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Jett still breaking barriers
Seminal female artist keeps rock rollin'
from: paloaltodailynews.com
by Paul Freeman
It might have seemed incongruous when JOAN JETT recorded "Love Is All Around," the theme from "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." But nothing could have been more appropriate. Just as Mary politely cracked the glass ceiling of the newsroom, Jett smashed through music industry doors, paving the way for every woman rocker who's emerged in the past three decades.
In the '70s, at age 15, Jett took off with the all-girl band the RUNAWAYS. "Part of what we wanted to do was to inspire other girls to be what they wanted to be," Jett says. "If it's a musician, great. But if it's a nuclear physicist, that's great, too. Girls have very few life choices that people support. When they try to do other things, people look sideways at them. It's not just music where women have a tough time.
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Fiercely loyal and ferociously independent, Jett seems capable of meeting any challenge. Rock 'n' roll pours from every pore ... the throbbing, driving, grab-you-by-the-throat gutsy kind of rock. It's at the core of her very being.
Her music ages so well, yet she doesn't seem to age at all. Jett's new CD, "SINNER," sizzles with endless energy. She decided to spurn major label offers and release through her own BLACKHEART RECORDS.
Jett's producer/manager KENNY LAGUNA says, "We originally became indie because nobody wanted us. Now it's something that (Joan) wears like a badge."
The CD opens with the politically charged "Riddles," written by Jett, Laguna and Linda Perry. "It came out of what our country has become, incrementally, over the last five years," explains Jett, who campaigned for Howard Dean, then supported John Kerry. "It's the economy, lack of jobs, outsourcing, the environment, the war, Katrina response, spying on citizens. The fact that now we can torture people. That's not what America's supposed to be."
No-nonsense Jett says the current administration's spin tactics rankle her. "They do not talk to us straight. They use language to confuse. Like (public relations), they say what they know we want to hear. It's the George Orwell thing - up is down, black is white, bad is good.
"It's ridiculous what's going on here. You've got the president saying, 'I don't care if it's just my wife and Barney supporting me, I'm going to keep sending those kids to their deaths.' For what? I thought we did what we were supposed to do. I thought we got Saddam Hussein. What's the mission?"
Jett and her band frequently play for the troops overseas, raising morale. So the tragedy hits home for her.
"The administration plays the fear card and people say, 'We need safety.' It's back to what Ben Franklin said, 'If you give away your liberty for security, you deserve neither.' You think about what the people who formed America fought for and the checks and balances they put in - these guys have destroyed it. I'd be just as up someone's butt, if it was a Democrat that did this. I'm disgusted with the whole bunch of them. It makes me mad."
It's not only the elected, but the electorate that angers Jett. At one point in "Riddles," she yells, "Wake up, people!"
"People go, 'It's bad, but what can I do?' Unless it directly screws up their life - they've lost someone in the war, lost a job or can't get the medicine for their dying parent - then too many people don't care."
Covers of the Sweet's "AC/DC" (her electrifying single) and the Replacements' "Androgynous" fit Jett's refusal to conform. "I know I'm a woman. I love being a woman. I embrace it. But I'm not comfortable with rigid gender roles, the choices that are out there for women. Even something as seemingly trivial as what I'm supposed to wear. It's about blurring those lines, confusing those roles a little bit."
"SINNER" is earning tons of college radio airplay, just as Jett anthems like "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" and "Bad Reputation" did in the early '80s. But gender bias hampers exposure on rock and alternative stations.
Laguna tells of an alternative radio executive who said he loved the new CD, but couldn't play it because Jett was too old. "She's younger than some of their core artists. Joan is not older than the Chili Peppers or Mike Ness (Social Distortion). It's funny how they look at things, if it's a girl."
For Jett it's frustrating, finding corporate radio reluctant, even when critics are raving and audiences are cheering for her new songs. "All you can do is control what you can control, and that's putting out the best songs that we can come up with. The rest is in the universe's hands."
Laguna says, "Joan is extremely pure. There's no compromise."
It confounds Jett that rock music remains rough terrain for women. "It's dangerous that we have this illusion of equality. Yeah, if a girl wants to play rock 'n' roll, she can. But there aren't any popular girl rock 'n' roll bands much above the club level.
"There was a point where I thought women might break through. There were a lot of girl bands making noise, getting some radio play and press - L7, Babes In Toyland, Bikini Kill. I thought things might be opening up a bit. I'm not sure what happened. That resistance is tough to deal with, when you're living it day to day, constantly being derided, because you just want to play music."
Throughout her career, Jett has battled gender prejudice. "People can be really hostile. I'm sure they can be hostile to men, too. But not quite in the same way. With a woman, they start attacking the self-esteem issues. They call you a slut, a whore, a dyke.
"Whenever they talk about a woman in the press, immediately following her name, they put her age. It's not the same thing with guys."
Passion for performing helps Jett soar beyond the pettiness of the business. "I remember a lot of shows that I've gone to in my life and all the great times I've had, those moments that I'll always take with me. To me, that's what it's about - creating all those connections, locking eyes with people, seeing them smile, and you're both in the moment with the music."
Last summer, Jett played the Warped tour, dazzling a new generation. "I had a blast. It was a block party, punk-rock circus. I saw a lot of bands I loved. I've heard NOFX before, but I got a chance to really get absorbed into their whole show. Their music is very politically aware. It's great to see the kids into that aspect of it."
JOAN JETT is a reminder of what rock is supposed to be - edgy, defiant and fun. Young audiences respond with wild enthusiasm to both her classic tunes and material from "SINNER."
One of Jett's new songs, "Change The World," is a call to action. But, can rock music precipitate change?
"On an individual level it can. Sometimes I get cynical about whether or not you can change (the world) on a movement level, like get people en masse in the streets. But you can certainly inspire people to do big things with their lives." |
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