Patti's Just Kids amplified me
not a review.
first things first: gracias Anto por prestarme esta joyita🤲🏼
holding Just Kids in my hands, storing it in my backpack, and being able to access Patti’s font of wisdom unrestrictedly feels like pure privilege! it had me carrying paper and pen as a bookmark, as i could not phantom the idea of letting any remarkable message or any reflection i made over it slip away. rather than thought-provoking, it was soul-provoking.
here is a list of those provoking aspects. not to judge or to summarize the read, but rather solidify my conclusions and thoughts, and spark some interest in it.
The 60/70’s Folk, Rock, Outsiders n Insiders’ Lore.
this book is fiiiilled, stacked, loaded with references to endless names of people and places that, for the most part, were unknown to me. at first, as an attempt to be an ‘engaged’ reader, i tried to google up every reference, ending as futile efforts as they disconnected me from the read.
as a result, i surrendered my mind to the imagination of the scenery, getting all ecstatic whenever i was certain of who or what was talked about: Todd Rundgren’s friendship with Patti was endearing, knowing that both Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix died at the age of 27, as well as getting to the realization that Woodstock, the Moon Landing, and the Summer of Love festival all happened in the same year, 1969. damn.
“We were also oddly similar — sober, work-driven, judgmental, idiosyncratic wall flowers.” Patti on Todd
the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon took effect, and the references i noticed in the story it translated to the outside world. you should have seen me when the Chelsea Hotel appeared in Timmy’s Bob Dylan biopic!!! the only exciting moment (to me) on that movie isn’t even its merit.
i can only imagine that readers who owned this background knowledge must have squeezed the juice out of this read’s enjoyment. but even without it, i walked away from this read feeling super culturally enriched. a whole universe discovered.
Robert & Patti’s ways.
the bond between these two breaks did not fit the mold of a conventional ‘ideal’ relationship, yet it possessed every characteristic most people long for.
most of us probably resorted to the question of whether their ways were fair or appropriate, deemed of worthiness or respect —whether it was the polygamy, Robert’s uncertainty about his sexuality, or the way they shared space.
i haven’t talked to Anto yet, but i just know we will fall into this pit hole. but what is there to debate if it was fair, appropriate, and respectful to them?
my guess is that most of us don’t have the emotional intelligence and self-confidence Patti held for herself. she was able to admire Robert without envy, treat each other’s differences and disagreements humorously — no resentments, no insecurities.
they were an endless source of inspiration for each other, with no ulterior motive beyond the joy of their company and art.
we could categorize this as an intimate book, and you would picture pages filled with sexual details, yet the number of times those kind of encounters were discussed were counted with the fingers of one hand! and you couldn’t even lift all fingers! it is intimacy that transcends physicality and limits.
i say limits because there is an implicit belief that our love, or at least this type of love is to be shared within the walls of one partnership, but Patti demonstrated a remarkable capacity to extend this same quality of love across separate relationships: loving Robert with the same depth she loved his spouse, and later, her own children. a love that doesn't diminish through division but rather grows through connection.
not saying that this is the way… i don’t think i could ever step outside exclusivity myself. i am just saying that is worthy of appreciation. and more than anything, i firmly believe both of their success is rooted in their constant support of each other.
The Role of Role Models
the name-dropping i mentioned earlier gave birth to one of my biggest takeaways: the power Patti gave to her role models and the power of surrounding yourself with people who share them.
at first, I found excessive her constant mentions of Rimbaud, like an obsession i couldn’t relate to… heck, she even visited his grave. i never saw role models (outside my social bubble) as tangible sources of inspiration. they felt like distant figures, products of pure idealization.
★
as I kept reading, i realized she wasn’t name-dropping for status or to sound knowledgeable. she gave them space in her story because they shaped her essence. she studied how these poets and artists saw the world, how they coped, how they created. she even wrote entire poems as reactions to their deaths. that level of admiration was foreign to me.
then, i asked myself, if i were to have role models, who would they be? within half an hour, i had a list of beautiful minds i saw myself in, a theme that now lingers in my life and will aaaabsolutely develop in later Substack posts.
her and Robert’s arrival at The Chelsea wasn’t just crossing the social chasm, it was an inflection point. they found themselves surrounded by people who fueled their passions, challenged their thinking, and pushed them into spaces where their work could thrive. They were living proof of you are who you surround yourself with
And Patti has become a Role Model of mine
i went into this piece without knowing her. and even though i am not super fond of her discography (i really did try), i am able to see the myriad of virtues she holds, both as an artist and as a mere human being.
her authentic sensitivity, her lucidity as to how she lived her life, completely unapologetic. her devotion to art itself. all worthy of admiration.
art as a medium of life.
i had never considered myself as an artist, but a deeply sensitive spectator.
sometimes the 🌍 does this thing sometimes where it sends you an evident signal in the form of art to clarify an aspect of one’s life that you have been longing for, conscious or unconsciously.
as i am crossing through an important inflection point in my life (about to graduate college) where themes such as purpose, priorities, and aspirations are met with fearfulness to the expectations of others, and i believe that what this book has done for me, is to give me a little push to embrace my creativity and pleasure unapologetically, as Patti does. you rock
.
you are an artist.
Te quiero y admiro siempre! ❤️