Subterranean Smith

Here's a very cool shot that I thought was worth sharing. No, I haven't changed my tune about Patti Smith. I'm still not a big fan of hers (as I rather laboriously expressed here). But I spotted this picture on my favorite Tumblr blog, This Isn't Happiness, and it instantly struck a familiar chord with me. Here we see ol' Patricia holding court in the rear of what was once Subterranean Records. You may recall my panicky deathwatch of this hallowed old record shop on Cornelia Street back in 2007 (although the place actually closed its doors for good in 2008). Formerly one of my very favorite places on the goddamn earth as a whole, Subterranean exuded such a palpable sense of effortless cool. As I mentioned back on those earlier posts, stepping down into Subterranean genuinely felt like you were entering the underground (obvious pun intended). It had the great clandestine air of place you went to learn secrets shared only by a privileged few. I remember prizing a since-cherished poster of The Meatmen (as in We're The Meatmen …. And You Suck ...er....fame) off its ceiling. Subterranean was also the first place to ever sell my any music by Killing Joke, so I guess you can blame them.

In any case, this photograph was taken by Danny Clinch. See more of his amazing work by clicking right here.