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 photo by Angelo Cricchi |
 GUNG HAY FAT CHOY!! Have a prosperous and good year.   CONGRATULATIONS, LENNY KAYE! On November 22, 2011 Lenny Kaye was made a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Letteres from the French Republic. It is awarded for "Significant contribution to the enrichment of the French Cultural inheritance." He is shown here, after receiving his medal, with his Commandeur. Both Patti and Lenny have now been honored by the French Republic. A great honor for both of them, as they approach their 65th year on earth. An event they will soon celebrate at the Bowery Ballroom.  WOOLGATHERING New Directions will publish Patti Smith's Woolgathering on November 28. In this small, luminous memoir, the National Book Award–winner Patti Smith revisits the most sacred experiences of her early years, with truths so vivid they border on the surreal. The author entwines her childhood self—and its "clear, unspeakable joy"—with memories both real and envisioned from her twenties on New York's MacDougal Street, the street of cafés. Woolgathering was completed, in Michigan, on Patti Smith's 45th birthday and originally published in a slim volume from Raymond Foye's Hanuman Books. Twenty years later, New Directions is proud to present it in an augmented edition, featuring writing that was omitted from the book's first printing, along with new photographs and illustrations. Order from Amazon.com | Visit New Directions  WADSWORTH ATHENEUM, HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT Patti Smith: Camera Solo will be on view at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, CT from October 21, 2011 - February 19, 2012. UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD Patti's cover of U2's great song, from the current Q magazine's "Actung Baby Covered" project.  BROTHERS AND SISTERS We are with you.  "OUTSIDE SOCIETY" OUT NOW Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee Patti Smith raises the curtain on OUTSIDE SOCIETY, a new collection of her signature songs on the Arista and Columbia labels. The landmark 18-song release marks the first single-CD collection to span Patti's entire body of recorded work. The chronologically arranged tracks move from 1975 (her debut album, Horses, with "Gloria" and "Free Money") through 2007 (Twelve, with her cover of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit"). Also released on vinyl as a double-LP set, OUTSIDE SOCIETY is now available everywhere. The music on OUTSIDE SOCIETY is newly remastered by award-winning engineer Greg Calbi and Patti Smith band member Tony Shanahan. The CD booklet will feature brief recollections of each song written by Patti, who personally supervised the choices. Of "Because The Night," for example, Patti writes: "Bruce Springsteen gave me a great gift in allowing me to lend verses to his beautifully constructed anthem. My contribution was written for my future husband, Fred 'Sonic' Smith. Though we have performed it hundreds of times, the strong response it draws always makes it fresh and exciting to sing." Order on Amazon.com: CD | Vinyl (2 LPs) | MP3 Download OUTSIDE SOCIETY by PATTI SMITH (Columbia/Arista/Legacy 88697 94315 2)
Tracks 1-2 from Horses (Arista AL 4066, 1975) Tracks 3-4 from Radio Ethopia (Arista AL 4097, 1976) Tracks 5-6 from Easter (Arista AB 4171, 1978) Tracks 7-9 from Wave (Arista AB 4221, 1979) Tracks 10-11 from Dream of Life (Arista AL 8453, 1988) Tracks 12-13 from Gone Again (Arista ARCD 8747, 1996) Track 14 from Peace and Noise (Arista 07822 18986-2, 1997) Track 15 from Gung Ho (Arista 07822-14618-2, 2000) Track 16 from Lo and Beholden (Arista promo CD ARPCD-3855, 2000) Track 17 from Twelve (Columbia 82876 87251-2, 2007) Track 18 from Trampin' (Columbia CK 90330, 2004)  "JUST KIDS" AUDIO BOOK OUT IN JULY Patti Smith's Just Kids will be released as an unabridged audio book on July 26, read by Patti herself! You can order the CD set now from Amazon.com, or support your local bookstore! THE 2011 TIME 100 Patti Smith has been named to the 2011 TIME 100. Read Michael Stipe's profile and view a lightbox of selected photos.  OUR SOUL IN CAIRO Brothers and Sisters we are with you The People have the Power To redeem the work of fools Upon the united the graces shower It's decreed the People rule. HAIL HARVEY Polly Harvey has a great new song from her forth coming album England Shaking. Here is the beautifully shot Seamus Murphy video. Where shall we take our problems......  