Customer Reviews

Gimme Danger: The Story of Iggy Pop

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Generally, the best rock music biographies are written by fans: writers who display an obvious enthusiasm and respect for their subjects, while pointing out their shortcomings. Well, Joe Ambrose admits in his foreword to "Gimme Danger" that he is not an Iggy Pop fan, before laying out his claim that, for most of his career, Iggy has gone corporate and betrayed some kind of authentic (and ill-defined) rock ideal, and that he is really not the relevant and legendary figure he appears to be: an assessment that taints this smug, self-satisfied "biography" for several hundred pages. Ambrose is hell-bent on depicting Iggy Pop as a poseur and as a disloyal, misogynist, fascist, sell-out jerk: a drug-addicted sleazeball first, and a mildly influential singer second. Along the way, Ambrose takes so many cheap and nasty shots at David Bowie that you can't help but wonder when his anti-Thin White Duke tome is due for release (anyone who thinks Bowie's reputation is now "a shadow of its former self" and that Bowie "never strayed far from British pop" shouldn't be allowed to write books about rock music, period). For a writer who purports to be operating from a position of informed rock purism, Ambrose has staggeringly little to say about Iggy Pop's music: He rates highly the albums Iggy made with James Williamson, and several other albums since, but dismisses the majority of Iggy's efforts as either "mediocre" or "overestimated" (the latter is the word he uses to describe masterpieces like "Fun House" and "The Idiot"). Ambrose's opinion would probably mean something if he at least created the ILLUSION that he's listened to Iggy's stuff. Seriously, folks: Ambrose spends an average of a few sentences, and occasionally a lean paragraph, on most of Iggy's albums, and says borderline nil about Iggy's music/lyrics - preferring instead to pore luridly over Iggy's sexual escapades and drug misadventures, like a tabloid writer in heat. Yeah, Iggy's a fabulous lyricist and people love his music, but why bother writing about THAT when you've got pages to fill with Iggy being hoisted up by Elton John in a gorilla costume? Or compressing the entire 1990-2001 period of Iggy's career into one skimpy chapter, including pages of unnecessary attention to the movie "Velvet Goldmine"? Ambrose pompously chastises Iggy without adequate explanation; he says practically nothing about Iggy's relationship with his son Eric; he doesn't think it's important to mention that Iggy was the valedictorian of his class at school; and he conveniently leaves out any material that contradicts his one-eyed take on Iggy (he claims Iggy was disdainful of the bands that emerged from the Punk Rock explosion, yet doesn't use anything from Iggy's famous 1977 interview on Canadian TV that shows an opinion to the contrary; he writes off Iggy's movie acting and choices of film, yet neglects to mention that Iggy starred in a Jim Jarmusch short film that won a prize at Cannes in 1993, etc). Ambrose shows no sympathy or understanding towards Iggy's addictions and genuine mental problems in the 70s; he completely downplays Iggy's boundless sense of fun and irony and self-deprecation; he takes everything Iggy's ever said at face value (his "support" for Ronald Reagan, etc) and basically has nothing to support his smugly iconoclastic claims besides half-truths and his own lame opinions. I don't object to this book because I am a fan of Iggy Pop and David Bowie, and Ambrose is not. I object to this book because it's so poorly constructed: most of the interview material from key players is lifted verbatim in huge chunks from previously published sources (other books; magazine articles; online interviews, etc) and lazily assembled with scant regard for even basic journalistic professionalism. This book reads like it was written in a week. It's also riddled with outrageous opinions and flights of fancy on Ambrose's part, as well as reams of non-truths and factual inaccuracies which expose Ambrose as a dilettante with no sense of fluidity or research ("Real Wild Child" was originally a hit by Johnny O'Keefe, NOT Jerry Allison of The Crickets; Kurt Cobain didn't die in 1993; David Bowie NEVER duetted live with Iggy in 1977, etc...Ambrose even gets Iggy's real name wrong in the first chapter!). This is an amateur book and it's baffling how it got published; unfortunately, since there's a distinct lack of Iggy Pop material in bookstores, people wanting to know more about the Ig will gravitate towards this dreck. Joe Ambrose helpfully, and perhaps naïvely, provides his e-mail address in this book. I don't see the point in airing my grievances with him in private; I think I'd be of more use here, advising everyone to keep their money away from this odious, slapdash exposé. Ironically, Joe Ambrose continually accuses Iggy of whoring himself out for cash - yet "Gimme Danger" is a shoddy, mediocre attempt to blatantly denigrate a popular name and make money for an abrasive "writer" with delusions of self-importance and an obvious lack of aesthetics and literary skill. Thankfully, "Gimme Danger" undermines itself by its appalling wrong-headedness and sheer mediocrity. This book should be junked - it is an insult to Iggy Pop, Iggy's fans, and the entire biographical profession, and Joe Ambrose is a vile, unprofessional hack who should lower himself to dirt.

This book looks like a thorough biography which might offer some new information, but is actually a sloppy rehash of previously published sources with a nasty, petty overtone. It is difficult to understand what motivated the author apart from money, which is ironic considering his obsession with labeling Iggy as a sellout at every turn. The book is not without entertainment value, but I feel sad and even a little guilty at having purchased it.

