Belinda Discovers Her Idol: Iggy Pop (?!)

So, if you had to guess Belinda Carlisle's main musical influence, you might guess, oh I don't know, say the Beach Boys, or Carole King, or maybe Diana Ross, somebody like that. I can tell you who you would probably not guess: Iggy and the Stooges. But you would be mistaken:

I felt like my whole life changed the day I came across the cover of Iggy and the Stooges' Raw Power. Time stopped as I lifted the album from the bin and stared at the cover, a photo of a pale, painfully thin, shirtless guy staring off into the distance. He was hanging onto a standup microphone as if it was preventing him from falling over. The effect was ghoulish, dangerous, frightening, and about a thousand other things all at the same time. I thought, What is this?

I didn't have the money to buy the album. But then someone brought the album to art class and I got to hear "Gimme Danger," "Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell," "Penetration," "Search and Destroy," and "Death Trip." I looked around and saw that most of the other kids in class were reacting like me: grinning as the raw, sludgy loud music shook the floor, the walls, our desks, our chairs, and our brains.

So, if you're keeping score at home: the woman who sang songs like this...



... claims that the very music that inspired her to become a performer was this:



Draw your own conclusions.