson /Michael Stipe

And here's one giant clip which includes proof of most of those. Are you really surprised that Steve Buscemi did a cameo in something?

Iggy Interviewed (1977)

In 1977 Iggy and his band were not allowed to play live on Peter Gzowski's (like a Canadian Letterman) television show due to "union concerns." Iggy made the appearance in interview form anyway. Iggy doesn't take kindly to the term "punk rock" right from the start and his response sets the tone for the rest of the interview. I was going to post the cliff's notes version of his appearance, but it's best viewed in its entirety. VIEW IT HERE.

Iggy Pop Day

A moment to reflect on my new favorite Iggy Pop moment.
Dan Kennedy's Rock On includes a chapter in which Dan, in search of personal salvation, attends an Iggy Pop & The Stooges concert at the Roseland Ballroom. It was an MTV2 promotion for a new version of Headbanger's Ball, made even worse by the opening acoustic set by a trashy pop-metal band called Godsmack. All of this was very un-Iggy like, but when it came time for his set Iggy didn't disappoint (he rarely does, from what I hear), thrashing about and stage diving as normal (Iggy is said to have "invented the stage dive) while going completely insane, and ultimately getting himself into the MTV corporate VIP room to destroy everything. As told in the book:

The idle rich hispters and industry VIP crowd up there are shocked and wide-eyed with "Holy shit, the gargoyle flew up here! Hold on you your complimentary Skyy vodka and cranberry, you guys!" Iggy runs the length of the elevated former safe harbor of the privileged, turning over tables, heaving them up and over and grinning maniacally, explosions of sprayed and flun alcohol flagging his eastbound advance through them. Chairs are flying, tables are sailing over, he moves fast with almost casual fury in this ultimately harmless but overdue, inspired, urgent, and precision reonnaissance mission. And as quickly as he came, he is gone, and the well dressed and shocked stand amonst the debris looking at each other and down at their clothes covered in champagne or booze mixed with juice.

And this would have all taken place in late 2003 when he was aged 56 years, the punk that wouldn't grow up. But don't call him a punk, you'll soon find out why not.