METALLICA KO'D

  (8-2-12) FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLED..IGGY here shakin' paws with B-Day dude (8/3/'63) James Hetfield at some industry lovefest. Whatever suburban stoner apocalyptic charm Metallica had died with Cliff "Lead Bassist" Burton. Check out his wacked-out bass solos from the "Cliff "EM All" video collection on YouTube. And check out Lars pouting in the background of this picture. Remember those good old MTV days when, while accepting a MTV video award on MTV, Lars would brag during his acceptance speech about how they made it big without MTV or videos? Who's the master and who's the puppet?

  P.S. The STOOGES recorded "Search & Destroy." Metallica recorded "Seek &Destroy." IGGY thought that was quite a coincidence...

SINGLE OF THE MONTH

 (8-1-12) NOWHERE WITH A BULLET!..A new feature here at the Blooge! Criteria: A fabulous A-side with an equally bitchen/interesting/rare B-side. Plus a cool picture sleeve and some vague IG connect.

The STOOGES' first 45 changed everything. After appearances on Ed Sullivan, the Smothers Brothers, and the Carol Burnett shows the single shot straight to number one, securing the band a headlining gig at Woodstock where after taking the brown acid IGGY threw up all over Abbie Hoffman and...actually, the single and LP went nowhere fast. Most people, if they knew about the band at all, hated them and thought they were a bad joke. Hippy DJ's wrote " dogshit" on the STOOGES" LP covers and used them as frisbees. Maybe the STOOGES should have named themselves  

"Gandalf's Disciples" or "Hobbit's Holiday" or something...
Another year with nuthin' to do...

DA DO RON RON

  (7-31-12) BORN UNDER AN IRON CROSS..Can't leave July without celebratin' the B-Day of RONALD " RON" ASHETON ( 7/17/'48). From a wide variety of choices AMANDA picked this photo, finding it the most "iconic". It is indeed the RON we all know and love. Let's also hear it for RON's mom ANN ASHETON, for bringing up two DumDum boys and one Wild Child of a daughter   ( Kathy ) all by herself.
Make Mine Japanese!

MONSTER OF THE MONTH

7-30-12  MAIN MAN

  "Is it a crime, for you to fall in love

      withFrankenstein?..."

It's hard to look at the mug of the author of these lyrics, New York Doll David Johansen, and not be reminded of Jumpin' Mick Jagger. Mick had his 69th B-Day this July 26.

  "Tell me a story,

    about how you adore me..."

aw..some other time, Mick...I'm going home..

NAZI GIRLFRIEND

 (7-27-12)  TODAY YOUR LOVE, TOMORROW THE WORLD...First things first, CLARA BOW (B-Day July 29) was no National Socialist! Explanations for this photo vary, from it being pre-Third Reich (doubtful) to Clara being coerced into wearing it by Paramount executive B.P. Schulberg while the two of them were in Germany sometime in the '30's. B.P. also talked C.B. into meeting Hitler. The Fuhrer was a big Clara Bow fan and the foreign film market, like today, was very important to Hollywood. Google "Clara Bow Swastika Scandal" for a 'full report'.

  IG CONNECTION: "Nazi Girlfriend" is a groovy little ballad          (really!) off of IGGY's adventurous "Avenue B" CD. It'd make a great 45 picture sleeve, if any record label was crazy enough to send a single called "Nazi Girlfriend" to radio stations.

  FUN FACT: That bell shaped flapper hat that Clara is wearing is called a "cloche". I always wondered what they were called..

Bonus: "HA HA HA!"

Bonus on a Bobus: "COMMIE CARTOONS!"

GOT NO IDOLS

  7-26-12 REBEL GLORIA...July 27 is the B-Day of the fabulous JULIANA HATFIELD, who's band the Blake Babies recorded a loose version of the STOOGES' "Loose". I miss all those melodic but rough, combative but fun, difficult but desirable, and always individualistic rockin' women from the '90's. Bands like the Breeders, Scrawl, Belly, L7, Mecca Normal, Bikini Kill, Hole, Blue Lies, Bratmobile..etc. As we live thru these dark, Amerikan Idol ages, here's hoping there will be something cool in the future for our daughter..or maybe GLORIA will just have to start a riot of her own...

  BTW..speaking of the '90's; "DANCE WITH JULIANA" was code used by some of my friends for breaking out the blow, which they hid in their Juliana Hatfield "Become What You Are" CD. No prize for guessing what they kept in their Motorhead "No Remorse" CD.

HE'LL TAKE SWEDEN

  JA, I IGGY POP..Here's a cool poster for a gig IGGY played on this day in Sweden back in2002. Footage from this show is easily found on the world wide web. RA POTENS!!
"They put an age to the torch!"

