A Point about the Stooges

I don't know that this has been touched upon, but it's very relevant if one wants to understand this band. To properly understand this band it needs to be understood that it came from an environment, one live with life. The 1960s in America and in Ann Arbor in particular was a smorgasbord of independence. Freedom and rebellion ruled as did a war that many fought against. My point will center on Ann Arbor, a very liberal town in every sense. Now, we have 3 high school drops outs and an accomplished musician vested in creating something new. Iggy had his vision. Ron, Scott and Dave had attitude and an interest in showing the this uppity town the down side. This is critical because A2 has and always will deem itself aloof. The students that attend U-M are generally well too do in one way or another. So are the residents. It's a rich culture.
Now you have 4 like-minded delinquents hell-bent on flipping the finger at the establishment all while equally hell-bent on creating something totally new. To be a no one, an abject failure in an elitist environment, fueled their fire and created this band. It's part of the story and an underlying element that maybe Paul T. touched upon in his book. Just a thought.

I would agree with this. The USA at this point in history was still undergoing seismic shifts socially which had continued from the 1861 - 65 civil war. Behind this however was the severe ecological degeneration that American industrialism had engendered which resulted in the plethora of new laws that came about in the late 60's and early 1970's. Albeit tokenistic and way too late as we can see now.

To my ears the Stooges, MC5, and New York Dolls amongst many other bands and non musical artists voiced a rage that had been articulated in senses by the most vociferous abstract expressionist painters in the 50's - of whom a fair few were staunch anarchists. I have always wondered though about the Stooges connection with the pretentious, shallow and elitist pop-art crowd typified by Warhol and his acolytes. Who I consider to be representative of the lameness and 'know-nothingism' of post modernism. I think its really funny and telling that by and large the Stooge 'drop-out' band didn't relate to that crowd.

The Stooges to my mind (along with the Monks) represented one of the first rock voices of the insanity and ugliness of industrialism. Although whether they would have agreed with this is unknown. Iggy himself once talked about the sound and rhythm of a pressing machine in Detroit impressing him with its brutal totality and 'clang'. Although where he would take things today of a critique of industrialism is unknown since he has now taken money from the car insurance industry.

The above questions I would have loved to have asked Ron Asheton if I had ever met him but sadly (now) never made the move that I wanted to in the late 1980's/early 1990's.

I don't think Iggy had a problem with industrialism tho...he says he *loved* the sound of the pressing machine. In the 'Lust for Life' documentary - now on DVD, very worth getting...stereo sound too (it's got live footage on it) - and he seemed in awe of his visit to the Ford factory.

With the greatest respect, I think one has to be careful not to project one's own ideas and philosophies onto an artist?

To be fair, it's difficult...second guessing artists - especially as they are often contradictory (I was reading comments on Iggy in the back of one of the first Iggy books last night, and one observer said just that! ).