Red Hot Chili Pepper’s Flea features in new documentary about Iggy Pop
The inimitable Iggy Pop has revealed a new short documentary film in which he converses about music with legendary Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea. The film, entitled Bitten By Flea!, has a runtime of 26 minutes and sees the two iconic music heroes sit down to discuss a wide range of topics.
Amongst the points of discussion are how Iggy Pop’s band The Stooges influenced Flea, both of their experience working with the producer Andrew Watt, and Pop’s insistence on beginning each morning with a “good face”. On that latter point, Pop said, imitating a typical morning TV host, “If you’re not in a good mood – fool yourself, motherfucker! Don’t get down, don’t let yourself get down.”
Also, in the conversation, Pop tells of the time he received an open letter from U2 singer Bono. “He said, ‘In rock ‘n’ roll, or modern popular music, there is a sort of regency in which certain people occupy the castle and pull up the drawbridge,” Pop explained. “And it seems to me that when you hurtle yourself headfirst into the crowd, you are throwing away your crown’.”
Pop appeared to be less than impressed by Bono’s letter, as he simply replied with “Fuck the regency,” which is also a reference to some lyrics in his 2023 album Every Loser song ‘The Regency’. Andrew Watt had been on production duty for that record, while Flea’s Chili Peppers’ bandmate Chad Smith played the drums, as did ex-RHCP guitarist Josh Klinghoffer.
Elsewhere in the film, we see Pop’s recording process with Watt, who explains how Pop approaches music in the twilight of their career. “[With] somebody who is in the latter part of their career, I think it’s very important for – even if the music is happening quick, and the energy is there, and the creative stuff is like ‘Bam, bam, bam’ – just taking your time to go through it,” he said. “No pressure.”
Check the film out below.
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