Stooge Story

I recently watched Gimme Danger, a 2016 documentary about one of the greatest rock bands of all, the Stooges.  It's mostly told through an amusing and articulate interview with Iggy Pop, but the story is the band's, not his.  Yes, most of the Stooges saga is about Iggy, but Iggy's extensive solo career is not covered.

The film is directed with verve by rock lover Jim Jarmusch, who intersperses the documentary with lots of old footage--not just the Stooges, but also of famous actors and plenty of stock footage--to comment on the story.

The Stooges made three albums in the late 60s/early 70s before falling apart (and reuniting for a period a few decades later).  I love the albums, but knew next to nothing about their origin.  Enter James Osterberg aka Iggy Pop, a Michigan boy raised in a trailer.  He was into music and played drums at first, but got tired of looking at butts so he got out front.  He went through several bands before the Stooges got together.

It's fascinating to see Iggy hanging around Ann Arbor in his early years.  I recognized so many landmarks.  There's Iggy standing in front of the Michigan Theatre.  There's Iggy working at Discount Records where I bought so many albums.  There's the band playing in University buildings where I performed as well. Eventually they get out of town and the documentary follows their adventures to New York and Los Angeles and London.

(They were originally called the Psychedelic Stooges but dropped the first word.  One of them actually called Moe Howard to get permission for the name, and he said as long as you don't call it the Three Stooges I don't give a damn.)

The Stooges had a raw, powerful sound, very different from most music in the hippie-dippy 60s.  So raw that while the band always had a small circle of fans, they never got big.  Eventually they were dumped by their record company and allowed to die in the mid-70s (which is where the movie starts before moving back). Not that the band didn't help the downfall with massive drug use, sometimes blowing gigs.

But that music.  It influenced a generation, and the punk bands that came later saw it as holy writ.  Just look at the first album, The Stooges, featuring classics like "1969" and "I Wanna Be Your Dog." The follow-ups, Fun House and Raw Power, hold up just as well.  The Stooges had their own sound, inspired by rock and roll but owing nothing to any movement.  They were their own movement.  And Iggy went all out as a performer.  It's surprising he's still alive. (Some of the other band members are no longer with us).

And then it was over. But the fans made sure their music wasn't forgotten.  And hopefully this film, a fine document of that crazy time, won't be forgotten either.