Ed Rivadavia On Ron Asheton Of The Stooges

Ron Asheton, guitarist for the Stooges, died sometime at the beginning of the year. Ed Rivadavia, music executive for the RCA Music Group and writer for AMG, contributes the following:

The passing of guitarist Ron Asheton due to an apparent heart-attack in his Ann Arbor, Michigan home, some time during the start of 2009 (an official coroner’s report is still pending as of this writing), robbed the world of rock and roll of perhaps its ultimate punk rock guitar icon. The amazing thing is that, were it not for The Stooges’ unlikely reunion in the early ‘00s, Asheton’s death would probably have elicited only the scarcest and briefest obits beyond the ultra-specialized rock press – the likes of which would have made the recent en masse Ramones deaths seem like widely covered, major events. Ironically, I suppose even the worst-case scenario would be somewhat fitting, in the end, for a musician whose limited technical ability essentially defines what punk rock – in the most enduring definition of the oft-abused, and stylistically spread-thin term – is all about.

And in my opinion, no song exemplifies that genre’s pure, D.I.Y. (do-it-yourself) spirit better than The Stooges’ original recording of “I Wanna Be Your Dog” on their eponymous 1969 debut album.

Sure, the Ramones (one of my all-time favorite bands), the Sex Pistols, and any number of other major and obscure punk, pre- and post-punk bands have produced songs that were arguably just as timeless over the years (The Kingsmen’s “Louie Louie,” for example, being one of several worthy precursors), but I don’t think anything quite compares with Ron Asheton’s raw, uncivilized, and obviously untutored down-picked barre chords on “I Wanna Be Your Dog,” as complemented by that brilliantly droning open E-String. Unless it is Ron’s notably uncomplicated guitar solo, launched a few minutes later, which likewise stumbles (literally, it sounds like Asheton is stumbling along, trying to get the notes right) upon a supernatural ‘feel’ that music only seems capable of achieving in its most spontaneous and unrehearsed form.

The word ‘primitive’ always springs to mind when I think of that riff, solo, and song, and I mean that as a compliment because, curiously, it never sounded as great when bolstered with extra speed and adrenalin by the countless bands that later covered it; nor even the older Ron himself, on those oft-times transcendental Stooges reunion shows of the mid-‘00s. (Being a traditionalist music snob, I’m usually dismissive on principle of such belated reunions, even when most all of the original members are involved, but I’ll be the first to admit that I was powerless to resist the sheer brilliance of a reconvened Iggy Pop, Asheton brothers, and bassist Mike Watt.) Ron may have been a far better guitar player – technically speaking – by the time he was brought out of forced retirement for those new millennium tours; but his improved chops were simply no match for the poor playing and unadulterated spirit (emphasis on ‘adult’) captured by that long-gone, stoned-out teenager, and his fellow delinquent band members: Iggy Stooge, drummer Scott ‘Rock Action’ Asheton, and long-deceased bassist Dave Alexander.

No, “I Wanna Be Your Dog” is pretty close to untouchable where primal, non-conformist, and positively unique rock and roll statements are concerned.

And even though first impressions of this song will almost inevitably result from Iggy’s sublimely twisted lyrics (a topic we’ll save for discussion in another written appreciation, hopefully still many years in the future), for me it will always be Ron’s guitar work that holds the secret of its dark, elusive magic. As with all of Ron Asheton’s few but crucial contributions to the long thread of rock and roll history, this one will undoubtedly be eclipsed by Iggy’s blinding presence, but there are far worse fates than that, and ultimately who cares?

Immortality, by any measure of scale, still means ‘forever.’