FROM OLIVER RAY, REPORTING FROM TUCSON from yamgruel STATES OF MIND "For what seemed like minutes, but was probably no more than 15 seconds, witnesses said, Mr. Loughner kept up his fatal barrage, dancing up and down excitedly, turning from Ms. Giffords before firing, apparently indiscriminately, at her constituents, staff and passers-by." from the NYT That there is much that can be said about the recent violence in Tucson (though odd to separate it from the usual domestic violence and endless desert deaths) is true; to enter the stream of discussion and argument, to know whether or not our second amendment rights should be threatened or our freedom of speech be challenged by asking or passing regulations that request a less inciteful media, and all the other points now debated, is not for me. I can only try and imagine and understand how anyone can actually shoot another person in the head, no matter who that head belongs to; imagine the adrenal rush of preparing to do that; waking up on the morning of, leaving the house, traveling to, etc; but then reach back further into the development of the idea, and the preparing of the soil of that particular mind, the sowing and the reaping, year after year, the raising of a child in a world, into one of our fellow humans; into that life and path that he should have reached levels of such dissociation that he could dance in the aftermath of his act, a dance that feels like it laughs in the face of everyone. I could hear only a moment of the radio on the way to work this morning. I was filled with a strange joy, or at least a puzzling one, driving with my fellow Tucsonans through another clear desert morning, the sun shining on the Tucson Mountains, on Sentinel Peak, as we cross west along 22nd street over the train tracks. We love Tucson, that is why we live here. That's how it feels to me this morning driving to the roastery, a small business I just started on the south side of town. Then on the radio, am 1400 ktuc, they did the traffic and headlines—they were wondering about our freedom of speech and sounding kind of worried. I turned the radio off and couldn't quite tell whether I was laughing or crying. It is hard to know someone here in Tucson that is not directly effected by the shootings. Arizona is probably as backwards as everybody says. I grew up in New York City for my first 33 years. It's been five years since—I've begun to see that it isn't the center of the world exactly like I used to think it was. I like to remember we are all brothers and sisters, and though I pray for the residents of the city we live in and the state, I like to remember that these borders aren't real, that we are one country; and beyond that, one world, one planet—which is not to say that differences don't/can't exist: we are one, but we are a multitude in our unity, we are the infinite dots that make the eternal ring, each of us holding our space as best we can in this ceremony which is Everything; each one of us magnifying the LIGHT in our own way, our own color, drops of dew filled with sunlight and all the colors therein, and thus unified. We are each our own; and as each of our karmic missions is significantly our own, so are the missions of these countries and states, counties, cities, neighborhoods; so these states are significant also: states of mind, groups of people gathered together in these specific places in time, gathered together for a reason: to play out the karmic missions that have been underway far before the furthest reaches of our memories. I can hear everything whispering, like a cold wind that speaks of death, just remember.  "JUST KIDS" WINS THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD Congratulations to Patti, whose book Just Kids has been awarded the 2010 National Book Award for non-fiction! Order from Amazon.com: Hardcover | LImited Edition Hardcover | Paperback Read the New York Times coverage. 
THIRTY FIVE YEARS AGO Horses was released November 10, 1975 on the anniversary of the death of Arthur Rimbaud. We offer a salute to all who participated in its birth, and all who have listened through the years.  HAIL TO THE CITY OF BROTHERLY LOVE Congratulations to Roy Halladay and the Philadelphia Phillies, the team of the late and great Todd Pollard Smith, born in Philadelphia.  CHRISTOPH MARIA SCHLINGENSIEF Artist October 24, 1960 - August 21, 2010 "Gesegnet sei dein Leiden" He encompassed everything we hope of our heroes: virtue, magnetism and the absolute belief in his chosen mission. He had the ability to mobilize the outcast and the gifted, instilling all with the strength and confidence that he possessed in abundance. He was in life our friend and in death our hero. He has stirred us with his truths that are at once anarchistic and ordered. And in his alchemical process his truths have become our own. His energy was that of a valiant and mischievous army that could not be contained in death. An energy that radiates at this moment. All who have collaborated with him shared his vision and his suffering and now continue to feel the power of his infinite love. —Patti Smith Information about Festspielhaus Afrika  TULI KUPFERBERG