It depends on the perception. Of what the trembling soul does to the world as it reveals itself before us in all its glory. In Just Kids, perhaps the greatest piece of literature ever written by a rock star, the great singer Patti Smith tells of how she used to take her mother for a walk in a park along the Humboldt River when she was a child.
Although she has only vague memories, Smith writes, she still thinks of seeing a swan on the water – how it flapped its wings and soared majestically into the sky. “Seeing him gave me an impulse I had no words for, a desire to speak of the swan, to say something about its whiteness, the explosiveness of its movements, the slow beating of its wings.”
Great singer, even greater poet
It is the primal scene of an artist who has relied on inspiration all her life. Patti Smith felt the raw energy of the great poets, the rock musicians – and soaked it up. Her admiration for Arthur Rimbaud and Jim Morrison flowed directly into her lyrics, which even with her magical debut “Horses” (1975) could hardly conceal the fact that here a writer had simply cleverly changed the medium in order to set her own necromancy to music.
And what a gifted writer Smith is: back in 1977 she brought out a little marvel called Babel, filled with brittle notes and tender, thoughtful poems. Smith dedicated songs to her heroes (like William Blake, “My Blakean Year,” on 2005’s “Trampin'”) or appropriated the raw energy of all the musical stars she fished from musician heaven (Van Morrison’s “Gloria,” of course, but also “After The Goldrush” by Neil Young in a really touching version on their album “Banga”). Her often sparse reflections were never just an expression of a purely intellectual desire.
Art principle: humility
Smith has always shown an almost childlike pleasure in reflecting the world of art and music and above all in literature and shyly inscribing himself in it. In Stockholm, Bob represented Dylan at the Nobel Prize for Literature (because he was shy) and recited his 1963 poem “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall.”
Suddenly, Smith didn’t want to say the words so confidently. “I’m sorry, I’m so nervous,” she said. And in her eyes flashed what the musician had always been basic principle her art: humility. Without a second’s hesitation, Smith managed to put herself on an equal footing with Bob Dylan, whom she had adored since she was young, while invoking the dignity that comes with the moment of accepting such an award.
Anyone can do art
“Godmother Of Punk” – that’s what Patti Smith, born in Chicago in 1946, has been called for decades, also because far too few musicians have had the chance to assert their imaginary worlds on the big stage. Smith, himself an icon of the women’s movement, has always regretted that. Her gift to the world is the idea that anyone can make music. Gender, mood, intelligence, skin color, social background: it doesn’t matter.
Michael Stipe, who repeatedly made it clear how much he owed Smith as a musician, repeatedly emphasized in interviews how much he admired her voice. “It just sounded totally guttural,” says the former REM singer, “like body noises you’re making.” Shaman Smith learned that vocal anarchy from Grace Slick. Smith: “She gave us permission to bring a whole new level of strength and intelligence. She created a space for others to explore.”
old age?
Her voice, which eerily amplifies the horror of a young woman’s suicide on “Redondo Beach” and lends an almost aggressive solemnity to “Because The Night” – her only big hit – has softened over the years. Although “People Have The Power” cannot be missed at any concert, Smith has long fulfilled the role of a mystic living in harmony with herself and the world, who transmits the powerful spiritual legacy of rock music to people like a medium.
The pathos that the singer, who has been severely tested by life, invokes has a weightlessness that is still fascinating, especially in uncomfortable times, and became a role model for a whole generation. “I haven’t fucked much with the past, but I’ve fucked plenty with the future”says her song “Babelogue” – and this credo will hopefully help the influential rock musician, poet, photographer, performance artist and battle singer to mediate between dream and reality for many years to come.
In any case, a world without Patti Smith would be difficult to imagine.
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