James Williamson on Rock Hall, deconstructing "Search & Destroy"

[@nickfanzo]

raw power is such a great record. those riffs .....wow

[@aidanrutkowski9832]

idk they are kinda basic

[@davidmarple4422]

What is your ranking in the Hall of Fame?? ​@@aidanrutkowski9832

[@jpkaneshida5075]

Saw The Stooges on the Raw Power tour at the World Famous Whiskey on the Fabulous Sunset Strip... what a concert, what an era, what a time to be young, alive and in LA!

[@publicanimal]

he took life and music to the cutting edge and then somehow came back from it and lived a totally normal life. what a dude.

[@robjones2408]

James comes across as a modest man, who cannot believe his luck as been known as a great pioneering guitarist. No Johnny Marr or Steve Jones etc without those scorching riffs by him.

[@amadfistshanksyu985]

This is a terrible excuse for an interview, and he does nothing well, not even play something as stupid as the guitar. Booooo!

[@jamesgretsch4894]

Rob Jones No Steve Jones yes but Johnny Marr? Was he a Stooges fan? I just don’t hear it in his music.

[@MichaelHayes_s6]

@@jamesgretsch4894 Indeed, he says he was: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pJ2sqqeQeL5op5o

[@countbasiecountbasie3461]

@@jamesgretsch4894 да, он был. он говорил о Stooges как об одной из самых вдохновляющих групп (по крайней мере, в юности)

[@mattwright2964]

​@@jamesgretsch4894 well Johnny Marr recites a story about an Iggy riff that influenced one of his songs but the story I heard related to something off The Idiot album I think. Hard though to deny the Stooges influenced all punk and post punk stuff.

[@johnnybsteelriff]

Such a modest and lovely guy!!!! Fab guitar player too!!!

[@criticalmassyt]

his tone is hotter than hell in this...i love it!

[@TimeTraveller010]

6

[@PAULLONDEN]

This man is a legend too ! The glorious noise he produced with Iggy Pop is stuff of legend...(together with the other Stooges ofcourse)......Some of the Raw Power outakes are even better than the album itself...

[@klmullins65]

You can tell James was influenced heavily by The Stones...he even looked like Keith Richards back in the day!

[@thetriumphofthethrill2457]

Who would think that one of the most despised men in his youth would turn out to be an articulate and interesting individual in his old age (although the attitude is still there). :-)

[@cocopops4974]

*one of my faviorate songs by the stooges*

[@jellofan1578]

iggy pop mix is unstoppable

[@James_Maljz]

Raw power changed my life. Thank you James

[@Rikitocker]

James is being really generous here and drawing some long bows on influences ... those elements don't really sound much like S.&.D ...

[@patriciofernandez2711]

The rock and roll hall of fame is everything rock and roll stands against. James Williamson shreds though

[@brandonhendrix7223]

What's crazy is if you read about him in Please Kill Me or Open Up and Bleed, he's painted, at least during his Stooges era, as this evil, pernicious character (Scott Ashton even said 'damn my soul' for ever bringing Williamson into the Stooges fold!! Ironically he would end up playing with him again years later, so maybe Williamson changed.) and I think "This guy?! Seems like a pretty laid-back, genial, modest fellow." Hard to image him as the devil incarnate he's portrayed as during that time. I mean, people change but still... Either way, great guitarist/songwriter!

[@francescobenati2045]

I'm re-reading Please Kill Me now and everyone is talking shit about everyone else so

[@eflows]

Dropping the needle on "Search and Destroy" changed the lives of many early punk rockers.

[@1thepner]

Wow......I look at this guy and I'm thinking, "he survived playing the last ever Iggy & the Stooges show" at the Grande Ballroom, Detroit.

[@Deandwl]

Love The Stooges, love Raw Power, love James Williamson’s guitar playing. I think apart from ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’, there’s also a bit of the Stones’s ‘Street Fighting Man’ in ‘Search & Destroy’ - what a song!!

[@jonathanm9257]

Completely agree about the start of Search & Destroy sounding like Street Fighting Man, especially the version that is the last track of the Get Yer Ya Ya's Out live album from the 1969 tour (the same year his guitar was made). They all would have listened to that album enough to subconsciously absorb it by osmosis. Johnny Thunders apparently appears in the video footage of that concert when they switch the lights on...

[@MrGiorgioud]

So well spotted! Never noticed it before, but you are undoubtedly right!

[@santiagoj9042]

@@jonathanm9257 yeah, live with me off of Get Yer Ya Ya's sound like raw power.

[@angelocatapang6054]

not just james osterberg a.k.a. iggy pop who's amazing!. so's james williamson!.

[@richiedownik6981]

so were Ron & Scott Asheton too .....Not to be forgotten !!!!! Ron & Scott R.I.P.

[@Leiria65]

+richie downik Nobody remembers Dave :(

[@richiedownik6981]

Oh yeah ...plenty do ? the Stooges afficionados do .....we could name Zeke, Bill, Steve too .....

