Music News

Death Cab at the DNC: Hillary’s Speech and the Real Trick She Pulled Today

Rolling Stones - Wed, 08/27/2008 - 23:25

On the stereo: “Gamma Ray,” Beck

Last night’s speech from Senator Clinton was very good. It felt competent and sincere; it was well delivered; the move to distribute white “Hillary” signs to the floor, the text in her handwriting, was brilliant. It was about 85 percent of what I’d hoped for.

My mother and I have been texting back and forth this whole week, all about the convention; about what I see versus what CNN or MSNBC are covering, or C-Span, when she gets fed up with the punditry. It’s a funny thing — like, I’m wanting to know what’s going on in “the real world,” like what’s happening in the media, how our message from Denver is getting delivered (or hijacked, as is so often the case). And she, of course, wants to know what’s happening here, in “the real world.” But this isn’t the real world: We don’t control the message. That’s Rupert Murdoch’s job, unfortunately.

So I was sad to receive the following text from her last night, after my glowing text to her about Hillary’s speech: “Not blown away.”

How? What did the Senator miss? What failed to translate, in the media assessment of the night? Granted, Hillary Clinton had the toughest job of the week: To convince the electorate at large that she is fully, completely behind Barack Obama, and to demand (without demanding, of course) that even her most militant supporters follow her lead and cast their votes for him. And she did that, I thought.

I missed the floor vote today, as our performance at the SEIU rally went a little long, and there were lots of nice folks to talk with (holy fuck, Chuck D introduced us!!). But as soon as I got in my shitty rental car to head for the Pepsi Center, the report came in that Senator Clinton had come to the floor with the New York delegation to stop the procedural vote, and motioned that all remaining votes be cast unanimously for Senator Obama to be the Democratic nominee for President of the United States.

It doesn’t sound like much to read it, but even on the radio as a little soundbite, a little quote framed by Robert Seigel (who can make anything sound as though it’s happening in a cozy suburban coffee shop), it was… Awesome. I don’t quite know how else to put it. It was beautiful, big and bold, and exactly the coda her accomplished but somehow not transformative speech, and even in a car listening to the radio, I got a little watery. I called my mom, and she got a little watery too, because Hillary Clinton pulled off the hardest trick she’ll ever have to pull, with grace and dignity. And because Barack Obama is gonna be our next president, and that’s awesome shit.

Decade of the Dude: How “The Big Lebowski” Became a Cult Sensation

Rolling Stones - Wed, 08/27/2008 - 22:30

Ten years after the Coen Brothers’ The Big Lebowski hit theaters (and flopped), Rolling Stone’s resident Dude expert Andy Greene looks back at the movie that would become the most worshipped comedy of its generation. Click above to catch an interview with star Jeff Bridges at our photo shoot (Bridges on the Dude: “He should be president!”), and check for even more Lebowski — including a Bridges Q&A and annotated guide to the film. But today our Dude extravaganza begins with a look behind the movie’s stoner soundtrack, a guide to Lebowski on the Web and Q&As with stars Steve Buscemi and John Goodman.

The Decade of the Dude
Q&A: Steve Buscemi on Lebowski
Q&A: John Goodman on Lebowski
Inside the Dude’s Stoner Soundtrack
Lebowski on the Web

On the Breaking Blog: The Enemy

Rolling Stones - Wed, 08/27/2008 - 21:51

This week’s featured artist on the Breaking blog is the Enemy, a trio of socially conscious hook-minded punks from Coventry, England. Their angsty, sugary three-chord jumps borrow liberally from the Buzzcocks and the Clash. Click below for more on the Enemy, including exclusive video featuring comments from the band on how the closing of a car factory inspired their early songs and clips from their videos “Away From Here” and “It’s Not OK.”

Breaking: The Enemy

Tour Tracker: Chromeo, Wire and the Horrorpops

Rolling Stones - Wed, 08/27/2008 - 21:21

Photo: Getty

Chromeo continues teaching some Fancy Footwork, Wire raise the pink flag with an October run and the Horrorpops get ready for Halloween with an autumn tour. Follow the jump for the full set of tour dates.


