"LUST FOR LIFE" IGGY POP (1977)

Inspired by Albumism, I’m doing my own version of Flying Solo with individual tracks. Band breakups and hiatuses are never fun, but these solo jams were defining moments in my life’s soundtrack.

Listening to “Lust for Life” several decades after it was initially released is quite a trip. It’s like getting sucked into a five minute microcosm of music where production and performance are vying for the spotlight. More noteworthy, the song seems like the single torch bearer of musical influence for The Strokes.

What made “Lust for Life” so exceptional was that it leaned just as hard into its unique garage sound distortions as it did into its composition and performance. “Lust for Life” simply sounded like no other song out there. But there’s no mistaking that The Strokes borrowed several cues from it to create their own brand of post-punk that later became part of the rich soundscape of the early 2000’s.

“Climb up the H of the Hollywood sign, yeah. In these stolen moments the world is mine.”

"THE PASSENGER" IGGY POP (1977)

Inspired by Albumism, I’m doing my own version of Flying Solo with individual tracks. Band breakups and hiatuses are never fun, but these solo jams were defining moments in my life’s soundtrack.

Depending on your musical inclinations, the day The Stooges broke up could be viewed as one of utter defeat or one of resounding victory. For me, they’re one of those bands that I can respect, but not necessarily appreciate. But Iggy Pop’s solo work — and the Lust for Life album in particular — is a different story.

“The Passenger” is one of my all-time favorite songs, one that resides in its own musical venn diagram of punk, classic rock and show tunes. It started off as a b-side, off the radar, unheralded. And then over the years it became a sort of late bloomer classic. In my mind, it’s one of the best solo outputs to come out of the punk scene.

“I am a passenger. And I ride, and I ride. I ride through the city's backsides. I see the stars come out of the sky. Yeah, they're bright in a hollow sky. You know it looks so good tonight.”