This is not at all what I was planning to write tonight, but …
We were just finishing dinner. Our 13-year-old son looked up from his plate and said “Dad! That song!”
NPR was playing on the radio on top of the fridge in the kitchen. It was too far out of earshot for me, but not for him.
Mom looked puzzled, but only until Evan identified the song.
“Search and Destroy!” he said.
“Who does this?” I asked Evan, knowing full well he knows.
“Iggy!”
“And the Stooges,” I added. “Ron Asheton died. He was the guitarist. That’s why they’re playing it.”
A 13-year-old kid in Wisconsin recognizes Iggy and the Stooges when he hears them on the radio. We must be doing something right.
I was late to the party when it came to the Stooges. But I figured it out.
A tribute to Ron Asheton that a 13-year-old will recognize: “Search and Destroy,” Iggy and the Stooges, from “Metallic KO,” 1976. Recorded live at the Michigan Palace in Detroit on Oct. 6, 1973. At the time, Asheton was playing bass, with James Williamson on guitar and Scott Asheton on drums.
From the Mojo magazine CD compilation “Trash: The Roots of Punk,” June 2006. (Amazing what you find when you go digging through the collection. I didn’t even realize I had it.)
A tribute to Ron Asheton with more tunes: Ted does it up right over at Boogie Woogie Flu.
AM, Then FM 
You are clearly doing a good job as a parent – a musical education is essential lest your children end up listening to something like the Jonas Brothers.
This warms my heart.
Just to clarify: If I really did look puzzled, it was not because the song was playing on NPR … It aired on “Fresh Air with Terry Gross,” a cross-cultures talk show that touches on all genres of music, plus books, newsmakers, arts reviews, etc. etc. etc.
Readers can listen to the music that played between segments on yesterday’s show by clicking here: . NPR isn’t just news shows and classical music, although that’s what the boys hear at our house.
Grrr … okay, wordpress didn’t like my link, so here it is again without the coding:
http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=13&prgDate=01-06-2009
There’s a new bar that opened in Scottsdale at the end of last year called American Junkie. I haven’t been there yet, but they advertise an area with old band posters. The Stooges are mentioned. I’ll have to check it out when I go to an NBA All Star Game party there on Valentine’s Day. I’ll try to snap a pic and send it to you.