The artist Josh Homme thought deserved more respect: “It took balls to be him”
The pages of rock history are positively awash with groundbreaking musicians who have since been lost to obscurity. Particularly within the punk subgenre, the independent and countercultural nature of the scene meant that many of the musicians who made up the scene never came close to mainstream acclaim. Nevertheless, these forgotten figures are still revered within the hearts and minds of true music obsessives, like Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme.
Although Queens of the Stone Age have always leaned into the hard rock and stoner rock side of proceedings, Homme certainly has his roots in the abrasive world of punk rock. In fact, during his early years in California, the songwriter learnt his craft by forming the punk outfit Katzenjammer – who later changed their name to Kyuss – with his high school classmates. Throughout his celebrated musical career, either with Queens of the Stone Age or during his various side projects, Homme has always flown the flag for revolutionary punk rock.
Expectedly, for a contrarian, counterculture music scene, everybody has their own opinions on the greatest punk rockers ever to grace the airwaves. However, one figure seems to unite all appreciators of the genre: Iggy Pop. It almost goes without saying that, were it not for the unique sounds of Iggy and the Stooges, punk rock would not exist in the form that we know it. The Detroit native completely changed the lineage of rock music upon forming The Stooges, acting as a catalyst for the end of pithy 1960s hippie rock and the beginning of the punk age.
To call Iggy Pop an obscure figure is, obviously, egregious. The former Stooges frontman is afforded the kind of reputation that few figures in rock music could ever dream of. After all, there are few groups in modern rock who are not influenced, in some way, by the sounds of either The Stooges or Pop’s celebrated solo career, which went on to be instrumental in establishing post-punk. Nevertheless, some people still underrate the talents of Iggy Pop.
Speaking to The Guardian in 2016, Josh Homme waxed lyrical about his punk hero, sharing, “Lemmy is gone. Bowie is gone. He’s the last of the one-and-onlys,” with regard to Pop, adding, “It took balls to be him: a little guy with a big dick scaring people in Detroit. Everyone should take a knee for Iggy. He deserves it. He never got [the respect or the acclaim], mostly by his own hand, but he made the shit that’s spawned more bands than any other person, ever. Bring on the statues, you motherfuckers!”
Admittedly, it is difficult to disagree with Homme in that sense. While Iggy Pop might be a legendary figure within the world of punk and alternative rock, he never achieved the kind of mainstream success witnessed by somebody like David Bowie, despite the close friendship between the two songwriters.
In what must have been a real pinch-me moment for Homme, the frontman got the chance to collaborate with his punk hero, releasing the collaborative album Post Pop Depression back in 2016. The album provided Homme with an opportunity to embrace the punk influences that he had built his career alongside the person that first set him on that path to rock and roll greatness.
