Welsh Rich Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 From The Guardian today... On a cold morning in 1955, walking to Sunday school, I was drawn to the voice of Little Richard wailing Tutti Frutti from the interior of a local boy's makeshift clubhouse. So powerful was the connection that I let go of my mother's hand. Rock'n'roll. It drew me from my path to a sea of possibilities. It sheltered and shattered me, from the end of childhood through a painful adolescence. I had my first altercation with my father when the Rolling Stones made their debut on the Ed Sullivan Show. Rock'n'roll was mine to defend. It strengthened my hand and gave me a sense of tribe as I boarded a bus from south Jersey to freedom in 1967. Rock'n'roll, at that time, was a fusion of intimacies. Repression bloomed into rapture like raging weeds shooting through cracks in the cement. Our music provided a sense of communal activism. Our artists provoked our ascension into awareness as we ran amok in a frenzied state of grace. My late husband, Fred Sonic Smith, then of Detroit's MC5, was a part of the brotherhood instrumental in forging a revolution: seeking to save the world with love and the electric guitar. He created aural autonomy yet did not have the constitution to survive all the complexities of existence. Before he died, in the winter of 1994, he counselled me to continue working. He believed that one day I would be recognised for my efforts and, though I protested, he quietly asked me to accept what was bestowed - gracefully - in his name. Last night I joined REM, the Ronettes, Van Halen and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On the eve of this event I asked myself many questions. Should an artist working within the revolutionary landscape of rock accept laurels from an institution? Should laurels be offered? Am I a worthy recipient? I have wrestled with these questions and my conscience leads me back to Fred and those like him - the maverick souls who may never be afforded such honours. Thus in his name I will accept with gratitude. Fred Sonic Smith was of the people, and I am none but him: one who has loved rock'n'roll and crawled from the ranks to the stage, to salute history and plant seeds for the erratic magic landscape of the new guard. Because its members will be the guardians of our cultural voice. The internet is their CBGB. Their territory is global. They will dictate how they want to create and disseminate their work. They will, in time, make breathless changes in our political process. They have the technology to unite and create a new party, to be vigilant in their choice of candidates, unfettered by corporate pressure. Their potential power to form and reform is unprecedented. Human history abounds with idealistic movements that rise, then fall in disarray. The children of light. The journey to the east. The summer of love. The season of grunge. But just as we seem to repeat our follies, we also abide. Rock'n'roll drew me from my mother's hand and led me to experience. In the end it was my neighbours who put everything in perspective. An approving nod from the old Italian woman who sells me pasta. A high five from the postman. An embrace from the notary and his wife. And a shout from the sanitation man driving down my street: "Hey, Patti, Hall of Fame. One for us." I just smiled, and I noticed I was proud. One for the neighbourhood. My parents. My band. One for Fred. And anybody else who wants to come along. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
M. (hristine Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 Patti Smith is the one true poetess of mmmmy generation. I love her. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
M. (hristine Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 Dancing Barefoot she is benediction she is addicted to thee she is the root connection she is connecting with he here I go and I don't know why I fell so ceaselessly could it be he's taking over me... I'm dancing barefoot heading for a spin some strange music draws me in makes me come on like some heroin/e she is sublimation she is the essence of thee she is concentrating on he, who is chosen by she here I go and I don't know why I spin so ceaselessly,could it be he's taking over me... she is re-creation she, intoxicated by thee she has the slow sensation that he is levitating with she ... here I go and I don't know why, I spin so ceaselessly, 'til I lose my sense of gravity... (oh god I fell for you ...) the plot of our life sweats in the dark like a face the mystery of childbirth, of childhood itself grave visitations what is it that calls to us? why must we pray screaming? why must not death be redefined? we shut our eyes we stretch out our arms and whirl on a pane of glass an afixiation a fix on anything the line of life the limb of a tree the hands of he and the promise that s/he is blessed among women. (oh god I fell for you ...) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ction Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 I don't get Patti Smith. At all. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 I don't get Patti Smith. At all.You had to be there..... LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
