The music industry is in a much different place today than it was in 1973 when Iggy Pop burst onto the scene with his first solo record “Raw Power.” This debut album shocked the world with its ferocity and in-your-face rock and roll that elevated Iggy Pop to a cultural symbol.

Iggy Pop molded an image of shirtless and middle-finger-wielding rebellion that young people around the world strove to achieve. Iggy Pop is known today as the “Godfather of Punk” and even in his late sixties, he is a creative powerhouse.

In his 2016 album, “Post Pop Depression,” Iggy Pop teamed up with a new backing band that has given his music new meaning and relevancy. The collaboration included Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age and Matt Helders from Arctic Monkeys. These new faces offered a breath of fresh air to Iggy Pop’s discography.

“Post Pop Depression” is a complex album both sonically and thematically as it deals with many of Iggy Pop’s intensely personal thoughts and internal struggles. The nine-song project covers topics including death, relevancy, and the meaning of legacy in a gritty but surprisingly poignant way.

The first track “Break into Your Heart” sets the tone of the album, and its haunting presence leaves the listener with an extremely unsettling feeling. The chilling execution of the lyric “I’m gonna break into your heart…I’m gonna crawl under your skin” over a biting blues-inspired riff shows the listener that this is a new incarnation of Iggy Pop who is vulnerable but still as aggressive as he was thirty years prior.

There is a reversion to the Iggy Pop of old in the second track “Gardenia” where he laments about a woman who he longs to control but realizes that she, like most women (and men for that matter), is not as perfect as she seems. This track has a much brighter guitar tone and a shimmering catchy riff that is repeated throughout.

“American Valhalla” is the third track on the LP and it is the first that deals with the topic of Iggy Pop’s age and the fact that he will not be around forever. It begins with a haunting xylophone segment that is cut short and overpowered by abrasive bass that bombards the listener. Iggy Pop rips into the mix by singing extremely self-aware lines such as “But if I have outlived my use please drink my juice” and “Death is the pill that’s tough to swallow.” The song is meant to be Iggy Pop’s way of saying that he is on his way out and is trying to deal with the fact that he is not nearly as relevant now as he once was.

One of the most memorable moments on the album is during this song when Iggy Pop repeats “I’ve nothing but my name” several times with varying levels of intensity. This line makes the listener realize that Iggy Pop is dealing with a variety of internal struggles and is having a difficult time coming to terms with his new status in 2016.

The topic of mortality and loss of influence is revisited in the songs “In the Lobby” and “Vulture” where he explores his fear of death further. “In the Lobby” has a screeching and soaring riff that complements Iggy Pop’s dangerous presence in the song. He is waiting in a lobby where he confesses to hoping that he will not lose his life that night (under unknown circumstances to the listener) even though he knows someone around him is going to die inevitably. “Vulture” is Iggy Pop comparing himself to a bird of prey who is “no one’s friend” and is waiting for the lives of others to end.

Two other exemplary songs on the album, “Chocolate Drops” and “Paraguay,” are Iggy Pop’s way of giving advice to the new generation and his way of moving forward with his life.

“Chocolate Drops” can be a depressing or hopeful statement depending on interpretation.  It is Iggy Pop saying that “when you get to the bottom you’re near the top,”- in other words, you must fall to rise.

Iggy Pop muses that there is nothing in the stars or the dark and that it’s just some excuse to waste time and energy. Iggy is passing on his words of wisdom: dreaming accomplishes nothing. Hard work and a resilient attitude are the only ways to be successful.

In the album’s closer, “Paraguay,” Iggy Pop channels his vulnerability and ferocity into one of the most memorable and powerful tracks of 2016. He resolves that in order to escape the ever developing world he will move to Paraguay, where he will be able to escape the prying eyes of critics and the ever-changing world around him.

He realizes that it is his time to go and expresses his decision in the notable phrase “Why animals they do; never wonder why; just do what they goddamn do.” This line compares Iggy Pop to an animal. He just does what he does and devotes little energy to decision making or regret. This phrase is proclaimed in the final minutes of the song behind Iggy Pop’s final statement.  In a profanity-laden shouting match, Iggy Pop tells the world that he cannot take everyone around him being scared anymore and how he does not want to live in a society where people are slaves of technology and media.

Iggy Pop’s “Post Pop Depression” is a final proclamation of a fleeting era. Iggy Pop is the last surviving member of the Big Three (David Bowie, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop) and this album is his way of bringing closure to their collective legacy.

Much like Bowie did with “Blackstar” he provides a comprehensive and surprisingly solid and inventive album late in his career that serves as a final chapter. Unlike “Blackstar,” “Post Pop Depression” deals with death as something inevitable and terrifying. Bowie ends by telling his fans to “look up here I’m in Heaven” while Iggy Pop ends by commanding the listener to take their laptop and shove it down their throat. A line like this has come to be expected from Iggy Pop and its execution is like him flipping off the world for one last time.

Edward Benner is a contributor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.