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Arts & Entertainment

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


By

Jen Carlson

Published Dec 13, 2011

Modified Dec 13, 2011


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By

Jen Carlson

Published Dec 13, 2011

Modified Dec 13, 2011


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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]

Tagged

1980s

1984

flashback

greenwich village

history

iggy pop

vacuum


Jen Carlson

Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.

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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


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