Watch Iggy Pop, Josh Homme Debut ‘Gardenia’ on ‘Colbert’
Iggy Pop and Josh Homme unleashed “Gardenia,” a slice of stratospheric punk-funk from their new collaborative LP, Thursday on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. The six-piece band debuted the Queens of the Stone Age-styled track, dressed in sharp black suits with contrasting white and red shirts.
Pop crooned a description of the title character throughout, adding on the chorus, “All I want to do is tell Gardenia what to do tonight,” over thumping bass and slashing electric guitars. Homme added harmony vocals and threw in a few handclaps.
Pop and Homme also sat down with Colbert for their first public interview as a duo, explaining the secret origins of their collaboration, Post Pop Depression, out March 18th. “I proposed [the idea] to him by text from my flip-phone,” Pop said, with a laugh. “I just said, ‘I thought maybe we could write something and record it. I didn’t want it to put it in a box, and neither did he.” “We corresponded by text and prose poem for awhile,” Homme added. “I write poetry. It’s a wonderful way to get to know somebody.”
The nine-track LP was primarily recorded at Homme’s Joshua Tree home studio, with a backing band including guitarist-keyboardist Dean Fertita (QOTSA, Dead Weather) and Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders. “It’s easy to keep a secret when there’s no one there to tell,” Homme told Colbert. “When you make a record and no one’s aware that you’re doing it, you’re kind of making it for each other. You’re kind of there to excite and dazzle each other.”
The Queens/Eagles of Death Metal member also dished on the surreal but “wonderful” experience of having the punk legend as a roommate. “I’m such a huge fan, and to be with Iggy and see him in the morning with a kimono … It’s just enough to leave something to the imagination,” he said. “And I’ve got a really good imagination.”