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Music

Counterbalance 19: Patti Smith -'Horses'

One of the most critically-acclaimed debuts in rock history, Patti Smith’s Horses is a whirlwind of poetry and proto-punk rock. Counterbalance takes Horses for a ride -- go Rimbaud and go Johnny go!
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Film

Scorsese and Dylan: A Match Made in Fantasy

In Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story, a cinematic genius and a Nobel Prize-winning musical icon pair for a magical and purposefully deceptive look at rock 'n' roll life in the mid-'70s.

Music

Mary Lee Kortes Preps New Book, 'Dreaming of Dylan: 115 Dreams About Bob Dylan', Releases New Song (premiere + interview)

Longtime Bob Dylan favorite Mary Lee Kortes presents a book of dreams about the man. Patti Smith, Jimbo Mathus, others contribute.

Books

The Poets Are Angry: Patti Smith, However, Is Not

Whatever anger has landed on her heart in the jungles of Trumplandia, Patti Smith consistently performs the miracle of putting it down, as seen in her recently published prose-poem, The New Jerusalem.

Books

The Beat Goes on with 'Kerouac on Record'

These essays explore the connection between Kerouac and the music he loved -- Charlie Parker, Lee Konitz, Chet Baker, Miles Davis and others -- and the musicians who loved him, in turn.

Music

"Build It Back Again" at Tibet House US Benefit Concert

The artists, curated by Philip Glass, on stage at the 31st Annual Tibet House US Benefit encouraged resistance.

Music

Pathway to Paris Benefit Draws Attention to "1,000 Cities" Project

With the aid of Patti Smith, Joan Baez, Michael Stipe and more, Pathway to Paris raised awareness of climate change and their "1,000 Cities" initiative at Carnegie Hall.

Music

Every Time It Rains: How Kate Bush and Patti Smith Immortalized Wilhelm Reich in Song

Inspired by Wilhelm Reich's "energy of orgasms", Kate Bush is stylized, controlled, lush, and multi-layered in her approach; Patti Smith, on the other hand, is ferocious and driven.

Music

Summerstage Night Belongs to Fred "Sonic" Smith (Patti Smith's Tribute)

Patti Smith celebrated her late husband's birthday in Central Park with their children and her band.

Music

Tibet House's 30th Anniversary Benefit Concert Celebrated Philip Glass' 80th

Philip Glass, the artistic director of the Tibet House benefits, celebrated his 80th birthday at this year's annual benefit with performances from Patti Smith, Iggy Pop, Brittany Howard, Sufjan Stevens and more.

Music

Soundwalk Collective: Killer Road

Atmospheric soundscape architects Soundwalk Collective team up with proto-punk legend Patti Smith to breathe new life into the work of Nico.

Music

Soundwalk Collective, Jesse Paris Smith and Patti Smith Pay Tribute to Nico's Haunting Poetry

The works of the German art rock singer, who died in 1988, are reinterpreted through this ambient-sounding collaboration with Patti Smith.

Reviews

'Agnostic': Against Theists and Atheists

Lesley Hazleton’s brand of agnosticism simply holds open a space for contemplative thinking.

Books

On the Sameness and Difference of 'Warhol & Mapplethorpe'

This new museum book highlights the challenge of housing two giants under one roof, with mixed results.

Music

The 100 Greatest Alternative Singles of the '80s: Part 4: 40 - 21

Stories sung with grace and compassion. We can only hope our stories will be told so well, sometime.

Music

Patti Smith: Banga

It’s hard to review something by as consummate an artist as Patti Smith without just listing all the similies for "outstanding".

Music

Various Artists: Occupy This Album

Containing 99 songs in its digital version and 78 in the physical CD release, this has something for everyone who wants to listen to the message of the Occupy movement.

Music

Black Music, White People / White Music, Black People

These two books show how knotty the connections between culture, race and music have become, even though the only thing the worlds they explore share in common is that in both cases, the audiences are almost all white.

Reviews

'Love Goes to Buildings on Fire' Like Its Title, Is Poetry

The most important five years in popular music -- including the birth and rise of CBGB, the birth of disco and hip-hop, Philip Glass’s emergence as a Serious Composer, and the many shades of salsa -- in one volume.

Reviews

Words of Love: Patti Smith’s Ode to Georgia O’Keeffe

While Smith’s performance may have felt off-the-cuff, she couldn’t have been more in her leanin’-on-the-parkin’-meter element.

Sarah Grant
Reviews

Virgin Mobile FreeFest: 10 September 2011 - Columbia, MD

Vibrant colors and the love of free music on display at the Virgin Mobile FreeFest.

Jesse Justice
Music

Counterbalance: Year One

In this special one-year anniversary edition of Counterbalance, Eric Klinger and Jason Mendelsohn discuss their first year combing through the pop music canon (as determined by Acclaimed Music's calculations of every best-of list available), share a few favorites, and justify a couple items on their expense account.

Books

Poet, Punk and Shaman: 'Dancing Barefoot: The Patti Smith Story'

If you gave poet and mystic William Blake access to some electric guitars, the result would have sounded a lot like Patti Smith. Dave Thompson tells this story with a special focus on the height of her career in the '70s.

Music

Various Artists: Rave on Buddy Holly

This tribute collection of 19 covers of one of early rock's most influential pioneers features legends (Paul McCartney, Lou Reed), indie A-listers (Modest Mouse, My Morning Jacket, She & Him), and -- would you believe? -- Kid Rock.

Music

Des Ark: Don't Rock the Boat, Sink the Fucker

Singer-guitarist Aimée Argote barrels down Tobacco Road on her band's first LP in six years.

Music

R.E.M.: Collapse Into Now

After returning to form with their 2008 album Accelerate, the veteran alt-rockers decide the best way to follow it up is to offer more energetic romps with a few ballads mixed in.

Books

In the Oft-Reviled Genre of Memoirs, Here are Some Memoirs to Love

A subgenre has emerged that should placate memoirphobes and please memoirfiles: the artist-teacher memoir.

Music

Ted Nugent: When in Doubt, He'll Whip It Out

The Nuge storms Vegas and opens up about his musical history, Washington bailouts, conservation, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Reviews

House of the Rising Punk

A top-notch intro to CBGB's... from a German TV documentary? Gabba Gabba Hey!

Reviews

Patti Smith: Dream of Life

As much as Steven Sebring's documentary reveals of Patti Smith, it never tries to define her or even make her its only focus.

Music

Patti Smith & Kevin Shields: The Coral Sea

A haunting tribute to the late Robert Mapplethorpe, The Coral Sea is a monumental accomplishment in the career of one of America's truly outstanding artists.

Books

Pretty Vacant: by Phil Strongman

Strongman makes a determined case for punk’s longevity, proving that the genre’s spirit will never die.


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