Iggy Pop released the video for the most popular hit 43 years later
Iggy Pop is often, in good humor, fans compare with a kind of Koshchei Immortal from rock and roll. Despite a stormy youth (and not only), he managed not only to get out of the drug hell and a huge number of scrapes, but also to preserve the most powerful energy.
This was confirmed, for example, by his last Moscow concert, where he seemed to turn back time and plunge the audience into the dashing 1960s. The legendary punk rocker has not visited the capital’s fans for a long time, and in the current reality, due to the current situation in the world, this is impossible. But he actively continues to please them, including fresh works. This time, the music video for the song “the Passenger” is on the agenda.
The video was the first official shot for this song, although, of course, over the years, fans have practiced editing and posted a variety of videos made on it. In the video, archive photos of the artist alternate with shots taken on a night road, and the words of the song, memorized by listeners, float out from above.
In social networks, Iggy thanked Simon Taylor, Esther Friedman and Paul Mcalpin for their help in preparing this work. The track “Passenger” (as its name translates from English) was first released as a b-side on the record with the single “Success” on September 30, 1977, and then became part of the second solo album “Lust for Life”, which was recorded together with David Bowie and is still considered the most commercially successful in the history of the artist’s work (his title song was later included in the soundtrack of the famous film “On the needle” in 1996).
The music was written by composer Ricky Gardiner and the lyrics were written by Iggy. He has repeatedly said that this lyric was inspired by the Doors leader and vocalist Jim Morrison. In every show for decades, the performance of this song is the most memorable number of the musician. No special effects – plastic, charisma and a special creative vision do their job. Some critics, analyzing this song, find Parallels with the culture of decadence – in General, it has even become the object of numerous studies. There are a huge number of cover versions of “the Passenger”. One of the most famous was a variation performed by Siouxsie and the Banshees, in which a girl sings it. The granddaddy of grunge (as Iggy Pop is often called) himself appreciated the experiment: “She sings well, she brought some of her own note by performing it”.