Now that he’s gotten that surreal American Idol performance out of the way, Iggy Pop’s schedule is wide open for a pair of future studio releases that couldn’t be much more stylistically different: the first being a follow-up to 2009’s soft, jazz-inspired LP, Préliminaires, followed by a new Stooges record — the band’s first studio effort since the passing of guitarist Ron Asheton and reunion with Raw Power axeman James Williamson.

As the Guardian reports, the former album will showcase Pop’s Serge Gainsbourg-esque baritone on soft-rock covers of “American and French … classic tunes,” such as Fred Neil’s “Everybody’s Talking,” the Beatles’ “Michelle,” and songs by Gainsbourg himself. That Hal Cragin-produced set is due this winter. Meanwhile, Williamson and Pop have begun work on new Stooges material for a possible release in 2012 or the following year.

Before the summer began, we reported on the exciting news that Iggy Pop was in talks with original Stooges guitarist James Williamson for a possible reunion of the Raw Power lineup (the recently passed Ron Asheton played guitar on the first two Stooges records, but switched to bass for their 3rd album and Williamson took over the 6-string). Well, I’m happy to report that not only is the Raw Power reunion happening, but we’ve got dates: On May 2nd and 3rd of next year, at All Tomorrow’s Parties in London, the Stooges will play their classic album Raw Power in its entirety, Rolling Stone reports.

“[Iggy] asked me if I wanted to play guitar again,” Williamson said. “I was about to take an early retirement from my job in Silicon Valley, so I figured ‘What the hell, let’s do it.’”

Though, as Iggy said previously, “Raw Power would be the repertoire” for the reunion, Williamson has begun rehearsals with the band (minus Pop) and will be joined by his former frontman shortly to rehearse “songs from Raw Power, The Stooges, Fun House and Kill City.”

Between this story and that Jack White/Keith Richards collaboration, this week’s news is making me feel pretty good about the state of rock music.

I sure hope Iggy Pop keeps doing promotional interviews for his new jazzy album Préliminaires because these quotes are starting to congeal into a one-man crusade against modern rock. Limp Bizkit and Billy Corgan needn’t take Pop’s recent snub too personally though, as he has now slagged off the entire rock genre. Are you taking notes, Elijah Wood?

In a Q&A with NY Mag’s Mike Flaherty, Pop said he is “really irritated” with the state of rock and roll, adding, “I think it’s now officially the world’s worst form of music. Even a mid-level cumbia band in Venezuela sounds better than the biggest-selling rock bands.” Pop thinks rock doesn’t buck the system like it used to, saying that it’s only “there to comfort people. And to keep things quiet. It’s just not much fun.”

He’s probably just paving the way for that Stooges Raw Power reunion, but in the meantime watch Pop refusing to “comfort people” with the Brighton Port Authority on Monday night’s Letterman here.

If Elijah Wood can actually pull off playing Iggy Pop, just give him an Oscar, I say, because I honestly can’t see it happening. I do admire him for trying, but this isn’t Heath Ledger as the Joker territory (or even Hayden Christensen as Bob Dylan, etc). We’re talking about the Godfather of Punk here and even the man himself is opposed to the project. “They can wait for me to be dead,” Pop said in later March. “F*ck you, I won’t do your biopic promo.”

Though Wood is perhaps unfazed by Pop’s objections, he is not unafraid: “I think that the [Iggy Pop biopic] project will see the light of day,” Wood told Nylon. “I’m really excited about it, it just scares the sh*t out of me.”

Trust me, Frodo, we’re all a bit scared about this one.

After the first two Stooges albums, the band almost broke up, but they settled for a lineup change instead: Ron Asheton, who played guitar on The Stooges and Fun House was switched to bass and James Williamson played all the guitar parts for Raw Power, an album billed as Iggy and The Stooges.

The Australian reports (via Undercover) that Iggy has met with James Williamson for a likely reunion of most of the Raw Power lineup, sans the recently passed Ron Asheton. “There is always Iggy and the Stooges, the second growth of the band,” Pop told The Australian’s Iain Shedden. “I had a meeting in LA last week with James (Williamson). It was the first time we had seen each other in 30 years. So we talked about doing something together. Raw Power would be the repertoire.”

Between this likely Raw Power reunion, a possible Christmas album, and Iggy’s jazz-inspired album Préliminaires (due out next week), it looks like the Godfather of Punk is still a force to be reckoned with.

Iggy Pop has put another nail in the coffin of the rumored biopic starring Elijah Wood as the living punk legend. Speaking at a press conference for his new album Préliminaires, Pop was asked, ”Is the biopic going on?”

“I don’t think so,” Pop replied. “I reacted bad. It opens with my mother and father worrying about me. My father was alive at the time and it felt like an intrusion. They can wait for me to be dead. F*ck you, I won’t do your biopic promo.”

Something tells me sending Frodo on a promo tour for a film about the Godfather of Punk would be a tough sell.