It's the end of the week, and I want to send everyone off into the weekend with the best vibes possible. That’s why the Daily Music Picks newsletter features a weekly segment called Fun Song Fridays! Regardless of era, genre, or style, the criterion is simple: it must deliver the joy and excitement we all need in our lives.
You can access the entire Fun Song Fridays archive here. While you’re at it, add the companion playlist to your favorite streaming platform.
Hello! 😊👋
Welcome to a new edition of the Best Music of All Time newsletter!
Today’s music pick is my pick for the best classic rock party track ever recorded, fueled by an indefatigable force nature in punk rock.
Genre: Rock, Alternative, Punk
Label: RCA
Release Date: October 1, 1977
Vibe: 🌟🌟🌟
Name someone who performs with more of a lust for life than Mr. Iggy Pop.
Go ahead. Think about it. Go through your mental Rolodex of rock royalty. Do a Google or streaming playlist search if you like. I’ll wait.
Did you find anyone? Neither did I.
You can see it in clips from recent-ish live shows, like this one from Austin City Limits or this one from the Royal Albert Hall. He doesn’t walk out on stage and grab the microphone. He struts with the boundless energy of someone half his age. Maybe someone who hadn’t endured multiple lifetimes’ worth of wear and tear from touring like he has. He stands shirtless under a tuxedo jacket, preening and gesturing at the crowd, giving them a moment to soak it all in. It’s really happening. This legend himself is standing before them in all his defiant glory, and he’s going to make the most of this and every other moment like it on stage. To watch him shimmy and shout his way through this classic is to be in the presence of true greatness.
“Lust For Life,” the most enduring cut of Iggy’s 1977 album of the same name, came after a relative instability in the singer’s life. The Stooges had broken up for the second time in their history, and in the ensuing months, his drug use escalated to unprecedented proportions. He checked himself into a psychiatric institute and tried to get his life back on track. His close friend and collaborator, David Bowie, then took him out on the Station to Station supporting tour before heading to Berlin and throwing himself into the eponymous period of his recording career. During that explosion of creativity, Bowie co-wrote “Lust for Life” on a ukelele of all things, supposedly while he was waiting on an episode of Starsky and Hutch. Pop later said Bowie “resurrected” a career he thought was dead in the water.
The rest, as they say, is history—one that includes multiple rediscoveries and reappraisals in pop culture, such as its inclusion in the wildly popular soundtrack to the film Trainspotting. The drum beat, originally performed by Hunt Sales, has been ripped off countless times in the years since by groups like Jet. It’s not like it’s unique, either. It’s a rock interpretation of the Motown groove that runs through songs like the Supremes’ “You Can’t Hurry Love.” But, as the backbone for the ultimate example of punk rock meets jangle pop, it set the standard for many records that would come after it.
At the time of his writing, Iggy Pop is 77 years old and one year removed from his 19th studio album, Every Loser. It was a good-but-not-great record, certainly not peak Iggy, but another testament, like this track, for that indefatigable spirit that will be his calling card forever.
👉 Don’t forget to click the album image to stream the album on your favorite platform 👈
Thanks for including Hunt! He'd appreciate it and is available on Insta if you want to forward this to him, an Austinite now, "Lost in Austin" my new publication details the time I spent there. He wrote that beat but got no credit for the reason you state (very thorough Matt) but adds that it was really the George from the Jungle cartoon theme he channeled. But you gave credit where credit was due. My only comment pro-Sales is that drumbeats should be considered "writing" especially when it's so instrumental (shameless) to the track's success. Writing is every aspect. Technically as a lawyer I should add having written about this subject for the NYLJ the criteria for writing credit are based on either being in the room when composing (I used to announce to my band that I wrote this song last night), contribution can be anything and barring an agreement to the contrary then equally divided. (e.g. When you see the Jagger/Richards Lennon/McCartney it's by agreement they didn't write everything together and the other band members contributed.}
Anyway, I thought I'd add this disclaimer: Copyrights are more complex than any single answer to any situation but that's the short take. If you have a particular question, please feel free to ask, for free!
Merry Christmas let's hope it's a good one without any fear... (J. Lennon)