Though his popularity has fluctuated through the years, many of Pop's songs have become well-known, including "Lust for Life", "The Passenger", "Real Wild Child", "Candy" (a duet with Kate Pierson of The B-52's), "China Girl", "Nightclubbing", "Search and Destroy" and "I Wanna Be Your Dog".
In 2010, The Stooges were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Pop was the lead singer of The Stooges, a late 1960s/early 1970s band that featured brothers Ron and Scott Asheton and Dave Alexander and was highly influential in the development of hard rock. The debut album was produced by the Velvet Underground's John Cale. The band's "I Wanna Be Your Dog" is a garage punk standard.
Raw Power was first released in1973, perhaps the first record that could truly be called punk. It was the confluence of The Stooges ages, hormones, creativity, ability, experience, tastes, lack of supervision, contempt for authority and ambition that has made Raw Power one of the most influential albums of all time.
The Stooges were infamous for performances in which Pop leapt off the stage (hence, the "stage dive"), smeared raw meat or peanut butter over his chest and cut himself with broken bottles. A glimpse of the vibrating intensity of Iggy live can be seen in the Ramones movie "End of the Century." Guitarist James Williamson became a key collaborator, a partnership documented on the 1978 album Kill City.
In 25 years as a solo artist, Pop's best-known songs have included the thumping Lust for Life, to be heard on the soundtrack of the find-a-vein, shoot-it-up movie Trainspotting, I'm Bored and The Passenger (the latter based on a poem written by Jim Morrison). David Bowie played a key role in reinvigorating Pop's post-Stooges career and was a collaborator on the albums Lust for Life and The Idiot. Iggy may be under-rated as a songwriter. Bowie and Tina Turner covered his "Tonight". Bowie also put out his own version of "China Girl," while Grace Jones covered the icey "Nightclubbing".
Angry Hills
Iggy Pop Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In a movement out in the brush
Far out!
Watering graves of the people who read in the book
Of forbidden content
Tragedy!
In a gentle way hear the angry hills
Imagination under attack for the
Pictures I can't even think
I don't even know them
In a gentle way hear the angry hills
In a gentle way hear them laughing
In a gentle way
In a gentle way hear the angry hills
In a gentle way I am laughing
Yes I am laughing
I am laughing
Yes I am laughing
In the first verse of Iggy Pop's song "Angry Hills," he paints a vivid picture of heaven shining in the morning light while something ominous is happening out in the brush. He suggests that there are people in the hills who have been buried for reading forbidden content, and this tragedy is unfolding right before our eyes. In the second verse, he delves further into the idea that imagination is under attack - this time, for pictures that the singer doesn't even know or understand. However, despite all of this turmoil and conflict, the angry hills are still alive and speaking. Iggy Pop suggests that we listen to them, as they may have something important to tell us.
The imagery that Iggy Pop uses in this song is both beautiful and haunting. He creates a sense of foreboding from the first line, with heaven shining in the dawn's early light while something sinister is happening out in the brush. The idea of burying people for reading forbidden content is particularly chilling and raises questions about what kind of society would do such a thing. Iggy Pop then juxtaposes this with the gentle sound of the angry hills, which seem to be both laughing and speaking in a way that is both comforting and unnerving. The final lines, "In a gentle way I am laughing / Yes I am laughing," suggest that there is joy in the midst of tragedy, and perhaps a sense of defiance as well.
Line by Line Meaning
Heaven it shines in the dawn's early light
The beauty of the dawn is shining brightly.
In a movement out in the brush
There's something moving around in the bushes.
Far out!
That's really far away!
Watering graves of the people who read in the book of forbidden content
Those who read the forbidden book are being mourned and remembered.
Tragedy!
This is such a terrible tragedy!
In a gentle way hear the angry hills
Although the hills are angry, they're expressing their anger in a subdued way.
In a gentle way hear them laughing
Despite everything, the hills are still laughing quietly.
Imagination under attack for the pictures I can't even think
My imagination is being attacked for conjuring up things that haven't even crossed my mind.
I don't even know them
I have no clue what these things are.
In a gentle way I am laughing
Despite everything, I'm only laughing a little bit.
Yes I am laughing
I'm definitely laughing.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: IGGY POP, ROBERT DUPREY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
R Robinson
on Livin' On The Edge Of The Night (edit)
Here are corrections to incorrect lyrics - outrageously, stupidly incorrect: The first line is, "ILL WIND off the river". (And that's ill, not I'll.) The second line is, "smoke stacks fade to BLACK". Second verse: "I've made my bed but I can't REST my head". And "so much COULD be misunderstood". Bridge: "WELL maybe it's just my life". An artist crafts his work meticulously , then this is what happens to it. Disgusting.