Iggy Pop on Steve Reich’s ‘Music For 18 Musicians’ (1978)

Suddenly I felt anger and shame

This record is important to me, because in a certain way it saved me. When Music For 18 Musicians was released, I lived the rock’n’roll lifestyle with every fibre of my body and continued to incite myself. I went through every wall with my head first. I tried to be the fiercest, filthiest and most wasted street-dog of them all. When I got this album, I had one of those portable turntables that you can run on battery or cable, these plastic-things where you open the hatch, raise the tonearm and the plate starts to turn. Back then I was hiding in a hotel-room in Reims in Northern France, in between mountains of Champagne and wine, with a German girl and a huge mountain of methamphetamines. We kept listening to this record while we were having sex. At some point I became aware of the high level of technology, skill, and education that went into the creation these overtones and that all was not too far from Ron Ashetons guitar-play on the first Stooges record. Only this here seemed to be much more extensive and controlled. Suddenly I felt anger and shame because I thought: You are able to appreciate this music, but you cannot create such a thing yourself. You didn’t do your homework, did you? Even though you are not a really competent musician: What were you thinking?!

I couldn’t immediately change anything about all of this, but the recognition of this moment was memorized and never left me again. Later in life I then tried to explore and develop the talents that I have, and push them more to the limits. So especially in terms of storytelling, singing-style, and the entire presentation of my music in general- in this manner I have at least achieved more with my limited resources than if I had never really challenged myself.

Anyone who wants to discover this mathematical yet beautiful music for himself, I can only tell how it was for myself: it was like meth! I have encountered the record like a drug-addict, I let myself go completely and let the ecstasy of this strange pulsation wash over me. Just like I prefer to be washed over by the waves when I go swimming in the ocean. That is a fitting picture, because what Reich created with this album is an ocean of music. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bowie told me about Music For 18 Musicians back then, or even gave me the record. I’m not sure about that anymore, but we shared an apartment in Berlin at the time, and it used to be also one of his favorite records. Yes, it probably was like that.

I love this album to this day, I even have played it in full length at my BBC-Radio show. Every once in a while I play parts of it there, and whatever gets played before or after it just fades against this masterpiece. Completely! Of course Steve Reich did other great records, Four Organs for example is also very good. I’m always interested in drawing some attention to artists like Reich, which got ignored completely 40 years ago. But only if I like the music. And not just stuff like Reich, I also play stuff from famous artists, or squeeze something in by Miles Davis or Woodie Guthrie even. And of course new music, otherwise it would get boring quickly.

The drone- and ambient sounds of this record have also influenced my newest album. The fact that they can be heard in this way at all, is also due to the fact that my partner Leron works very systematically thanks to his training. He attended an art school in Houston, but received his real education at the New School in New York. I always thought that one must attend the Juillard School or Berklee in Boston, but apparently the New School has a good music program. They are presumably pretty avant-garde there – the New School consists of a bunch of leftists who are very progressive in every way. Just like Steve Reich.

by Iggy Pop

(Read about other artists’ album choices and reviews here)

(In collaboration with the German MINT Magazin, print edition published in MINT No. 30 – 08/19. Photo: Mary Beth Koeth)