Chromeo
October 1 - Boston, MA @ Paradise
October 2 - New York, NY @ Webster Hall
October 3 - Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero
October 4 - Washington DC @ 9:30 Club

Wire
October 5 - Montreal, QC @ Le National
October 6 - Ottawa, ON @ Barrymore’s
October 7 - Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Place
October 8 - Cambridge, MA @ Middle East Downstairs
October 9 - New York, NY @ the Fillmore at Irving Plaza
October 10 - Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
October 11 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
October 12 - Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
October 14 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Echoplex
October 15 - San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
October 16 - Vancouver, BC @ The Commodore Ballroom
October 17 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
October 18 - Chicago, IL @ Metro

The Horrorpops
September 24 – Victorville, CA @ Karma
September 25 – San Luis Obispo, CA @ Downtown Brew
September 26 – San Francisco, CA @ Slim’s
September 27 – Santa Cruz, CA @ Santa Cruz Vets Hall
September 28 – Sacramento, CA @ Empire
September 29 – Reno, NV @ Club Underground
October 1 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater
October 2 – Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
October 3 – Spokane, WA @ The Blvd
October 4 – Victoria, BC @ Lucky Bar
October 5 – Vancouver, BC @ Richard on Richards
October 7 – Calgary, AB @ Warehouse
October 8 – Regina, SK @ The Exchange
October 9 – Winnepeg, MB @ The Royal Albert
October 11 – St. Paul, MN @ Station 4
October 12 – Chicago, IL @ Congress Theater
October 13 – Cleveland, OH @ Agora Ballroom
October 14 – Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick
October 15 – London, ON @ Call the Office
October 16 – Toronto, ON @ Opera House
October 17 – Montreal, QC @ Les Foufounes Electriques
October 18 – Allston, MA @ Harpers Ferry
October 19 – New York, NY @ Blender Theater
October 20 – Philadelphia, PA @ JC Dobbs
October 21 – Baltimore, MD @ Otto Bar
October 23 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
October 24 – New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues
October 25 – Houston, TX @ Meridian
October 26 – San Antonio, TX @ White Rabbit
October 27 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s
October 28 – Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater
October 29 – Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad
October 30 – Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre
October 31 – Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues
November 1 – Los Angeles, CA @ Avalon

New Kings of Leon Video: "Sex on Fire"

Spin: Music for Life - Wed, 08/27/2008 - 21:07

We always knew the Kings of Leon -- yep, those three Southern brothers (raised by a preacher) and one cousin -- had a bit of the Devil under their skin... you know, with the cigarettes, booze, and leggy model girlfriends and all. But with the music video for "Sex on Fire," an excellent, anthemic rocker off the quartet's upcoming album Only By the Night, the boys let us know just how possessed they've become.

More on SPIN.com:
>> New Kings of Leon Album Out Sept. 23
>> Review: Kings of Leon, Because of the Times (RCA)
>> Kings of Leon Set London Ablaze

With frontman Caleb Followill sweating and throwing a tantrum atop a rickety bed, quasi religious symbols abound -- ripped Bible pages, crucifix necklaces, and even a few sacrificed chickens. His bandmates attempt to contain him as the tune's searing riffs and gigantic choruses plow forward. When the six-string twangs crescendo near the song's end and the drum fills chime in, Caleb expels a black, fuzzy cloud from his mouth (a la The Green Mile). It's a decidedly darker treatment for the Followills, and certainly a song likely to possess the minds of listeners.

"Sex on Fire"

Tilly and the Wall to Play on '90210' Premiere!

Spin: Music for Life - Wed, 08/27/2008 - 21:05

Omaha's Tilly and the Wall, who recently taped an episode of child-friendly series Sesame Street to air this fall, will travel to the other end of TV's PG-o'meter September 2, and appear on the premiere episode of the down-and-dirty new 90210.

More on SPIN.com:
>> Tilly and the Wall Tour, Play 'Sesame Street'
>> Review: Tilly and the Wall, '0' (Team Love)
>> Flowers Forever: SXSW '08 Interview

The tap-dancing quintet will perform their tune "Pot Kettle Black," off the recently released album O, during "a character’s not-so-sweet sixteen" birthday party. So rekindle your Peach Pit nostalgia and snuggle up to the CW Sept. 2 at 8 P.M. (EST) to see the band perform and the drama unfold. Just lookout Mr. Derek Pressnall, if history repeats itself, Dylan is, OMFG, like, a total asshole!

