The Double Doghouse

this week for the weekly review, we’re taking a look at Iggy Pop’s 1977 release, Lust For Life. having already looked at The Idiot, which was Pop’s first solo record and a collaboration with David Bowie as the two were trying to kick their drug issues, i was really excited to check this record out. after a tour together in support of The Idiot, they went back to the studio together, and this record was the result of that session. let’s check it out!

kicking things off very strong with the title track! Lust For Life has a fun energy to it, given the lyrical content – i enjoy it a lot, and it’s a great opening song. Sixteen aint for me. Some Weird Sin is quite good though, haha. love the way the intro breaks out into that guitar stretch before the first verse after the quieter moments. also i gotta say i love the style of the bass here, and lyrically it’s p good! The Passenger is a track i’ve heard before, but didn’t know it was from here. love the loping guitar melodies mixed with Iggy’s almost deadpan vocal delivery. phenomenal song. damn Tonight is a tragic song. very fun instrumentals that carry slightly ironic vibes of the vocals and lyrics, its a very interesting song. there’s an interesting tongue in cheek optimism that Success shares with Lust For Life that is very fitting for this record, given what i’ve learned about it, especially in relation to The Idiot. Turn Blue is an extremely effective track about an overdose – Pop gives a very impressive vocal performance on this song. very moving. Neighborhood Threat is a really interesting song – as i see it i think there’s a tension here with Pop on a road to recovery and with the support he was able to receive, and recognizing that the “Neighborhood Threat” is likely someone with the same struggles but without that support. neat song. the closing track here, Fall In Love With Me, is a really fun jam, and a nice way to wrap things up.

faves – The Passenger
dislikes – Sixteen

i mentioned in the intro the info i found while looking into it, about Pop’s substance abuse and his and Bowie’s attempts to clean themselves up over the records in this time period, and i really appreciate that the info is so openly available when digesting the record, since it flavors a lot of what the lyrics touch on. there’s a lot of hope here, a lot of perseverance, but it’s flavored by reflections on the damage done and struggles ahead. a very very neat album, and there’s a lot going on here that i think imma be chewing on for a while. and that’s not even getting into the instrumental content! i think Pop does a great job vocally – he’s playing a lot of roles between tracks like Lust For Life and Tonight and Turn Blue, and the band is putting in a great performances too. id recommend giving this one a shot if you haven’t, or if you liked The Idiot and want to see where that path goes.

Lust for Life – 8/10

as a reminder, i’ll be spending the next week going over some more recent records, rather than doing the normal programming, so there won’t be any weekly review next Friday. i’ll still be picking a record for the following week next Friday, June 30th to review on Friday, July 7th. as a reminder, the weekly review queue is currently empty, so please let me know what albums you’d like me to review! (i pool all suggestions in one place, and draw a person, then one pick from that person, so feel free to drop as many as you’d like! if you leave an email or username i’ll contact you when i’ve gotten through all your suggestions.)