Iggy Pop's Rant Against Modern Rock

14 June 2009

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Iggy Pop has blasted the state of modern rock music, blaming Smashing Pumpkins and Limp Bizkit for lowering standards.

The Lust for Life hitmaker started a backlash against the genre on his website by branding certain groups "idiot thugs with guitars making crappy music".

And the singer has now revealed during a video announcement for his new album, Preliminaires, that he was referring to Fred Durst's recently reformed group and the Smashing Pumpkins.

He says, "Anyone from Smashing Pumpkins to - what's the one with Fred Durst?.. There are a million billion of them. And people think they're gods, man."

idiot thugs with guitars making crappy music

And the star also takes a swipe at intellectual rockers, adding, "I took great pains not to think first because the thing I can't stand is a rock star who thinks he's got brains. They're always so damned dull!" Meanwhile the former addict Iggy Pop hated his days as a drug-addled hellraiser - because he wasn't "dumb enough" to fully enjoy a high.

The punk idol battled for years with substance abuse and a growing need for heroin, which eventually landed him in a psychiatric ward in a bid to get clean.

But the rocker insists he could never really let his body succumb to the effects of narcotics, and wishes he hadn't over-analyzed his situations.

He says, "I remember the first cocaine party I ever went to. I remember doing everything everybody else did. Then I remember another part of me thinking to myself, 'I'm not really very good at this, getting stoned, partying, there's too much on my mind. I'm just not the type.'

"There was this other part of my brain that stood outside. It's a shame. It must be really nice to be dumb enough. You know, stupid and curious!"