Kings of Leon False Advertise With New “Sex On Fire” Video

Rolling Stones - Wed, 08/27/2008 - 20:46


Behold, the new video for the Kings of Leon’s “Sex On Fire.” Despite the song’s title, the video sadly features no sex, no fire and definitely no sex on fire. The clip does have plenty of chickens, sweat and exorcisms, if that’s any consolation. It also looks strangely similar to Madonna’s “Like A Prayer” video, with all the crucifixes and Biblical allusions. “Sex On Fire” is the first single from the band’s new album Only By The Night, due out September 22nd.

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Kings of Leon Bring Sex, Fire on Only By the Night: A First Listen

Smoking Section: Bobby Charles, Kings of Leon, Randy Newman

Photographer Mark Seliger’s Music Springs to Life With Haunting Videos

Rolling Stones - Wed, 08/27/2008 - 20:11

Most people know Mark Seliger as the famed photographer who shot some of Rolling Stone’s most memorable covers over the last three decades. (That one of Jerry Seinfeld posing as an Elvis impersonator? That was him.) But for the last few years, Seliger has also moonlighted as the frontman for the country-rock group Rusty Truck. This month, Seliger and his crew have released the slow-burning record Luck’s Changing Lanes, which also features collaborations with Willie Nelson and Gillian Welch and production from Lenny Kravitz and Jakob Dylan.

Many of these songs were inspired by Seliger’s youth growing up in the Texas panhandle and the slow transformation of once-vibrant cities into desolate ghost towns. “You’ve got real storybook kind of towns that are almost like the Last Picture Show in terms of their visual decline,” Seliger says. “There’s a lot of tumbleweeds and this idea of a vanishing America. And I felt like the music was written to focus on it being so lonesome.” As a compendium to the disc, Seliger also shot a set of hauntingly beautiful music videos, featuring stark footage of an old cowboy smoking a cigarette in solitude, as well as slow-motion footage of horses galloping across open fields in the early twilight of the morning.

But the highlight of the videos came courtesy of Seliger’s father: “So Long, Farewell” features vintage home videos — shot by his dad — of Seliger as a child. “I hadn’t looked at those movies in 10 or 15 years,” says Seliger. “And to go and really dig deep into it, we just found so many amazing little moments. I think people can relate to this, when you see old photographs or old film or video, from when you’re growing up. There’s a common thread here.”

Click above to watch the video for “1000 Kisses” and check out four more Rusty Truck videos right here:

“Never Going Back”

“So Long Farewell”

“Luck’s Changing Lanes”

“Cold Ground”

From Russia with Cash

Spin: Music for Life - Wed, 08/27/2008 - 19:43

In June, while beset with allegations of crack abuse, apologizing for singing a nursery rhyme laden with racial slurs, and lamenting an incarcerated husband, Amy Winehouse found time to give a private concert in Moscow. Hired by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich to perform for 300 guests at his socialite girlfriend's new art gallery, Winehouse reportedly arrived looking characteristically disheveled (and apparently sans underwear), took the stage two hours late, and played a brief, wobbly set with a full backing band. For this she is said to have made $2 million.

With the record business in turmoil, many artists have found a new way to subsidize their luxe lifestyle: playing private gigs for filthy-rich Russian oligarchs. Christina Aguilera demonstrated the earning potential in 2005 when she was paid $2 million to sing at the wedding of Andrey Melnichenko (No. 158 on Forbes' list of billionaires). George Michael upped the ante a year later, earning $3 million to perform at a New Year's Eve party hosted by mining tycoon Vladimir Potanin (No. 25 on Forbes' list). Jennifer Lopez received $1.5 million to sing at the 2006 birthday party of developer Telman Ismailov, a certified pop-star sugar daddy who earlier that year threw an all-star bash featuring Mariah Carey, Ricky Martin, and Robbie Williams. And Rihanna pocketed half a mil to ring in 2008 with aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska (Forbes rank: No. 9).

