“A really cool statement”: the unlikely Megadeth hit inspired by Patti Smith
Most musicians and music lovers understand that inspiration can strike anywhere, anytime. Sometimes, emotions, memories, and experiences are all it takes to create a fully formed vision, while other times, these sparks come from somewhere entirely unexpected, like unintentionally discovering a story from Patti Smith on the cover of Reader’s Digest.
Unravelling the layers of Smith’s impact is a tricky game, mainly because she has infiltrated almost all corners of music, across most genres, for different reasons. Whether her resilience and philanthropic charge or her innovative sensibilities and punk ethos, Smith has become a noteworthy touchpoint at the nucleus of most forms of music, leading the way with authenticity and consistent experimentalism.
While Smith is always likely to reject the punk label for various reasons, it’s difficult to ignore the characteristics that earned her this label in the first place, from standing tall against the industry’s innate sexism to leading the charge when it came to forward-thinking creativity, like blending poetic lyricism with rock aspects or channeling deep-seated rage into the art of song.
In rock and metal circles, this attitude is kryptonite. Not only did she set the standard when it came to creating raw, aggressive music reflecting the world around her, but she also provided views and takes on things others weren’t yet ready to platform, demonstrating an unwavering spirit forever committed to being open and honest, even if it wasn’t received with the same feverish angst she put out to begin with.
While most in rock and metal were drawn to this without much convincing, others stumbled into her orbit by pure happenstance, like Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine, who once came across an article in Reader’s Digest, his attention turned to one quote in particular that read, “peace sells, but nobody’s buying it”. At the time, these prophetic words resonated with a troubled Megadeth, who were living at the rehearsal building because they were homeless at the time.
“There was no fridge, no food, no nothing, no showers, and one day there was a magazine on the coffee table in the front room, and it was Reader’s Digest, and it had a story from Patti Smith,” Mustaine recalled to Ultimate Guitar. He continued, “She was talking about how ‘peace sells, but nobody’s buying it,’ and I went, ‘Wow, that’s a really cool statement. Peace Sells, but nobody’s buying…’ And then I changed it to ‘Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying?'”
Later, Mustaine recalled how he immediately knew he’d discovered magic the moment he started writing the lyrics. This was mainly because, before setting down to flesh out the song, and before he even stumbled across Smith’s words of wisdom, the songs he felt they were writing were all fairly straightforward aggressions without much in terms of timelessness. Some felt good at the time, but none felt particularly resonant in the long run.
‘Peace Sells’, however, made him feel differently about the process, tapping into a broader societal consciousness that not only channelled Smith’s defiant attitude but established Megadeth as a force that could do the exact same thing. A staple of live sets, the song immediately solidified their place in the rock and metal community, resonating beyond its time as a reflection of unsettled anti-American values.
