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".
Not Right
Iggy Pop Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Not right
I want something, I want something, tonight
I want something
I want something, all right
But she can't help because she's not right
No, no, no, no
Well, it's always this way
I
I'm not right
She wants something, she wants something, tonight
She wants something
She wants something, all right
Oh, but I can't help 'cause I'm not right
No
And it's always
And it's always this way
And it's
Always
This song is a duet between Iggy Pop and Chrissie Hynde. The lyrics describe the longing for something, a desire that cannot be fulfilled because both parties involved are "not right". The phrase "not right" implies that they are damaged or broken in some way, mentally or emotionally.
The repeated line "I want something, I want something, tonight" emphasizes the urgency and desperation of the desire, while the refrain of "not right" suggests that the desire is impossible to fulfill. The push and pull between the two voices creates a sense of tension and frustration, as both parties recognize their mutual inability to satisfy each other's needs.
The phrase "it's always this way" at the end of each verse suggests a cycle of repeated disappointment and unfulfilled desire. The song captures the feeling of being stuck in a dysfunctional relationship or cycle, where both parties are unable to break free from their patterns of behavior.
Line by Line Meaning
She
Referring to a woman in the song
Not right
The woman is not mentally or emotionally stable
I want something, I want something, tonight
The singer desires something, likely physical or sexual
I want something
Reiterating the artist's desire for something
I want something, all right
The artist is insistent and eager to get what they want
But she can't help because she's not right
The woman is unable to fulfill the singer's desires due to her instability and likely mental illness
No, no, no, no
The singer is rejecting something, possibly the woman's inability to fulfill their desires
It's always
A statement of the way things consistently are
Well, it's always this way
Further emphasis on the repetitive nature of the situation
I
Referring to the artist
I'm not right
The singer is also mentally or emotionally unstable
She wants something, she wants something, tonight
The woman desires something from the artist, perhaps love or affection
She wants something
Reiterating the woman's desire
She wants something, all right
The woman is insistent and eager to get what she wants
Oh, but I can't help 'cause I'm not right
The singer is unable to fulfill the woman's desires due to their own instability and likely mental illness
No
Rejection of the situation or the woman's desires
And it's always
The consistent and repetitive nature of the situation continues
And it's always this way
Further emphasis on the repetitiveness of the situation
And it's
Continuation of the idea of repetition
Always
Emphasis on the constant and unchanging nature of the situation
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DAVID ALEXANDER, JAMES OSTERBERG, RONALD ASHETON, SCOTT ASHETON
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.