Cashing in on private concerts isn't new for pop stars, but what makes this noteworthy is the wild east locale, the particular businessmen involved, and the number of zeros attached to the performers' fees. "It's almost obscene that people could waste that much money on a private show," says Gary Bongiovanni, editor-in-chief of Pollstar. "It's what the industry calls 'stupid money.' It's so much it's impossible to refuse." According to him, a private gig is more lucrative than a public concert because the overhead is so low. When Tom Petty played Madison Square Garden in June, he grossed $1.5 million before paying his road crew, his band, and travel and production costs. J.Lo earned the same amount and reportedly received another $800,000 to cover expenses. It doesn't matter if J.Lo isn't hurting for cash. Ricky Martin's business manager Bruno Del Ganado says artists play these shows "for the same reason oil companies charge more for oil -- because they can."

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The motivation for the oligarchs isn't much more complicated. The concerts are a display of wealth in a country overflowing with newly minted millionaires. But according to Artemy Troitsky, a former Russian radio DJ who's considered the country's preeminent music critic, ignorance is one of the main reasons the businessmen foot such big bills. "The parties are organized by Russian promoters who dupe the oligarchs," Troitsky says, explaining that promoters obtain an artist's price quote, inflate the number, and skim off the top. "The oligarchs have no idea how much the artists cost."

Several classic-rock acts have also begun playing corporate concerts in Russia, notably Elton John, who performed at the opening of a metallurgy factory last summer. Many of the oligarchs grew up in the '70s and '80s -- a period when getting caught listening to Western rock could, if not warrant a one-way ticket to a Siberian gulag, at least stunt a career. Now in the ruling class, they want to see the bands that never toured Russia, pre-glasnost.

It's well known that Russia's new president, Dmitry Medvedev, is a hard-rock fan, which is how Deep Purple came to play a concert in Moscow in February for the 15th anniversary of Gazprom, the state-owned energy giant that Medvedev ran before his presidency. "It was sort of strange," the band's drummer, Ian Paice, says of the concert, for which they earned a "ridiculous" paycheck. "We were driven into the Kremlin and played in a small theater that, years earlier, was probably used for political rallies."

Paice recalls hearing Medvedev tell stories backstage about furtively cuing up Deep Purple records in the bad old days. "We knew he liked the Made in Japan and Machine Head albums," Paice says, "so we laced the show with plenty of tunes from that era."

Absent from Paice's account is any angst about banging out the hits for a figure who many allege came to power amid widespread election fraud. "We were playing for a Deep Purple fan, not the head of Russia," Paice says. Artists get grief for doing private shows, he adds, "but if you're between tours when they ask you, you might as well go. It's financially very lucrative."

Of course, there are some private shows Paice would turn down. "If Pol Pot was still around and asked," he says, "you probably wouldn't do it."

On the Breaking Blog: Download Of Montreal’s “Nonpareil of Favor”

Rolling Stones - Wed, 08/27/2008 - 19:32

Athens, Georgia theatrical pop weirdos Of Montreal have a new album called Skeletal Lamping that comes out on October 7, but the Breaking blog has a first taste of this excellent new record. Head on over there to download “Nonpareil of Favor,” a jittery, shimmering slice of psychedelic glam pop.

Download Of Montreal’s “Nonpareil of Favor” from Skeletal Lamping

Related Stories:

Of Montreal Give Rothbury a Dose of Glam

In the Studio: Of Montreal

Review: Of Montreal, Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer>

Members of Arcade Fire, YYYs, Balkan Beat Box Unite as Sway Machinery

Spin: Music for Life - Wed, 08/27/2008 - 19:15

New supergroup development! Brian Chase, drummer for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Colin Stetson, touring saxophonist for the Arcade Fire, and Stuart Bogie and Jordan McLean, Antibalas' tenor saxophone and trumpet player, respectively, have joined Balkan Beat Box guitarist Jeremiah Lockwood for the Sway Machinery, whose self-titled debut EP is set to arrive September 16 via JDub.

With such a wild assortment of musicians, what could this new project possibly sound like? Well, listen to the eclectic afro-beat, blues, and Jewish-cantorial (songs sung in synagogue) melange of "P'sach Lanu Sha'ar (Open the Gates for Us)" below, the very first leak from the band's forthcoming album, and offer your thoughts in the comment section below.