September 28, 1923 - July 12, 2010 The guy had a great sense of humor. Always thought the Fugs should have stayed court jesters, "the buffoon" as he called it, though for him the term meant one who understood the cosmic jape of this existence. Maybe because part of his mythos began with him jumping off a bridge, and then figuring a way to hover over the water. He was as near a saint as you would find on the lower east side, art in the name of art and nothing more, really - his apartment, which you can glimpse in the numerous videos he would post on YouTube over the past couple of years, is a cave of filled bookshelves and scattered papers: a writer's den. As a never-before rock writer, at the Rutgers Targum, the first thing I ever wrote about music was a review of the Fugs at the Player's Theater on MacDougal Street in the summer of 1966. To me, in their mixture of weird old jug band and political broadside and smut and beatnik revelry and Burroughsian time grids and Blake and Yiddish threnody ("Morning, Morning" revealing the Cantorial in Tuli's baritone), they yanked open the absurdist-doors, as important a burst of energy in the history of New York music as their co-conspirators in the Velvet Underground and the Lovin' Spoonful. Tuli loved song parodies, and I can do no more than to send this one out to him, set to the melody of "Oh Julie," by the Crescendoes: Oh-uh-oh-uh-oh Tuli I see you walking down the Avenue Tenth St. on Number Two Got a smile on your shaggy face Sure good to see you around this place Oh-uh-oh-uh-oh Tuli Gonna miss your bo-he Me 'n all we St. Marks and the Bowery A to D —Lenny Kaye "DREAM OF LIFE" NOMINATED FOR AN EMMY AWARD Congratulations to Steven Sebring, whose film Patti Smith: Dream of Life has been nominated for a primetime Emmy award in the Exceptional Merit In Nonfiction Filmmaking category. From PBS.org: Patti Smith: Dream of Life aired on POV on December 30, 2009. Shot over 11 years by renowned fashion photographer Steven Sebring, Patti Smith: Dream of Life is an intimate portrait of the legendary rocker, poet and artist. Following Smith's personal reflections over a decade, the film explores her many art forms and the friends and poets who inspired her -- William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Bob Dylan, Robert Mapplethorpe and Michael Stipe. Watch the trailer. 
"HORSES" HONORED BY the LIBRARY OF CONGRESS On June 23, Librarian of Congress James H. Billington named the 25 new additions to the eighth annual National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress, which will ensure that these cultural, artistic and historical recordings are always available to the American public. Under the terms of the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, the Librarian, with advice from the Library's National Recording Preservation Board (NRPB), is tasked with selecting 25 recordings that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and are at least 10 years old. The selections for the 2009 registry bring the total number of recordings to 300. "It is time to once again celebrate the nation's rich sonic history and the importance of sound recordings in our lives," said Billington. "This latest list of selections showcases the diverse beauty, humanity and artistry found in the American soundscape. The Library's Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation will partner with many individuals and organizations to preserve and sustain these significant examples of our creative spirit so that they can inform and enrich the lives of modern and future generations." The list of recordings named to the registry features a diverse selection of spoken word and musical recordings that span the years 1913-1995. They cover a wide range of sounds and music, attesting to the vast imagination and creativity flowing through the cultural stream of the nation's aural heritage. Selections cross musical types ranging from klezmer to blues, pop and rap, but also include comedy, radio broadcasts, field recordings, Broadway cast recordings and lab experiments. Additions to the registry also feature notable performances by Little Richard, Willie Nelson, The Band, The Staple Singers, Eddie Palmieri, Ethel Merman and Patti Smith: "Horses," Patti Smith (1975) Before recording this poetic proto-punk classic, Patti Smith and her band had honed the tunes in a triumphant run of shows at New York's iconic venue, CBGB. In the studio, producer John Cale helped the band to further refine the selections in a process that Smith remembers as not always pleasant, but greatly beneficial to the final product. Smith's background as a rock critic and poet is equally in evidence on this record, which includes re-imaginings of such oldies as "Gloria" and "Land of 1000 Dances," with the addition of Smith's provocative and unflinching lyrics. 
HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY Pray for our river and the Gulf of Mexico Fight The Blob  CHIEF RECIPIENT ASCAP FOUNDERS AWARD 4.21.10 Our alliance of 33 years, and counting, has been an honor, a privilege, and awe inspiring amidst the laughs, the tears, the triumphs, the challenges, and even the defeats. You are indeed worthy of the rank of Field Marshall. Congratulations on yet another award, The assistant formerly known as pclp ELEMENTAL DESIGN: A SHORT FILM BY JESSE SMITH AND MICHAEL CAMPBELL Elemental Design is the name given to Jim Doble's line of hand made musical instruments. His commissioned works are shipped around the world to performers, schools, museums, playgrounds, music therapy centers, and musical beginners. Part of what makes the instruments special is the materials they are made from. Jim is able to conjure sounds from tuned glass, metal, wood, stone, and found objects using recycled and repurposed materials as often as possible. Shown here are works in progress as well as finished instruments. Watch the video PATTI SMITH TO BE HONORED AT 27TH ANNUAL ASCAP POP MUSIC AWARDS ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) will honor rock icon Patti Smith at its 27th annual Pop Music Awards, taking place April 21, 2010 at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles, CA. Smith will be presented with the prestigious ASCAP Founders Award and will perform with her band at the event. The invitation-only gala will also honor the top songwriters and publishers of ASCAP's most performed pop songs of 2009. The ASCAP Founders Award is among the most prestigious honors that ASCAP gives to songwriters and composers who have made pioneering contributions to music by inspiring and influencing their fellow music creators. Each recipient is a musical innovator who possesses a unique style of creative genius that will enrich generations to come. Past recipients include Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne, Elvis Costello, Heart's Ann & Nancy Wilson, Billy Joel, Annie Lennox, Sir Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell, Smokey Robinson, Steely Dan, James Taylor, Tom Waits, Stevie Wonder and Neil Young. Commenting on the award to Smith, ASCAP President and Chairman Paul Williams said: "Patti fused raw rock energy with the heart of a poet and ignited the 1970s New York punk scene. She expanded the boundaries of artistic expression, musically and otherwise, inspiring generations of rockers worldwide. She continues to be a vibrant, prolific artist, working in a wide variety of media. We are very proud to honor Patti Smith with ASCAP's Founders Award."  A TIP OF THE HAT TO ORNETTE COLEMAN ON HIS 80TH BIRTHDAY  Order from Amazon.com PATTI SMITH AT BOOK SOUP IN LOS ANGELES HAPPY NEW YEAR PATTI SMITH AND STEVEN SEBRING: OBJECTS OF LIFE January 6 - February 6, 2009 Robert Miller Gallery 524 West 26th Street New York City  PATTI SMITH NAMED ONE OF "THE NEW YORK CITY 400" In celebration of New York's 400th birthday, the Museum of the City of New York recently compiled a list of the 400 most influential New Yorkers from the last four centuries. Of these great figures, one of them was Patti Smith, and along with this honorable title, she was also awarded a lifetime membership to the museum. See the full list here: The New York City 400 The museum has an array of wonderful and informative exhibits, some changing and others part of their permanent collection. They also have a great calendar of public programs and lectures, on a variety of subjects, interesting to New Yorkers and visitors of any origin. The museum is located uptown, directly across from a very special added section of Central Park, just north of the Conservatory Garden, where the Harlem Meer lake is located. The exhibits on currently include Legacy: The Preservation of Wilderness in New York City Parks and The Edge of New York: Waterfront Photographs The Museum's Web site --Jesse Smith
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF CLIMATE ACTION October 24th is International Day of Climate Action! Thanks to 350.org, you can find events near you, plan your own, or connect with messengers and action takers in your neighborhood. Currently, 150 countries are already taking action for this day, and there are 2141 events planned. Go to 350.org to see what you can do, and what events are taking place near you. There are a lot of incredible ones in NYC, including a recycling bin project on broadway, where people will be making and decorating recycling bins to be placed on corners all along broadway, encouraging pedestrians to recycle the many bottles and cans that get thrown in the trash everyday. There are tons of other events too, rallies, bike rides, art shows, music shows, climate festivals, volunteer projects, etc. I will be planting trees that morning as it is also the big Million Trees/Parks Dept. tree planting day, and hopefully joining onto something afterwards. I hope you are doing your part too in whatever way you choose!! --Jesse Smith From the 350.org: What is the day of action? On October 24, the International Day of Climate Action will cover almost every country on earth, the most widespread day of environmental action in the planet's history. There will be big rallies in big cities, and incredible creative actions across the globe: mountain climbers on our highest peaks with banners, underwater demonstrations in island nations threatened by sea level rise, churches and mosques and synagogues and ashrams engaged in symbolic action, star athletes organizing mass bike rides--and hundreds upon hundreds of community events to raise awareness of the need for urgent action. Every event will highlight the number 350--and people will gather at some point for a big group photo depicting that all important message. At 350.org, we'll assemble all the photos for a gigantic, global, visual petition. The thousands of events on October 24 will drive 350 and all that it represents into the human imagination, and change the negotiating environment as we head towards the crucial UN Climate Negotiations in Copenhagen in December of 2009. Copenhagen may well be the pivotal moment that determines whether or not we get the planet out of the climate crisis, and your actions on October 24 will help our leaders realize we need a real solution that pays attention to the science. *350 parts per million CO2 in the atmosphere is the safe limit for humanity. We are currently at around 385.
