“New Atlantis” by Iggy Pop

“New Atlantis” is a song in which seemingly Iggy Pop goes comparing Miami, the city he’s lived in for about the last 30 years, to Atlantis. Atlantis, as you probably already know, is a civilization of lore which reputedly sank into the ocean. By and large its existence is considered to be a myth, but there are a significant number of people who believe that at one time, this landmass was actually around.

In terms of its mythological value, as relayed by the Greek philosopher Plato, the fate of Atlantis is supposed to represent what happens when a nation becomes too cocky and full of itself. And likewise this location that Iggy is referring to – “New Atlantis”, which again is presumably Miami – is found in a world which reads as if it is doomed in general. So it’s almost as if this track is Miami’s equivalent of “Hotel California“, if you will.

That said, Iggy does ultimately close out by stating his affection for the Magic City, despite all of its vices. Indeed, he has described this track as being “a love song to Miami and a homage” to a song Scottish singer Donovan dropped back in the day titled “Atlantis” (1968). 

There actually are some similarities between the styles of those pieces. For instance, even though the titular location is depicted as being doomed in Donovan’s song, he still expresses a desire to be there. And Pop appears to be more or less saying the same thing, that Miami isn’t perfect, but still it’s the city where he wants to be.

“New Atlantis, lying low (lying low)
New Atlantis, sinking low (sinking low)”

Release Date of “New Atlantis”

Iggy Pop released “New Atlantis” as the third song from his 19th studio project, “Every Loser”. This track was issued together with its album on January 6 of 2023.

Credits

The American singer authored this song along with its producer Watt, who is credited as the sole producer of the above-named album. They received songwriting assistance from the following other songwriters:

• Duff McKagan
• Chad Smith

The “Every Loser” Album

As mentioned earlier, the “Every Loser” project was released during the early days of 2023. Prior to its release, Iggy and his team issued two singles from the album.

The first single was released on October 28 of 2022. It goes by the title “Frenzy“. The second single, “Strung Out Johnny“, followed a few months later on December 12 of 2022.

“Every Loser” was put out by Atlantic Records in conjunction with Gold Tooth.