MONSTER of the MONTH

 (3-13-12) A NEW (creature) FEATURE HERE AT THE BLOOGE! If the ASHETON BROS. were gonna sit around all day in front of the tube smoking pot they had to watch something other than THE THREE STOOGES and WHERE THE ACTION IS. From Universal Horror to Toho Productions monster movies ruled local TV stations in the '60's. Nothing beat the oeuvre of the great ROGER CORMAN and "IT CONQUERED THE WORLD" was one of his best. Featuring the love triangle of Peter 'Phelps' Graves, future hotel owner Beverly Garland, and Lee 'Angel Eyes' Van Cleef. Pete's soliloquy at the end has to be heard to be believed. Later remade as the disappointing "Zontar, The Thing From Venus."
Actung, Baby

BABY DETONATE FOR ME

 "RUNAWAY SON OF A NUCLEAR A-BOMB #2 " In March of 1953 our government started A-Bomb tests 65 miles north of Vegas. They were seen from 100 miles around in any direction from ground zero. Tourists would get reservations in advance so they could get rooms in Vegas facing the blasts. These are the same explosions the radiation of which many believe drifted over into Utah and eventually killed much of the cast and crew of the film "The Conqueror", including John Wayne ( there are pictures of the Duke on the set playing with a Geiger counter). Astute Bloogers will notice that the big cowboy sign in the left side of this picture is one of the Vegas landmarks destroyed by The Amazing Colossal Man. 
Viva Las Vegas

The MAN,The MYTH,The MUG.

  "THEM'S FIGHTIN' WORDS IN MY COUNTRY!" The great SHEMP HOWARD ( Samuel Horwitz ) was born Mar.4, 1895. A USA Today poll ( under the heading 'statistics that shape our lives') asked Americans who their favorite STOOGE was. CURLY got 52% ( natch ), MOE 31%, LARRY 12%, CURLY JOE 3%, and SHEMP 2%...one percent LOWER THAN CURLY JOE ?!? No wonder RAW POWER took almost 40 years to go gold!

PS.Also happy B-Day to fellow Palladium STOOGE concert goer the Fabulous RAY DAY of CENTIMETERS and TREASON! fame...keep a lookout for RAY'S upcoming solo LP!
A little BBQ and What-Have-You!

R.I.P. ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE

    Robert Mapplethorpe died of AIDS on this day(3-9) in '89. Here's one of the pictures he took of IGGY. Check out PATTI SMITH'S great book " JUST KIDS" for an account of her time with Mapplethorpe in NYC during the '70's.
WING

Hear Him Roar

"I LIKE GIRLS..."
    "...THEY'RE ALL OVER THIS WORLD!" Today is INTERNATIONAL WOMAN'S DAY. No nip and tuck for IGGY..what you see is what you get. IGGY has said he prefers
' midwestern girls ' but he was married to a Japanese woman ( SUSHI POP ) and is currently with a Nigerian/Irish one

( NINA ALU ). 

Foxy Lady

Say it ain't Bo

MARACA MAN
"SAY MAN" During the month of March 1955 JEROME GREEN joined BO DIDDLEY'S band. IGGY'S first record release was a recording of "MONA" by IG's first band The IQUANA'S. That's JG rappin' with BO on Mr. DIDDLEYS biggest pop hit "Say Man". In The ANIMALS version of BO'S "The Story of Bo Diddley" BO asks JEROME what he thinks of these young bands 'doing our material'. JEROME answers : " Where's the bar, man, please show me to the bar". I got this round.
  And check out BO'S customised scooter and self-customised guitar..everything with BO is customised!Hey Jerome!

MURDER CITY vs KILL CITY

  IGGY on the cover of DETRIOT!MURDER CITY COMIX from 1995. He's featured in a story called "German Secret Weapon." I guess the difference between "Murder City" and "Kill City" is in Detriot you get killed and in Los Angeles you kill yourself. No wonder IGGY moved to Florida.
Mayhem in South Beach

Not to Touch the Earth

R.I.P. Stan Stearns,who took this iconic shot of JFK Jr. at his fathers funeral. When he was a kid RON ASHETON met JFK Sr. and shook his hand. RON says that's when he decided he was going into show business.

