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Why Patti Smith Matters

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

Patti Smith arrived in New York City at the end of the Age of Aquarius in search of work and purpose. What she found—what she fostered—was a cultural revolution. Through her poetry, her songs, her unapologetic vocal power, and her very presence as a woman fronting a rock band, she kicked open a door that countless others walked through. No other musician has better embodied the "nothing-to-hide" rawness of punk, nor has any other done more to nurture a place in society for misfits of every stripe.

Why Patti Smith Matters is the first book about the iconic artist written by a woman. The veteran music journalist Caryn Rose contextualizes Smith's creative work, her influence, and her wide-ranging and still-evolving impact on rock and roll, visual art, and the written word. Rose goes deep into Smith's oeuvre, from her first album, Horses, to acclaimed memoirs operating at a surprising remove from her music. The portrait of a ceaseless inventor, Why Patti Smith Matters rescues punk's poet laureate from "strong woman" clichés. Of course Smith is strong. She is also a nuanced thinker. A maker of beautiful and challenging things. A transformative artist who has not simply entertained but also empowered millions.

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    • Library Journal

      April 1, 2022

      In this installment in the University of Texas series on individual musicians (Why Solange Matters; Why Karen Carpenter Matters), an awestruck Rose extols the work of New York punk icon Patti Smith (b. 1946). The music journalist (B-Sides and Broken Hearts) cobbles together a bare-bones sketch of Smith's life: her New Jersey childhood, her move to New York City, her relationships with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and playwright Sam Shepard, and her rise to fame as a hardworking, innovative rock poet who recorded the groundbreaking Horses (1975). The book covers Smith's 1980s retreat from the rock and roll spotlight; her initial foray back into music in 1988; her complete return in 1995 with records, tours, poetry readings, and best-selling books (Just Kids; M Train), which Rose touts uncritically; and Smith's impact on Rose's own psyche and development as a feminist. Without direct involvement from Smith or exhaustive research, however, the author resorts to an unbridled, opinionated stream of consciousness that never addresses the promise of the book title and will frustrate Smith die-hards and other rock fans. VERDICT Readers will be better served by Victor Bockris and Roberta Bayley's Patti Smith: An Unauthorized Biography. Not recommended.--Dr. Dave Szatmary

      Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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  • English

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