Too many hippies not enough punks

Me

Who says 7:30 am is too early to listen to the Germs?

For example, Patti Smith did sing some old standards from "The Who". Her version of "My generation"is on the CD version of her "Horses". It's very good, I prefer it to the original; but as much I hate to admit it, the rest of "Horses", which you would probably call 'a boring hippie album', has aged much better than her punky "my generation", which was not on the original LP and was added to the CD as an encore.

The wonder was that the patrons, silver haired and sleekly buffed, could pick her out at all. Ms. Smith was understated, even self-effacing in her mannish jacket, boater shirt and beat-up jeans. Watching her sip hot water and lemon, you could easily have mistaken her for one of any number of androgynous downtown hipsters adopting skinny jeans and boyfriend coats as a low-key urban armor.

Was she trying to merge with the scenery? Ms. Smith shrugged, noncommittal. “My style says ‘Look at me, don’t look at me,’ ” she said, a hint of testiness ruffling her easy composure. “It’s, ‘I don’t care what you think.’ ”

So it was surprising to learn that her roomy gray jacket, with cuffs that unfasten at the wrist, was designed by Ann Demeulemeester, a high priestess of Parisian vanguard chic. Her jeans were Ralph Lauren, prized by Ms. Smith for their racy lines. Her boots, a gift from Johnny Depp, who wore them as the Mad Hatter in “Alice in Wonderland,” were the perfect fit, Ms. Smith exulted, “like when the magic cobbler made your shoes.”

She has a rarefied feel for that kind of evocative detail " no stray seam escaping her scrutiny. [..]

Yet from time to time, a certain flintiness took over. “The thing I’ve always liked about performing,” she said, storm clouds gathering in her eyes, “is that I decide what I want to wear, whether I want to comb my hair. No one ever told me what to do, and no one tells me now.”