P Dub Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 She is so f@cking cool!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kathyp Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 She was in last month's Oprah magazine. Sell out? Nah... (Honestly, I love Patti Smith. Saw her at the Pageant in 2004. Best rock 'n' roll I ever saw.) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmait Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 She was both unlistenable and unwatchable at the RnR Hall of Fame ceremony last night. Why play two cover songs at your own induction (even if Because the Night is one of her hits)? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Heartbreak Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 That's what people know her for, so I'd expect her to do it, too. She did a great job of it back in the day: Patti Smith - Because the Night Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mountain bed Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 A beautiful letter by Patti. The ability of music, and RXR in particular, to transport you from the mundane realities of everyday life is something we all know about and believe in (hopefully!). Even though her music is an acquired taste to be sure, there are few folks around that are more literate and/or thought-provoking. Raise a glass to Patti (and Fred). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 Patti remains one of my all time favorite artists, ever. LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 I don't get Patti Smith. At all. Me either. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jahilia Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 Just yesterday I was listening to a Fresh Air (re-broadcast) interview with Patti Smith. I had forgotton just how good Gone Again was - I enjoy it more than any of her earlier stuff. I haven't been impressed with her more recent stuff, but her new covers album looks like it might be good. I think her version of Wicked Messenger is the only Dylan cover that is better than the original. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
imsjry Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 Me either. Like you don't personally like her, or you don't understand why people do? Because if you don't "get" why people like her, I can help you with that.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rghammo Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 Horses is fabulous. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 Like you don't personally like her, or you don't understand why people do? Because if you don't "get" why people like her, I can help you with that.... I don't like her music. I don't see her as anything special. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 I don't like her music. I don't see her as anything special.I can understand the first statement, which you are certainly entitled to feel. The second can only be explained in terms of her historical importance, which is undeniable. LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tongue-tied lightning Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 it's ok not to like her music, but she is SPECIAL, we are all special, sir. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ction Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 Charles Manson is historically important, and I don't like his records either. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 Charles Manson is historically important, and I don't like his records either.Oh please....at least Patti put out real records and had a pretty good track record as a poet. LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 I just have never seen that - I mean, she worships Jim Morrison, Hendrix, Dylan, etc. I am down with that. Does she have a sound that no-one else has? Is she a strong woman in an area dominated by men? I mean - I know these things - sort of. I am more down with women such as Laura Nyro, Johi Mitchell, Neko Case, etc. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 Is she a strong woman in an area dominated by men?At the time, definitely. Aside from Joni Mitchell, who was basically a folk singer so no big threat, only Laura Nyro was a figure of equal importance in terms of being a singer/songwriter/rockandroller. She also predated the NYC punk scene of the 70s. Had she been just another chick singer, she would never have made it to the rock hall I don't think. LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ction Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 Oh please....at least Patti put out real records and had a pretty good track record as a poet. LouieB And I don't get her. At all. I'm not sure why you care...you probably don't view bands like Bad Brains and Minor Threat as being anywhere near as important as I do. And that's really pretty much ok. Differents strokes, different folks, etc. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 Besides The Ramones, Blondie, and VU from time to time - I am not really down with that whole NY punk/post punk stuff in general. Maybe that's what my deal is - Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 And I don't get her. At all. I'm not sure why you care...you probably don't view bands like Bad Brains and Minor Threat as being anywhere near as important as I do. And that's really pretty much ok. Differents strokes, different folks, etc.Hey I don't care either way. No biggie and I am sure Patti doesn't care either. I think Patti is really a case of having to have been there. At the time not much else was happening and certainly women didn't do what she did. Perhaps she is somewhat famous for being famous I suppose; I won't deny that. Some of her self importance was self generated. But lots of us still like her records as well. I had never heard anything like Horses when it came out. And I still like both Easter and Wave quite a bit. Radio Ethiopia is a total crazy mess. The newer material is only good if you like the older stuff I think. LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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