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Ron Asheton, R.I.P.
One of the great guitar-grinders of all time is gone: Ron Asheton of the Stooges is dead at age 60, found in his Ann Arbor home. Asheton has more than fair claim to space on top of that most crowded of pedestals, the one where we stand up and honor the "father(s) of punk rock."
Ron and his brother Scotty on the drums, with Mr. James "Iggy Stooge/Pop" Osterberg writhing and howling up front, were not only seminal in the draggy/thumpy/crunchy/fuzzy evocations of emotional and sonic charged ennui and fuck-all mayhem; they were, more important than being early to the game, still and always really, really great at it.
The classic Stooges line-up only made two albums back in 1969 and 1970 (though 1973's Raw Power, when guitarist Asheton was shifted to bass, is also a stone classic). The Ashetons and Iggy reunited as the Stooges with Minuteman Mike Watt on bass this century, and I'm very glad I got to be right up front at one of their 21st century reunion shows, watching the very un-rock n' roll looking Mr. Asheton bring his quiet, maybe even almost a little bored looking, sense of a working man doing a precise and important job as his fingers summoned the fuzzy violence that buoyed up the more colorful Iggy as he danced with the spirits and drew the crowds attention and energy and ferocity, all the qualities being stirred and shaped by that chubby old guy over to Iggy's left whose name they might not have known. He was Ron Asheton, and we're all lucky to have had him.
|1.6.09 @ 12:33PM|#
The Stooges must be a "time and place" kind of band. Without such context, their music is really, really, I mean really bad.
Warty|1.6.09 @ 12:39PM|#
If you were in my time and place, Lamar, you'd be getting a throat-punch and a cock-punch right about now.
|1.6.09 @ 12:40PM|#
No, Lamar, your comment is really, really, I mean really dumb. Funhouse, in particular, is a work of genius.
SIV|1.6.09 @ 12:40PM|#
The Fun House Sessions revealed the Stooges to be quite the jazz combo as well(if you didn't already recognize that).
|1.6.09 @ 12:42PM|#
Lamar must be a "time and place" kind of commentator.
And his testicles must be the size of Leo Sayer's.
Nigel Watt|1.6.09 @ 12:42PM|#
Let's pretend musical taste is objective and get offended on this basis!
highnumber|1.6.09 @ 12:52PM|#
Sad, sad news. Way too soon. Read
Please Kill Me to find out what a great, level-headed guy he
was.
And the story in the appendix about him and Larry Fine is
absolutely beautiful.
Shitty news.
|1.6.09 @ 1:00PM|#
I stand behind the substance of my statement, but recognize it is out of place given the subject.
EJM|1.6.09 @ 1:00PM|#
I'm just wondering if Lamar's use of a Dinosaur Jr-related e-mail address is supposed to be ironic--considering 2002's "Asheton, Asheton, Mascis and Watt (plus Barlow)" performances.
|1.6.09 @ 1:09PM|#
EJM: No irony. Just not a fan.
And can I have a Reason Wiki entry now that I've got my first
imitator (@ 1:03)?
|1.6.09 @ 1:10PM|#
For those that haven't, check out the song "Dum Dum Boys" off Iggy's first solo record The Idiot. It's about his former bandmates. Actually the whole album is great.
Cleveland|1.6.09 @ 1:14PM|#
Detroit rocks like no other city.
We resent that remark. We have the Rock 'n' Roll Museum & Gift
Shop!
Now if you had said, "Detroit sucks even worse than Cleveland," we
could be in agreement.
Go Lions! Really, please go.
|1.6.09 @ 1:16PM|#
A true pioneer of rock music. "1969", "I Wanna Be Your Dog", "No
Fun", "T.V. Eye". Truly great stuff.
Rest easy, Mr. Asheton.
|1.6.09 @ 1:18PM|#
"Kicking corpses must be a time and place kind of activity.