Now Hear This: Sway Machine, "P'sach Lanu Sha'ar" (DOWNLOAD MP3)

Gym Class Heroes: High Rollers

Spin: Music for Life - Wed, 08/27/2008 - 19:08

Fear and loathing in Las Vegas are in notably short supply during Gym Class Heroes' show in late June at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. "I've had problems with pharmaceuticals for ten years, and I stand in front of you four and a half months sober, and I feel good as fuck!" exclaims frontman Travis McCoy to the roaring crowd. "You deserve a couple more albums from me before I kick the bucket. There's a high I get standing in front of you I can't get from any pill!"

It's a refreshing revelation, since McCoy thanked himself "for putting up with me for the last 24 years" in the liner notes to Gym Class Heroes' 2006 album, As Cruel as School Children. And although he's known for mining his demons for rhymes, McCoy introduces last year's hit single "Clothes Off!!" by asking: "Who wants to get naked?" The first four rows, composed solely of young girls in Forever 21 finery, give him an answer when a massive black bra hurtles stageward. "This is some weaponry right here!" he marvels.

More Gym Class Heroes on SPIN.com:> Video: Gym Class Heroes on voting> Video: Backstage at Voodoo Music Experience

This combination of raw confession, nostalgic sentimentality, and unbridled hedonism has been the trademark of a group built on unlikely elements -- a white rhythm section, an African immigrant guitarist, and a biracial MC (McCoy's mom is Irish and Native American, his father Haitian). "We're the 'We Are the World' of bands," McCoy says, lighting up outside the tour bus after the show. "We need an Asian violinist; then we'll be good." Gym Class Heroes' sound is equally polyglot, inspired by indie hip-hop (El-P, Aesop Rock, Murs), East Coast hardcore/emo (Snapcase, De La Hoya), and '80s R&B (too many names to mention). "I was this big black kid smoking cigarettes, but I was just as into Earth Crisis as the straight-edge white kids," McCoy recalls. "It blew their minds."

This month, Gym Class will release their fourth album, The Quilt (on Pete Wentz's Decaydance label via Fueled by Ramen and Atlantic), their first since the single "Cupid's Chokehold" became an international smash. "They're the little band that could -- Fall Out Boy never even had a No. 1 single," says FOB frontman Patrick Stump, who has produced much of Gym Class' recorded output, and sang on "Cupid," which featured the naggingly catchy hook "Take a look at my girlfriend / She's the only one I got" (from Supertramp's classic-rock mainstay "Breakfast in America"). The spotlight is even brighter on the group, thanks to McCoy's increasingly serious relationship with pop starlet Katy Perry, whose "I Kissed a Girl" topped the charts as their romance became tabloid fodder.

But Gym Class aren't taking commercial success for granted. For The Quilt, they've lined up cameos from Busta Rhymes, hot U.K. R&B upstart Estelle, and Daryl Hall of pop-soul machine Hall & Oates. Plus, the album's primary producers, along with Stump, are urban hitmaker The-Dream (Rihanna's "Umbrella") and Miami-based beatsmiths Cool & Dre (the Game's "Hate It or Love It"). "[Gym Class] are where music is," says Dre. "A lot of artists don't fit a particular lane. Music had gotten so wack -- either you were pop or a rapper or a rock band. Now everything's merging. This period is creating future legends who don't fit: Kanye, Lil Wayne, Gym Class Heroes. And that's the secret to their success."

Still, the four Gym Class boys have to hustle. On the day of the Vegas gig, they rush from an acoustic performance for radio-contest winners to a photo shoot, although McCoy blew out his knee onstage the night before -- he's already had six surgeries, and will probably need another. But nothing slows him down. He limps with a noticeable swagger, flamboyantly waving his cane, semi-ironically mimicking the rap stars who are now his peers.

"This is pimpin' like a motherfucker!" he shouts.

Read the entire Gym Class Heroes story in the September issue of SPIN, on newsstands now.

“Chinese Democracy” Leaker Arrested on Suspicion of Violating Federal Copyright Law

Rolling Stones - Wed, 08/27/2008 - 18:30

Remember back in June when those nine possibly Chinese Democracy-bound Guns n’ Roses songs leaked? At the time, the man who admitted leaking them, Antiquiet blogger Kevin Skwerl, told Rock Daily “If legal proceedings come my way, I’ll face them 100 percent. I’m not afraid of that. I did what I did, and I’ll face the music if I have to” after a meeting with the FBI. Skwerl (real name Kevin Cogill) will face the law, as he was arrested this morning at his Culver City, California home for suspicion of violating federal copyright laws. According to the FBI, Cogill admitted to posting the songs when questioned. Cogill is set to appear at the U.S. District Court today, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Missakian.

