“Fellow rock stars, casual members of the public, lords and media magnates, countless thousands of people will talk of their encounters wi... read full description
reviews
Sep 23, 2007
Jeanne T.
rated it: 
Couldn't put this down and when I was done I had an erotic dream about Iggy Pop. Amazing. Unlike the Susan Sontag biography, this book was a riot of action. It was interesting to read about a such a punk legend and how he didn't really find much "success" in the time when he was writing/making the music. In retrospect (fueled by the inclusion of his songs in the Trainspotting soundtrack), it seemed to me that he was always famous and amazing. Also, I love the stories of people who
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Oct 08, 2009
Clark
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When it comes to The Stooges and their slightly troubled front man Iggy Pop, attempting to separate myth from reality, contextualize it, understand it, and then shape the whole mess into something that doesn’t make you want to grab a razor blade and run a warm bath after reading it, dances a fine line between brave and foolhardy.
Despite the title, Paul Trynka’s chronicle is as much about The Stooges as it about Iggy, the specter of the Asheton brothers, Dave Alexander, and James Wil More...
Despite the title, Paul Trynka’s chronicle is as much about The Stooges as it about Iggy, the specter of the Asheton brothers, Dave Alexander, and James Wil More...
Apr 09, 2009
Libby
rated it: 
What I knew about Iggy Pop before this book consisted of The Stooges albums and some wild live performances involving blood and not much clothing. I didn't know about the David Bowie connection (though it makes a lot of sense)or his normal upbringing or the development of his two personas. I also had no idea that there was so much of a sense of failure about what he did as an artist. I wasn't left with any sense of liking him as an individual - as a person he doesn't seem like he could connect..
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Nov 15, 2009
Tosh
rated it:
This is a very good rock n' roll biography by Paul Trynka (who was the editor at Mojo Magazine) on Iggy Pop. He did his research well, and interviews I think almost everyone who is close to Iggy, except Bowie - and there is a lot of material in this book on the Bowie/Iggy relationship.
The fascinating aspect for me is how Iggy deals with his fellow band members over the years. Sometimes charming, sometimes cruel - he is sort of goes off like the weather. Yet he's a guy who is usual More...
The fascinating aspect for me is how Iggy deals with his fellow band members over the years. Sometimes charming, sometimes cruel - he is sort of goes off like the weather. Yet he's a guy who is usual More...
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Mar 12, 2009
Jeff
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I found this book interesting, if perhaps a little too overly concerned with certain phases of Iggy's life as opposed to a coherent lifetime narrative. The lessons in rock history were very interesting in that the "family tree" of Iggy was broader than I had realized. While the depths of his lows were well explored, the author seemed to lose interest when it came to highlighting the eventual monetary success that came Iggy's way. He also seemed to have a fascination for Iggy's . . .
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May 02, 2009
Amanda
rated it:
I borrowed this audio book from the library and didn't realize that it was 12 cds. It took forever to listen to and I'm afraid I may have forgotten what was on the first 6 cds. Ah well.
I'm a Stooges fan, newly minted. My friend introduced me to the Stooges music a few years ago and I was hooked. Naturally I knew who Iggy Pop was (the old guy who never wore a shirt) but I mainly new him from movies, oddly enough. Open Up and Bleed is a comprehensive story of Iggy/Jim's life - from gro More...
I'm a Stooges fan, newly minted. My friend introduced me to the Stooges music a few years ago and I was hooked. Naturally I knew who Iggy Pop was (the old guy who never wore a shirt) but I mainly new him from movies, oddly enough. Open Up and Bleed is a comprehensive story of Iggy/Jim's life - from gro More...
Dec 16, 2008
Alicia
rated it:
I like Iggy Pop, or at least I like Iggy Pop's music. I quickly discovered that I am not that fond of the man. This was a fairly well written biography and it was interesting to see how Iggy rose to fame but the endless descriptions of destructive behavior, drug use and sexual escapades quickly lost it horrified fascination for me. Instead of being a train wreck I couldn't look away from it just became tedious. For example, if they told me once, they told me a hundred times about how incredibly
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May 14, 2011
Ms Tlaskal
rated it:
I am interested in late 60's/70s pop/rock and Iggy Pop struck me as an emblem of this uninhibited era.
