Iggy Pop: 'What Happens When People Disappear'

Of the many things made in Michigan that have become part of the fabric of American culture — the auto industry, Motown — punk rock is often overlooked. In 1967, years before The Sex Pistols performed incendiary anthems, Iggy Pop and his band The Stooges created an explosive new sound in Detroit that would influence generations of musicians. The band is, more or less, back together with a new album called Ready to Die, and singer - songwriter Iggy Pop recently joined NPR's Renee Montagne to discuss living life over the edge, why so many fans come around to The Stooges late, and what happens when people disappear. Tell me about the original Stooges — when you first formed. Before we were making records, we were making a big avant-garde mess around the Detroit area. We would show up with some oilcans and vacuum cleaners and beaters, and also electric rock instruments, and we would play a kind of trance music. It sounded a lot like the folk music from the desert areas of North Africa.