Iggy Pop

“The people who were learning from me tended to be more commercial performers who were gonna rip off the salient idea to do it in a way that will sell, but they weren't going for the music.”

“Miami's not anybody's poor cousin. It's an aspiration to live in this town, not something you have to do to promote yourself like some of the larger cities.”

“My general take on American music since 1969 is that it's just getting stiffer and people are getting more uptight - audience, performance, and palace guard.”

“Studios are like hospitals. A lot of people check in, and they don't check out.”

“My parents wanted to light my artistic candle. But over time, the definition of 'the arts' began to stretch. And as I got older, they suddenly realized, Oh, my God, we're the parents of Iggy Pop.”

“She looked at me penetratingly. So I suppose you can figure out what happened next.”

“Something I like to do a lot is just sit by water when there's a current and just stare into the water. I don't fish, I don't hunt, I don't scuba, I don't spear, don't boat, don't play basketball or football - I excel at staring into space. I'm really good at that.”

“The most successful stuff is sold to you as indispensable social information. The message in the music is, 'We are terribly, terribly slick and suave, and if you listen to us, you can probably get a leg up in society, too.'”

“I like music that's more offensive. I like it to sound like nails on a blackboard, get me wild.”

“What some people would call antics, I would just call a good show.”

“Stages are getting higher and higher, and I'm getting older and older.”

“I became Iggy because I had a sadistic boss at a record store. I'd been in a band called the Iguanas. And when this boss wanted to embarrass and demean me, he'd say, 'Iggy, get me a coffee, light.'”

“Living in England was wonderfully civil and easy-going.”

“It's more fun to look at an old picture of me than it is to look at a new one sometimes. Although, I still wear a dress pretty well.”

“I have no idea why a guy would bring a jar of peanut butter to a concert.”

“I'm not ashamed to dress "like a woman" because I don't think it's shameful to be a woman.”

“I'm a travel enthusiast.”

“When the 'godfather of punk' thing started floatin' around, it was, I was really, really embarrassed. I thought I should have a great, big rig and a cape and everything, and it was very embarrassing. And then after a while, you learn that if people call you anything, this is a great gift.”

“I was who I was in high school in accordance with the rules of conduct for a normal person, like obeying your mom and dad. Then I got out of high school and moved out of the house, and I just started, for lack of a better term, running free.”

“The more walking-around money I have, the less I walk around.”