Photo: Iggy Pop In 1980s Greenwich Village... Vacuuming

Believe it or not, Phish drummer Jon Fishman wasn't the first musician to use the vacuum cleaner as an instrument. Back in the late 1960s Iggy Pop brought the household item on stage with The Stooges... but did you know he also got use out of the things on a more domestic level? This photo shows the punk legend vacuuming in his Greenwich Village apartment in 1984, and more than likely it wasn't just for a photo opp.

In Iggy: Open Up And Bleed, his day-to-day life in Manhattan and Brooklyn is described in great domestic detail. At one point, saying that after writing a little, he'd "tidy up some of the debris from the previous night... then fetch a take-out breakfast for the two of them when Suchi woke up, vacuum the apartment, and sometimes later make hamburgers for lunch."

After living in Greenwich Village, Pop moved to The Christadora House, at 143 Avenue B—which now looks like this. [via Jess Amason]

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By Jen Carlson in Arts & Entertainment on December 13, 2011 12:38 PM

Comments [rss]

concreteblonde

This is very entertaining. I had the opportunity to enjoy dinner with
Jim at an intimate gathering and he is a fantastic, down to earth
gentleman. At one point, my father, a retired NYPD Lt. and Jim were
sitting on the couch discussing what the village used to be like. The
juxtaposition of this scenario was absolutely mind-blowing.

ganghiscon

He's just doing the things a five foot one man can do.

miss_subways

That picture is cracking me up. I love Iggy.

cr17

In '84 Iggy was working to get off heroin, so I'm sure he did a lot of mundane shit. He probably still does too.

Jess Robertson

"Iggy Pop canes it on stage." "He may cane it on stage, but he still has to go home and descale the kettle"

Nos Feratu

"so I'm sure he did a lot of mundane shit. He probably still does too"

As we all should, despite our station in life. Taking out the trash, scrubbing the toilet, vacuuming out the car......keeps you attached to reality.

Nos Feratu

This is supposed to be a surprise? A lot of people who get famous never get rich. It takes money to live like Charlie Sheen. Wanna see how sad/dull/pathetic the real lives of alt-rock gods can be? Go have a look the Pixies documentary, loudQUIETloud.

Guest

I saw that at the Tribeca Film Festival a few years ago. Sad but oddly uplifting too.

Nos Feratu

I agree. I just shudder to think how the guys would have ended up if the band had not achieved a cult following...Kim having gotten rich off her Breeders gig.

Guest

After watching that, I remember thinking that Joey Santiago was the only one whose life had actually changed for the better.

Nos Feratu

Yeah, but he still needed the money. Just goes to show you that you can be the darlings of music critics and all it gets you is a bowl of Ramen.