album.Will youattempt toemulate that
environment for futureprojects, orwas
that just something thatworked for
Post
PopDepression
?
JH:
I’vebeen fortunateenough to collaborate
with a lotmoremusicians than thenormal
bandguy. There’s a certain addiction youget
when youworkwith somebody, and you’re
able to spur eachother on in thatmoment.
I think I’vebeen reallygrowing inside that
understanding for years—of wanting tobe
there at thatmoment of inspiration for anew
person. Thiswas oneof thosemomentswhere
it wasn’t character defining, it was character
revealing. Thiswas thatmoment where you
almost say to yourself, “The rest ofmy life
has just been a lead-up to thismoment.”This
was amoment to just be yourself. That’s how I
looked at theproject coming into it. This only
occurredbecausewewereboth ready todo it
at thatmoment inour lives.
Iggy, inmanyways, thisalbum felt like
theantithesisof
Lust forLife
.There
wasaweariness for life, if youwill.Does
thatwearinessbelong to thecharacter
you’vecreated, or is itmoreapersonal
weariness?
IP:
It’s basedonpersonal elements, and then I
hyped it. I developed it into a characterization,
and it not only representsme, but hopefully it
represents someother people that are in sim-
ilar situations tomyownwhere they’ve kindof
lived through something, andnow theywould
like a little space, a littlepeace, a littlequiet
and a little respect.
Whatdoyouwant thisalbum tocommuni-
cate to listeners?
IP:
I wouldhope it would communicate that
I’m a98.6-degreewarmhumanbeingwho’s
not all that different than youor anybody else
is, but that doesn’tmean it’s not worth check-
ingoutmymusic, because I’vedeveloped a
certain amount of skill, andmaybe I’vegot a
thingor two to say. Sohopefully I canbeone
of thegang.
Josh, doyou feel that Iggypushedyouout-
sideof your comfort zone inanywaywhile
youweremaking thisalbum?
JH:
The agreement waswehave togowhere
it feels scary and vulnerable. Thiswould
be theworstmoment ever todowhat you
normallywoulddo. Playing it safe is not
interesting tome. I want to feel nervous about
whether or not we canpull it off sonically.And
really, thepart that I wanted themost from
this is alreadyover. I’mgoing toenjoygoing
on tour, and it really is a lifelongdream come
true. But thepart I wanted andwas submerg-
ingmyself inhas ended, and it waswonderful.
The rest is just sort of wandering aroundwith
that goofy smileonmy face.
You’regoing tohavea short tour for the
album, andyou’ve saidyou’re selecting
particularlybeautiful venues toplay in.
Canyouelaborateon that?
JH:
I’ve always loved infiltration. Tome,
that’swhat punk rockhas always been about:
goingwhere youdon’t belongwithout anyone
noticinguntil it’s too late. It’s not about how
youdress. So, I thinkwe chose the venues
under theguiseof, “Hey, this place looks
prettydamnbeautiful. Let’s gohere.”TheFox
Theatre inDetroit, for example. It’s apleasure
towander in this historicplace, set up shop
and say, “Theelegant scumbags are in town.”
I’m speaking formyself. I’m just saying it
feels good sometimes tobe themost rogue
person there.
Iggy, howdoyou think thisalbumfits in
yourdiscography?
IP:
It’ll probablybe thebackcover. I think
thiswill probablybe the lastmajorEnglish-
speakingwork that Iwill undertakewithmyarm
fullydipped in themachine. I ate it. I slept it.
I lived it. Basically, I’mup. Iwas inbands since
Iwas 15. I gotmyunioncardwhen Iwas 16. It’s
justwhat I do. It eats upa lot of energy. So,
there’s somethingof anend statement about
this, I think. I think itwill justworkout that
way. This ismy last full-onAnglo-American
music-industryalbum. But that doesn’tmean
Iwon’t goandbeonanEPwith theJacuzzi
Boys, or sing something inFrenchagain.
Q
&
A
34
APRIL2016
AMERICANWAY
“I’VEALWAYSLOVED
INFILTRATION.
TOME, THAT’SWHAT
PUNKROCKHAS
ALWAYSBEENABOUT.”
—JOSH HOMME
JoshHomme
(left)and
IggyPop
PHOTO
ANDREASNEUMANN
