Customer Reviews

Iggy Pop: Open Up and Bleed

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Some rock stars fade away. Some self-destruct at a young age. Some kept on chugging away despite it all, and are still going today (see: David Bowie and Mick Jagger).

But a few seem to be truly indestructible -- they bounce back from anything, whether it's drugs, madness, or their own genius. And in Paul Trynka's "Iggy Pop: Open Up and Bleed" is a pretty brilliant look into the chaotic life, influence, and constant ups and downs of one such rocker.

Pop was born Jim Osterberg, to some slightly quirky parents in 1950s Michigan. And Ann Arbor turned out to be the perfect place for him to bloom into a musician -- he became part of the Stooges, a fledgling band that gained and lost contracts like underwear. And they soon developed a reputation for two things: raw, wild, powerful punk, and a tendency to have really wild'n'violent concerts.

And Iggy's own life was just as volatile -- a cocktail of drugs, sex, creative eruptions, and extremely volatile personal life. But as the Stooges fragmented over time, Iggy's own life began seesawing between order and chaos, the bottom of the barrel with the rock'n'roll heights. And even now, as the godfather of punk rock, he spills over with wild energy and creativity.

The core of "Open Up and Bleed" is that Jim Osterberg and Iggy Pop are almost like two different people, like a demon possessing someone's body and making him wreck his life. As Trynka -- and many people he interviewed -- put it, Osterberg is intellectual, polite, clever man, while Pop is a force of self-mutilating destructive chaos.

It actually makes a lot of sense. And Trynka's detailed, intricate recountings get a lot of information from many people who knew Pop -- some fondly, some angrily, and thankfully there's no whitewashing of his personal flaws. But the author really makes you feel and see why Pop/Osterberg is such a powerful presence in rock'n'roll, since he poured his body and soul into his work.

And Trynka strikes a nice balance between his work and personal life, outlining marriages, drug problems, possible mental issues (is he or is he not bipolar?), and his repeated rises from the ashes. Despite all the chaos, he also focuses on the quieter parts of Pop's life, such as domestic bliss with Wife No. 2. And occasionally we even get a funny story, such as the "peanut butter sandwich on Iggy's chest anecdote.

One of the best parts of the book is his ongoing friendship with David Bowie. The past bond between these two men is the sweetest part of the book, especially when Bowie and Pop joined forces musically. It's a bit sad when they drift apart.

Trynka also paints a dark, gritty portrait the burgeoning punk scene of the time, as well as the proto-punk ferocity of the Stooges -- they were SO groundbreaking and raw that the record companies didn't know what to do with them. It took decades for them to be appreciated for what they truly were, and for Iggy Pop to be appreciated as a musical pioneer.

"Iggy Pop: Open Up and Bleed" is not just a biography of a brilliant musician, but a portrait of the rapidly-changing music scene that he first bloomed in. Definitely a must-read for rock'n'roll fans.

Rob Trynka has done a great job gathering the details of Iggy's life, including a few "lost" eras when Iggy dropped out of the public eye. The author presents a very readable account that rings true in a way that many rock biographies don't. Even though he interviewed Iggy extensively, he also interviewed seemingly every living musician who's worked with Iggy (with the notable exception of David Bowie, who would not participate). He also interviewed many of Iggy's childhood friends and acquaintances and other musicians from the late-60s Michigan scene. And in recounting a lot of Iggy's self-mythologizing, and a lot of the classic Stooges tales, Trynka will often conclude that the recollections of another witness are more plausible than Iggy's version. That's something you usually won't get in a rock biography whose writer has the access that Trynka had. There are behind-the-scenes recollections from the participants of just about all of Iggy's albums, Stooges and solo. And the author even makes a strong case for the origin of the term "punk" in describing music--citing Lenny Kaye's original review of the first Stooges album, which he called the music of punks cruising for burgers. I'd always wondered where the first reference to "punk rock" appeared.

Beyond the 320-page biography, there's an appendix that lists Iggy's albums in chronological order, with original release and label information and info on the musicians. And as hard as it is to get excited about footnotes, they really stand out in this book. Each chapter's notes are like an add-on chapter, where the author provides supporting quotes, and often gives a longer version of a short quote from the narrative.

Maybe best of all are the two sections of photos. You can flip through the photos and captions and get a good preview of the full narrative, with great photos from the Stooge and solo eras. But if you read in public (as I did, on the subway) you might want to watch out for the full-nude shot.

Hands down the best Iggy Pop biography written thus far. I may even have to say it's better than his personally penned tome "I Need More".

Paul Trynka did the research and delivered the goods!

I'm impressed and can't put the darn thing down. It is one of those books you keep rereading.

Yep, I need more, lol.

