TMS Retro: The Pioneering Ladies of Alternative Pop-Rock

(Charles Steiner / Andy Phillips)

It’s June 2022, and the song at the top of the music charts is Kate Bush’s 1985 magnum opus ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)’ thanks to its effective use on the current season of Netflix’s megahit sci-fi/teen series “Stranger Things” (2016- ). Suddenly, tweens, teens and early 20somethings are discovering Kate’s existence and music legacy through popular television. I’ve always said the best exposure outside of radio, records and concerts for new music acts are film, TV and adverts. Soundtracks have consistently been one of my top sources for new song discoveries, which is why it wasn’t hard for me to hold back bragging this month about how I’ve been aware of Kate Bush since I got hooked on classic rock in between high school and college. The funny thing is—while I appreciate Kate’s impact on music and future female artists—I’ve generally preferred the other weird, artsy, unique singer-songwriter of her era: Patti Smith. Both broke through when popular music was about to get contrasting makeovers with punk and disco [and later new wave]. They were the right amount of avant-garde for the alternative crowd; but also surprisingly catchy enough for top 40 as well.

Like Grace Slick and Janis Joplin did for female rock musicians in the late 1960s; or Joni Mitchell and Carole King for female singer-songwriters in the early 1970s; Patti and Kate almost instantly influenced young girls to sing, compose and learn an instrument or two when men were still the face [or voice] of the music scene. Patti’s brand of expression on the American east coast wasn’t dissimilar to Kate’s in the greater London area overseas. So it might not be too surprising the fellow alt/art pioneers have quite similar origin stories. Both are striking looking, dark haired ladies with artistic backgrounds [Patti via painting, writing and performance art; Kate with dance and karate]. Both were mentored by members of legendary classic rock bands; with Patti’s groundbreaking debut album, ‘Horses’ (1975), produced by John Cale of the Velvet Underground; and Kate initially noticed by Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour—who helped her get her first record deal at EMI, which then quickly led to her breakthrough LP, ‘The Kick Inside’ (1978). Because of the period, all the members of Patti’s self-titled band besides herself were male and all of the musicians Kate recruited for her records and tours were men. Both Patti and Kate have distinct musical styles, with the former famously revolving a lot of her songs around spoken-word poetry; and the latter’s on-stage performances including interpretive dance choreography to go with her famous high notes. Both women settled down to raise families when their popularities started waning by the 1990s, and both come from Irish ancestry.

(Redferns)

But even with all these similarities, it’s not likely anyone would actually confuse Patti and Kate for each other. They still have plenty of their own identities and techniques. Patti’s roots were well placed in the punk crowd, associated with groups like Television, the Ramones, the Damned, the Dead Boys and even the rock band Blue Öyster Cult [which Patti’s past boyfriend, Allen Lanier, was the keyboardist for] in the mid-‘70s. Despite her tomboy look, in-your-face attitude and stage persona, edgy compositions, and lack of tact; Patti’s actually never considered herself punk, and just insists she was expressing herself through her poems and alt-rock records. Nevertheless, many musicians, fans and historians still argue the New Jersey artist deserves the title Godmother of Punk.

(Peter Still)

Kate on the other hand, was melodic, and invested in the sound of her music as much as the words. This was already obvious on her first single, ‘Wuthering Heights,’ inspired by the classic 1847 Emily Brontë novel, which shot Kate up to no. 1 on the UK charts—as the first female English singer-songwriter to do so. Other singles that followed, such as ‘Babooshka’ from her third album ‘Never for Ever’ (1980), continued to show Kate’s interest in other areas of the arts, like literature and folk tales. But she could also fit in with the rockers of her generation, such as David Gilmour, Peter Gabriel [whom she sang with on the track ‘Don’t Give Up’ for Peter’s hit 1986 LP ‘So’], Prince [who collaborated with her on the song ‘Why Should I Love You?’ for Kate’s 1993 album ‘The Red Shoes’], Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck. The latter two were also guest guitarists on ‘The Red Shoes.’ But Kate can also be a natural up tempo like with ‘Cloudbusting’ and the title track of her 1985 album ‘Hounds of Love.’ The first song of Kate’s I ever heard was ‘This Woman’s Work’ off the soundtrack of John Hughes’ romcom She’s Having a Baby (1988). A beautiful, bittersweet ballad which showcases the English rose at her best: just a piano and her soprano vocals alongside an all-woman choir. Along with other tunes like ‘Wow’ from her LP ‘Lionheart’ (1978) and ‘The Man With the Child in His Eyes’ from ‘The Kick Inside,’ Kate is clearly most comfortable with the sweeping, romantic atmosphere. It’s no surprise she’s been referred to as The Queen of Alt-Pop by the music press.

