By: Greg Milner

All you really need to know about the way music affected a young Iggy Pop is that he had the same reaction to both Link Wray and John Coltrane: "What the fuck is this?" He's been inspiring the same response in rock fans for more than three decades, first with late-'60s/early-'70s punk legends the Stooges and later with his influential solo albums. During a break in the recording of his latest, Skull Ring, the indomitable Ig called from his Miami Beach home raring to talk records: "Can I just take a deep breath and start going?"

A. THE CHIFFONS "He's So Fine" (Laurie, 1963) "During my formative years ('64-'66), I was into the American-daydream 'emotionalistic' approach to youth music, as exemplified by the girl groups. 'He's So Fine' is basically ghetto music--this guy she's talking about is not a Ph.D. He's not even nine-to-five--he's just five. [The Ronettes'] 'Be My Baby' was another one. I remember being down in the basement in the 11th grade, having more of a sexual encounter than I'd ever had in my life, and I kept jumping up to put that single on again!"