The Weirdness is the fourth studio album by American proto-punk band The Stooges.
It was released on 6 March 2007. It is the first studio album of new material
The Stooges have released since Raw Power, and is also the final album to
feature Ron Asheton, who died in early 2009. The album features founding
members Iggy Pop, Ron Asheton, and Scott Asheton along with new band member Mike
Watt, formerly of Minutemen, and returning guest musician Steve Mackay,
who appeared on The Stooges' 1970 album, Fun House.
Recording The album was recorded by Steve Albini
at his Electrical Audio studio in Chicago, Illinois during October 2006,
and was mastered at Abbey Road Studios in London, England in December. Bassist
Mike Watt posted a day-by-day diary of the recording sessions on his website,
but this was deleted without explanation. Watt referred to the
album's title as Secret Plan in his diary entries.
According to Watt's online diary, the songs recorded during the sessions
included a finalized version of "My Idea of Fun" and a cover of The Beatles' "I
Wanna Be Your Man", while a 20 November article on the album, derived mainly
from an interview with Pop, also gives the following song titles as appearing
on the album: "Trollin'", "ATM", "You Can't Have Friends, "The Weirdness", and
"Greedy Awful People". Further titles were announced in December after the
album was mastered, and the final track listing was announced by Virgin Records
on 30 January 2007. Release
Two singles, "My Idea of Fun" and "Free & Freaky", were released on the iTunes
Store on 20 February 2007. The album was also released as a vinyl LP with four
bonus tracks. "My Idea of Fun" was performed on the
reality television show Bam's Unholy Union.
Reception The album received mixed reception, but
mostly negative. According to the aggregate review website Metacritic, the
album received a score of 44, which indicates mixed reception, from 32
critic scores. Pitchfork gave the album an exceptionally low 1.0/10 rating,
writing that it "hideously disgraces the band's original work." PopMatters wrote
"Like every other inferior album by a defunct cult band that has unexpectedly
reunited, it is a danger to the band's legacy. Every assessment or endorsement
of the Stooges must now be made with The Weirdness somewhere in the equation, and
most fans will no doubt reference it with either apology or dismissal.
Exactly why was this album made?" Drowned in Sound wrote "Devoid of
inspiration, lacking in any edge, this is pathetic."
BBC Music, on the other hand, wrote "Fast, tight, and ready for action, [The
Weirdness is] entertaining, exuberant and fun." Mojo called the album "a
brash, modern-sounding rock record that also sounds more vital than most bands
40 years The Stooges' junior." Track listing
All songs written and composed by Iggy Pop, Ron Asheton, and Scott Asheton,
except where noted. Personnel
The Stooges Iggy Pop – vocals
Ron Asheton – guitar Scott Asheton – drums
Mike Watt – bass guitar Guest musicians
Steve Mackay – saxophone Brendan Benson – backing vocals on "Free
& Freaky" Production
Steve Albini – engineering Nick Webb – mastering
Chris Wujek – technical assistance Rob Vester – assistant engineer
Henry McGroggan – production coordination
Eric Fischer – production coordination Sean Mosher-Smith – art direction and
design Chapman Baehler – photography
Robert Matheu – photography Charts
References External links
The Weirdness at Discogs