- Lamar"
So I criticize myself for something I apologized for 16 minutes
earlier? And while I agree that kicking corpses is wrong, so is
fellating them.
|1.6.09 @ 1:30PM|#
Cleveland:
No, really: Thanks for giving the world... what was it? The
Raspberries, right? Maybe Trent Reznor, kind of? Like, for the
couple of years he was there?
We provided the MC5, Stooges, White Stripes, Aretha Franklin,
Seger, Alice Cooper, George Clinton, Mitch Ryder, Creem magazine
and the ENTIRETY OF FRIKKING MOTOWN RECORDS, for god's sake.
You're also welcome to throw Kid Rock, Nugent, Madonna and Eminem
to that list too, if you'd like.
Andy|1.6.09 @ 1:37PM|#
Detroit also gave Negative Approach, and the Misfits, Black
Flag, and the Stooges all played their last shows with their
original lineups in Detroit.
The best album you never heard: Watcha Doin' by The Go, another
great Detroit band
http://ogami.subpop.com/bands/the_go/website/the_go.html
http://www.subpop.com/releases/the_go/full_lengths/whatcha_doin
|1.6.09 @ 2:00PM|#
Actually Lamar, you have it perfectly backwards: Regardless of
time and place, the Stooges were the best rock and roll band.
If you're sincere, I can only pity you.
Neu Mejican|1.6.09 @ 2:32PM|#
A great band and Asheton doesn't get enough of the credit for
why. His understated, but raw, playing was as influential over time
as that of Hendrix.
Objectively the Stooges were one of the most important American
rock bands due to their influence on the music that followed them,
whether, subjectively, Lamar appreciates the work they produced or
not.
So, objectively, The Stooges are timeless in a way few bands
manage, because of the impact they had on the shape of today's
music scene.
Neu Mejican|1.6.09 @ 2:47PM|#
Regarding the "time and place" thing.
The Stooges albums sold poorly at first. Over time they have sold
better and better (now up to something like 50 million copies,
iirc).
Like Can and a few other bands from the period, they were enough
ahead of the curve that it took the audience a decade or more to
catch up.
Neu Mejican|1.6.09 @ 2:53PM|#
| January 6, 2009, 12:47pm | #
Lamar needs a Metallic KO....
I was in a band in the 80's that played a (smaller) show just like
that.
Fuckin' bikers and their love of CCR.
;^)
|1.6.09 @ 6:01PM|#
Cleveland has more than those, by far. The Dead Boys, The Dazz Band, James Gang, Pere Ubu, and Mushroomhead are among the bigger. Add Akron in and you have DEVO, a great libertarian band.
NM copyeditor|1.6.09 @ 8:06PM|#
"something like 50 million copies, iirc" above should read
"something like 5 million copies, iirc"
I couldn't confirm the figure...anyone got anything?
|1.7.09 @ 1:12AM|#
Lamar is Chris Marcelli and is gonna *** soon. Born the 18th of
january 1974, and **** on...
You're an ignorant and disrectful jerk...
Kamar*****|1.7.09 @ 1:19AM|#
No, really. i'm kidding a bit. But come on, you sound like a pretentious kid, and obviously as insolent as it gets. If you don't understand the greatness and impact of Ron Asheton's playing or the Stooges, then don't comment, especially just after Ron's passing. Go fix your ducati monster boy...
Lamar*****|1.7.09 @ 1:25AM|#
Email me at my personal adress if you wanna cry and
moan...
john_gagnon@hotmail.com
|1.13.09 @ 3:01PM|#
Bickering aside!!!!... Ron Asheton #29 in Rolling Stones Top 100 guitarists... RS is a bit of a sell out but no argument here in their ranking of Ronnie. Fun House drives to this day like mad, taken in the context of the time it was produced it drove like nothing else. I'm personally indebted to Ron and the rest of the Stooges for so much musically and philosophically... AND regardless of Lamar's reaction... it got a reaction didn't it and that's a big part of the point FEEL SOMETHING!!!!
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