Iggy Pop – The Idiot (1977)
[Album 655/1001]
“Whenever I’m about to do something, I think, ‘Would an idiot do that?’ And if they would, I do not do that thing.”
– Dwight K. Schrute, The Office
99.9% of the time, that’s likely good advice.
Though there’s always an exception to the rule: in this case, Iggy Pop’s debut LP, The Idiot.
If doing as The “Idiot” does means…
a bassline as catchy as Sister Midnight
a drum beat as addictive as Nightclubbing
a guitarmony outro as splendid as China Girl
a saxomophone intro/solo as intriguing as Tiny Girls
a vocal performance throughout the album as engaging as Iggy Pop’s
or a part of a calendar year as ridiculously prolific & terrific as 1977 was for Iggy Pop / David Bowie music
…then in these rare instances, I would recommend doing that thing!
Or to modify Dwight’s life motto with some fine print:
…..
Verbalize the Positive
Do you have a preference between Iggy Pop’s 1977 China Girl & David Bowie’s 1983 version?
I enjoyed 2loud2oldmusic’s Cover vs. Original post on the subject.
John makes a good point that Bowie wins either way, being heavily involved in both versions!
1001albumsin10years 
I need to spend more time with this, but as you note it is amazing how productive Bowie and Iggy Pop were in 1977. Brian Eno was pretty involved too with the Bowie stuff, and made a great 1977 album as well.
It took me a while to appreciate Eno – I think it might have been Eno’s ’77 album where I fully became an Eno fan!
Through concentration, I can raise and lower my cholesterol at will.
Bears, Beets, Battlestar Gallactica!
Good choice with this one. I didn’t know it until I did that post on China Girl (thanks for the shout out, btw). That lead me to explore it a little.
I think it was through your post that I learned about the Iggy version of China Girl – so my thanks to you!
Then you’re welcome!!
What a great name for an album!
The Idiot! Bowie does win either way especially if your counting royalty cheques going into Bowie’s pocket at the time!
Great Post Geoff! Can’t believe we’re into August now!
My thanks Deke – and I bet Bowie’s bank account balance was doing alright in ’77!
Hard to believe, though I suppose the ‘back to school’ sales have been going on since school ended in June!
Bowie does win either way but sometimes I just love Iggy Pop’s attitude. So I might go with his version here.
And the outro in his version would be the tie-breaker for me!
A favourite of mine! I don’t think it needs to be mentioned how much I love David, and the Berlin years is my most favourite Bowie era of all. You can really hear the sound of his Berlin albums being conceptualised all over ‘The Idiot’; it’s kind of like the blueprint for ‘Low’.
I must say that the Iggy version of China Girl is my favourite…but I don’t feel too bad, because David does win either way! And I do have a soft spot for David’s, since all of his ‘Let’s Dance’-era music videos were filmed in Australia.
And alas, David nearly went bankrupt in ’77 as a result of being ripped off by his old manager, to the point that he had to sell off a beat-up car he was driving at the time! He was also sharing a small apartment in Berlin with Iggy — who he apparently kicked out because Iggy stole too much of the food in his fridge! (Apologies for my nerdiness!)
No need to ever apologize for nerdiness around here Adela. I hadn’t known about his near bankruptcy – nor Iggy’s food stealing!
I
What Aphoristical said.
(Terrific post)
My thanks Bruce, much appreciated!
I love this album. I’ve actually been on an Iggy kick of late… immersed in everything. Even the 80’s stuff. I refer to it as The Good, The Bad, The Bonkers, & The Brilliant.
That’s a great tagline for the decade!
I had Lust for Life on recently, another one that would fall in the brilliant category.
What a year he & Bowie had in ’77!
No kidding. I also meant to say that I prefer Iggy’s China Girl!
As do I, that outro especially!