Highlight From Iggy Pop’s John Peel Lecture for BBC Music
HIGHLIGHTS from Iggy Pop’s John Peel Lecture for BBC Music at the Lowry theater in Salford, Manchester.
On Apple and U2:
“The people who don’t want the free U2 download are trying to say, ‘Don’t try to force me.’ And they’ve got a point. Part of the process when you buy something from an artist, it’s kind of an anointing, you are giving people love. It’s your choice to give or withhold. You felt like they were robbed of that chance and they have a point.”
On Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke selling the album Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes via BitTorrent.
“Sure, BitTorrent is a pirate’s friend. But all pirates want to go legit, just like I wanted to be respectable. So it’s good that Thom Yorke is encouraging a positive change.”
On Modern Piracy:
“We are now talking about Megaupload, Kim Dotcom, big money, political power and varying definitions of theft that are legally way over my head. But I know a con man when I see one… Now, everybody’s a bootlegger, but not as cute. There are people out there just stealing stuff and saying, ‘Don’t try to force me to pay.’ That act of thieving will become a habit and that’s bad for everything.”
On Making Money:
“Diversifying my income… If I want to make money, well how about selling car insurance? At least I’m honest. It’s an ad, and that’s all it is. If I had to depend on what I actually get from sales, I’d be tending bars between sets.”
On The Music Biz:
“As the commercial trade swings more into general showbiz, the indies will be the only place to go for new talent, outside of the Mickey Mouse Club.”
On Johnny Ramone:
“Johnny asked me one day, ‘Iggy, don’t you hate Offspring and the way they’re so popular with that crap they play? That should be us, they stole it from us.’ I told him, ‘Look, some guys are born to be the captain of the football team and some guys are just gonna be James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause, and that’s the way it is. Not everybody is meant to be big. Not everybody big is any good.”
On Making It:
“Stay away from drugs… And talent judges. I’d like you to do better than I did. Hang onto your hopes. You know what they are. Because that’s who you really are, and if you can hang around long enough, you should get paid. It’s the ending that counts, and the best things in life really are free.”
Spotter: Rolling Stone
Posted: 14th, October 2014 | In: Music Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