HIGH HOPES

RIP Davy Jones

 UNLUCKY MONKEYS..Our respects to Music Hall performer, Monkee, TV star, and all around entertainer/nice chap

 DAVY JONES.
English Music Hall was always part of the equation with most English Invasion era bands ( KINKS, Herman, etc..), even The STONES ( circa 'Between the Buttons'). Of course, The STOOGES were having none of this, unless you count the piano on 'RICH BITCH' or 'PIN POINT EYES', which always sounded more like bordello/opium den music to me.
Fun fact: Bowie changed his last name from Jones to Bowie so he wouldn't get mixed up with Monkee Davy Jones.
Fun fact 2 : This is a rare green version of the famous Monkee/JIMI poster, most of them are the color blue.
Silent Monkees

I,CANDY

  Another shot from the "DINAH!" show from 1977. BTW both Dinah and IGGY had chart hits called 'CANDY'. Dinah's made #5 in 1945. IGGY'S 'Candy' made #28 in Feb. 1991, by far his biggest hit in the U.S. His follow up single 'BUTT TOWN' inexplicably failed to win the hearts of the American public and missed the charts completely, despite raves from Bevis and Butthead, the latter who claimed 'Butt Town' featured " the best lyrics he's ever heard."
NOT BUTT TOWN

SHORE LEAVE

DAYTIME FUNTIME...on this day(2/29) in 1916 singer/TV hostess DINAH SHORE was born. IGGY and BOWIE performed 'FUNTIME' and IGGY'S current single 'SISTER MIDNIGHT' on her daytime TV show back in 1977. She found it especially incredulous that SOUPY SALES kids were IGGY'S rhythm section. I still can't believe that I didn't stay home from work to watch it...no way I could have known that in 35 years I could watch it anytime I wanted to on a computer.
Debbie or Dinah?

RON STILL GONE...

...BUT NOT FORGOTTEN...Here's a great poster for a RON ASHETON tribute show held on his birthday in Ann Arbor..probably in 2009.   Pet peeve..posters and gig flyers without the year of the show.."GIG FLYERS"...that's SO Silver Lake 1994!

Destroy All Monsters!

WHO SLAPPED JOHN

RACE WITH THE DEVIL...Can't leave February without celebrating the bithday of the original leatherclad ( jacket AND pants) rebel rocker Sweet GENE VINCENT, born 2/11/'35. Here he is with a couple of disciples from the Reeperbahn region of Hamburg ( who would soon desert him and start wearing jackets without collars!?!). Check out Gene in rock action in "The Girl Can't Help It" which also features great performances by LITTLE RICHARD, EDDIE COCHRAN, JULIE LONDON, FATS DOMINO, THE TRENIERS of "Rocking is Our Business" fame and EDMOND "Old Sykes from The Wild Bunch" O'BRIEN singing "Rock Around the Rockpile".Sweet Gene Vincent

"They! Who the hell is They!?"

PICTURE THIS

IN THE FLASH...One of many pictures of DEBORAH HARRY by ANDY WARHOL. Blondie opened for IGGY on his very first solo tour but really who needs a pretext to post a pic of Deb...

Now I wanna be yer Deb

LOOKS A SCREAM

ANDY WARHOL died on Feb.22,'87. Andy wrote the foreword to IGGY's autobio "I NEED MORE". 

     "Buried deep in mass production...back on the line...back on the line..."

THE THIRD MAN

  LOOKING FOR ONE NEW VALUE...F.Scott Fitzgerald famously said "There are no second acts in American life" but JAMES WILLIAMSON is now on his third!
   ...you just know James will never settle for CONSOLATION PRIZES!
STOOGIPEDIA

HAPPY SAINT VALENTINE'S DAY !

