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".
Mask
Iggy Pop Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're wearing a mask
You're wearing a mask
You look better that way
You're wearing a mask
You're wearing a mask
You're wearing a mask
You look better that way
Are you my plumber?
Are you my God?
What do you do?
Wearing a mask
You're wearing a mask
You're wearing a mask
Which mask are you?
Which mask are you?
Complicated crushed up disappointed squirming angry thrusting stabbing regretting starving greedy human alien being, struggling down the street, up the alley, in the elevator, through the party, to the office, in the bedroom, on your way to the morgue. Bullshitting, lying, doing a good deed or feeling loved barely possible. Aware of insatiable demands of not a society all around you. Chunky frat boys in their shorts, pimps with old semite eyes, sex hoochies of the jungle, sensitive smart alec college graduates, critics fronting franticly in New York city, every body in L.A just plain licking ass or having it licked, irony in place of balls, balls in place of brains, brains in place of soul, where is the soul?, where is the love?, where am I?
Which mask are you?
Which mask are you?
Which mask are you?
You're wearing a mask
You're wearing a mask
You're wearing a mask
Which mask are you?
The lyrics of Iggy Pop's song "Mask" seem to be a commentary on the idea that everyone wears a mask in some way or another. The repetitiveness of the lines "You're wearing a mask" emphasizes the idea that we all hide behind something, whether it be a facade of happiness or a false personality. The line "You look better that way" speaks to the fact that we often put on a show for others to impress them or gain their acceptance, rather than being our true selves.
The following lines then ask the listener a series of questions, questioning which mask they might be wearing. The lines "Complicated crushed up disappointed squirming angry thrusting stabbing regretting starving greedy human alien being" paint a picture of the different emotions and struggles we face as humans. The reference to people "in the bedroom, on your way to the morgue" suggests that these masks we wear follow us throughout our lives.
The final repetition of "Which mask are you?" drives home the message that we all have different faces we present to the world.
Overall, the song seems to be a commentary on the idea that we all put on a mask to some degree, whether for personal gain or societal acceptance. The different masks we wear are simply a facade, but they follow us throughout our lives as we try to navigate the complex human experience.
Line by Line Meaning
You're wearing a mask
You are hiding your true self
You look better that way
You feel more comfortable being someone else
Are you my friend?
I can't tell who you really are
Are you my plumber?
Are you just an acquaintance or someone paid for service
Are you my God?
Are you in control of my life?
What do you do?
What is your true purpose behind the facade?
Which mask are you?
Which character are you playing today?
Complicated crushed up disappointed squirming angry thrusting stabbing regretting starving greedy human alien being, struggling down the street, up the alley, in the elevator, through the party, to the office, in the bedroom, on your way to the morgue.
We all have complex inner struggles that we try to hide from others
Bullshitting, lying, doing a good deed or feeling loved barely possible.
It's tough to be oneself
Aware of insatiable demands of not a society all around you.
We feel constantly pressured by societal expectations
Chunky frat boys in their shorts, pimps with old semite eyes, sex hoochies of the jungle, sensitive smart alec college graduates, critics fronting franticly in New York city, every body in L.A just plain licking ass or having it licked, irony in place of balls, balls in place of brains, brains in place of soul, where is the soul?, where is the love?, where am I?
There are a variety of characters we encounter in life, but where do we fit in?
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: MOOSMAN, ALEX KIRST, IGGY POP, WHITEY KIRST
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.