What a disappointment. The Iggy Pop story is one of the most interesting in the history of rock and roll, and a serious look at this life and work would surely be a fascinating read. Unfortunately, instead of an intelligent look at a unique artist, Ambrose has instead served up a petty, highly critical, yet often contradictory shambles of a book. The focus here is on the tawdry anecdotes that those familiar with the Pop saga already know all too well, rather than the rise, fall, and rise of one of rock's most enduring provocateurs. Additionally, Ambrose seems to have real problems with Iggy's licensing his music for use in commercials, and for his decision to stay clean enough to get from city to city and play music for his fans. Evidently he subscribes to the rather juvenile notion that striving for success and enjoying it's rewards means selling out. I suggest helping Joe Ambrose keep his own art pure by not buying this book.

...and a rather sad one at that. The other reviewers with low rankings have it pretty much correct. Nothing wrong with a critical view on a subject at book length, but to mix a lot of interesting history with comments like Patti Smith and Iggy Pop throwing away songs that were better than Kurt Cobain's best is almost enough to make one stop reading (but that's 25 pages from the end, so let's perserve on, shall we?). Somebody needs to do this right, but ya know? Just listen to first three Stooges records and ignore books like this or the "autobiography".

I'm a huge fan of Mr. Pop, and have been waiting for a definitive biography for some time. Unfortunately, this isn't it. Ambrose has effectively reprinted huge sections from "Please Kill Me," "I Need More," and "Neighbourhood Threat." Virtually no interviews or research was done from anywhere but these three books. Virtually nothing is said about Iggy's son Eric, and the last ten years of Pop's career are glossed over. Ambrose admits to not being a Pop fan, but feels compelled to repeatedly criticize his work (particularly the use of Pop's songs in commercials). Despite an awesome cover, Gimme Danger is basically a poor researched term-paper on Iggy Pop.

... it is somewhat useful, if totally annoying, to have all this info in one book. Use the bibilography as a shopping list; buy all the source books and you'll be better off.

And sorry, Joe Ambrose, I don't mean Iggy.

This author is the most bitter a**hole I've ever had the experience of reading a book by. "Gimme Danger" is just laden with unnecessary and unexplained jabs at Iggy Pop and 85% of the bands/singers he mentions. He calls Joy Division "dippy", he calls the fans of Red Hot Chili Peppers/Beastie Boys a "generation of brain-dead skate kids and lobotomised mall punks" and he calls glam rock "fag rock" every single time. Here's an example of a typical sentence that Ambrose puts together: "The project featured Patti Smith, the unpleasant cult leader Genesis P. Orridge, and pu$$y-powered poet cum rock biz PR Nicole Blackman." What? You mean Genesis P. Orridge, the leader of arguably the first industrial band, Throbbing Gristle? You may not like them and that's fine, but show a little respect. I don't get why he feels he needs to cut down everybody he mentions. He injects his bile and spite into almost every description. Oh, and he hates Iggy Pop. Perfect guy to write a biography, huh? The only thing that saves this book is that the interviews are interesting. It's the only time the words aren't completely filled with venom. But that's no credit to him since he didn't say the quotes himself and from what I understand most of them came from other books and sources anyway. I can't stand it when I read a book and all I can think about is the author. He's like a Michael Moore film, always shoving his mug into everything instead of letting the story speak for itself. I know I'm not reading a good book when I stop after every page to look at the author's picture and think "I hate you".

Two stars for the interviews. Zero to Ambrose. Here's to hoping someone writes a real Iggy Pop book.

If you didn't know enough about Iggy after reading this you will know more.

This book will take you throught the twists and turns of the rollercoaster life of Iggy Pop.

I think you will enjoy the ride. This man has been down and out and completely on top of the world. Iggy's music is getting it 's due after all these years. Enjoy the book.

This book isn't terrible, but it certainly isn't the "definitive biography" that it claims to be. It's a mediocre hack job pieced together from previous books and articles. Here's my favorite stupidly bizarre blunder: On page 63 the author states "The company (Elektra) let the band down badly by not releasing '1969' or 'I Wanna Be Your Dog' as a single; possibly turning one of those tracks into, at the very least, an airplay hit". What? The first Stooges single was 'I Wanna Be You Dog' backed with '1969'!!! Any Iggy fan knows that! It's right there in the discography in the back of this book! Ambose must have been totally unfamiliar with his subject to make a stupid mistake like that. Thinking that 'I Wanna Be Your Dog' could have been a big hit is laughable in itself. Great song, but certain not commercial in any way. If you wanna read about Iggy get "Open Up And Bleed" by Paul Trynka. It's much better and the one I would maybe consider the "definitive biography".

This book was very hard for me to wade through despite being a huge fan. (I named my first cat Iggy!) Lots of disparaging remarks about Iggy, as well as portraying him as a huge misogynist made it hard to want to finish. But what really makes it a difficult read is the disjointed nature. It goes from a quote from someone in MC5 talking about a gig in Romeo Michigan, to a quote from Iggy about something else that happened elsewhere years later.

I grew up in Michigan and saw Iggy at least a dozen times so I read through it for the descriptions of the many shows he did in Michigan.

I picked up a book the other day in my local library- an autobiography by Arthur Kane (from the NY Dolls). This book looks like a fun read -the first couple of pages were hugely entertaining where he describes his first encounter with Johnny Thunders, and how he - Arthur switched playing Guitar with Johnny. That book is way more colorful and intriguing, it really painted a picture of what it was like to first glimpse Johnny in Central Park.

But Gimme Danger is just quotes and bits of interviews that were in other books and magazines strung together.

Disappointing.