Joan Jett & The Blackhearts – Bad Reputation

You don’t dig Joan Jett, man, I can’t do a thing for ya.

There’s a whole lots of bodies strewn by the side of the road, people who believed in that whole three-chords-and-the-truth shit. Turns out, not every idiot with a guitar, a fake book, and a notebook has somethin’ worthwhile to say.

Truth is, straight up guitar rock is hard to do.

Who did do it well? The Ramones of course. The Replacements. Husker Du. The Stooges. MC5. Then of course there’s early Kinks. Early Costello.

Joan Jett looms large over it all. Nothin’ fake, nothin’ phony, nothin’ wrong. Just straight up strength, song to song. Heart on the sleeve, pick on the strings, sweat on the brow, mouth at the mic, strap slung slow.

Joan Jett rocks, man. She rocked then, she rocks now. This is where it began, and it’s still goin’.

You don’t dig Joan Jett, man, I can’t do a thing for ya.