Word: angst
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...angst has always been with Patti Smith, from Horses to Radio Ethiopia to Easter and even to Wave. If not present in pure noise, it is present in her whimpering and babelogue. Listen carefully. Behind the music of Patti Smith--behind her mesmerizing God-licks and Christ soliloquys--the seemingly mindless energy of punk is made indelibly clear and mindful...
...ALBUM is softly stated, lacking the rambunctious bitching rancor of her previous work. It is disappointing in a sense. Much of the angst gets lost in the attempted level of sophistication. Patti is no longer wailing and screaming, but then again, she is no longer being spanked...
...Patti Smith is one punk who has transcended the need for self-glorification and has instead found her ability to express her angst, however sophomoric it may appear at times...
...first appeared with that worn leather, her straggly, filthy looks could not be avoided. This the woman who thinks that orgasm is the highest state of consciousness, who roots her angst in Burroughs, Rimbaud, Hendrix, Morrison, the Bible--symbolists all. Patti Smith has used the symbols of our time exceedingly well, just as Dylan and Springsteen did before her, towards somewhat different ends. Avoiding the swastika, she has flaunted her hair, her leather, her boots, her sickliness, her chains, her sex...powerful symbols which horrified Rotarians and changed rock'n'roll...
...SYMBOLS themselves are meaningless, like words without perceptions. And to cling to any symbol--whether to be mindlessly patriotic or trendgoing punk--is decadent. And this is where the angst either emerges, or turns the knife inward. This is where confused fools lose themselves in their symbols and overdose, and it is where artists use their symbols, change them, flex them, adapt them, to express their angst. It's facing reality: Iggy Pop is a fool, Sid Vicious is dead, Johnny Rotten is dying, and Patti Smith is fucking with the future.*CrimsonLaura J. Levine...