2024-07-04

IGGY POP - NEW VALUES @ 45

 

Released in July of 1979, Iggy Pop's third solo studio LP, New Values, turns 45 years old this month. After a duo of relatively successful "come back" albums produced by David Bowie during his "Berlin" era in 1977 (The Idiot & Lust for Life), Iggy opted to work with former Stooges collaborator, James Williamson, as producer for New Values. Iggy had last worked with Williamson on the Kill City album, which was an attempt to revive the Stooges that kinda burned out before it could really catch fire, albeit it has since become a cult favourite in Pops catalogue. Though Williamson was previously known for his guitar work, that job would predominantly land in the hands of former Stooges piano player, Scott Thurston. Both Williamson and Thurston would contribute to the songwriting on the album. Their collective efforts would result in an album that won a lot of critical praise, but its commercial appeal lagged behind what Pop had achieved with his two Bowie produced prior LPs.

New Values was my gateway into the world of Iggy Pop, thanks to seeing the videos for I'm Bored and Five Foot One on The Midnight Special. Those were enough to get me to pick up the album, and once I did, I was further psyched by its ferocious title track, which remains one of my all time favourite Songs by Iggy. With its blistering guitar riff and ambivalent lyrics, it was perfectly apropos of the era's burgeoning "Gen X" sense of disconnection with the morals and priorities of a world that was about to dive head-first into a decade of "Reaganism" inspired greed and sociopathy.

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