This Ain't No Funhouse

The Stooges' classic second album, Funhouse, is almost half a century old? Hard to believe. And who would have guessed that Iggy would outlive all of his original bandmates? Not with that lifestyle. And yet, here we are: it's 2019, and Iggy is 72.

Funhouse was released on 7/07/1970. All of its songs (with the exception of the freeform "LA Blues") have been covered by numerous artists. A few years ago on another blog I compiled two sets of Funhouse covers. Here's an update -- with a third volume -- to mark the album's 49th anniversary.

But how to address the lack of "LA Blues" cover versions?  John Zorn and Yamatsuka Eye's "TV Eye" sounds as unhinged as "LA Blues", as does the music of Billy Bao (whose album Buildings From Bilbao isn't truly a Nigerian emigrant's song by song cover of Funhouse, as it was purported to be.) 

I included an unrelated "LA Blues" from Iggy's solo Acoustics KO, and one of the Stooges' freeform jams from the Complete Funhouse Sessions box set.  In addition to Iggy and the Stooges themselves, Ron Asheton appears (with Scott Morgan's Powertrane, New Race and Dark Carnival), as do Scott Asheton (Dark Carnival) and Steve Mackay. And there are a couple of Funhouse inspired tunes by Sour Jazz and the Spacemen 3.

If you're an Iggy fan, don't miss my "Guest Spots" collection of his many collaborations with other artists. Iggy most recently appeared on hip hop singles by Pan Amsterdam and Fémina, and he played a zombie in the film The Dead Don't Die.  Hopefully he will stick around for next summer's 50th anniversary of Funhouse.