Gimme Danger Page #5

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it was the weekend

of September 22nd, 1968.

(Iggy) Show biz is not a friendly place

and I gotta say, of all the people

that ever extended a hand to our group

the "MC5" were probably

the most genuine about it.

As soon as we got signed,

we started feeling

more professional.

I think we realized we didn't need to be

"The Psychedelic Stooges."

We'll just be "The Stooges."

So Ron actually called up Moe Howard

to see if it would be okay.

[rock music]

That was Ron's finest hour,

when he came up over

the next months with two great riffs.

Uh, "Wanna Be Your Dog,"

and "No Fun."

So for a while we just went out

and played it

and-and I remember

on both that one

and "No Fun," the members of

the "MC5" raising an eyebrow

and going, "Uh, you got

a good riff there."

[rock music]

We-we loved it. We loved it.

Every, all, the whole group

loved New York.

There were things in that environment

that didn't really exist for

a young person in the Midwest.

[music continues]

In my room I want you here

I'd been listening

to one of Velvet's records.

It's just very, very good.

An-and it was simple.

And the simplicity,

and some of the droning

and some of the moods

had a big influence on us, you know?

So when they suggested

John Cale, we thought

it was perfect for us.

That record... wouldn't

have felt the same

if we hadn't brought it to New York

and played it for that person.

We preformed for him.

I-I remember that he

wore a big black cape

like Z-Man in "Beyond

the Valley of the Dolls."

He brought Nico in a few times.

It really looked like,

uh, Morticia and Gomez.

Ready.

When we recorded the record.

They couldn't get a decent band track

of the band unless I danced.

[instrumental music]

I would stand in the band room with them

just with no mic or anything

and just dance and jump around

and roll around.

Do whatever I had to do to get a take.

The studio was, was a tiny little room

above a peep show on Times Square

but it was an R and B studio

run by Jerry Ragovoy

with tiny little amplifiers.

And then we came in

with our Marshall stacks

and everybody freaked out.

[screaming]

The host engineer started saying

"But Jerry Ragovoy

does it this way."

"I don't care about Jerry Ragovoy.

You know,

you don't understand."

[screaming]

Cale finally got us

to turn our amps to nine.

That was the compromise.

You took my arm

And you broke my..

We had four songs.

"Dog." "Fun." "69." and "Ann."

And the idea was,

each song had a song part

that lasted about two minutes.

And then there'd be about ten

minutes of improv on the riff.

When we heard it back taped, I thought

these songs are great,

for the first three minutes

this is good.

And then after the three

minutes, I started thinking

I don't know if this is really

so great to listen to

at minute seven here.

But I didn't say anything.

And-and then it took

the very sensible

record store owner

in business, Jac Holzman.

No, no, no, no.

He said, "I can't put this out.

There's not enough songs."

And you know,

I-I knew he was right.

Oh, we got a lot more songs,

just, uh, give

book us another session.

[instrumental music]

She

Not right

I want something

I want something tonight

(Scott)

Half or more of the songs

were written in the Chelsea Hotel.

The day before we went into the studio

and the song, "Not Right,"

we had never played.

The first time we'd ever played it

that was it, that was the take.

[instrumental music]

It's always

Well it's always this way

[chanting]

Shree Ram..

Dave Alexander,

he said...

..."Why don't we do something

with an Om chant?"

I don't know if it was Ron

or me, but one of us

melodicized the chant and then made it..

Om...

...Shree Ram...

...Ja.

Ram, ja, ja, Ram..

Tonight..

If we didn't have that

song on that album

we-we would have had

just a bunch of similar

rock tracks in the party line.

[chanting]

Ram, cha, cha, Ram..

I hold myself tight

[chanting]

Shree Ram..

It did make a statement that

we weren't like the other bands.

[chanting]

...cha, cha, Ram.

I won't fight

(Iggy)

Dave changed our history.

I won't fight

[chanting]

Ram, cha, cha..

That record, I thought it was a..

...myself that it was a...

...sort of neat, petite, well-organized

good, sharp, little poke, and, uh..

I was, I was real proud of the, uh

the clarity of the songs.

Midnight winds are landing

at the end of time

(Iggy) Nico's the most culturally

and artistically knowledgeable

beautiful woman that I'd ever met.

She's ten years older than me

and she had an opinion about

almost everything

that had to do with the arts,

and I listened to her.

Now I began being influenced,

probably got a little crazier.

She stayed a couple of weeks, I think.

They hated having a girl in the house.

(Ron) And at first we

resented her being there.

It's like.. Dammit!

And they pretty much kept to themselves

so there's no hanging out...

...and then the worst was, uh...

...bringing her in the practice room.

No women or girlfriends

in the practice room.

She'd sit there..

(Iggy) ...watch, and she'd

critique it, you know.

"This one is very good."

I-I think

she was on the rebound

maybe from something

with Lou Reed, perhaps

so she'd, she'd usually

get in a dig at Lou

whenever she liked something

I was doing, she'd say

"You, you are much better

you are much more talented

than Lou."

So we just started hanging out and, uh

gave her a break because she was

an interesting, good person.

[instrumental music]

(Iggy) And we went and

played that material

at the World's Fair Pavilion...

...in Queens, near where

the Ramones grew up...

...as, as an opening act to Joe Cocker.

Well, you know,

Joe Cocker's singing, uh..

You are so beautiful..

And everybody's...

...going nuts. You know,

this is it, and then we're like..

[humming]

And just..

[crowd cheering]

In the 50's...

...they figured out how to suck

the life out of rock and roll

on the one hand they replace

Elvis with Fabian

and then also at the same time

we'll run out Perry Como on 'em.

This was happening again.

Rock and roll at the time

was being co-opted

by a political-industrial

complex of corrupt performers

and evil manager-owners,

who were going to create

whatever they thought

was the best product for them.

Whether you want it or not

we're gonna shove this down

your little throats.

They rejected their own

country and their own people.

It's a, it's cultural treason.

There was more "American Idol."

More of the corny talent show

suggested to the American

audience at that time than, uh

than people like to admit.

It was all, you know..

[humming]

Marrakesh Express

Wouldn't you know we're riding

On the Marrakesh Express..

I mean, somebody needs to say, you know

some of the biggest

peace-love acts

of the California, uh

five years of love, umm...

...were created in m-meetings.

And stuff... smells.

I say it s-still smells.

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