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Chinese Democracy Leaker Gets FBI Visit

The Real Chinese Democracy May Have Leaked

The Guide to the Leaked Chinese Democracy Tracks

More Guns N’ Roses at Rock Daily

The Replacements Drummer Steve Foley Dead at 49

Rolling Stones - Wed, 08/27/2008 - 17:45

Drummer Steve Foley, who played drums on the Replacements‘ final All Shook Down tour, died last weekend in Minneapolis after accidentally overdosing on prescription medicine. He was 49. Foley was recruited to join the Replacements after original drummer Chris Mars left following the All Shook Down sessions. Foley joined the band after meeting Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson in a bar and offered them a ride. When they got in the car, they noticed a copy of All Shook Down, prompting both members to declare Foley as their new drummer. Foley sat behind the kit for what was the group’s final tour, including their last ever concert on July 4th, 1991 in Chicago’s Grant Park. In his post-Replacements days, Foley played in Stinson’s band Bash & Pop and also worked as a car salesman.

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Album Review: The Replacements, All Shook Down

Tom Morello, Crosby & Nash Steal “E-Town” Show in Denver

Rolling Stones - Wed, 08/27/2008 - 17:29

David Crosby and Graham Nash did “Teach Your Children” and “Guinnevere” and reunited with James Taylor for 1971’s “You Can Close Your Eyes,” but musicians the audience had barely heard of took over Tuesday night’s “E-Town” during the second night of the Democratic National Convention. The first were singer Irma Thomas and pianist Henry Butler — both New Orleans residents who left their homes after Hurricane Katrina. (Thomas
returned a year ago; Butler lives in nearby Boulder, but Thomas vowed: “He’ll be back — trust me.”) They turned Denver’s Temple Buell Theatre into some kind of church service, playing Thomas’ gospel-and-blues-spiced “If I Had Any Sense I’d Go Back Home” and “River Is Waiting.” Afterwards, coaxed by the show’s host and founder Nick Forster, the duo closed with Thomas’ pre-Stones “Time Is On My Side.” Inspired, as the Nightwatchman, Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello did two dark, sparse folk originals about New Orleans, including the title track of his upcoming album, The Fabled City. During a convention packed with live music, the 17-year-old save-the-environment public-radio show was sort of the concert keynote address, with Mayor John Hickenlooper, Gov. Bill Ritter and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. showing up for speeches and singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco lambasting the Bush Administration in “Our Next Bold Move.” Elsewhere in the city Tuesday night, Melissa Etheridge sang and Nelly partied, but nobody left the three-hour “E-Town.”

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More Convention Coverage at the National Affairs Blog

The SPIN Interview: Patti Smith

Spin: Music for Life - Wed, 08/27/2008 - 16:46

With casual androgyny now as common as rehab and pop-star poetry a recurring joke, it's hard to imagine how strange Patti Smith must've seemed when she exploded out of New York with Horses 33 years ago. Defiant, literary, and rocking, Smith's debut, and the albums that followed, weren't only great pieces of art, they were life-changers. Just ask Michael Stipe or Courtney Love. They were life-changers for Smith, too: Feeling burned out, she recorded only one album between 1980 and 1996, choosing instead to spend time with her husband, former MC5 guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith, and their two children. "I'd given all I had to give," says Smith, 61, speaking from the hills of Spain, where she's staying with relatives of the Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca. "I had to go away if I wanted to learn to be a human being."

Personal loss brought Smith back to music in the mid-'90s, and since then she has released a steady stream of urgent, explicitly political, and often joyous albums. Empty-nest syndrome has not been a problem.

Following the release of both Patti Smith: Dream of Life, director Steven Sebring's gorgeous new documentary film, and The Coral Sea, a musical collaboration with Kevin Shields, Smith spoke, sometimes haltingly, about a life spent outside the expected margins.

