Music

Iggy Pop finally reveals why he never wears a shirt

by Richard Howard

Iggy Pop is 69 years old and is still, as a conservative estimate, approximately two thousand times more fit than I am. This legendarily shredded physique that has made many an admirer weak in the knees was presumed to be his main reason for pretty much refusing to ever wear a shirt onstage (along with easy access to his chest with a broken beer bottle – younger Iggy was hella crazy). It turns out, though, that there’s actually a deeper thought process behind his decision to eschew shirts. In a sit down with journalist Carl Wilson at Montreal’s Red Bull Music Academy, Pop explained what drove him to tell shirts everywhere to take a long walk off a short pier.

“When I dropped out of college to start the band, I kept my library card. I’ve always had a student mentality, so I would go to the library, and take books. Cult books about culture and religion, and think about how I could apply those, and I kept seeing these pictures of the Pharaoh. He never wore a shirt. That just looks about right, you know? I don’t know why. I feel lost in a shirt. I just get lost.”

How awesome is that? Dude thought Pharoahs were straight G’s, and because they never wore shirts, he decided he was done with them as well.

So you can be sure that, regardless of internet memes poking fun at the natural result of aging on the skin covering his still-toned abs, Iggy Pop won’t be contritely donning a sweet v-neck tee for his shows anytime soon. Check out the whole interview below. In fact, given the chance, he’s still likely to let it all hang out. Like, everything.

[h/t Rolling Stone]