Joan Jett: The Press Has Destroyed Rock

US But She Still Loves It      30/01/10

Joan Jett: The Press Has Destroyed Rock


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There's an interesting interview with pioneering girl-group rocker Joan Jett in Cinemablend, in connection with The Runaways, a biopic of the 70s punk girl group.

The focus of the interview is on the movie - but Jett has some interesting things to say about Rock along the way:

The press has taken the word "rock" and destroyed it.

Food rocks. Clothes rock. Pop stars rock.

No - pop stars pop, rock stars rock. It means nothing, so you might as well just stop using it in context with music.

I think there's a lot of people out there who still have it, but they're the ones doing it on the scene. They're the ones in the basements, in the clubs, toiling the way you should be doing it.

Jett's comments are astute - as soon as you try to use words to describe the essence of any music, you end up putting the music in a frame that defines it and bounds it.

But I'd argue that it's not the press that's destroying Rock, but marketers.

Very few things are more annoying than having the profane rock classics of your misspent youth repurposed to sell sedans and fast food.

If anything is going to destroy Rock - it's hearing Led Zeppelin's Rock and Roll being used to sell Cadillacs.

About The Runaways

The Runaways is a 2010 biographical film, based on the 1970s all-girl rock band of the same name. The film was written and directed by Floria Sigismondi, and stars Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett, Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie, Stella Maeve as Sandy West, Scout Taylor-Compton as Lita Ford, and Michael Shannon as Kim Fowley.

The film had its world premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival on January 24th and will open in wide release in March.

Link:

Image: pinkBEAT

James Lewin
Twitter @podcasting_news



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