SLASH AND BORE

   7-24-2012 SWEET STOOGE OF MINE...July 23, 1965 is SLASH's B-Day. His guitar work is all over IGGY's"Brick By Brick" LP but for my money Slash's best solo is on "Ain't No Nice Guy" from MOTORHEAD's "March Or Die" CD. The only Guns N' Roses music I ever purchased was their "CIVIL WAR" cassette single, so instead of another boring shot of Slash's hat here's a painting of the Monitor and the Merrimac. Nothing cooler than an ironclad; to quote LINCOLN when he was first shown the design for the Monitor: "All I have to say is what the girl said when she stuck her foot in the stocking. It strikes me there's something in it."

  BTW..IGGY also sang and wrote the lyrics to a song called 'We're All Gonna Die" from Slash's solo CD. IGGY first left the lyrics on Slash's answering machine and Slash claimed it " set the tone for the whole record." Here's some sample lyrics:

  " Gee, I really like your tits,

    I'll say anything that fits.

    We're all gonna die,

    So lets get high.

    I'm in the mood,

    So let's intrude.

    Pee on the ground,

    And jump around."
"They're beginning the daily slaughter on time!"

GREEK TO ME

  7-23-12  FRIENDS, ROMANS, STOOGES...While playing a gig in Athens, Greece in July of 1996 IGGY got hit with a bottle thrown at him by a member of the audience. IGGY responded by screaming: "Somebody hit me with a bottle! You can't kill ME! I'm IGGY POP! I'LL KILL YOU!" Years later,in July of 2007, the IG again plays Athens and AGAIN gets hit with a bottle. This time IGGY screams : "You can't stop ME! I AM IMMORTAL!" Could IGGY have gotten the Parthenon ( Athens/temple of Athena) mixed up with the Pantheon ( Rome/temple to all the Gods)? I know I did. James Osterberg, student of ancient history, wouldn't have.

Try not to piss off the gods

I BID YOU...WELCOME...

 7-20-13  BURNIN' DOWN THE FUNHOUSE...Just reminding you'all about the Fun House warming party this Saturday the 21st, 2012, anytime after 3pm. Be there or be square. It doesn't matterwhat you wear, just as long as you are there. You can even wear Levis or Capris, please! I don't care...

  P.S. NO gifts, except those you give yourself.

  P.P.S. ..photo caption winners will receive your CD!

Welcome , indeed!
Follow Up: And what a swell party it was! Archived in perpetuity by the 6th O'Connor, Eric A.
"Talkin' bout Ernie B Blues"

ROCK SEEN

 7-19-12 COVER STOOGE..Over thirty years ago this month IGGY was on the cover of ROCK SCENE magazine. "OVER 150 PHOTOS", at least 130 of them featuring the smug mug of co-editor Lisa Robinson; the other editor being her husband Richard. Good thing they had great taste in music!

LONG WAY BACK TO GERMANY

 7-18-12  EULOGY TO CHRISTA PAFFGEN..On this day in 1988 NICO died. Her body was sent back to Berlin to be buried next to her mother.   In 1969 Nico moved into the FUN HOUSE for two weeks, teaching the ASHETON BROS. about fine European wines and teaching IGGY cunnilingus. Said IGGY in 1983:

  "And I thought: 'what is a sophisticated lady like her, what does she want to do out where I am? She must be nuts.' She was, and I owe her the world."

Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams

HAVE BO WILL TRAVEL

  7-17-12 LAME TO THEBRAIN..July saw the release of two classic BO DIDDLEY albums; his second LP "Go Bo Diddley('59) and his third LP "Have Guitar Will Travel('60). Like his first LP, his second was all killa, no filla. His third contains classics like "Mona" and "Cops and Robbers".   RAY DAVIES, while being a guest VJ on MTV back in the '80's, expressed dismay that George Thorogood's "Bad To The Bone" video would show George beating Bo in a pool game. I'd add that having George become the hero over Bo to all the poor kids in "the hood" was at best in rather dubious taste. You could've made the video and STILL lost the game, George...that's called the blues...

THUNDER FROM THE EAST

  7-16-12  BORN TOO LOOSE..July 15, 1952 is the B-Day of John Anthony Genzale, Jr. aka JOHNNY THUNDERS. I'll move over, Bloogers, and let Jimmy O. take over:

    "CHARACTER"

    by Iggy Pop 1993

" Well, I'll tell you,

One good thing at least

  about some of these junkies

was they had some character...

At least they played the damn guitar

like they meant it..

These white bread boys nowadays,

  knowin' all the score,

don't even know how to puke.

