Patti Smith's Rock Hall Induction Ruffles Some Feathers
We love it when Bob Lefsetz gets pissed. Which is pretty much everyday. The latest from the music world to get under his super-sensitive skin is the news that Patti Smith is a proud member of this year's group of Rock 'N Roll Hall Of Fame inductees. And it's all New York City's fault! He writes:
I’m upset that Patti Smith got into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.Let me make this perfectly clear, the only people who care are those who lived in Manhattan in the seventies, or maybe commuted from one of the other four boroughs to see a show on the rock hard island, the rest of the world DOESN’T GIVE A SHIT!
Oh, I’ve got nothing against Ms. Smith, I own five of her albums. Do I play them? NEVER! I downloaded "Kimberly", having fond memories of the track when it was featured on one of the very first Arista albums ever. I’d like to tell you it’s got a high count in my iTunes library, but once was enough, it was a period curio. And "Because The Night"? That’s a Bruce Springsteen song, Patti never wrote or performed anything remotely like it again. Shit, if Patti gets in for a Bruce cover, shouldn’t ROBERT GORDON?
Only in New York does myopia still exist.
...
But we live in a culture where you’ve got to feel superior. And New Yorkers specialize in this. They’re just that much BETTER than everybody else, they’ve got their finger on the pulse, they’re the arbiters of taste.
New York just might be the greatest city in the world. But it’s not the ONLY city in the world! Why is it that the Eagles have to take shit for their Southern California perspective, but Patti Smith gets a pass? Isn’t she just another suburbanite playacting in the city?...
But it’s not what you invent, it’s not about trailblazing, but how cool you are. I’ll grant you that Patti Smith is cool. A great musician? A great artist?
Well at least he's right about Patti being cool as shit. What about the rest? Tough to argue against Horses, a record that's shaped the spirit (if not the sound) of rock music and "tore the limbs off" of Michael Stipe -- but we know there's some fully-limbed Patti haters out there. You join Lefsetz in being pissed at NYC about all this?
Posted at 4:45 PM in Video
Tags: Lefsetz | Patti Smith | Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame
um, it's the rock and roll hall of fame. about the same worth as a grammy. who cares
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And "Gloria"? That's a Van Morrison song, Patti never wrote or performed anything remotely like it again. Shit, if Patti gets in for a Van Morrison cover, shouldn't JOHN MELLENCAMP?
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Who the fuck is Bob Lefsetz and why do I give two shits what he thinks about Patti Smith?
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what a dink...
maybe he;s thinking of Patti Smyth ?
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dude's got a point. especially about nyc.
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Can't argue that the RARHOF is a lop of shit, but has Bob ever even seen a Patti Smith show? I imagine not, considering the immense amount of time it takes to wax on about the Herculean greatness of hanging with a band like Def Leppard. http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/index.php/archives/2005/05/25/hanging-with-leppard/
btw - wtf is this guy doing with five Patti albums in the first place?
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Who is this dope and why is this getting any play? The down side of blogs..... In all these years, I've never brought a friend to a patti show who didn't leave converted. She's amazing, and is cited frequently by other artists as an influence.... I mean, all this talk about how many hits she has had? Jeeez, everybody usually complains that nobody is ever honored except the commercial sellouts...for once a real artist gets a nod and some dipshit complains.
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I guess us New Yorkers should just shut the fuck up for being from New York, then.
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Uh, I think he's kinda sorta right on this one.
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Morrissey and Johnny Marr first met at a Patti Smith concert at the Apollo Theater in Manchester. The Smiths song "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" is a reworking of Patti Smith's "Kimberly." So his myopic claim that the rest of the world didn't care is bullshit.
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I'm guessing that Patti is being honored for opening doors for women in rock...specifically, women who sing horribly, write embarrassing poetry, and look like they were just dragged out of the Hudson. She may or may not have opened a door, but she certainly lowered a bar.
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Like Tony said, im guessing this guy Lefsetz has a serious problem as far as recognizing a true artist,and telling her apart from commercial sellouts.....and i have a feeling u ,Darren tend to follow in his footsteps. If Patti Smith writes embarrasing poetry,you might as well just kiss my ass. Obviously u dont understand what art is all about,if u judge an artist by the way she looks. Except i dont remember looks ever having gotten in patti's way to being an amazing performer.So obviously shes done a pretty good job at proving dykes like yourself wrong. she got into the RARHOF cause she deserved it, but i dont think she really cares. no official statement is needed to prove her greatness as an artist.
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You don't like Patti? Aw, jump back on your moped and turn up Brittany-on-your-iPod.
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Who´s that dude, and why is he printed? I don`t give a shit about New York or New England, but I do love Patti Smiths wisdom and her way of performing, using the tools she´s got: A blessed soul and a great voice, and oh yes, she writes great songs!
The rest of the world? Mr. Lefse dude, we up here in a part of the world called Europe, we DO care, but you might be jelouse, and you´ll never be worthy of even standing in her shadow. Grow up!
Patti rules!
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Who´s that dude, and why is he printed? I don`t give a shit about New York or New England, but I do love Patti Smiths wisdom and her way of performing, using the tools she´s got: A blessed soul and a great voice, and oh yes, she writes great songs!
The rest of the world? Mr. Lefse dude, we up here in a part of the world called Europe, we DO care, but you might be jelouse, and you´ll never be worthy of even standing in her shadow. Grow up!
Patti rules!
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Firstly, Patti wrote the lyrics for 'Because The Night', and if you can listen to 'Gloria' and claim it to be a Van Morrison cover you deserve to be led to the gallows with the charge of defacing the good name of art.
Apart from the sexually charged refrain of the name, Gloria, the song is a maker-over. It *is* Patti's.
She was a poet. She still is. She is still relevant unlike, say, Bob Dylan.
Recent songs like 'Without Chains' and 'Qana' re-invent the folk protest song.
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