Music suggestions like early Stooges

January 30, 2015 12:00 PM

What bands can you recommend that sound similar to early "Fun House" era Stooges?

I've been on a Stooges kick lately, especially "Fun House". What bands/songs can you recommend that have this similar grimy, jammy, funk-punk sound? Any era, new or old is acceptable...

posted by subtlemel to Media & Arts (21 answers total)

MC5.
posted by Sara C. at 12:10 PM on January 30, 2015 [4 favorites]

Although they're significantly more art-damaged, the 2nd and 3rd Chrome LPs, "Alien Soundtracks" and "Half-Machine Lip Moves" echo the "Fun House"-era sound. Basically, The Stooges on a near-lethal dose of blotter acid.
posted by ryanshepard at 12:21 PM on January 30, 2015 [2 favorites]

none of this is really punk, but i think this is all stuff that seems to share attributes with the stooges:
jimi hendrix (cuz o' the dirty funk)
wolfmother (cuz o' the funky grime)
psychocandy (cuz o' the fuzzy jam rock)

also, maybe just other stuff by iggy pop?
posted by mrmanvir at 12:31 PM on January 30, 2015

The Dirtbombs
posted by marxchivist at 12:58 PM on January 30, 2015

Death
posted by Huck500 at 1:06 PM on January 30, 2015 [5 favorites]

If you haven't heard it, the Complete Funhouse Sessions is pretty amazing, at least for one listen. The mp3 is on Amazon for $100, but there's also this...
posted by Huck500 at 1:16 PM on January 30, 2015

If you like Protomartyr's cover of "Down on the Street" you might like the rest of their stuff.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 1:17 PM on January 30, 2015

Destroy All Monsters is more on the punk side. A little less party, a little more misanthropic.
posted by rhizome at 1:23 PM on January 30, 2015

The Ty Segall Band made a modern nod to Fun House called Slaughterhouse and it is still the standout among his large body of work, and if that scratches your itch, check out side project Fuzz (top contender for "does what it says on the tin" band name of the current decade)
posted by slow graffiti at 1:23 PM on January 30, 2015 [2 favorites]

The Butthole Surfers Locust Abortion Technician
posted by Mr. Yuck at 1:57 PM on January 30, 2015 [1 favorite]

More shoegaze/drone and less punk

Wooden Shjips. Try "Loose Lips."
White Hills. Try "Forever in Space (Enlightened)."

Spacemen 3 loved the Stooges and covered "Little Doll" and "T.V. Eye" (as well as tracks by similar bands such as MC5 and the The 13th Floor Elevators). Generally on the slower and spacier side but try "Losing Touch With My Mind."

For more on the punk side try The Gun Club. "For the Love of Ivy."
posted by mountmccabe at 4:03 PM on January 30, 2015 [2 favorites]

Jay Reatard

The Oblivians
posted by vibrotronica at 4:10 PM on January 30, 2015

New York Dolls — s/t
Radio Birdman — Radio Appears
Rolling Stones — Exile on Main Street
Johnny Thunders — LAMF
Patti Smith — Horses
Blue Cheer — Vincebus Eruptum
Royal Trux — Thank You
Comets on Fire — Blue Cathedral
Mudhoney — Superfuzz Bigmuff
The OhSees — The Master's Bedroom is Worth Spending a Night In

(I'll think of more later no doubt — Funhouse is one of the best albums ever and a huge influence on a lot of what I like.)
posted by klangklangston at 4:25 PM on January 30, 2015 [4 favorites]

Monks - Black Monk Time

The Pretty Things - Come See Me, Don't Bring Me Down, etc. (More garage, less funk-punk. They went on to create one of the first concept albums in 'S.F. Sorrow', which is pretty trippy. Bowie was a big fan, back in the day, and covered a couple of their songs on Pin-ups.)

Simply Saucer - Cyborgs Revisited (Just discovered these guys; from the youtube description: "Simply Saucer is a Canadian rock band formed during the 1970s. The band's style has been described as a hybrid of proto-punk and psychedelia and they form a "Rust-belt punk" style, along with The Stooges, MC5 and Alice Cooper.")
posted by Bron at 6:08 PM on January 30, 2015

You might like Zig Zags!
posted by Rube R. Nekker at 8:55 AM on January 31, 2015

I think a lot of No-Wave from the late 70s / early 80s was specifically influenced by Funhouse in a way that much of the Stooges-influenced bands listed here were not. As you say Funhouse was funky and weird in a way that the other Stooges albums aren't--the slower, almost classic rock beats plus the wailing sax and guitars plus Iggys off-time ranting is singularly disconcerting for those who want more 1969. So check out mid-70s Pere Ubu, The Contortions/James White and the Blacks, DNA, Rys Chatham, Del-Byzanteens, and the like, and then later No-wave influenced funk-indie like the Big Boys, Flipper and Live Skull.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 4:57 AM on February 1, 2015 [2 favorites]

Heh when I wrote that I didn't even realize John Zorn covered TV Eye in the 90s. So, yeah, Funhouse had a baby and it was called NoWave.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 4:59 AM on February 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

And how can I forget the Birthday Party? Especially those bass parts, and Nick's Iggy preening.

Oh and late era Black Flag and early Rollins Band definitely more Fun House than Raw Power.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 5:11 AM on February 1, 2015

MX-80, Debris, Rocket from the Tombs, early Pere Ubu...and nthing Birthday Party, Chrome, some Patti Smith possibly, and MC5. It's a stretch, but you might like Moonshake too. And there's a venn diagram transfer type thing going on perhaps between Stranglers and Doors and Stooges, where maybe that translates to something useful to ya or not.
posted by ifjuly at 8:21 AM on February 1, 2015

Oh, and the (underrated!) Electric Eels.
posted by ifjuly at 8:22 AM on February 1, 2015

Response by poster: Thanks everyone! Digging all of this, especially Death, Ty Segall, and Rys Chatham.
posted by subtlemel at 12:08 PM on February 3, 2015