This excellent biography is a good example to use to illustrate a need for alternate points of view in narrative writing. Paul Trynka is a great writer who keeps us speeding from his student years as a possible presidential candidate, to his first gigs, adulation and debauchery, yet I longed to hear his own voice, rather than the measured one of his biographer. I honstly did not read More...
This excellent biography is a good example to use to illustrate a need for alternate points of view in narrative writing. Paul Trynka is a great writer who keeps us speeding from his student years as a possible presidential candidate, to his first gigs, adulation and debauchery, yet I longed to hear his own voice, rather than the measured one of his biographer. I honstly did not read More...
Jan 01, 2008
Tim
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This is a biographical account of Jim Osterberg, better known as rock 'n' roll singer Iggy Pop. This very detailed book follows its subject from growing up in a trailer park in Michigan as a suburb student to falling in love with blues music and eventually becoming a drummer in various blues and rock bands. The formation of The Stooges is covered in great depth, and Osterberg's development of the Iggy Pop persona is presented as an example of a split personality that would have repercussions in
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May 29, 2007
So far I am only three or four chapters into it, and it is everything I'd hoped it'd be so far. You really get to see somewhat of a character study as young James Osterburg steadily evolves from Overachieving popular school boy into the down-on-his-upside godfather of punk, Iggy Pop.
It starts from his youth, describing himself and his parents, not to mention that though you would think a man such as him would come from a bleak environment, in truth he was part of the upper More...
It starts from his youth, describing himself and his parents, not to mention that though you would think a man such as him would come from a bleak environment, in truth he was part of the upper More...
Jan 06, 2011
catechism
rated it: 
I may try to read this again, when I am feeling a little more tolerant, but the first time I tried, I could barely make it through the first few chapters. It read more like a love letter to Iggy Pop -- sorry, Jim, his name is Jim, and we must call him Jim in every paragraph -- and also seemed a little too into the size of Jim's dick. Like. Almost every page, we must hear about how big Jim's dick is. There aren't many things I care about less than I care about the size of Jim Osterberg's dick.
Aug 31, 2008
Geoff
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This was a good book. I can't imagine a better one on the topic. It portrays Iggy as a survivor which he undoubtedly is whether it is in regard to his mental health or his artistry. I felt that Iggy came of sounding pompous and unapolegetic for the destruction trailing behind him. I have to believe that if he was that much of a dick people wouldn't associate with him. My take on him before reading the book was that he was enthusiastic and energetic about music and art which is how I have se
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Sep 07, 2011
Tom
rated it:
A real fun read covering Iggy from pre-Stooges to the 21st Century Stooges reunion tour and recording. I was particularly fascinated with the pre-Stooges forays he had as a pick-up blues drummer and how much the pre-album Stooges were challenging damaged art noise experiences presaging Velvet Underground. Talk about foreshadowing, Iggy more foreshadowed GG Allin than I realized. The complication relationship with Bowie and the the self-destructive excess as well as zombie assault in Haiti comple
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Sep 07, 2011
Tom
rated it:
A real fun read covering Iggy from pre-Stooges to the 21st Century Stooges reunion tour and recording. I was particularly fascinated with the pre-Stooges forays he had as a pick-up blues drummer and how much the pre-album Stooges were challenging damaged art noise experiences presaging Velvet Underground. Talk about foreshadowing, Iggy more foreshadowed GG Allin than I realized. The complication relationship with Bowie and the the self-destructive excess as well as zombie assault in Haiti comple
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Aug 08, 2011
Sadsaint
rated it:
this is work...Trynka has no sense of linear writing...maybe if i TOO ingested copious amounts of drugs i could follow what the writer wants me to gain from this.
i am enjoying reading about all of the early proto-punk crossovers...but then again, what i didnt know...i could read, with less pain, from some blog.
...i will finish this book...but only because the rest of my books are packed away.
in short, read something else.
i am enjoying reading about all of the early proto-punk crossovers...but then again, what i didnt know...i could read, with less pain, from some blog.
...i will finish this book...but only because the rest of my books are packed away.
in short, read something else.
