Quote Of The Day By Iggy Pop: 'I Excel At Staring Into Space...'

We're not sure that anyone expected Iggy Pop to become the genteel, elder statesman of rock he's become — he probably wasn't supposed to survive the '70s. As a singer for the Stooges and over the decades-long solo career that followed, he gained a reputation for raucous performances and in-your-face lyrics, blazing the gritty trail for the punk and post-punk music that would follow.

James Jewel Osterberg Jr. was born in 1947 and raised in a trailer park in Ypsilanti, Michigan (not far from Ann Arbor). He picked up the name "Iggy" in high school, when he was drumming and leading the band, the Iguanas. In 1967, he formed the Psychedelic Stooges (eventually just the Stooges) in Ann Arbor with brothers Ron and Scott Asheton and Dave Alexander. Though the quartet is now considered a load-bearer to the American punk sound, they never had mainstream success.

In the '70s, Pop was more known for his dangerous, over-the-top performances than musicianship. He would cut himself on stage, writhe on the ground, smash glasses, and generally incite his audiences, representing the platonic ideal of a punk several years before the term existed. The band split in 1974, but in the late '70s, Pop's career truly blossomed. He established himself with hits like "The Passenger" and "Lust for Life," and he basically never stopped going from there. 

As of the time of this writing, Pop is still active. A person whose work seems to give him life, he continues to write, collaborates with other musicians, and hosts a radio show on BBC Radio 6 Music. He's gained the wisdom of the years while blazing his own uncompromising trail in music. That's why Iggy Pop is our quote of the day.

"Something I like to do a lot is just sit by water when there's a current and just stare into the water. I don't fish, I don't hunt, I don't scuba, I don't spear, don't boat, don't play basketball or football — I excel at staring into space. I'm really good at that."

This comes from a 2008 interview with CNN conducted not long after Iggy Pop had moved to Miami, Florida. While it mostly focused on the rock star's impressions of his new home, the interviewer also asked about his creative process. Outside of water, Pop mentioned other sources of inspiration, including "exercise or from nature, sometimes from a woman or a city," later adding "a good song or a great book." Focusing on just being present and experiencing, it seems, is an essential part of his creative process.

What Iggy Pop is getting at with his quote is the notion that you can't force creativity — it stems from being attuned to your environment. By being radically present, zoning out, and focusing on the senses, the artist becomes more receptive to the inspiration that guides their craft. It may seem counterintuitive that Pop's art could come from a place of such stillness, but on closer inspection, it tracks. His music has always been visceral and direct, often sounding like it emerged fully formed. Stooges songs like "I Wanna Be Your Dog" are primal, unpretentious, and unvarnished — the products of a tuned-in, receptive mind. His lyrics, like his gruff voice, are rarely subtle. Instead, they work because they're direct, grab you by the collar, and shake you.

In a way, his solo hit "Passenger" hinges on the same idea of letting go and relinquishing control. It's about observation, and it seems to describe Pop's process: "I look through my window so bright / I see the stars come out tonight / I see the bright and hollow sky / Over the city's ripped backsides / And everything looks good tonight." When the narrator opens himself to the world around him as it passes by, the mundane becomes mysterious, even beautiful.

Even if you aren't an artist, this insight is vital. The world opens itself up to you when you become receptive. "Staring into space," as Pop described it here, could just as well mean meditating, exercising, or spending time in nature — anything that pulls you away from the day-to-day grind. If you're stuck on a project, try stepping away or taking a walk. Or put on your headphones, zone out, and listen to "Lust for Life."

"I always felt that in rock & roll, something's gotta happen. I liked that word — happening. If it wasn't going to happen in front of me, I was going to make it happen. I actually tried not to repeat myself."

"I'm more cat than dog when it comes to how comfortable I allow myself to get, let's put it that way. The phone rings; I get offered work."

"It's intrusive music. But only to squares. Only intrusive to squares. It's fun. It's for fun." 

"My music is just basically I look for things to tear apart."

"I'll tell you about punk rock: punk rock is a word used by dilettantes and heartless manipulators, about music that takes up the energies, and the bodies, and the hearts and the souls and the time and the minds, of young men, who give what they have to it, and give everything they have to it." 

"I'm saddled with a gigantic past to live up to, live down and generally live out. It has a humbling quality. It makes you realize, 'Oh, I didn't always have this nice house.' I wasn't always so shrewd. And it's not my favorite part of my life. I would rather be like a nice new penny that everybody loves. But that is not my fate."

"They say that death kills you. But death doesn't kill you. Boredom and indifference kill you."