Writing about Patti Smith is quite pointless of me really. Why? Well, no words are going to be good enough to describe how vital she is to music. No words are going to do her justice at all. She is just the ideal performer to look up to. Her words have taken over hearts and found lost souls. Her music means the world to so many of us.
There are no words that could possibly express all of this. However, I’m going to give it a go.
The amount of nights I have fallen asleep listening to her music or just gone for walks listening to her music. There is something so deeply empowering about Patti Smith. Her lyrics feel like a protest within you and you just have to get all of these feelings out, somehow. Someway. She starts this fire within you, and I’m pretty sure if you are one of the lucky ones to have been around when she first came out- you’ve still got that fire burning inside of you. I know if it was me, I would. But sadly, I was born in 1986.
She is not just a singer or a poet or whatever you want to call her. She’s everything, she’s an artist. A true artist. She is the Godmother of Punk- the most vital music genre of all time. The most powerful and rawest kinds of music ever created. The sheer angst and honesty in this genre mixed with love, passion and daily frustrations is something that anyone can relate to. Now, whether or not they allow themselves to be exposed to this is a different matter.
Patti is someone I personally I regard as the most important female in music. You see, a person’s gender is not important but sexism has and always will be around in music- and daily life sadly. However, Patti is this strong figure that I feel more and more females should look up to and admire. She never had to expose herself to be heard. She never had to sleep with the CEO of a record label to make it. All she did was do something she loved with no compromises. All she did was work hard and never gave up. She never took the easy way out. She stuck at it and in the process become so important to so many. This something that should be praised not ignored.
When I think of Patti I think of someone I hope I can sort of be like. I don’t mean being the founder of a music genre or famous- but strong. I’m fully aware that this contradicts my article on looking up to famous people but let me explain.
Patti is a figure that I feel anyone can relate to- so to see someone like her still going after all these years- that is something to be admired. Her strength, her words, her art- it’s a lifeline for most. Myself included.
Her music is a crutch. Her music opens you up into a world that you could possibly be forbidden to visit. The world she has created with her art is something many have tried to do, but not quite got there.
You sit back and listen to her music and you just go some place. It’s astounding.
I remember watching Dream Of Life and just being in awe of her. Her presence affects others in this angelic way. It is almost as if she is super-human. Maybe she is. She has influenced so many from Shirley Manson to Morrissey to Michael Stipe- all three remarkable musicians who are equally as important to the music industry as Patti is.
There will always be another *insert generic pop singer’s name* but there will never ever be another Patti Smith. Who else could possibly do what she has done again? Nobody. See, she’s that special and that well respected that folks know it just cannot be done. It’d be rude to even attempt to do so.
One aspect of Patti that I adore the most is her poetry. For my dissertation at University (2009) I wrote and article on Punk and Poetry. A lot of Patti was mentioned; a lot of Arthur Rimbaud was mentioned. The way she writes is so eloquent, so pure, and so true. I adore her book, Auguries Of Innocence. The words she uses and how she uses them is utterly enthralling. You feel as if you are in a different era when reading her work in the book. It is just glorious.
Her poetry should be studied in schools, colleges, universities. Her words are like a spiritual guidance at times- not only with her poetry, but her songs.
The songs she has covered from Gloria to W hen Doves Cry, the way she sings them- she makes them her own. That is what makes a cover acceptable and genuine. That is what makes a cover work. Her cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit, for me- is out of this world. I was never a fan of Nirvana, but her cover is so passionate. Kurt sang it with frustration, Patti sings it with passion. You believe in all the words that fall so freely and gracefully out of her mouth because of all the heart and soul within them.
So many musicians have over and over again proven to be hypocrites who do not believe in the words they give us.
This isn’t the case with Patti. If religion is something that you believe in to have your soul saved- then Punk did that for me. There’s no doubt about it. It is the only genre that has truly grabbed my heart and kept it. I couldn’t imagine feeling this way about another genre. Yes I adore all kinds of music and singers- but Punk is the one that just makes my heart skip a beat, like a lover is supposed to.
Fall in love or lose myself in Punk? Give me the latter.
Thank you Patti for being an inspiration. Thank you Patti for Punk and poetry. Thank you Patti for your words and music.
Beat In My Bones. 