Miles Davis and Iggy Pop

[Dillinger]

I'm reading this great great book called "PLEASE KILL ME: The Uncensored Oral History of PUNK" by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain. Its truly fantastic. It reads like a novel/history but it told completely with quotes from people who lived through that era.

Anyway - one of my favorite "visuals" from this book came from imagining the scene described by Ron Ashton who was the lead guitarist (1967-71) and bass player (1971-74) for Iggy and The Stooges (and eventually went on to be lead guitarist for New Oder, Destroy All monsters, and Dark Carnival).

Every time we played New York, this guy would come by our show and give the Stooges a little bottle of coke, completely on his own volition. So we're sitting backstage with Miles Davis, and this guy finally arrives and just throws down a big old pile. We already had the straws ready. Imagine that great scene - Miles Davis's head right next to all the heads of the Stooges going "SNNNORRT!"

We all just devoured that fucking pile, man. Later, Miles Davis said, "The Stooges are original - they've got spirit," or something like that. It was great. My head next to Miles Davis, man."

Apparantly Miles was quite a fan of The Stooges and went to a lot of their gigs. Two more varying musical styles are harder to imagine. Miles standing with his back to the audience playing "Someday My Prince Will Come" and Iggy rolling around in broken glass and diving into the audience covered in blood while singing "I Wanna Be Your Dog."

 

[sterlingclay]

Miles MuthafuckinDavis!

 

[modest mouse]

Dillinger, at the time such a scene would have ocurred; Miles was very much not standing with his back to the audience doing jazz standards.

Those were the days of his fusion bands, comprised of both the best working musicians but also some of the most out-there hangers-on. Miles was a coke fueled monster during that period so its actually not that surprising.

Yesterday I had a long road trip and Miles' Live-Evil was the perfect companion.

 

[Dillinger]

Actually Mouse - you're right - I was thinking that after I wrote it - those were the days of Jack Johnson and his fusion bands... I did see Miles many years later though and he was again standing with his back to the audience.

I still find it a unique and interesting visual - Iggy and Miles - but again, they did have at least one thing in common - drugs.

 

[JerseyBoy]

I'm bored

I'm the chairman of the bored,
I'm a lengthy monologue
I'm livin' like a dog

I'm bored

I bore myself to sleep at night
I bore myself in broad daylight coz

I'm bored
Just another slimey bore

I'm free to bore my well-bought friends
And spend my cash until the end coz

I'm bored
I'm bored

I'm the chairman of the board

I'm sick
I'm sick of all my kicks
I'm sick of all the stiffs
I'm sick of all the dips

I'm bored

I bore myself to sleep at night
I bore myself in broad daylight coz

I'm bored
I'm bored

Just another dirty bore

All right doll-face
Come on and bore me

I'm sick
I'm sick of all my kicks
I'm sick of all the stiffs
I'm sick of all the dips

I'm sick

I'm sick when I go to sleep at night
I'm still sick in the broad daylight coz

I'm bored
I'm bored

I'm the chairman of the. . .

BORED!

 

[modest mouse]

Oh, its still a weird visual. Miles with that dark sweaty skin hanging with a bunch of hairy white boys. And thinking of Miles getting coked up is different than knowing he was a cokehead, which is why its a memorable quote.

 

[Dillinger]

Oh, its still a weird visual. Miles with that dark sweaty skin hanging with a bunch of hairy white boys. And thinking of Miles getting coked up is different than knowing he was a cokehead, which is why its a memorable quote.

Exactly. The only better image I could have would be Miles getting on stage and jamming with them! *lol*

It was a pretty eclectic scene back then though. Iggy was a long haired hippy then even if he was the pre-curser to punk (with the velvets and the MC5). You had people in the audience like Warhol and Todd Rundgren and Lou Reed (with whoever his favorite boy toy at the moment was), and Alice Cooper and Patti Smith and David Johansen and Robert Maplethorpe and me and a whole host of others...

 

[Dillinger]

I'm the chairman of the. . .

BORED!

Great song!

You know - a couple of years ago it bought "RAW POWER" on CD. What a waste of laser technology. Its almost criminal to put that album on a CD. If any album was meant for vinyl its that one. Having it on CD is sacriligeous.

 

[Sparky Kronkite]

The Stooge's TV Eye is awesome too.

And Igg's newest album and a tune, where the Iggster laments his minimal/maximal celebrity - called VIP - is hillarious.

I love all music - and often mix styles in my random CD player. Fact is I get bored with any one style after only a few tunes.

Just yesterday I had Gram Parker, Junior Brown, Kid Rock, Chet Atkins and Queens of the Stoneage - randoming on my system.

Good music is good music. Mix and match - or not.

Miles is quite a bit awesome too.

 

[Dillinger]

Re: The Stooge's TV Eye is awesome too.

And Igg's newest album and a tune, where the Iggster laments his minimal/maximal celebrity - called VIP - is hillarious.

I love all music - and often mix styles in my random CD player. Fact is I get bored with any one style after only a few tunes.

Just yesterday I had Gram Parker, Junior Brown, Kid Rock, Chet Atkins and Queens of the Stoneage - randoming on my system.

Good music is good music. Mix and match - or not.

Miles is quite a bit awesome too.

I should have known this thread would bring you out of hiding! *smile*

I like to do the same thing - my tastes are very eclectic and I mix up things much the same way you do.

BTW - I quite like Queens of the Stoneage - if you haven't already heard them check out Gorrillaz and Lovage.

 

[modest mouse]

its difficult to imagine that many related, yet disparate musical forces in one romm nowadays. In an era when bands are brandnames before their second record. The actual music of worth is almost forced into some niche in order to make it financially viable for thsoe creating it.

