You know, I'm fifty-two now and I call myself a singer. Before I kick it I want to be able to carry a tune in a living room if called upon. Of course, mine come out all dark and twisted and weird. Iggy Pop More Quotes by Iggy Pop More Quotes From Iggy Pop Basically, I’m a musical vocalist, but I do voiceover stuff as a sideline, like plumbing or something. Iggy Pop plumbing musical stuff The problem being: for years I was struggling - first to prove that I had any talent, then to create some skills and finally to fulfil it reasonably. But then once I got there it was, "OK. I did that, but I want to be happy." And that's a whole different deal. It's kind of like a dance. Being active seems to help. I'm 70, so sometimes a little voice is going, "Just take it easy". Iggy Pop different struggle helping I feel a great comfort and relief knowing that there are others who lived and died and thought and fought so long ago; I feel less tyrannized by the present day. Iggy Pop long-ago knowing comfort I find it hard to focus looking forward. So I look backward. Iggy Pop looking-forward focus looks What do you do with a lifetime of work? Face it in the morning. Iggy Pop lifetime faces morning My general take on American music since 1969 is that it's just getting stiffer and people are getting more uptight - audience, performance, and palace guard. Iggy Pop uptight palaces people I always went in with a very specific idea of the sound I wanted, and once I'd recorded I'd try and make it sell as much as I could, but I only went in thinking of a sound I wanted. So, it's no surprise to me that he got the hit and I didn't. But what I realized was that he did dress it up nicely, and my god, he does sing on key well. Iggy Pop keys ideas thinking I was a pretty nice kid. Kind of quiet, but quiet in terms I wasn't going out and setting fire to anything. I had a big mouth and I was creative type, you know. Iggy Pop nice fire kids Well, it wasn't like I was going to run out and score heroin and score an ounce of coke - but incidentally, on the road, I would usually get tanked up and as stoned as I possibly could to go on stage. And offstage, it would be a demon that would come up about twice a week. Iggy Pop coke would-be running I'm a little bit damaged in about 15 different ways, and it's been nice that no particular damaged area has become a major issue. I'm a more than moderately healthy 65-year-old male who has gotten away with a lot of stuff. Iggy Pop issues nice years I've probably been spit on more that any person alive outside of, I would say, a member of the prison system. Iggy Pop spit alive prison The nut of the thing is that if what you make is hard like a diamond, you can put it anywhere. You can put it up your and it will still be beautiful. Iggy Pop diamond nuts beautiful When the 'godfather of punk' thing started floatin' around, it was, I was really, really embarrassed. I thought I should have a great, big rig and a cape and everything, and it was very embarrassing. And then after a while, you learn that if people call you anything, this is a great gift. Iggy Pop capes should-have people How am I going to listen to that horrible noise I make without a gram of coke and a couple of double Jack Daniels? Iggy Pop coke couple noise It's fair to say that I have a side that is prudent and a side that is not. Iggy Pop prudent fairs sides If I don't terrorize, I'm not Pop. Iggy Pop pops ifs In 1965, when great young white artists in the English-speaking world were successfully re-channeling hillbilly and black music - you know Bob Dylan, Ray Davies, Pete Townsend, Keith Richards - they didn't get any money at first. They were all broke. Iggy Pop black artist white Life is just a bag of pot. Iggy Pop bags life-is philosophy My parents wanted to light my artistic candle. But over time, the definition of 'the arts' began to stretch. And as I got older, they suddenly realized, Oh, my God, we're the parents of Iggy Pop. Iggy Pop parent light art The key to The Doors is the culture behind the myth. Iggy Pop keys doors culture