Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Thursday, March 28, 2024

Anarchy in the USA: 'Gimme Danger' is full of grit, glam

1

Featuring shattered bottles, mystery drugs, broken piers and rock and roll nomads, "Gimme Danger" (2016) is a documentary following The Stooges, an American rock band founded in 1967 which gained fame through the 1970s and described themselves as “the death of the '60s.” The movie, released on Oct. 28,  is largely composed of interviews, mostly with lead singer Iggy Pop and guitarist James Williamson, as well as archival footage of dead members Scott and Ron Asheton. The rest is footage of the band and animated illustrations of the band’s stories. The narrative is undeniably messy as attempts to follow the band chronologically are littered with an increasing number of gigs, collaborations and name changes. Anyone who liked the iconic mockumentary "This Is Spinal Tap" (1984) will appreciate "Gimme Danger," which perfectly fits into that niche.

The Stooges went through several band members, but most time is given to bassist Dave Alexander, the Asheton brothers, Williamson (who, believe it or not, moved to Silicon Valley and became a higher-up for Sony) and the famous Pop. The movie does show Pop’s early life and lead-up to founding the band but ignores his solo career afterward. The movie focuses on The Stooges as a unit, with all its twists, break-ups, deaths and disasters.

There’s not much of a point to be found in this movie, but that’s actually appropriate. There’s also not too much of a point to the music of the Stooges either. Pop remembers a children’s TV show encouraging viewers to keep fans letters in 25 words or less. Years later he applies that same philosophy to music: “I’m not like Bob Dylan … ‘blah, blah, blah.’” Yet the alternative director-writer Jim Jarmusch describes The Stooges as “the greatest rock and roll band ever,” without irony -- humor, but not irony. The band members themselves admit to the simplicity of their lyrics and musicality. Williamson specifically admits to his group’s ambivalence about broader cultural ideas, stating,“We played with MC5 at the Democratic Convention of 1968, but we tried to avoid politics … [chuckles] we tried to avoid everything.” And everyone admits to their own lack of professionalism. As Jarmusch points out, the Stooges proved enormously influential for future bands including the Sex Pistols, The Ramones, Sonic Youth, the White Stripes and countless others.

The documentary’s strength lies in its quick quips, anecdotes and pure unbridled tales of anarchy; it’s electric and hilarious. No one familiar with classic rock history will be shocked by the levels of drugs, sex and violence revealed by this documentary. They will, however, be endlessly amused because what is revealed is truly unpredictable. Casually, we hear tales of curing a whole marijuana plant (roots and all) in a Laundromat dryer, unsolicited advice from Andy Warhol in an LA motel and what can only be described as footage of the girl from "The Exorcist" (1973) meets Mick Jagger on stage, showcasing a 70-year-old man on all fours as he holds a microphone between his teeth and growls at a screaming audience.

Once again, Pop is no Bob Dylan or even Mick JaggerBut he has a big heart, giving warm shout-outs during the band’s2010 introduction to The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Recognizing his friend Ron, the MC5 and those who birthed rock and roll, Pop showed that, for a man of simplicity and straightforwardness, he can become colorful, even poetic, when he feels like it.

Despite all this, The Stooges’ influence is undeniable. They are not the craziest band in history but proved themselves to be the origins of punk and alternative rock, perhaps anarchy itself. They themselves were The Stooges, nothing more and nothing less. The Sex Pistols might want to be anarchy, but The Stooges wanted to be themselves, and if that’s anarchy, so be it. “I don’t wanna belong to the glam people, the alternative people, none of it ... I just wanna BE," said Pop.

Summary
4 Stars