How a Surreal Dream Featuring Jim Morrison Inspired a Classic Patti Smith Song
- by Mick McStarkey
Patti Smith is a bonafide icon and one of the most influential musical artists of all time. Many have tried and failed to imitate the mystique of the heroine we all know as the ‘Punk Poet Laureate’, which tells you a great deal about the quality of her artistry. Unique to her lived experience, Smith’s extensive back catalogue is a varied yet thrilling journey.
Over the years, Smith has covered every human subject imaginable, and in many ways, you could argue that she exits in the same realm as the likes of Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell and other certified icons of the industry. Informed, inspired and with many a tale to tell, there will never be anyone quite like Patti Smith.
In a sense, Smith’s artistry is also a slightly jarring one. Not only can her work be partially credited with giving us the works of Florence & The Machine, The Smiths and Orville Peck, but on the other hand, she is also – along with all of her beat poet friends – partially to blame for the existence of the very worst in western society. The overtly pained and ‘complex’ wannabe poet-type, the one that plagues our campuses worldwide, that many would label a ‘softboi’.
