Gimme Danger film review
I ain’t a film person, so every chance this review sucks
Time and public attitudes are a weird thing. Back in 2006 I was in a sea of people, wearing a haircut that wasn’t quite a mullet, not quite a mod do, was still in high school with my weird shaped body.
We were all squished in to see the reformed version of the Stooges. The Asheton Brothers Ron and Scott along with Mike Watt filling in for the late Dave Alexander took the stage. Ron Asheton, the greatest punk guitarist for my money kicked off the riff to the second track on Fun House, Loose. When it came time for the who at the start, Iggy jumped on stage.
That’s when I knew it was real, and danced my life away for the next forty-five minutes, as tracks from the first two Stooges LPs were played before our ears. I have a tape somewhere of that gig. I’ve never listened to it. I don’t need to. I can still recall Iggy saying “Brisbane is cool but Melbourne is Stooges town” and Iggy screaming I wanna fuck you all. Always a sweetheart the Iggster. Then the bad came back twice more, once with James Williamson replacing the late Ron Asheton, and again without Scott, now passed away… I’m yet to meet a person who has claimed the show was below awesome.
Yet back in 1974 the band was over. Dave Alexander was dead (he was outta the band at the time of his passing), released three of the greatest LPs ever, and no one gave a fuck. Not even a tick of approval from Bowie could help record sales. Yet when punk exploded a year or two later, guess which band was seen as a major influence?
I guess like when Lou Reed shouted “because it makes me feel like I’m a man when I put a spike into my veins” the world was not ready for the Stooges. A man wearing tight gold pants and rubbing himself with peanut butter was probably never going to win over middle America. When the Sex Pistols ended their circus in San Francisco is was No Fun that ended it.
As Danny Fields mentions, The Ramones were not friends, yet there love of the Stooges is what brought them together. Iggy and Co were seen as heroes to a whole generation of misfit’s and outcasts. Everyone from the Dead Boys, the Dictators, and at home, Radio Birdman covered their songs. Yet after the bands demise Iggy moved in with his parents and tried to kick heroin and Ron and Scott sold their stuff just so they could get a bus ticket home. No Fun indeed.
I first heard the Stooges when I was 15. My dad, although has a fine taste in music, had a limited collection while I was growing up. I Ron Butterfly, what was you thinking pops? But one CD all my life interested me, and that was Funhouse by the Stooges. I knew nothing of this band yet the name entertained me as I was a massive Three Stooges fan.
So, when I was 15 I actually had a thought, let’s play the thing. Down on the Street was a ripper opener. Ron Asheton’s great guitar style, a mixture of psychedelic rock and 60s garage, Dave Alexanders thumping bass, and the growl of Iggy. I got into a grove, I liked it.
Then came the one two combo that knocked me out. Hearing Loose for the first time must have been the same for teenagers when they heard rock n roll for the first time. I never heard anything like that before. Then TV Eye. That growl at the start has stayed with me ever since. Hearing that LP was the 15-year-old equivalent of taking speed. Such a high-energy release and made me question everything I heard before.
The self-titled came next for me. The standout track was No Fun. To this day one of my top 5 tracks. The simplest riff, then the solo at the end. Of course, like all teenage misfit’s the line that stood out was “No fun to be alone. Walking by myself”.it took a while to find out what I wanna be your dog was about, but I got there.
Raw Power finished it off. Of course, the stand out being the opener Search and Destroy. I remember hearing it for the first time with headphones on. When Iggy screamed, Baby penetrate my mind. Raw Power also for me was Ron Asheton’s finest hour. He was nothing short of outstanding on the first two LPs, but Ron was moved to bass while James Williamson took the six strings. Williamson was brilliant, yet Ron, with something to prove, blew that motherfucker away.
A huge tick for this doco is the talking heads are kept to the bare minimum. Just the band, Iggy, Scott, James, Steve Mackay and Mike Watt (Ron Asheton appears through flash back interviews), the Asheton’s sister Kathy, and manager Danny Fields.
No hack from Rolling Stone who wasn’t even born when the first LP was released, no cockhead stadium rocker who claims the band was an influence when his band sounds nothing like there’s, and no Bono. The mixture of pop culture clips from 50s and 60s telly and films is well crafted and not just added for the sake of it. A highlight is the Stooges songs playing to clips of the Three Stooges.
Jim Jarmusch is a huge fan of the band and mate of Iggy’s, so he was obviously going to do the film and source material justice. One of the benefits of having a small discography is every LP is talked about in detail. Stories of the writing, production, and the city there was in at the time are all here.
Personal highlight is the story of Nico hanging round the studio and the Stooges home. Sadly, the story of Nico giving Iggy the clap (as mentioned in Please Kill Me) is absent (maybe on the cutting room floor?)
One disappointing aspect was how the film kinda glossed over the in between period. Yes, we all know Iggy had a successful solo career and we don’t need to know that he did aces but a quick chat on an LP or two would have been nice. James Williamson got into production for a bit but found success as an executive for Sony, as my mate Doze referred to after the screening as the nerdy guy.
Ron played with New Order and Destroy All Monsters, and Scott also kept playing yet worked a bunch of shitty day jobs just to pay the rent. These two helped shaped an entire generation of players yet in the 90’s were literary the words forgotten boys. No way to treat legends. Also (spoiler alert) the film ends with the bands Hall of Famed induction, not long after that Scott Asheton passed away.
I wouldn’t have minded if the film talked about the Stooges brief time after that. Not a huge criticism and sure many people didn’t feel cheated but maybe a few minutes couldn’t have hurt. And while not their finest hour, a chat on their comeback record the Weirdness would have been alright too.
Until I saw this the best source for the Stooges history was the seminal punk oral history lesson Please Kill Me. The interviews between the two material are a complete 180. Iggy and the Asheton’s both come cross bitter and twisted in Please Kill Me, mind you the interviews would have been not long after to the demise of the band and everyone. There’s not a hint of bitterness here. Scott and Iggy even share interview time together which I found brilliant.
I loved this doco. I didn’t want it to end. I wish someone could have hit me in the head with a frying pan so I could forget the Stooges music and I could rediscover them all over again.
They ain’t no longer the worlds forgotten boys.
