Artist Patti Smith

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Patti Smith

One of the best things about Patti Smith is that she can sound stately or totally punk depending on the environment. She’s always been a little of both, of course, going back to the start: Part of her importance in the CBGB scene was the amount of headiness she brought to a burgeoning punk movement that was less than mindful (or at least pretended to be). Smith was finally inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2007, and filled 2008 with The Coral Sea, a collaboration with My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields. She’s also the subject of director Steven Sebring’s documentary Patti Smith: Dream Of Life, which follows Smith over 11 years of traveling around the globe.

Updated 08/05/2009