[@Leiria65]

+richie downik I wasn't being completely serious, though I do think Dave is underrated. He composed a lot of the riffs for Funhouse, which for me is not only the best Stooges album, it's the best album of all-time. And not just the riffs, as a bass player his jamming on tracks like Dirt and Funhouse inspired me, and still continue to do so

[@punkmeathead3792]

Dave Alexander is the most underrated punk bassist of all time. His bass on I wanna be your dog, considered one of the greatest rock songs ever, is flawless. He wrote dirt, down on the street. Nothing against Ronny he’s a great but I like Dave’s bass better than ron. Could also be Williamson buried ron on raw power with his powerful loud guitar haha

[@TerrariumFirma]

i would have asked him what's the guitar tuning on 'gimme danger'.

[@utubsuxcox]

nashville tuning

[@TerrariumFirma]

thanks!

[@TheA13000]

utubsuxcox courious thing, I've always played it in standard E flat tuning

[@angelocatapang6054]

i wouldn't mind to be james williamson or ron asheton(r.i.p.).they're the chief guitar riffers/lickers of the fuckin' stooges man!.

[@jaww22]

Open up and bleed. The best song ever. Beautiful and haunted. Love. The stoogies. Huzzah!!!!!

[@prestodc1]

How many of you immediately KZbind 'bunny hop' after this?

[@michaelbeaubien6658]

a really good guitarist along with , ron ashton ,billy duffy keith Richards, SONIC SMITH , cheetah chrome.

[@BreconWalsh]

A totally gas guy to get this laurel and we salute you James Williamson! Art trumps stupidity every time!

[@MrMoon-cg2yy]

THE BUNNY HOP ROCKS!!!

[@dd-vm1hs]

James is a legendary talent and he probably has many fascinating anecdotes and tales to tell. Its a shame that the journalist is asking him such trite questions. His deconstruction of his work is much more interesting.

[@zoomzoom211]

Why does he say there are nine notes in the pentatonic ?

[@CNCTEMATIC]

How do the pentatonic scales have 9 notes?? I might be missing something but I was pretty sure there's only 5. The major and minor scales only have 7. I thought. If someone knows what I'm missing, do tell.

[@JamesClarke.yt.]

He's just wrong

[@34SideWinder]

Haha yeah just five. Maybe 6 with the blue note. But that’s the blues scale.

[@daviduruski7848]

You wanna give your audio equipment a smoke test?put on raw power,crank it up to 11,see how that goes

[@JCHaywire]

What a weird camera angle. Ron's out of focus and in the background for much of the clip.

[@lamper2]

I wonder if he knew Walter Lure who also did well outside of the rock life as a stockbroker on wall street. Walk, Don't Run also inspired P.F. Sloan's rearrangement of California Dreaming-that descending line wasn't in the original John Phillips composition.He demonstrates it here on youtube-look it up yourself if you care

[@PAULLONDEN]

"Jumping jack Flash".? more like "Street Fighting Man"....Should've given this man a better amp without the digital sounding distortion....

[@GriefTourist]

Nick Kent says James Williamson was influenced by Jimmy Page and Thunders

[@markrago5024]

The HOF is trash, The Stooges were a rare inductee not based on popularity and record sales. It should be the best, not the most well known. Also, it's supposed to be rock. Madonna and so many pop and rap artists in there, possibly country too I believe. Those types of artists should be in a different hall, it's bad enough they get showered with awards at all those corny award ceremonies.

[@seancallander8278]

Bunny hop, more power to J with the W

[@theupsndowns8161]

Greatest guitarist ever

[@bookpaper105]

this was hilarious

[@TheRealCaptainFreedom]

Machine gun bunny hop.

[@jetboy_]

*adds to memo of possible band names*

[@ethanhill9331]

RAW POWER embarrassed me upon first listen. The album, both mixes, is just too GUD. Even the six silences among the album's eight cuts sound otherworldly. Barmaids at CB's 313 Gallery, 313 Bowery, suggested I listen to Iggy Stooge. Hank Williams the First or the Third might cover well the album's title track. And one can mash potato to Search and Destroy, YEAH, particularly the machine gun intro, YEAH. May the producer RIP.

[@VI-rt7sh]

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. As a concept, it's pathetic. As a reality, it's sickening. It's a racket.

[@mahammaduli9820]

j j e a s m s e e s

[@michaelpanagiotis7109]

LesPauL + Vox Ac30 !

[@Owen_plays_music1049]

Les Paul Custom in particular :D

[@mahammaduli9820]

frank & stones feed back

[@heftosprod]

Did he voice Kermit the Frog at any stage?

[@jetboy_]

lmfaooo I hate you for making me laugh at one of my idols like this.

[@Keithrrr]

Vietnam War and Bunny Hop !

[@erkjan]

no James no Metallica!

[@phillipanderson7398]

James seems like the complete opposite of Iggy.

[@Owen_plays_music1049]

Yeah he looks like a business man and Iggy looks like a wild punk rebel

[@Thirdgen83]

The Rock n Roll Hall Of Fame is a JOKE.