This isn’t to say Patti isn’t just as versatile as the fellow raven-haired songstress, since she actually didn’t have any problem being radio friendly either. Even with tracks like ‘Free Money’ and ‘Redondo Beach’ on ‘Horses,’ we can hear Patti is fine lending her rough, husky vocals to more accessible riffs and beats. One of the most famous examples of Patti’s success with general listeners is the single ‘Frederick’ off her 1979 album ‘Wave,’ produced by power pop legend Todd Rundgren. A catchy, melody heavy pop song about Patti’s future husband and father of her children, Fred ‘Sonic’ Smith of the proto punk-rock band MC5. ‘Frederick’ proved Patti could be commercial and still perform rockin’ songs like ‘Land’ and her version of Them’s ‘Gloria’ [written by a pre-famous Van Morrison]. The couple later penned together Patti’s political rock anthem ‘People Have the Power’ and the rest of her 1988 LP ‘Dream of Life.’ Patti’s biggest hit on the charts would be the rock ballad ‘Because the Night’ from her LP ‘Easter’ (1978). Originally written by rockstar Bruce Springsteen, producer Jimmy Iovine convinced The Boss to give the song to Patti because he was convinced it would be a huge hit “with a girl singing.” His prediction was correct, and ‘Because the Night’ peaked at no. 10 on the US charts. Unlike Kate, Patti often collaborated with her bandmates and other musicians [usually with the tall woman focusing on lyrics and her song partner(s) contributing the music], while Kate always preferred writing and composing by herself. My favorite Patti song is ‘Dancing Barefoot’ on ‘Wave.’ It has everything that makes Patti how we know her: simple, moody riff by guitarist Lenny Kaye, Patti’s deep vocal tone, a spoken-word outro, and her usual lyrical theme of cultural commentary.

While it’s no doubt Patti’s and Kate’s legacies and statuses in popular music have continued to thrive throughout the years, the kind of radicalness that came with their art and public images unsurprisingly brought some controversy along the way as well. The same year Patti enjoyed success with ‘Because the Night,’ she shocked the world by releasing a song titled ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll N*gger’ on the same album. What was interpreted as subversive at the time, now just seems offensive and tone deaf, especially coming from a white woman. She also confused some of her female fans in 2014 by saying she wasn’t sure she could be a feminist as the mother of a son [Jackson, b. 1982]. Kate disappointed a lot of her liberal and progressive fans in 2016 when she revealed she found former Prime Minister Theresa May relatable, and was glad she won her election that year. Not long after, the music artist backtracked on her comments, stating she doesn’t actually pay attention to politics.

(Lynn Goldsmith)

Of course, both artists were already familiar with controversial attention by then, particularly within the Christian communities. Patti introduced herself to the world uttering the first line of the first track—‘Gloria’—of her first album: “Jesus died for somebody’s sins, but not mine.” Naturally, many a God-fearing American wasn’t exactly comfortable with this kind of blunt statement, which is exactly the sort of response Patti and her anti-establishment peers were hoping for. Kate also garnered a similar reaction from religious listeners when her lyrics to ‘Running Up That Hill’ suggested God can be persuaded easily by a human. The amusing thing is, while Patti and Kate enjoyed stirring the pot, both have Christian backgrounds. Patti was raised Jehovah’s Witness and Kate comes from a Catholic family. Even now, both ladies admit they never completely lost their faith and still have a level of spiritualism despite ruffling some feathers with believers. They wanted to feel rebellious in their youth and speak their minds through their crafts.

(Beverley Goodway)

As is usually the case with edgy, out-there, talented artists, Patti’s and Kate’s output creatively overshadows the negativity in their reputations. No one’s immune to criticism, but focusing solely on the art here, I would say the impact speaks for itself. For the past four decades, many, many women in music have credited Patti and/or Kate as one of their inspirations and favorite musicians. Hole’s Courtney Love, Garbage’s Shirley Manson, Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth, Alison Goldfrapp; singer-songwriters Björk, Dido, Tori Amos, PJ Harvey, Joanna Newsom, Florence Welch, St. Vincent, Courtney Barnett; indie-pop girls KT Tunstall, Lily Allen, Kate Nash, Charli XCX; and even some male musicians. REM’s Michael Stipe, Suede’s Brett Anderson, Morrissey and Johnny Marr of the Smiths and Robert Smith of the Cure are big fans of Patti and Kate. If there is one thing song wise I wish the alternative ladies might have done more, it’s make an effort to work with some other female music artists once in a while. Like say, Stevie Nicks or Emmylou Harris were doing during the same time period. But as it is, I can’t imagine anyone in music asking for more than what Patti and Kate have achieved.