ARTHUR RAISED A KANE

7-13-12  KANE MUTINY...Here's the NEW YORK DOLLS, as usual looking impossibly cool and sublimely ridiculous simultaneously. ARTHUR "KILLER" KANE split the scene this day back in 2004. Even if you don't dig the Dolls ( ? ) you should check out the documentary about Arthur called "New York Doll." Like with RON ASHETON, it's gratifying to know Arthur got some respect/kicks before he bowed out. It's what was once called a "great human interest story", back when our stars were still recognizably human and had interesting stories to tell.

COMIC-CHAMELEON

7-12-12 THE BIG 'BANG BANG' THEORY..Today is the start of COMIC-CON. In this Blooge's photo IGGY is playing some character named Yelgrum (he's the one on the right) from a Star Trek-Deep Space Nine episode called "The Magnificent Ferengi" (I swear I didn't know that already, I had to look it up!).

While Nickelodeon's "Pete & Pete" captured a bit of James Osterberg's natural charm, for the most part Mr. Pop's acting career has not been memorable. He knows it too and he was wise to stop. Most of his life has been some kind of bizarro world version of Clark Kent/Superman(Jim/Iggy)anyway. So why should he bother to play act?

  Also on this day:

1. Curly Joe DeRita born in 1909.

2. IGGY's first wedding, back in '69. Since the bride was Jewish, best man RON ASHETON decided not to wear his SS outfit. He wore his Luftwaffe uniform instead.

I WANNA BE YOUR BONZO DOG

7-10-12  STOOGES OVER LONDON..From the July 8, 1972 pages of Melody Maker, an advert for a "IGGY POP, ex-Iggy & the Stooges" show on the 15th. As the late Ernie "DUTCH" Borgnine might have said: "Ex Stooges yer BUTT!!" This was the imfamous, pre RAW POWER, only European show by Iggy AND the Stooges (with the FLAMIN' GROOVIES!). In attendance were the FUTURE PUNKS OF ENGLAND (Johnny Rotten, Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Brian James, Siouxsie Sioux). It changed lives and was the REAL start of the British Punk scene. To quote Nick Kent: "The total effect was more frightening than all the Alice Coopers and Clockwork Oranges put together, simply because these guys weren't joking."

  P.S. Attention BONZODOG fans! Salivate over the line-up on the 8th!!

TURA! TURA! TURA!

7-10-12  FOUR DEGREES FROM IGGY..Child bride, internment camps, martial arts, gang leader, model, burlesque queen, police dispatcher, revenger, singer and subject of songs, movies, TV, Harold Lloyd, Billy Wilder, Tempest Storm, ELVIS, Russ Meyer, a cult legend; these are all part of the amazing life of the incredible TURASATANA, born today in 1938. Like Bogie as Rick, Boris as The Monster, Bela as Drac, MM as Lorelei, and Laughton as Bligh, Tura'a VARLA in Russ Meyer's "Faster Pussycat, KILL! KILL!" is one of American cultures most indelible icons. And she wrote much of her own dialogue, too ("I don't beat clocks, I beat PEOPLE!").

  IG/CONNECT: Tura worked with Russ who worked with Steve Jones ( "Who Killed Bambi?") who worked with IGGY.

FUN FACT # 1 : A young ELVIS proposed marriage to Tura, who turned The King down but kept the ring. Imagine a child by ELVIS and Tura!

FUN FACT # 2 : At the end of an episode of The Man FromU.N.C.L.E. ("Finny Foot Affair") Napoleon Solo asks Tura's character if she is going to join her dead boss in death by committing Hara Kiri. She replies: "You got the wrong century, JACK!"

FUN FACT # 3 : Varla is the first female movie character to kill a man with her bare hands.

ERNIE R.I.P.

7-9-12 BONUS BLOOGE GOING DUTCH..Yesterday 7/8/12 the great ERNEST BORGNINE shipped out for the last time. Some friends and I watched the WILD BUNCH last night as a tribute. There's at least a dozen iconic Ernie moments in the film; here's a fitting one:

"I think the boys are right.  I'd like to say a few words for the dear, dead departed.

  And maybe a few HYMNS'D be in order.   Followed by a church supper...WITH A CHOIR!"

Thanks, EB...we "wouldn't have it any other way."

P.S. This photo is a shot of Ernie and your's truly at a book signing in 2010

SYSTEM OF A STOOGE

(7-9-12) BACK IN '73..July 6,'73 the RAW POWER STOOGES played a gig with Bob Seger.

Those who only know Bob from the pallid, EL Lay influenced AOR music he made in the late '70's and beyond with the Silver Mullet Band ( "OLD" time R&R, indeed) should check out the Detroit "HEAVY MUSIC" the BOB SEGER SYSTEM made in the '60's.

Have you "heard" this!?