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#53 – Patti Smith – Horses

The Godmother of Punk, or so they say. While she has been in the past bothered by the opening line to ‘Gloria’ (“Jesus died for somebody’s sins but not mine”), I would admit that the line to start off this album feels so deliberate and shocking. She then goes on to paint a very vulgar pornographic picture of a woman from the male point of view, wrapping up with the Christian exclamation of “Gloria” (“Gloria in excelsis Deo”).

As would be the case for many on this list, I was often inspired by the mentors of the 80’s to seek their influences of the prior years and for Michael Stipe, Patti Smith was that inspiration. However, what was so punk about Patti was her ability to seek out gender-bending personas. Consider the subject matter of the lyrics of Gloria coming from Smith, especially during an era when rock and roll was male-dominated.

The cover to the album taken by Robert Maplethorpe, also can be said to carry so much weight before even listening to music. Throughout her career she pushed boundaries when others might have been timid. Her lyrics were often poetic, many times stinging and eerie and it’s not just the storylines which carry weight but the manner at which Smith portrays these words.

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