I NEVER THOUGHT IT WOULD COME TO THIS!...

MICHAEL DAVIS R.I.P.

"Take me where I wanna go..
     Let a billion suns
    Cast my shadow..."
...one of the guys...

WHAT'S ROCK DOIN'?

  HEARTS OF THE STOOGES
       I've been checkin' the Web and I can't find anything on SCOTT ASHESTON'S condition. Having a drummer fill in for ROCK ACTION on a couple of already booked gigs was fine, but a permanent band called THE STOOGES without an ASHETON BROTHER does not 'FEEL ALRIGHT'. It reminds me of MOE, just before he died, trying to reboot The THREE STOOGES with Emil Sitka taking LARRY FINE'S place (Larry and Scott both being 'The Heart' of their respective STOOGES). If ROCK doesn't come back maybe it's time for IGGY to finally retire The STOOGES moniker, or at least change it to something like "IGGY POP and HIS STOOGES featuring JAMES WILLIAMSON"..sorta like "PAUL REVERE and the RAIDERS featuring MARK LINDSEY". Whadda YOU think?
SONIC OVERLOAD

SHE CREATURE OF THE HOLLYWOOD HILLS!

 
   THE MOVIE STAR....Feb.11,1934 was the birthday of the fabulous TINA 'Ginger' LOUISE. At some point in the'70's IGGY whipped out his little Iggy in front of Tina at some bar in Beverly Hills. If you need more sordid details check out DANNY SUGERMAN'S "Wonderland Avenue" memoir.
Ginger or Maryann ? Make mine Ginger!

THE HONEYBEES

EAT OR BE EATEN

  February is NATIONAL PET DENTAL HEALTH month:
    " I'm hanging around that same old scene,
        My girlfriend Betsy she's just fourteen,
      There's nothing better for me to do,
        I'm living on DOG FOOD." 
See what's for lunch...

THINGS WE SAID TODAY...

  On Feb.7 '64 The BEATLES arrived at JFK on their way to debut on the ED SULLIVAN Show. While one can guess who the young STOOGES would have said they preferred in the great BEATLES vs STONES debate the fact is that the very idea of what we now think of a ROCK N'ROLL band would not exist without The FABS. ( not to mention 'long' hair on guys!) IGGY's first band, The IGUANAS, performed and recorded many a MOPTOP tune. You say you want a REVOLUTION? Is it time for a riot, girls? RIOT!!! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!
Before Iggy FELT ALLRIGHT, he FELT FINE..

HAVIN' FUN PT. 3

   "DANNY SHOOTS"
      IGGY seems happy now...maybe LOU promised to kick down..or maybe IGGY realized who was behind the camera...thanks to the fabulous DANNY FIELDS for the photos ( and so much more...)
MAX'S

HAVIN' FUN PT. 2

   IT'S LOU ! ...that's enuff to kill anybody's buzz..probably spent the
last twenty minutes talking gear talk...or lecturing IGGY about taking tuenols and drinking vodka at the same time...stay tuned until next time for the exciting conclusion!

HAVIN' FUN PT. 1

   JAMES & IGGY nightclubbing..but something ( besides the camera )seems to be bummin' their trip..tune in tomorrow for Part Two , or , as MR. SNOOP DOGG might say: " Chill, until the next episode.."

"SONGS THE IG TAUGHT US"

   On Feb.4,'09 we lost LUX INTERIOR, one of the best ROCK N' ROLL frontmen EVER and a performer who was also heavily influenced by IGGY..check out their duet together on "Miniskirt Blues" from The Cramp's 1991 LP "Look Mom No Head!" , bad music for bad people like US!
"check out those miniskirts!"

