Iggy Pop has shared an official video for his song “We Are The People”, which was initially included as part of the veteran punk-rocker’s 2019 Free LP.
The video arrives just days after the “Godfather of Punk” performed the song with Laurie Anderson at a Tibet House US benefit concert at Carnegie Hall in New York, NY late last week.
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At its core, “We Are The People” is a very minimal song. Iggy recites the lyrics as spoken word over a subtle piano chord progression accentuated by jazzy horns. The 72-year-old assertively but solemnly speaks out, “We are the people without land/We are the people without tradition/We are the people/Who do not know how to die peacefully and at ease/We are the thoughts of sorrows/Endings of tomorrows/We are the wisps of rulers/And the jokers of kings.”
The video plays on this minimal theme with just a close-up shot of Iggy Pop as he delivers the lines. Watch the official video for “We Are The People” below:
Iggy Pop – “We Are The People”
[Video: Iggy Pop Official]
“We Are The People” was inspired by a Lou Reed poem written in 1970, and Pop released the video on what would have been his 78th birthday on Monday (3/2). In a statement to the BBC, Pop explained the inspiration in saying, “That totally resonated with me. Like, ‘wham’, like ‘pow’. I thought, ‘My God, this is the country today as I understand it, or at least one legitimate portrayal of the country today’. It really spoke to me.”
Iggy Pop will release a limited number of Free test-pressings this weekend beginning on March 7th. A 7-inch, which contains two unreleased tracks, “Brahms Lullaby” and “Epistle to Tromba”, will be included with the package. Head to his website for more information.
[H/T BBC]