Also this issue: Running' Lapse Relapse Records' Matt Jacobson explains why he chose Philadelphia for Contamination. -Paul Burress Smiths and Lessons How Johnny Marr got here from there -- and ended up singing? -Nicole Pensiero Sweet Tooth -Ainé Ardron-Doley Brad Mehldau -A.D. Amorosi Don Conoscenti -Nicole Pensiero HearHere -Patrick Rapa DJ Nights -Sean O'Neal Beat Box -Ainé Ardron-Doley

January 16-22, 2003

musicpicks

Patti Smith

She once summed up her music as simple "three-chord rock merged with the power of the word." And the mystique of Patti Smith, South Jersey's own avant-garde rock poetess, remains as strong as it did back in February 1971, when she gave her first "concert" -- ostensibly a poetry reading augmented by the twisted guitar of Lenny Kaye. An incredibly potent force in the underground New York art-rock scene, Smith broke through to the mainstream with 1975's classic, cathartic Horses. While closely linked to the punk movement, Smith's music, especially her more recent work, is essentially devoid of its nihilism, instead focusing on redemption, re-birth and spiritual awakening. It seemed Smith's days as a musician were over after she married Fred "Sonic" Smith (of MC5) in 1980. But nearly 15 years later, she re-emerged in the wake of his death, triumphantly releasing three studio albums to an audience that never went away. Fans and the uninitiated alike can even savor a new best-of set, Land: 1975-2002 (Arista).

Fri., Jan. 17, 9 p.m., $20-$23, The TLA, 334 South St., 215-336-2000.

—Nicole Pensiero