You were raised in New Jersey as a Jehovah's Witness. Was there a lot of rock music in your house growing up?

My mom loved rock'n'roll. My father hated it. We couldn't play it when he was around. He liked classical music and Duke Ellington. I still heard it on the radio -- I grew up in the 1950s, when rock'n'roll was king. I had a handful of records, but when I was 11 years old, I liked Puccini as much as Little Richard. They both made sense to me.

I guess one ended up making more sense than the other.

I don't know about that. I'm not a very analytical person. I have various impulses. I've often quoted Walt Whitman's phrase "I contain multitudes." I understand that. The same person who wrote "Rock N Roll Nigger" has also written lullabies.

So you never intended to be a rock musician?

I knew I needed to leave New Jersey to develop as an artist. But my goal in life was never to become a musician. I'm not a musician. I drew and wrote poetry for ten years before I wrote Horses. I published books. Why do people want to know exactly who I am? Am I a poet? Am I this or that? I've always made people wary. First they called me a rock poet. Then I was a poet that dabbled in rock. Then I was a rock person who dabbled in art. But for me, working in different forms seemed like a very organic process. From an early age, I studied people like Da Vinci and William Blake and Jean Cocteau. They all did a lot of different things. But if you want to call me anything, call me a worker. I do work.

How did Horses come about?

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I came into music because I thought the presentation of poetry wasn't vibrant enough. So I merged improvised poetry with basic rock chords. That was my original mission. But I had a secondary mission, which became the larger mission: I wanted to pump blood back into the heart of rock'n'roll.

Where had the blood gone?

When I started making music, we'd lost a lot of our great people. Jim Morrison had died. Jimi Hendrix. Janis Joplin. Dylan had retreated somewhat. Leading up to when I released my first single [1974's "Piss Factory"], rock was moving in a direction I didn't like. Rock was my generation's revolutionary, sexual, poetic, and political voice, but it had become corporatized. It was going into stadiums. It was so far removed from its basic roots.

That feeling seemed to be in the air in New York in the mid-'70s.

There was a countermovement of people like me who were dissatisfied with the way rock had been glamorized. People like Tom Verlaine and Richard Hell and Debbie Harry and myself wanted to continue the efforts of bands like the MC5 and Jefferson Airplane. We were merging jazz and politics and poetry and different kinds of performance. It was a cultural revolution.

You mention Debbie Harry, but apart from the two of you, the punk scene, in hindsight anyway, seems like it was such a boys' club.

I never thought about gender. I never felt oppressed because of my gender. When I'm writing a poem or drawing, I'm not a female; I'm an artist. But we've always had strong women: Grace Slick, Tina Turner, Yoko Ono, Debbie Harry, Sinéad O'Connor, Cat Power -- she's a bit fragile, but she's tough. Those are all strong individuals. Christina Aguilera's a little piece of dynamite. But I'm more concerned with the work people do than their gender. When I was younger, I was pretty judgmental. Things had to be a certain way. Now I just want to see the work. It doesn't matter who does it.

CBGB is now a John Varvatos store. Most of the Ramones are gone. Same with the New York Dolls. Has punk rock run its course?

Those kinds of ideas to me are ludicrous. I'm not a critic. I'm not a journalist. I'm not a philosopher. Arguing that punk has run its course is like saying painting ran its course after the Renaissance. There are kids out there you've never heard of who believe they're punk rock. And they're right. They're in Norway or Kansas, and they don't think punk rock has run its course. Punk is an idea. It's freedom. And it'll be around 200 years from now for the people who want it.

Twice in a Lifetime: David Byrne & Brian Eno Reunite

Rolling Stones - Wed, 08/27/2008 - 16:25

Photo: Danny Clinch

More than twenty years after their last collaboration (1981’s My Life in the Bush of Ghosts), former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne has once again hooked up with producer Brian Eno (David Bowie, U2, three Talking Heads albums) for the excellent new album Everything That Happens Will Happen Today. Byrne explains the new project was agreed upon on very simple terms. “If we both liked it, we would continue,” he says. “If one of us didn’t, there’s no reason to pursue this.” Click below for the rest of the story behind their new album, including how Chris Martin got involved.

Twice in a Lifetime: Byrne, Eno Reunite for New Disc

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