Bowie was obsessed with him. Martin Scorsese tries to insert his unique ambience in to his films. The entire punk and grunge subcultures universally credit him with their progenesis, an honor the man himself openly mocks and disdains. The first time I saw him he appeared on stage like a tornado of flailing arms, legs and other appendages (like the cartoon Tasmanian Devil). The fourth time I saw him, during the second song (a hard, fast, heavy 'Loose') I was absolutely mesmerized by the amount of energy emanating from the stage, and fully understood what he meant by 'Raw Power'...he was practically levitating, hydroplaning on that loud, tight riff as he sneered out the lyric. Later during that same show he went in to the shadows by the side of the stage while his band jammed 'Street Crazies' up to a frenzied enough level that he could step in with the vocal. I will NEVER forget the look in his eyes as he watched them from the wings... unseen by most of the audience. He looked possessed...frightening...very much like the 1982 picture, the same year I saw this concert, of him in the Haiti jungle that appears in Trynka's book, only more like a stalking lion (a closer likeness is the cover of the 'Run Like a Villain' single, which also appears in the booklet with the deluxe re-release of 'Zombie Birdhouse').

Iggy Pop is both the Van Gogh and the Mary Shelly's Frankenstein of rock as an art form. Beyond the obvious allusion to Van Gogh's one-off self mutilation, Iggy has been tormented by (probably more than one) mental and emotional disorders and ailments intermittently throughout his life. This has not only been given regular expression in his work, but is a byproduct of his often dark, hyper-Freudian / apocalyptic view of both himself and the world. Anyone even remotely interested in Iggy cannot help but be intrigued (as Trynka clearly is) by the dichotomy of his feral intelligence, articulation, and vast learnedness/'literateness' when contrasted with his bizarre, inexplicable drug or mental illness (or both) induced behaviour, which is so self defeating and destructive. In that way he is not unlike Jim Morrison, whose theatrics and performance innovations (as Rolling Stone put it) Iggy long ago "eclipsed". And Iggy survived himself.

I make the illusion to Frankenstein because, unlike a split personality where neither one is cognizant of the other, Jim Osterberg's created alter ego Iggy Pop was a very deliberate device or tool he fashioned as a vehicle through which he could give expression to a side of his nature and creative vision that is present in every true artist, but repressed by society and the fear of insanity. I considered 'Jekyll and Hyde', particularly given how the transformative 'drug' of choice (music) caused Jim to lose control over Iggy's emergence in other arenas of his life, but Frankenstein is better because the story includes that dynamic as well as the more distinct autonomy between the two beings that is evidenced by Osterberg's intellect and refinement...even gentleness...versus Iggy's malevolent, insolent, out of control monster let loose on an unsuspecting audience in the form of music and antics (I saw him several times in his hay day). Iggy Pop is, in fact, James Osterberg's ultimate artistic expression and...like another literary character I can't quite put a finger on (perhaps Chekov's protagonist in "The Duel")...the two have learned to live with each other's diametrically opposite 'weaknesses'. In fact one's weakness is the other's strength, and vice versa. Like a creative 'thorn in the side' for each half of the complete being.

On a superficial level, there is no-one with better instincts for a great riff, and in terms of artistic integrity in rock no rival except perhaps Neil Young or John Lydon. For undiscernible but unmistakably resonant mystical sound bytes in a lyric he has no rival except Dylan. As a symbol of rock music's essence he has only one superior...Keith Richards and possibly the 50's era Little Richard.

I go in to this detail because Paul Trynka 'gets' Iggy. His clear design of presenting 'two' protagonists who are concurrently each other's antagonists is brilliantly appropriate. Some critics have called it a hook, device, gimmick, and in so doing betray their ignorance of the subject matter because Trynka instinctively knew (or came to realize in his research) that there is no other way to tell the story.

The only criticisms/disappointments I have (more musical detail of recording sessions and tours, and spotty chronological arrangement) can be completely withheld in light of a.) the concurrent release of Richard Adams' more technical review of Iggy's career via 'The Complete Iggy Pop', and b.) the fact that this would've diluted Trynka's fascinating portrait of the man and his monster. Together these two books give as complete an overview of both the artist and his output that anyone could possibly need.

Very well done Mr.Trynka. I wish you'd been the chosen co-writer of Keith Richards upcoming (2010) autobiography.

In many respects, this isn't simply a history of a rock and roll star, but far more... the tale of perhaps one of the most interesting characters to have ever walked onto a stage. Certainly, the majority of purchasers will be familiar with the career of Iggy Pop and/or The Stooges and they will be left almost fully satisfied. There is more information on their careers here than in any other book. That said, I would recommend this book to anyone, even those not familiar with Mr. Osterberg's work.

