Punk forefathers Iggy Pop and Lou Reed show their age

Iggy Pop, "Naughty Little Doggy," (Virgin)
Lou Reed, "Set the Twilight," (Warner Bros)

By SAM HURWITT

It's hard to imagine what the landscape of rock would look like today had Lou Reed and Iggy Pop not had a hand in shaping it. Reed and the Velvet Underground's drone, klank, and burble set the stage for everything from Siouxsie and the Banshees down through Nirvana, and Iggy and the Stooges practically created punk rock 'round about '69. Rock 'n' roll owes a great deal to Iggy and Lou; unfortunately, they're calling in their debts now.

"Naughty Little Doggy" (Virgin), Iggy Pop's latest, is definitely a dog of an album. Iggy tries to create a rock anthem with each cut, and ends up with a mostly homogeneous series of radio-friendly snoozers. He starts with "I Wanna Live," an upbeat, state-of-the-career address that recalls the depths of the Ramones' "Pet Sematary," followed by a Cramps-like ode to chickenhawking called "Pussy Walk."

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Next page: Reed sets the critic reeling