Artist: The Stooges · Album: Fun House · Year: 1970 · Label: Elektra · Rank: 65 / 500
Fun House is the place where garage rock mutates into something feral, violent, hypnotic, and utterly new. The Stooges abandon structure, polish, and restraint. What remains is pure physical force—punk before punk, noise-rock before noise-rock.
The Band as a Primitive Machine
Ron Asheton’s guitar is sludge and fire. Scott Asheton’s drums stomp like an animal heartbeat. Dave Alexander’s bass drones with monolithic simplicity. Iggy Pop screams, croons, whispers, and disintegrates in real time.
By the second half, the addition of saxophonist Steve Mackay turns the album into a free-jazz demolition derby.
Songs That Don’t Behave Like Songs
“Down on the Street” and “Loose” are proto-punk swagger. “TV Eye” is a sprint on broken glass. “Dirt” is grimy blues stretched to its breaking point. The title track and “L.A. Blues” dissolve into pure chaos.
Legacy
From Black Flag to Sonic Youth to The White Stripes, Fun House is the holy scripture of controlled (and uncontrolled) musical destruction. It’s messy, fearless, and still too wild for most playlists.