Damn I wish Iggy Pop stayed cool. You know the good ol’ Lust For Life days, before he sold his song rights to an infinite number of commercials and soundtracks. Recently I saw a collaboration on late night TV between our stalwart punk godfather Iggy and … Sum 41. I repeat, Sum 41. Sigh.

In some cases, it just has to be better to bow out gracefully than embarrass yourself and your legion of fans while fading away. Though he can still pummel an audience to pieces, a la All Tomorrow’s Parties in November, some of his current projects have been less than impressive. One such bummer has to be Gimme Skelter, a compilation put out by Buddyhead records including the likes of Iggy, Le Tigre, Weezer and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

You would think, or at least hope, that with a good mix of bands and reputable Buddyhead backing that Gimme Skelter would be fantastic, if not mildly enjoyable. However, the record somehow manages to wallow as one of the most bizarre and uninspiring compilations to date.

Alright, so I must admit I was never a huge fan of grunge music when it was big, but I was able appreciate it. Now listening to “Hard-on for War” by Mudhoney and “Let’s Jump In” by Dead Meadow, I see my skepticism was right on as they struggle to sound modern but never succeed.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Le Tigre bring what little redemption they can to the sinking ship with songs that do not do their respective bands justice. Add to this the Buddyhead bands that slipped in, Burning Brides, Icarus Line, Radio Vago and Your Enemies Friends still fail to properly up the ante.

Overall, this record had the potential to break the mold of the usual compilations that are usually strewn with sub-par bands and rightfully ignored songs. Yet, it unwittingly fell right into that exact sinkhole and managed somehow to embarrass the once-mighty Iggy, yet again.
[Brenna Boyce is not admitting that, in any way, shape, or form, she wore flannel. Repeat: no flannel.]