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JOAN JETT stands up for the punk spirit
from: denverpost.com
by Ricardo Baca, Denver Post Pop Music Critic
The Vans Warped Tour turned to vintage punk rockers for its recent summer tours, including a stint with Billy Idol in 2005, but the traveling musical carnival has brought the genre full circle for the kids who brave the sun each year.
After all, would we have NOFX without Billy Idol? Would there be Bad Religion without the Ramones?
This year's original-generation punk rocker, JOAN JETT, is playing every date of the grueling summer tour. And while her first singles - not to mention her work with The RUNAWAYS - were no doubt big influences in the early days of punk, Jett herself isn't so well acquainted with her contemporary peers.
"I can't really discuss that," she said when asked her thoughts on the state of contemporary punk and pop-punk. "I'm not really familiar with today's punk rock world. A lot of the bands I might have heard of, but I'm not familiar with their music. I'm learning as much as anyone else on this tour."
Perhaps Jett isn't giving herself enough credit. Or else she's a quick study. Minutes later she's waxing enthusiastic about her festival experience, focusing on the camaraderie of the punk rock summer camp known as Warped Tour.
"I recently talked with Fat Mike (of NOFX) about writing a song together," Jett said. "He's a great songwriter, and it'd be great to make something like that happen. I also have liked The Casualties from New York, Helmet from New York and Against Me! are awesome. Anti-Flag is a great band, singing about politics, and it's great to see the kids are locked into it, every word."
At 47, Jett champions the punk bands on the tour. But when she talks about the state of the punk spirit - it's more alive than it is dead, she says - she makes any fan of pop-punk (think Green Day, Anti-Flag, The Offspring) question their favorite band's punk bona fides.
"The punk spirit is still around," she said. "It's rebellion, not being a sheep, doing it yourself, going your own path - to me, that's what punk rock is. It's not just about playing fast and screaming really loud."
That disqualifies more than half the Warped Tour bands. Regardless, Jett is an original.
To call Jett an icon is an understatement. Sure, she was never a creative mastermind - nor did she have the hit-making ability of her many peers. Her greatest seller was "I Love Rock 'n' Roll," a song that has always been more '80s cheese than '70s legitimacy. And her other hits from that era, "Crimson and Clover" and "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)" were both covers, written by Tommy James & the Shondells and Gary Glitter, respectively.
But Jett's first group, The RUNAWAYS, hit big in Japan and Australia, and even if the band did little outside of the Los Angeles punk rock scene, it's since been praised as inspiration for girl-fronted groups everywhere. Jett also produced the first Germs record, which scores
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