Post Traumatic Sound Disorder

In which Alysa breaks down a record track by track

Today I will be forcing upon your eyeballs an article about The Stooges album “The Stooges”.  This album is in my top five favorites for many reasons. Number one, it’s a phenomenal album to have relations to. It’s sensual, yet upbeat and delicious on the ears. Number two, my first mixtape that anyone ever gave to me almost had the entire album on it with no track listing and without knowing it, I had fallen in love with The Stooges. Number three, the whole album was pretty much written in the studio since Iggy Pop loved to improvise onstage, HOW GOD DAMN BADASS IS THAT?!?! Iggy had a series of hand signals that would correspond to different riffs, an would signal the other three members of the band to change gears while he just improvised and pretty much just Iggy Popped all over the damn place. Legend has it the band was able to condense this cacophonous mess into this brilliant album over the course of just one night in the studio. All these reasons give me mad respect for this wonderful piece of music. So, I bet you are asking “Hey, Alysa, analyze these songs for me with your infinite wisdom” and I say “As you wish strange readers…”

 

Track One: 1969

Ron Asheton molests the shit out of his wah peddle throughout this song, while 1969’s most bombastic rhythm section thunders along underneath him. As with all Ron Asheton guitar solos, this one sounds like what it looks like when someone with no guitar playing knowledge plays a passionate air guitar solo. Fucking awesome.

 

 

Track Two: I Wanna Be Your Dog

Perhaps the most famous track from this album begins with a tortured amplifier struggling to cope with the amount of electronic angst being shoved through it’s tubes. This song features a one note piano melody, which on paper makes no fucking sense, however upon listening makes all the fucking sense forever. The lyrics paint an abstract and compelling portrait of heartbreak and solitude as well as a shouting drug addled Iggy Pop can, which is really well.

 

 

Track Three: We Will Fall

Definitely the album’s lowpoint, this song is a sprawling 10 minute psychadelic epic performed by four people who lack the imagination nd technical skill to produce anything other than rock and roll. Interesting as a novelty  but you wont find We Will Fall on heavy rotation in your Stooges playlist.

 

 

Track Four: No Fun

The opening drum fill and the explosive crunch of the first few bars of this song are the stuff adolescent boners are made of. Ron Asheton beats the shit out of his guitar, the rhythm section chugs along like a locomotive headed off a cliff and Iggy Pop’s mangled crooning devolves into the shouting of a mad man. This song is a jam amongst jams.

 

 

Track Five: Real Cool Time

Sort of an oddball throwaway when taken out of the context of the rest of the album, however a fun addition to the track list if you’re listening through in one sitting. This is The Stooges playing a fun rock and roll party jam, not their most compelling work but certainly not their least.

 

 

Track Six: Ann

The Stooges slow it down for a whistful song about lost love that begins with Asheton’s wah peddle being furiously foot fucked and ends with a distorted breakdown. This song is definitely a precursor to some of the more intricate and well crafted Stooges and Iggy Pop songs that would come.

 

 

Track Seven: Not Right

Featuring a pretty absract Iggy Pop lyric collage over some classic Stooges chugga chugging Not Right is an oft forgotten Stooges cut, It’s not quite “No Fun,” but it’s certainly not worth forgetting.

 

 

Track Eight: Little Doll

This is the Stooges doing what they do best, a monotonous yet hypnotic riff that eventually devolves into some grade A Asheton noodling and off the cuff Iggyisms. With this song in particular and throughout the album one gets the feeling that once they had started a song The Stooges never really knew how it was going to finish. A strong album closer and great deep cut from the band.

 

 

This album continues to live in infamy. A great listen when smoking your pots or fucking your lady. A great way to spice up a drive or just some tunes for dancing by yourself in your room. The Stooges sure know how to make music and I’m here, knowing how to listen. No deeper meaning, nothing really to say but go have a listen and watch your day get a little bit smoother.