Sometime in the late 70s, a friend of mine was going to a book signing of Patti Smith's up in L.A., for her book, Babel. I asked him to pick one up for me, and he did, giving it to me the next time we hooked up. When I opened it and read the inscription, the few words said more to me than her first two LPs. It said, "To Tom, Tongue of Love, Patti Smith". I remember thinking, "what kind of a person writes that to a total stranger?" To write that to some unknown person sets you up for all sorts of misinterpretations or possible eye rolling. It would leave you vulnerable, to whatever the reader would take from it. That's when it became apparent that Patti Smith didn't shy away from other people's perceptions of her. With those few words, Patti Smith had nailed it. Let them think what they will think. Ever since then, I've always had a soft spot for her. Good or bad, she's always done her thing, without fear of criticism, or cynicism.
I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking of her as some sort of cool older sister or cousin. When she does something good, I think "good for her." When she does something that isn't my cup of tea, I just figure that Patti knows Patti best. But I've always had the utmost respect for her, as a performer and as an individual. Because she has shown, time and time again, that rock n' roll is not some sort of mindless teenager shit. It can be a party, it can be art, and it can be your life. But most of all, it can be liberating. I am not in love with Patti Smith. I'm in love with the spirit she represents.
Here's a bunch of Patti Smith stuff, at both ends of a thirty five year span. The earliest is a poetry reading from 1971, one of the first times that Lenny Kaye accompanied her. Though I never thought about her sounding old, or worldly, on these she sounds so goddamned young. Just listen and you'll see what I mean. There's some other readings as well, live stuff from 1976, and, at the bottom, a link to her final gig at CBGB's, just before it closed, in 2006. And the "Be My Baby" clip is only a short segment, in an otherwise not-my-thing video, from some party. Just skip to 1:10 to watch about a minute of a buoyant Patti Smith. I haven't checked out all of the stuff posted at these sites, so you'll want to follow the links for more. There's a ton of it.
Here's a bunch of Patti Smith stuff, at both ends of a thirty five year span. The earliest is a poetry reading from 1971, one of the first times that Lenny Kaye accompanied her. Though I never thought about her sounding old, or worldly, on these she sounds so goddamned young. Just listen and you'll see what I mean. There's some other readings as well, live stuff from 1976, and, at the bottom, a link to her final gig at CBGB's, just before it closed, in 2006. And the "Be My Baby" clip is only a short segment, in an otherwise not-my-thing video, from some party. Just skip to 1:10 to watch about a minute of a buoyant Patti Smith. I haven't checked out all of the stuff posted at these sites, so you'll want to follow the links for more. There's a ton of it.
~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Patti Smith, reading, St. Marks Church, NYC, Dec. 25, 1971
Patti Smith, Max's Kansas City, NYC, 1974:
We're Gonna Have A Real Good Time Together mp3 at Ubu Web
Piss Factory mp3 at Ubu Web
Neo Boy/Hey Joe mp3 at Ubu Web
Eight more at Ubu Web
Patti Smith, reading, St. Marks Church, NYC, 1975
Patti Smith - Histories of the Universe mp3 at Ubu Web
Patti Smith, live at the London Roundhouse, 1976:
Free Money mp3 at ROIO
Pissing In A River mp3 at ROIO
Pumping (My Heart) mp3 at ROIO
Ain’t It Strange mp3 at ROIO
Gloria mp3 at ROIO
Time Is On My Side mp3 at ROIO
More live stuff, from Central Park, 1975, and two interviews at ROIO.
Video:
Patti Smith's final CBGB's performance (2006) at Beware of the Blog
Patti Smith - Be My Baby, LMA Party, Fashion Week, 2010 at YouTube. Note: skip to 1:10 in the video, to avoid all the nonsense.
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