Happy Birthday To Mr. IGGY POP!

There are very few musical performers who's birthdays I'll mention on this site but it is Iggy Pop's birthday today. He is 63 and can still kick the ass of any band on the planet.

Our good friend Jeff Woods has a great piece on Mr. Pop over at Explore Music and does a much better job then I would do. And not only do I concur with his thoughts, I will just reiterate, Raw Power is one of those albums you must at least listen to if not out right own. Your ears and your brain deserve to hear this album. A couple years ago, Iggy remixed it his own way but I must admit, I kind of like the original David Bowie mix (which was just re-released on cd last week).

So since Jeff (I can call him Jeff because he puts up with my emails on a regular basis and has yet to put out a restraining order on me) covered the history of Iggy, I figured my view will be a little more personal.

For all of his power, energy and just raw man-ness, Iggy Pop is responsible for one of my favorite rock love songs of all time.

Yes I am a sap.

Beside You comes off Iggy's American Caesar album which seems to have disappeared in terms of fans but for whatever reason, it's one of my favorites. I first heard the song on a special Much Music did where they had Iggy take over Much for what I think was around two hours (if anyone has a bootleg of this show, let me know, I WANT IT). At the time I was really head over heels with a girl a year younger then me and Beside You summed up everything my over dramatic teenage horromned brain felt for this young lady. But even out of my teens, this song has stuck with my something fierce. I have a short story that's inspired by the song and video that I may one day unleash on the public and if I ever get half decent on guitar, this song would probably be shoehorned into the set list whether any of the other players liked it or not.

One last note, one of the most surprising things about this rock ballad isn't just that it came from Iggy but that his co-writer on the song is none other then Sex Pistol Steve Jones.

Take a look at Jeff's piece here and then watch the following two videos:




And if you need a bit more rock after that sweetness, here he is with peaches beating on Zombies.