I am in the grips of a raging Patti Smith obsession (again) and remembered this amazing clip of her singing "You Light Up My Life" -- somehow she takes this song I always thought was so cheesy and brings out the power & simplicity in the lyrics.
Also I was struck in "Just Kids" about how her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe is such a beautiful example of long term love -- whether they're lovers or friends or roommates, the love and support for each other continues and grows and dips and changes -- it's a beautiful book.
Okay one more Patti Smith clip! She's performing in Germany and people are getting unruly (around the 4:15 mark) and she goes down into the audience and tells them to "stop acting like assholes and settle the fuck down."
Oh yes. My early summer reading of Just Kids made me basically want to be Patti Smith more than I ever knew I wanted to be. But in all seriousness, I love the idea of exploring long term love that isn't all mixed up with romance and building family, or at least not the sort of June Cleaver nuclear family we expect. I love the family of artists that she and Bob made, and the fluidity and constant current of affection despite years and miles.
ReplyDeleteI guess I should also say, as a caveat, that I have a very very strong affection for Robert Maplethorpe through some special (truly, not in any ironic sense of that word) family time. Maybe secretly I want to do a Patti Smith show called "horses"...