NOBEL PEACE PRIZE Friend -- This morning, Michelle and I awoke to some surprising and humbling news. At 6 a.m., we received word that I'd been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009. To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who've been honored by this prize -- men and women who've inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of peace. But I also know that throughout history the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes. That is why I've said that I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations and all peoples to confront the common challenges of the 21st century. These challenges won't all be met during my presidency, or even my lifetime. But I know these challenges can be met so long as it's recognized that they will not be met by one person or one nation alone. This award -- and the call to action that comes with it -- does not belong simply to me or my administration; it belongs to all people around the world who have fought for justice and for peace. And most of all, it belongs to you, the men and women of America, who have dared to hope and have worked so hard to make our world a little better. So today we humbly recommit to the important work that we've begun together. I'm grateful that you've stood with me thus far, and I'm honored to continue our vital work in the years to come. Thank you, President Barack Obama
JIM CARROLL Poet and Beloved Friend August 1, 1949 - September 11, 2009 catholicboy.com
TED KENNEDY Friend -- Michelle and I were heartbroken to learn this morning of the death of our dear friend, Senator Ted Kennedy. For nearly five decades, virtually every major piece of legislation to advance the civil rights, health and economic well-being of the American people bore his name and resulted from his efforts. His ideas and ideals are stamped on scores of laws and reflected in millions of lives -- in seniors who know new dignity; in families that know new opportunity; in children who know education's promise; and in all who can pursue their dream in an America that is more equal and more just, including me. In the United States Senate, I can think of no one who engendered greater respect or affection from members of both sides of the aisle. His seriousness of purpose was perpetually matched by humility, warmth and good cheer. He battled passionately on the Senate floor for the causes that he held dear, and yet still maintained warm friendships across party lines. And that's one reason he became not only one of the greatest senators of our time, but one of the most accomplished Americans ever to serve our democracy. I personally valued his wise counsel in the Senate, where, regardless of the swirl of events, he always had time for a new colleague. I cherished his confidence and momentous support in my race for the Presidency. And even as he waged a valiant struggle with a mortal illness, I've benefited as President from his encouragement and wisdom. His fight gave us the opportunity we were denied when his brothers John and Robert were taken from us: the blessing of time to say thank you and goodbye. The outpouring of love, gratitude and fond memories to which we've all borne witness is a testament to the way this singular figure in American history touched so many lives. For America, he was a defender of a dream. For his family, he was a guardian. Our hearts and prayers go out to them today -- to his wonderful wife, Vicki, his children Ted Jr., Patrick and Kara, his grandchildren and his extended family. Today, our country mourns. We say goodbye to a friend and a true leader who challenged us all to live out our noblest values. And we give thanks for his memory, which inspires us still. Sincerely, President Barack Obama
KEVIN SHIELDS OF MY BLOODY VALENTINE
WE SALUTE OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN IRAN 
IN MEMORY OF MICHAEL JACKSON Recorded in Arezzo, Italy, July 1, 2009
 MICHAEL'S PASSING When I first heard of it, I had a pain in my stomach. The world seems like a different place now. Many things have and will be said about him, but he was a true genius. I was lucky enough to witness that up close a few times before all the big fame. I remember driving in a snowstorm to see the Jackson 5 in 1975 when Dancing Machine was the hit. Janet Jackson was a little girl and she and her brother Randy did a Sonny and Cher impersonation. In 1981 I bought tickets at a Crazy Eddie Ticketron for the Off The Wall Tour. My friend Jeff reluctantly went along with me. We sat off to the side of the stage at Madison Square Garden. The Jacksons performed in a straight line. Whenever Michael came to the front and danced, the crowd went crazy. He was like nothing I had ever seen before. He was unbelievable to watch. We left the Garden on a high and spent the rest of the night dancing and singing around the streets of New York City. I loved him, and truly was a fan. I bought all the records and danced in my room to them. We we're the same age so I felt like we were growing up together. When the fame came.... I was proud of him. He broke barriers and changed the music world. When it was announced early this year that he was going to perform again and do 50 shows I was excited and rooted for him. I wanted to see him back on top doing what he did best. I'm just so sad..... For the last few months we've had a stray black & white cat living in our backyard. And we grew very attached to him. He was very vocal, and would seem to sing at our back door every morning and every night. We just called him Black & White and would sing Michael's song when we saw him. Yesterday he went missing....... Tony Shanahan
MELTDOWN Patti Smith played at the Meltdown Festival in London on June 18. Here are a couple of reviews of the evening: The Telegraph The Guardian
SOCIALISM, BY JEAN-LUC GODARD
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