KINK KRAZY

 Feb.3,'47 is DAVE "Death of a Clown" DAVIES' B-DAY..I always thought the guitar sound that he got on the early KINKS records had a lot to do with The STOOGES sound on RAW POWER..check out Davies' lead on "Till the End of the Day" and then compare it with "Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell AKA Hard to Beat." I could of put up a photo of Davies with his famous Flying V guitar but I like this shot..looks like he's on some show like BEAT CLUB promoting "Death of a Clown" The IG is quoted as saying: " The Kinks came out when I was in high school..I JUST WENT CRAZY!" Didn't we all..

KINK LINK

NOW I WANNA BE YER SNOOP DOG

Here's a painting of MR. POP, Mr. Snoop Dogg, and Mr.Vicious..I don't get the point either but on Feb.2,'79 John Simon Ritchie AKA SID VICIOUS checked out..in the book "12 Days On The Road With The Sex Pistols And America" Sid says to his tour manager "I wanna die like IGGY POP!", apparently forgetting that IGGY was not dead and would indeed be with us for a long time...sorry you ain't here, Sid and thanks for sticking around, Mr. POP.

POP

 Feb. 1 is my father RICHARD 'DICK' O'CONNOR's B-Day. Here's a shot from the documentary VICTORY AT SEA of Dad (second from left) returning home from the Great Anti-Fascist Crusade of the mid-1940's. I never played golf with my dad like IGGY did with his but we saw a lot of each other, especially in his last few years. Can't honestly say we talked about much..on the day before he died he couldn't talk at all but he touched my hand,  looked me in the eye, and nodded his head slowly up and down a few times..I knew he always loved me but it felt like he was saying, "Hey,I love you as a son but I also LIKE you as a person...I think you turned out alright, and thanks for hanging out with me. Don't worry about your Dad...he's at peace." Miss you, Dad... 

" I'M A RUNAWAY SON OF A NUCLEAR A-BOMB "

On 1/27/51 the US started nuclear bomb testing in Nevada 65 miles
north of Las Vegas..here's the M65 Atomic Cannon named "ATOMIC ANNIE" and this is the first and only nuclear shell to ever be fired from a cannon. It had a range of seven miles. I know this ain't got much to do with the STOOGES but I just think this is some crazy shit...the ultimate DEATH TRIP.

HALF-WIT HOLIDAY

Dateline 1/26/12 : "HOLD HANDS,YOU LOVEBIRDS!" Today is my birthday..here I am with frequent THREE STOOGES foil and self-proclaimed " fourth Stooge " EMIL SITKA at the unveiling of THREE STOOGES star on the Hollywood Blvd Walk of Fame. Thanks to Brother Phil O'Connor for the cool pic!
 See Emil in action

THE GYPSY WOMAN WAS RIGHT...

ZOMBIE FUNHOUSE
   IGGY in HAITI....Voodoo Dog(Slight Return).

ANYTHING BUT SAVAGED , HAPPY BDAY MDB

1-24 is the birthday of the MARQUIS of ROCK N'ROLL, OUR FIRST MINISTER of TRUE LOVE, and Thespian Supreme MICHAEL DES BARRES!    Thanks for being our friend, Michael...ROCK OUT and ROCK ON!

"YOU DON'T NOMI"

  January 24 1944 is KLAUS NOMI'S Birthday...here he
teams up with IGGY to 'defeat' BOWIE in the Venture Bros. cartoon "Showdown at Cremation Creek Pt. 2...like Bowie says: "BOYS KEEP SWINGING'...

VICTIM OF CIRCUMSTANCE

On 1/18/52 ( one week before my birthday ) Jerome Lester "Jerry" Horwitz AKA CURLY HOWARD took that final poke in the eye and left this mortal coil.." IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED, KEEP ON SUCKING TILL YOU DO SUCCEED."...a motto IGGY ( "Here comes success!") POP might have been living with all these years..

SICK OF YOU

 ...at some point David Robert Jones and James Newell Osterberg had a falling out..or maybe over TIME they just grew apart ( "the door to dreams was closed..") Here's hoping BOWIE & IGGY have at least one more artistic collaboration together ( "we should be on by now..")..if not, let's hope Dave and Jim can at least reclaim at some point that Berlin state of mind and have a few more 'lachens'...if just for one day..

