Henry Rollins has written a heartfelt tribute to Iggy Pop on the star’s 70th birthday.
Writing in LA Weekly, Rollins, who regularly fills in for Iggy when he’s away from his BBC Radio 6 Music show, crowned the former Stooges star the undisputed heavyweight champion of rock & roll.
“In these throw-up-in-your-mouth times, I’m always on the lookout for something to celebrate. It’s a way to push back against that which is pushing against you. Defiance with a backbeat is a great way to land hard on the bad guys and feel good doing it.
And there is a lot to land on these days. It’s truly obscene how casually comrade Trump makes checkers moves on the global chessboard. How do you deploy 59 Tomahawk missiles to the Shayrat Airbase in Syria and not totally destroy it? Ask your dumbfuck-in-chief,” Rollins wrote.
He then goes on to recount how Iggy and The Stooges recorded ‘Fun House’, a record Rollins describes as one of the greatest of all time, “still the apex predator of the plains,” and what it was like witnessing a 2011 concert captured for documentary film Gimme Danger, directed by Jim Jarmusch. Finally, he signs off with a birthday message for Iggy.
“Happy birthday to the street-walkin’ cheetah with a heart full of napalm!”
Read Rollins’ full letter here.