Lust For The Lush Life: Iggy Pop Sings Standards

Fresh Air

Published May 29, 2009 at 4:43 PM EDT

Iggy Pop was frontman for the seminal punk band The Stooges, which put out three albums in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and an indefatigable solo artist as well. His newest album is called <em>Preliminaires.</em> — Iggy Pop was frontman for the seminal punk band The Stooges, which put out three albums in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and an indefatigable solo artist as well. His newest album is called *Preliminaires.*

Iggy Pop: He's the Godfather of Punk, the former lead singer of The Stooges, famous for his explosive bare-chested performances and for the verbal abuse he hurls at his audiences. Also for his self-mutilation and heroin addiction.

But last year the artist once known as James Newell Osterburg Jr. turned 60, and his newest work reflects the changes that have come with age.

His album Preliminaires, in fact, takes inspiration from sources that may surprise some: Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong and French novelist Michel Houellebecq. It features standards like "Autumn Leaves" and "How Insensitive."

The result? Iggy Pop, like you've never heard him, on today's Fresh Air.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

Donate

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

Donate