29th August - Iggy Pop's Lust for Life

Artist – Album: Iggy Pop – Lust for Life

Released:  29^th August 1977

Sounds Like: Choose life

There are many iconic scenes in Danny Boyle’s landmark 1996 film Trainspotting: from Renton’s Eno-soundtracked disgusting toilet dive, to the psychotic Begbie’s one-man-and-his-pool-cue brawl against an entire pub; from the terrifying drug induced roof crawling baby nightmare to the unfortunate kitchen episode with the parents of an underage girl that Renton has slept with. The film’s opener also sticks in the mind, with a young Ewan McGregor as Renton sprinting down Princes Street in Edinburgh, his eyes bulging on adrenaline and, no doubt, heroin. The music backing it is the bouncing, thrill-seeking ‘Lust for Life’, and a more appropriate song for a film there has never been.

In March 1977, Iggy Pop had released not-a-lot-of-fun The Idiot, a glum slow burner questioning rock posturing and detailing the demise of his contemporaries (reviewed what seems like a lifetime ago by yours truly here). Five months later, Pop had clearly laid those ghosts to rest with this nihilistic and rocking album. Things quick off splendidly with the rollicking title track, and this is followed by the aggressive ‘Sixteen’, the decadent ‘Passenger’, the mocking ‘Success’ and the cool ‘Tonight’. Pop was back enjoying life, and it's impossible not to be swept up in the enthusiasm.

As mentioned in its respective blog, The Idiot may well contain Pop’s strongest set of songs, but it’s an album to respect rather than love. Lust for Life, on the other hand, is necessarily primal and brazen, and requires little or no thought at all. As with Trainspotting, it may be visceral and unrefined, but it’s exhilarating and enjoyable, even for those of who would never dream of shooting up.

Albumaday... rating: 8/10

1.       Lust for Life – 5:13

2.       Sixteen – 2:26

3.       Some Weird Sin – 3:42

4.       The Passenger – 4:44

5.       Tonight – 3:39

6.       Success – 4:25

7.       Turn Blue – 6:56

8.       Neighbourhood Threat – 3:25

9.       Fall in Love With Me – 6:30

Listen to ‘Success': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGbw-cz35qo