NEIGHBORHOOD THREATS...

HAUPTSTRASSE 155 !! David and IGGY'S pad in Berlin...
Loose translation:  " the main road".  I'll say...

...I CAN'T STOP THINKIN' 'BOUT ME..

"I WANNA GET STONED...AND RUN AROUND..."

"...YES, I'M ALMOST LIKE HIM..."

Their stay in GERMANY was reflected in their LP cover art...

"...WHAT CAN I DO ABOUT MY DREAMS!?..."

PORTRAIT OF POP...painted by BOWIE

BOWIE VS. POP!

From a 2006 cartoon by the Venture Bros. called "Showdown at Cremation Creek Pt. 1 in which BOWIE battles to the death against the tag team of IGGY POP and KLAUS NOMI! At one point IGGY says to DAVID: "I'm sick of being your IDIOT!" ENO famously said that few people liked the VELVET UNDERGROUND but every one of them started a band...few people liked the STOOGES but everyone of them that didn't OD young became somekinda artist..or at least started a blog...

"EVEN THE STOOGES...GET LUCKY SOME TIME..."

January 10...We take time out from our 7 DAYS OF IGGY/BOWIE to celebrate the birthday day of MR. SCOTT THURSTON..who's keyboard work on RICH BITCH alone justifies his Place in the Pantheon!

"LEPER MESSIAHS?"

January 8 is also DAVID BOWIE'S Birthday..we all know the Ballad of David and James so I'll just make this seven days of IGGY/BOWIE so we can be HEROES..just for one week...  

ALL THE WAY TO MEMPHIS...

January 8 was ELVIS'S Birthday..THE ORIGINAL ROCK N'ROLL frontman...IGGY'S "LUST FOR LIFE" LP was racing up the charts until THE KING died..RCA switched all their record manufacturing plants to making ELVIS records to keep up with the demand...IGGYS sales never recovered. On Oct. 8, 1994 the IG performed at an ELVIS tribute concert, singing
"RIP IT UP."

"...Didja see his CRAZY eyes?..."

This Sunday is SOUPY SALES B-Day! IGGY is quoted as saying that the songs on the STOOGES first two LP's had so few words to them because as a kid he heard SOUPY say on his TV show that kids should send him letters with " 25 words or less." Soupy's two son's Tony and Hunt also played bass and drums with IGGY early in the IG's solo career.

January 6. Too soon, too soon...

We lost RON today back in 2009...
Thanks for all the REAL COOL TIMES...

Kev Overboard

Happy B-Day to CHRIS STEIN!..BLONDIE opened for IGGY on his first solo tour. I hung out with Blondie back at their hotel after their first LA show at the WHISKEY A' GO GO..I'm sure they've forgotten but I'll probably be telling people about it until I take my final Death Trip...BTW, Blondie's song "Detroit 442" is named after IGGY'S hotel room number!

"Makes me wanna start a fight..."

The IG's ain't happy with his X-Mas gift...cool pants, tho'..

"And The Beat Goes On..." 1969, 1970...2012...

LITTLE DOLL'S 1ST CHRISTMAS! IGGY & the STOOGES Palladium show was the first night my lovely wife AMANDA & I got a babysitter for our then 1 month old BABY GLORIA. If that seems a rather tenuous STOOGES connection then consider this: one of JAMES WILLIAMSON'S pre-STOOGES bands ( The
Coba Seas ) recorded a live version of "GLORIA" and IGGY himself would do "GLORIA" live solo and with verious post-STOOGES bands! 

Fab Photo credit to Brutha Phil

DAY 31 A.I.

 " I RIPPED YOU,
       YOU RIPPED ME.
     WE'RE GOING DOWN,
       IN HISTORY "

     "BYE"..for now..