OK — so Detroit's godfather of punk may not have, uh, unleashed a masterpiece with his latest track, “Dirty Little Virus” (the lyrics are pretty cringey).
But what we've learned is that Iggy Pop is not necessarily an anti-lockdown guy like Eric Clapton and Van Morrison, whose recent collaboration, “Stand and Deliver” is truly cringe-worthy. (They actually compare American people enduring state-mandated lockdowns as “slaves” and whine about not being able to play the blues for their friends.)
Well, papa Pop came through with a very direct rock ditty on Monday via “Dirty Little Virus,” which finds the 73-year-old icon admitting to losing his mind and dropping lines like “Grandfather’s dead/ Got Trump instead” and comparing the virus to a 19-year-old girl that is unapologetically not his type. (Honestly, we are glad to hear this because that age gap would be troubling.)
Good morning! A little surprise track from #IggyPop this morning. #newmusicmondayhttps://t.co/zzd9QNXhL8
— Iggy Pop (@IggyPop) December 21, 2020
“She’s only 19, but she can kill ya,” Pop sings, “she ain't my type, but it is what it is.”
In conjunction with the track's release, Pop shared a video to explain his inspiration behind the song.
“I was moved to write a direct lyric, not something too emotional or deep, more like journalism,” he said, adding, “It's been the big thing happening in my life — and everybody else's, I reckon, for almost a year now. If there was still a man of the year, it'd be the virus.”
Though Pop's pandemic contribution is uh, well, a valiant effort, dozens of artists took an opportunity to release uplifting pandemic tracks, parodies, and reworkings of hit songs — like this truly remarkable entry by Gloria Estefan, who rewrote her 1989 club banger “Get On Your Feet” to remind folks to mask up.
Maybe Iggy should have considered a “Search and Destroy” redo instead.
Listen to “Dirty Little Virus” via Bandcamp and watch Iggy explain the track below.
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