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".
Supermarket
Iggy Pop Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On the disposable shelf
I'm kinda like a sandwich
I kinda need some help
Most people they pass me up
Some stop and buy
But when they take me home
They never look in my eye
The supermarket shelf is a lie
I know, we saw
The guy from the record company
Makes me wanna die
Everybody sells and everybody buys
People who don't like that get blood in the eye
Everybody sells and everybody buys
People who don't like that get blood,
Get blood in the eye
I'm proud of the corporate logo
Written on my box
It says that I'm ok
For the company stock
What I am I do not own
I don't know who does
Maybe any, some institution
With no flesh, flesh or blood
The supermarket shelf is a lie
I know, we saw
The guy from the record company
Makes me wanna die
Everybody sells and everybody buys
People who don't like that get blood in the eye
Everybody sells and everybody buys
People who don't like that get blood,
Get blood in the eye
Everybody sells and everybody buys
Everybody sells and everybody buys
Everybody sells and everybody buys
Everybody sells and everybody buys
In "Supermarket," Iggy Pop reflects on the consumer culture of the United States and the way in which humans are marketed and commoditized. The song's central metaphor for this critique is the image of Iggy sitting on the disposable shelf of a supermarket, feeling as though he is like a sandwich in need of help. The song's overarching message is one of despair and resignation in the face of a culture that is defined by advertising and consumerism.
The song's opening lines create a surreal image of Iggy sitting on a shelf like a forgotten can of soup or box of crackers, waiting to be picked up by a customer. He is "like a sandwich" in that he is a product to be consumed, but at the same time, he "kinda need[s] some help" which suggests that there is something vulnerable and human about him that has been made disposable. The next lines suggest that he is not the only one on this shelf - he is one in a long line of products that people walk past without noticing. When the products are finally picked up, they are never really seen or acknowledged for what they truly are. The overall effect is one of alienation and dehumanization, as people become reduced to mere products and commodities.
The second verse of the song introduces an interesting twist where Iggy begins to take pride in the fact that he is part of a corporate brand. He feels like his existence is validated by being a product with a well-known logo, even though he doesn't know who actually owns him. The verse underscores the way that products and brands become synonymous with people's identities, even though there is no real substance behind these connections. The chorus repeats the same phrases over and over, driving home the song's central message about the ubiquity of consumer culture in the United States.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm sitting in the supermarket
I am physically located in the supermarket
On the disposable shelf
I am on a shelf intended for products with short shelf life or perceived low value
I'm kinda like a sandwich
I am an object available for purchase, much like a sandwich
I kinda need some help
I am not selling well and require assistance to boost sales
Most people they pass me up
Majority of the customers ignore me
Some stop and buy
Few customers purchase me
But when they take me home
When customers take me with them after purchase
They never look in my eye
Customers do not give me any value or importance beyond just being a product
I'm proud of the corporate logo
I display a corporate logo on my packaging with pride
Written on my box
The corporate logo is printed on my packaging
It says that I'm ok
The corporate logo signifies that I am a good product approved by the company
For the company stock
The corporate logo helps maintain the company's reputation and stock value
What I am I do not own
As a product, I do not have control over myself
I don't know who does
I am unsure of who owns me or decides my fate
Maybe any, some institution
Perhaps some faceless organization or company owns me
With no flesh, flesh or blood
The organization that owns me is impersonal and lacks any human-like qualities
The supermarket shelf is a lie
The supermarket only displays an illusion of choice and variety
I know, we saw
The singer and the audience are aware of this deception
The guy from the record company
The person who decides which products succeed and which fail
Makes me wanna die
This person's power and influence make the artist feel hopeless and depressed
Everybody sells and everybody buys
Everyone and everything in the market is for sale or purchase
People who don't like that get blood in the eye
Those who are opposed to this cycle of selling and buying feel angry or frustrated
Everybody sells and everybody buys
Reiteration of the fact that the market is driven by selling and buying
Everybody sells and everybody buys
Reiteration of the fact that the market is driven by selling and buying
Everybody sells and everybody buys
Reiteration of the fact that the market is driven by selling and buying
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG, IGGY POP
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.