Against an entertainment industry that seems so wedded to the cosmetics industry that a woman’s face is likely to be the only thing she doesn’t bare, Patti Smith’s appearance is a shocker. She is well-scrubbed without being wholesome, with a defiantly naked face that challenges prevailing notions of gender and beauty. She wears a single-breasted black suit jacket with a… return to article
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Reader Comments (9)Page 1 of 1 pagesGreat article about Patti Smith. I grew up in Michigan listening to whatever Lester Bangs told me to listen to in Creem Magazine. Patti is an American artist whom should be held above all the detrious produced by politic, religion and music indutry greed. Her music and poetry serves to frighten and sooth. Her music has worked a savage canvas for Oliver Stone in Natural Born Killers. Also Marlyn Manson covers her “Rock and Roll Nigger” with the brutal grace of someone who knows from the outside. Her cover of “My Generation” gives me goosebumps, and I listen to it every time I think the world may be getting the best of me.
Posted by John Staber on Dec 1, 2003 at 6:57 PM What you see is what you get, Patti has always been like that. She spits read sings spits not contrived but normal like any other person. I do not think there is a person on earth that has never spit or spat? She is passionate about her work almost as passionate as she is towards people. She is very spiritual and very humble and genuine. She shows this through her music poetry and love towards people. Her eyes are wide open she is involved in humanity and like me cannot stand the waste of human life for any reason. I defend her not because she needs defended but because she deserves it. I have become more aware of our human rights. Rights that are being slowly taken away and because of her I look for ways to try and fix the problems instead of ignoring them. I have been a fan for a very long time and have met her on several occasions and each time I have met her she reinforces these convictions her’s and more so mine. We need more people like her to be out front and not afraid to stand up for their beliefs. What ever they may be especially disagreeing with a President that has an agenda and is capable of justifying the loss of life and liberty and selling it to a country that follows along blindly. It is true People have the Power and as a solid unit anything can be done. Living in a country that I believe to be free, freedom of thought, freedom of speech and freedom to change. I feel privileged, however when these simple freedoms are constantly being taken away I find that you must be aware at all times of the things going on around us. We have a Government that hides issues and like Governments before them passes bills and laws that are taking away our basic human rights. The main problem is we do not find these laws out until it is to late. Not that these laws being passed such as the Patriotism Bill are done so illegally. It is like so many other laws that citizens do not become aware of these rights to privacy until it affects them. By then it is to late because it is a law. While we still can, and it is essential to be aware of local, State and U.S Government. Yes people have the power but for how long and when we finally do come together will it be to late? I do not think so, as long reporters talk about the message our Poets/Rockers are saying instead of how they spit or dress or not wear make up. Like Patti would say drink water and brush your teeth. I do not find that hard to take in. Thank You David Alan Flynn
Posted by David A Flynn on Dec 1, 2003 at 10:57 PM What you see is what you get, Patti has always been like that. She spits, read sings, spits not contrived but normal like any other person. I do not think there is a person on earth that has never spit or spat? She is passionate about her work almost as passionate as she is toward people. She is very spiritual and very humble and genuine. She shows this through her music poetry and love towards people. Her eyes are wide open she is involved in humanity and like me cannot stand the waste of human life for any reason. I defend her not because she needs defended but because she deserves it. I have become more aware of our human rights. Rights that are being slowly taken away and because of her I look for ways to try and fix the problems instead of ignoring them. I have been a fan for a very long time and have met her on several occasions and each time I have met her she reinforces these convictions her and more so mine. We need more people like her to be out front and not afraid to stand up for their beliefs. What ever they may be especially disagreeing with a President that has an agenda and is capable of justifying the loss of life and liberty and selling it to a country that follows along blindly. Living in a country that I believe to have freedoms, freedom of thought, freedom of speech and freedom to change, I feel privileged. However when these simple freedoms are constantly being taken away, I feel challenged. We have a Government that hides issues and like Governments before them passes bills and laws that are taking away our basic human rights. The main problem is we do not find these laws out until it is to late. Not that these laws being passed such as the Patriotism Bill are done so illegally. It is like so many other laws that citizens do not become aware of these rights to privacy until it affects them. By then it is to late because it is a law. Being aware of these bills before they are passed and doing some thing about it changes the law before they are passed. While we still can it is essential to be aware of local, State and U.S Government. Yes people have the power but for how long and when we finally do come together will it be to late? I do not think so, as long reporters talk about the message our Poets/Rockers are saying instead of how they spit or dress or not wear make up. Like Patti would say drink water and brush your teeth. I do not find that hard to take in. Thank You David Alan Flynn
Posted by David A Flynn on Dec 1, 2003 at 11:20 PM From smack queen to earth mother - she has always had her pulse on the human condition. Fighting for justice, for fairness, for humanity - she has always been on the correct side. Screaming (remember Gilda?), crooning, or rocking - she has run the gamut of musical expression. She wrings every last bit of emotion from our collective unconsciousness and spits it back out toward us saying, “This is what we are, this is who we are, this is what we do!” This is ART writ large. As for me, it’s the Radio Ethiopia stuff, the stuff she now hates, that will always resonate with me-the stuff from deep inside scrapping, crawling, shreeking to be let loose. The anti-Brittany, the anti-pap, the anti-Bush.
Posted by Kindster on Dec 2, 2003 at 9:27 AM I’m shocked that I must spit in order to be truly feminine. Spitting is gross behavior and spreads germs!!
I vote for women without makeup, who do not spit as beautiful!!
Posted by Jo Warren on Dec 2, 2003 at 10:12 AM I think she spits because of the cotton-mouth from singing on stage, though I can’t be sure.
Posted by neil on Dec 8, 2003 at 12:12 AM Cool. Patty Smith spits. Four times. Her face is ravaged. She claims to be pro-family. Then she spits. She consorted with Mapplethorpe. You, is she stillmarried to McEnroe? And then she spits.
Posted by Richard Ng. on Dec 24, 2003 at 1:31 AM Cool. Patty Smith spits. Four times. Her face is ravaged. She claims to be pro-family. Then she spits. She consorted with Mapplethorpe. You, is she stillmarried to McEnroe? And then she spits.
Posted by Richard Ng. on Dec 24, 2003 at 1:32 AM In the words of Patti Smith, “The People Have the Power”, and in the words of David Rovics, “Now is the Time to Change the World.”
Posted by Jim on Feb 2, 2004 at 12:07 PM Page 1 of 1 pages -
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