Jan 16, 2008
Anna
rated it:
When I was a kid, I never knew why Ziggy Stardust was a character of David Bowie's and the name and the story sounded so much like Iggy Pop. The intertwining of Bowie and Iggy was very interesting. Jim/Iggy was diagnosed as hypomanic, he probably could get other diagnoses like bipolar or borderline. I don't mean this to be glib but where can people with chronic mental illness find sufficient employment? ADD and ADHD cases continue to rise but it that because we are now predominantly white-colla
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May 30, 2008
Erin
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Having recently moved to Ann Arbor and living a hop, skip and a jump from the Osterberg's beloved Coachville trailer park, plus driving down Packard everyday on the way to work I was eager to hear the local angle on the man whose music I have loved for a long time. This was a page turner and exhaustively researched. I was surprised at the amount of Ann Arbor detail and enjoyed the history lesson. If you're a fan or just curious you will not be disappointed. It's a detailed and close-up lo
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Dec 16, 2009
Amy
rated it:
Um, Iggy Pop is insane. I don't know how to sum up this book because this guy's life has been nuts. What did surprise me is that he's almost a split personality: Iggy Pop, the hyper, determined, crazy rock star, and Jim Osterberg, the educated, intelligent, mostly kind-hearted person.
There are so many insane stories in this book. Broken glas on his chest during a show, living on the street, drugs, horrible concept albums, Elton John in a gorilla suit. What??? But then there were rea More...
There are so many insane stories in this book. Broken glas on his chest during a show, living on the street, drugs, horrible concept albums, Elton John in a gorilla suit. What??? But then there were rea More...
Nov 11, 2011
"Trynka captures Iggy's debauchery in an obsessively detailed and compulsively readable biography that is as high-energy and entertaining as its subject." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Listen to Iggy Pop on your smartphone.
Listen to Iggy Pop on your smartphone.
Nov 23, 2009
Landon
rated it:
A very interesting and exciting biography of a punk legend. It was extremely detailed about how Iggy seemed to be rising to the top and then ruining his own dreams. Overall, I thought this book was very entertaining and is a must read for true music fans.
May 26, 2009
Bob
rated it:
Very detailed story of Jim Osterberg/Iggy Pop. Maybe even too detailed. I would have preferred more crazy tour stories and fewer details of Iggy's multiple record contracts, managers, etc. Could have been a bit jucier.
Jan 28, 2010
Robert
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This is as definitive as it gets (don't skip the "notes and sources"), with the added bonus of being read-able. (and balanced - Iggy, as a character, gets less attractive the further one gets into the story).
Dec 07, 2011
SL
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Picked it up on impulse and loved it. But c'mon, Paul: "Soldier" may not be his best record, but it deserves more than ONE STAR!!! "I like the small black marks on my hand - I'm a conservative..."
Jun 04, 2011
Dan
rated it: 
A generally well researched and fact-filled biography but not written in a manner that keeps your interest for very long. Iggy Pop is one of my favorite artists yet I struggled to read more than a chapter without having to put the book down due to the author's bothersome writing style. I do not recommend this book to anyone, whether you are an Iggy Pop fan or not.
Aug 21, 2011
Seth
rated it:
Iggy! Great book for fans of Iggy, The Stooges, punk, and rock. However, I do there was more coverage of Iggy's creative process and a little less coverage of the excess, which there was plenty of!
May 12, 2011
Sarah
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The American Shaman deserves better treatment than this. Terribly written, although I enjoyed reading about his fascinating childhood.
Dec 16, 2009
Swanson
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At the time nothing sounded, or offended like the Stooges -and the offended part was not calculated. Their sound was a mix of the last poison fumes of America's Mid-Western industrial revolution, and the graveyards of the Delta. With the volume turned up.
Open Up And Bleed, much better than the narrow in scope '80s Iggy bio 'I Need More', give us the social, musical, and cultural history of a time and place, and how it intersected with a very unusual guy named James Osterberg and his al More...
Open Up And Bleed, much better than the narrow in scope '80s Iggy bio 'I Need More', give us the social, musical, and cultural history of a time and place, and how it intersected with a very unusual guy named James Osterberg and his al More...
Jun 21, 2008
arterialturns
rated it:
Have read most of it, in no particular order. Think I'm done w/it. A fascinating and pretty depressing portrait of one hell of an enigma. While I always am interested in stuff like this, Pop's/Osterman's seeming constant parade of struggle, failure, success, repeat if a downer. Though I suspect the man himself would vehemently deny it, it seems the entertainer I've enjoyed for many years is as trapped by Iggy Pop as blessed by him. Only gave it 3 stars 'cause it's such a bummer, but it's a good
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