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".
Mass Production
Iggy Pop Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Do me a favor
Give me a number
Of a girl almost like you
With legs almost like you
I'm buried deep in mass production
You're not nothing new
I like to drive along the freeways
Breasts turn bronw
So warm and so brown
Though I try to die
You put me back on the line
Oh damn it to hell
Back on the line, hell
Back on the line
Again and again
I'm back on the line
Again and again
And I see my face here
And it's there in the mirror
And it's up in the air
And I'm down on the ground
By the way
I'm going for cigarettes
And since you've gotta go
Won't you do me that favor
Won't you give me that number
Won't you get me that girl
Yeah, she's almost like you
Yes, she's almost like you
And I'm almost like him
Yes, I'm almost like him
Yes, I'm almost like him
Yeah, I'm almost like him
The lyrics to Iggy Pop's "Mass Production" is a commentary on the dehumanizing effects of mass production and how it can lead to a sense of apathy and detachment. The song's lyrics suggest a longing for something real and authentic - a desire for individuality and uniqueness in a world where everything is becoming standardized and commodified. Pop's request for a girl with legs almost like the one he's leaving is indicative of this desire for something familiar and comforting in a world where everything is becoming generic.
Pop's lyrics describe how he's "buried deep in mass production," suggesting how he's caught up in the same system that he's criticizing. The repetition of the line "Again and again, I'm back on the line" suggests a feeling of monotony and repetition. Pop describes how he tries to die, but he's put back on the line, which implies an inability to escape the cycle of mass production. The final lines of the song see Pop attempting to find solace in another person who he suggests is "almost like you" - once again emphasizing the desire for individuality and authenticity in the face of mass production.
Overall, Iggy Pop's "Mass Production" serves as a critique of the alienating effects of industrialization and mass production. The song suggests a longing for individuality and authenticity in a world where everything is becoming standardized and commodified.
Line by Line Meaning
Before you go
Just before you leave
Do me a favor
Help me out
Give me a number
Provide a phone number
Of a girl almost like you
Of a girl similar to you
With legs almost like you
With legs that are similar to yours
I'm buried deep in mass production
I'm stuck in a cycle of monotonous work
You're not nothing new
You're not unique
I like to drive along the freeways
I enjoy driving on the highways
See the smokestacks belching
Observe the industrial pollution
Breasts turn brown
Breasts get darker due to sunburn
So warm and so brown
It's a warm, sunburnt environment
Though I try to die
Even though I try to end my life
You put me back on the line
I am forced back to my routine
Oh damn it to hell
This is frustrating
Back on the line, hell
And I am back to my daily routine
Back on the line
Again, I am stuck in my repetitive work cycle
Again and again
Repeatedly
I'm back on the line
I am back to my routine
And I see my face here
I see myself in this situation
And it's there in the mirror
I see it reflected in the mirror
And it's up in the air
It's uncertain and unresolved
And I'm down on the ground
I feel low and helpless
By the way
Incidentally
I'm going for cigarettes
I'm going out to get cigarettes
And since you've gotta go
Since you also need to leave
Won't you do me that favor
Can you please help me out
Won't you give me that number
Provide me with the phone number
Won't you get me that girl
Can you help me find that girl
Yeah, she's almost like you
She's very similar to you
Yes, she's almost like you
She's almost identical to you
And I'm almost like him
I am kind of like him
Yes, I'm almost like him
I am very similar to him
Yes, I'm almost like him
I am almost identical to him
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DAVID BOWIE, JAMES OSTERBERG
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.