High Priestess of Punk

A pioneer of New York City's vibrant punk scene, Patti Smith is arguably the most influential woman in rock. Despite virtually nonexistent airplay since her debut, the 1975 classic "Horses," she has never slowed, never softened. As the icons of her era slowly die or fade away--CBGB, the venerable club that launched her career, is being threatened with eviction; a Ramones song can be heard in a current Diet Pepsi commercial--Smith remains unapologetically punk. Earlier this month she was tapped to be the artistic director of London's Meltdown music festival, taking the baton from Morrissey and, before him, David Bowie and Nick Cave. Next week, she will be hosting an evening of spoken word in honor of photographer Diane Arbus (herself something of a kindred punk spirit) at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. She also plans to enter the studio next month to record an album of cover tunes. She recently spoke with NEWSWEEK's Brian Braiker about her recent flurry of activity. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: What's your take on the possible closure of CBGB?

Patti Smith: I have various thoughts on it. I have the Jackie Onassis spirit of preservation of our historic architecture. One of the things that has drawn so many people down to the Bowery area--the people living there and the housing and shops and all of the revitalization of that area--was CBGB. In those days the Bowery was skid row, there was nothing there but bums. People just didn't go there. It wasn't real dangerous; it was winos and hobos. They set the big trash cans on fire at night so they could warm themselves.

What does the club mean to you?

I went down there on Easter 1974, [guitarist] Lenny Kaye and I went there to see [the band] Television, and there were about 11 people there. It was like a dream come true, the whole situation. It was a little bar, there weren't any grown-ups; you didn't feel that the mafia was there. You weren't forced to drink expensive stuff you didn't want. And Television was a revelation. It was for me a pivotal night of my life, walking into CBGB and seeing Television. It resonated all the possibilities of our youth, what we were doing, what we were attempting to do.

What was that?