This is one of the rare books that is hard to put down. You just keep going to see what happens next. As would be expected with such a "stranger than fiction" personality, his life and times are the stuff of excellent reading. Additionally, the book is expertly researched and virtually no stone is left unturned.

I have one minor quibble however, and that is the brief documentation of last 10 years (up to the point in time the book was written). While large portions of the book are devoted to The Stooges and collaborations with David Bowie, the late 1990s and early 2000s are only briefly covered. Indeed, the reunion of The Stooges is only given a few pages. If ever there were a "full-circle" moment to a career, this is it and was deserving of more depth than was given here.

Overall, the book remains the best ever written on the subject of The Stooges and Iggy Pop's solo career and can be heartily recommended to both fans and non-fans alike.

An outstanding book! Paul Trynka had access to all of Jim/Iggy's school mates as well as band members, friends, lovers, fellow musicians, and even his psychiatrist for source material. Mr. Trynka's own love for Iggy and his music really shines in this fascinating account of Jim's life. Jim has lived life on his own terms, without a doubt, and Mr. Trynka has given us a look inside the man himself as well as insight into the Stooges and their music. This is not gushing groupie-style hyperbole or savage diatribe - rather, it is a very balanced and honest account of Jim's life by those who were there with him. Mr. Trynka has captured the feel of 1960s Ann Arbor, and I'm sure everyone can relate to being the "outsider" who tries to fit in with the high school crowd, as Jim did. I agree with another reviewer about the footnotes - they are much more than that, because they flesh out various incidents mentioned in the book. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Jim, his musical styles, anyone who enjoys reading biographies, and especially anyone who loves excellent writing!

Paul Trynka does an admirable job of telling the story of James Osterberg and the rise, fall, and rise of the band, The Stooges. His book will probably be the best book ever to be written on the Stooges. The mental condition of the band members during the heady days of their rise to fame would make any autobiographical book questionable.

After reading Trynka's book, the reader realizes what a miralce it is that three of the original Stooges are still ALIVE, let alone participating in a reunion tour in 2007.

The Stooges were their own worst enemies. These guys screwed up big time over and over again. Of course, their music and live performances were ahead of their time, but that doesn't excuse the band members from inflicting injury on themselves- physically, mentally, and emotionally- as they committed career suicide in the mid-70's.

Although the band is a "legend," that hasn't helped them pay the bills over the past thirty-odd years since their implosion chronicled on "Metallic KO." Let's hope the "reunion" album and tour will put some long-overdue green in their pockets.

Regarding the tour supporting "The Weirdness," a friend of mine, a Stooges fan of almost forty years duration who saw the "reunion" tour gig in Detroit in April, 2007, had an intereting observation- "When you think of an 'oldies' act, you think of a band like The Beach Boys. It's 'weird' to think of The Stooges as an 'oldies' act."

A must for any fan of Iggy Pop.

Very informative and indepth review of Iggy Pops' career and life to this point.

On the whole, I think it is a pretty balanced portrait. He doesn't gloss over the negative aspects of Iggy Pop's life nor over emphasise the positive.

I wanted to read more.....

The onstage persona of Jim Osterberg, Iggy Pop, is -- like many other such fictional stage personas (Alice Cooper, Marilyn Manson, Gene Simmons, Ozzy Osbourne, Criss Angel) -- a marked departure from the actor behind the mask. It is also an unsustainable fiction; in that the excesses and the legends surrounding these characters can lead to public expectations which take on lives of their own. The men behind these WWF-like characters must learn to separate their real lives from the fictional characters they portray, or risk falling down the very rabbit hole they use to scare their audiences.

Iggy or Jim came closer than most. He more-or-less lost himself for a good long while, living the rock & roll lifestyle and indulging in the depravity expected of Iggy rather than leaving him onstage. That Jim has survived to re-emerge in the mid-1990s as a cleaned-up (but scarily ugly) aging rock star is a remarkable and in its own way inspiring story.

Paul Trynka's "Open Up and Bleed" tells the story with balance (neither a fanboy nor a scold), with just the right level of detail (the hundreds of interviews are implied but rarely quoted) and with compulsively readable pacing. It is one of the best musician biographies ever written whether or not you consider the fictional character at the center to be a pioneering genius or a self-destructive idiot. Many greater talents have not survived the cauldron of fame.

A fair, accurate and complete "warts and all" portrait of probably the world's most under rated rock icon. It clears up a lot of misconceptions about the circumstances surrounding the recording of all of Iggy's works.

Also offers a lot of insight regarding the original Stooges and Iggy's and James Williamson's shameful treatment of them. Neither of them would be where they are in life without the Asheton brothers and Dave Alexander.

Ron Asheton R.I.P

Dave Alexander R.I.P.