Miles with the stooges would have been a sight to see, certainly not the greatest music the world had heard, but I damned well know it would have held my attention.

 

[Dillinger]

its difficult to imagine that many related, yet disparate musical forces in one romm nowadays. In an era when bands are brandnames before their second record. The actual music of worth is almost forced into some niche in order to make it financially viable for thsoe creating it.

Miles with the stooges would have been a sight to see, certainly not the greatest music the world had heard, but I damned well know it would have held my attention.

Yes pretty amazing - people and their various scenes seem to be a lot more compartmentalized these days. Back then I think people were more willing to go and just check things out. Some of those there aren't too much of a surprise but others really kind of surprised me.

Oh -and thanks for calling me a musical force... *lol*

 

[Sparky Kronkite]

Yeah Dill...

that guitar tone that guy gets from the Queens is fucking awesome and the songs? Crunchy/Quirky!!!! Pretty cool. And Dave's drumming (yes folks he's a Virginnie boy - oohrah!) is fucking great.

I think Dave's a better drummer than anything else - if you notice he even does some bongos on the Blue Stoneage album - oh - maybe I mean the new Foo album which is also pretty damn good.

Man I wish I were Dave Groll (is that how you spell his last name?)

 

[Sparky Kronkite]

Mixing it up?

Limp Dip Shit is dating Brit Spears...

That one's got me puzzled.

 

[Dillinger]

Re: Yeah Dill...

that guitar tone that guy gets from the Queens is fucking awesome and the songs? Crunchy/Quirky!!!! Pretty cool. And Dave's drumming (yes folks he's a Virginnie boy - oohrah!) is fucking great.

I think Dave's a better drummer than anything else - if you notice he even does some bongos on the Blue Stoneage album - oh - maybe I mean the new Foo album which is also pretty damn good.

Man I wish I were Dave Groll (is that how you spell his last name?)

Dave Grohl.

Hey - we should start a band that kind of sounds like Iggy w/ Miles and some Enya or something thrown in? *lol* We can call ourselves The Lit Allstars or maybe ParLITment/FunkadeLIT ...

 

[Sparky Kronkite]

My newest band name ideas....

Tom, Dick and Harry...

and...

High Yeller.

 

[Rhys]

Re: Re: Yeah Dill...

Dave Grohl.

Hey - we should start a band that kind of sounds like Iggy w/ Miles and some Enya or something thrown in? *lol* We can call ourselves The Lit Allstars or maybe ParLITment/FunkadeLIT ...

Throw in some Musak and call it Litlite.

More Drum/Bass combos...lItlavalamp sample Robin Williams and call it Litlavalampoon...

"Last night I was down in the lab...talking to dracula and his crew..."

 

[Dillinger]

How about Lit Zeppelin?

 

[peachykeen]

Ooooh Dill I LOVED that book. I got it for Mr K when it came out a few years ago, we both read it in days and he took it to a signing so he's gotten it signed as well.

Have you read "Our Band Could Be Your Life" by Micheal Azerrad?

 

[Dillinger]

Ooooh Dill I LOVED that book. I got it for Mr K when it came out a few years ago, we both read it in days and he took it to a signing so he's gotten it signed as well.

Have you read "Our Band Could Be Your Life" by Micheal Azerrad?

No - is that one also about punk?

 

[weed]

True musicianship surpasses the boundaries of musical genres. A true musician can appreciate the bounties of many styles.

I think of the Beastie Boys and their instrumental endeavor. I believe it was called In throught the Out Door. In a straighter state of mind I'd remember it right.

Cool funky jazz fusion hiphop outside of their normal hardcore white rap.

 

[peachykeen]

It's subtitled "Scenes from the American Indie Underground" (or something like that, I don't have it right infront of me). It's about the punk legacy in the US really; bands on independent labels that seethed just under the surface in the eighties - Black Flag, the Replacements, Husker Du, Minutemen, Minor Threat, etc. and labels like SST, Flipside, TwinTone.

 

[weed]

Hüsker Dü

 

[peachykeen]

True musicianship surpasses the boundaries of musical genres. A true musician can appreciate the bounties of many styles.

I think of the Beastie Boys and their instrumental endeavor. I believe it was called In throught the Out Door. In a straighter state of mind I'd remember it right.

Cool funky jazz fusion hiphop outside of their normal hardcore white rap.

You're thinking of "The In Sound from Way Out"

"In Through the Out Door" is another thing entirely. Umm, I think it was by Lit Zep LOL

 

[Dillinger]

Well this particular book is great... the cast of characters is huge and includes people such as Lou Reed, John Cale, Iggy Pop, David Johansen (The New York Dolls), Dee Dee Ramone, Joey Ramone, Jim Carroll, Nico (Velvet Underground), Patti Smith, Malcolm McLaren, numerous "Superstars" from Andy Warhol's Factory, Richard Hell, members of the MC5, members of the Stooges, journalists, photographers, groupies, record company types, and so many others.

William S. Burroughs says: "This book tells it like it was. It is the very first book to do so."

And I can attest to that. I lived through this era in and around NYC and though I didn't know many of those who became stars or notorious I did know a lot of people involved in that scene and, being a musician, a number of what are now the lesser known bands. I've even played at CBGB's myself during that era. Or, at least what I would call the second wave of punk - the mid to late 70's. If you follow the books history punk very much grew out of a combination of Andy Warhol's Factory in NY - events in Detroit (Iggy, MC5) - the gay theatre scene and drag queen culture (in NY) and spread from there to England and the rest of the country.

For anyone interested in music or in recent history - this is a great read.