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I was forwarded this today from a label-owner friend of mine. I admire her
for finally telling it like she sees it (we share very similar views).
PARENTAL ADVIDORY: EXPLICIT LYRICS (down at the bottom..shoo the kids)
-------------------------------------------
An open letter to Rolling Stone by Joan Jett
I tried to find some cleverly worded way to express my disgust with your
"Women in Rock" issue, but what I have to say is really quite simple: You
guys are completely retarded.
By Rolling Stone standards, Rock is no longer a style of music but a trendy
costume to be whipped up by expensive stylists and slapped onto the latest
pop tart barbie doll. Give a girl some tight pants and a spikey bracelet and
POOF! She ROCKS!
Your poor choice of cover girls and featured artists brings to mind the
Sports Illustrated swimsuit editions. There is nothing necessarily wrong
with the breast-baring models inside...but we all understand that they have
NOTHING TO DO WITH SPORTS--Which just might be offensive to women who are
interested in sports or who might even be (gasp) real athletes.
Yes, Britney has a talented stylist and yes, somebody gave Shakira a Guns &
Roses t-shirt to wear...but they ARE NOT NOW NOR WILL THEY EVER BE ROCK.
Maybe it's naive of me to expect any glimmer of rock'n'roll credibility OR
respect for women from a magazine whose cover shot is regularly a naked
underweight actress. The thing is, I AM a woman musician with a rock band,
and as we all are, I am STARVED for any little crumb of recognition that
real women rockers might be thrown. So like a sucker I find myself short
another five bucks...and pissed enough to write my first letter to an
editor. AvrilLavigne gets some studded accessories from Hot Topic so now
she's "upholding the brazen tradition of teenage outrage"???!! Are you
SERIOUS? And could someone please explain to me why people keep insisting on
referring to PINK
as rock? Wasn't she doing the white girl hip hop thing a minute ago? Yeah,
she performed on the Aerosmith tribute show --big deal..she was on the Janet
Jackson tribute show just before that--Whatever's trendy. WHO CARES. She's a
Spice Girl reject...but I digress.
Jewel and Mandy friggin' Moore have full page features as Rock
Icons...Meanwhile Joan Jett gets one line. ONE LINE. Joan Jett & the
Blackhearts, who have never stopped touring, recently did 10 days in the
Middle East playing for the troops stationed in Afghanistan. In AFGHANISTAN,
Joan would come onstage wearing a birkha, which she ripped off and stomped
on before blazing through the purest and nastiest rock show ANYWHERE. But
even in the RS WOMEN IN ROCK issue, a story like that gets ONE SENTENCE on
the bottom of the last page of Random Notes.
Britney's Rock credentials? Well, she butchers the song "I Love Rock'n'Roll"
on her latest record, and when asked about it the genius replies "Well, I've
always loved Pat Benatar." And SHE is your Rock issue cover girl?? You
should be REALLY embarrassed.
Sleater Kinney was the only rock group listed on the cover...and they got
only half a page. Ashanti, the r&b back up singer who can't seem to do
anything without "featuring Jah Rule," has two pages.
What about the Donnas? The Yeah Yeah Yeahs? The Distillers? A mag like RS
has the power to shine important light on groups like these-- instead they
are afterthoughts, and that valuable spotlight is wasted on the same
overexposed pop princesses WHO HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH ROCK.
In your own letter from the editor you have the hypocritical balls to say
"rock radio won't touch female artists, while the pop factory keeps churning
out soundalike clones, and ambitious musicians with something to say find
themselves left out in the cold."
The pages that follow those words are a blatant display that Rolling Stone
magazine is happily working for the factory now too.
If the issue had been called "Women in Music"...or maybe "Some Cute Girls
with Top 10 Records out Right Now"..I would have no beef with it. Corny as
it may sound, ROCK is something which is still meaningful and even sacred to
some of us. Use the word "rock" in bold letters next to a picture of Britney
Fucking Spears, and you're turning your whole publication into a joke...and
an offensive joke at that.
-Joan Jett
_________________________________________________________________
Protect your PC - get McAfee.com VirusScan Online
Thanks for sharing that, Dano. You gotta respect someone (man or
woman) with the cohones to stand up for what they think is right in
the face of mass-marketing!
Joan does rock, especially compared to some of the folks she mentions
in her letter - even if you don't dig her music, you have to respect
how hard she has worked.
o.k., I'm done . . . *getting off soapbox*
-Dick
--- In SurfGuitar101@y..., "-=Dan Ware=-" <reverbtank@h...> wrote:
> I was forwarded this today from a label-owner friend of mine. I
admire her
> for finally telling it like she sees it (we share very similar
views).
>
> PARENTAL ADVIDORY: EXPLICIT LYRICS (down at the bottom..shoo the
kids)
>
>
>
> -------------------------------------------
> An open letter to Rolling Stone by Joan Jett
>
> I tried to find some cleverly worded way to express my disgust
with your
> "Women in Rock" issue, but what I have to say is really quite
simple: You
> guys are completely retarded.
>
> By Rolling Stone standards, Rock is no longer a style of music but
a trendy
> costume to be whipped up by expensive stylists and slapped onto the
latest
> pop tart barbie doll. Give a girl some tight pants and a spikey
bracelet and
> POOF! She ROCKS!
>
> Your poor choice of cover girls and featured artists brings to mind
the
> Sports Illustrated swimsuit editions. There is nothing necessarily
wrong
> with the breast-baring models inside...but we all understand that
they have
> NOTHING TO DO WITH SPORTS--Which just might be offensive to women
who are
> interested in sports or who might even be (gasp) real athletes.
>
> Yes, Britney has a talented stylist and yes, somebody gave Shakira
a Guns &
> Roses t-shirt to wear...but they ARE NOT NOW NOR WILL THEY EVER BE
ROCK.
>
> Maybe it's naive of me to expect any glimmer of rock'n'roll
credibility OR
> respect for women from a magazine whose cover shot is regularly a
naked
> underweight actress. The thing is, I AM a woman musician with a
rock band,
> and as we all are, I am STARVED for any little crumb of recognition
that
> real women rockers might be thrown. So like a sucker I find myself
short
> another five bucks...and pissed enough to write my first letter to
an
> editor. AvrilLavigne gets some studded accessories from Hot Topic
so now
> she's "upholding the brazen tradition of teenage outrage"???!! Are
you
> SERIOUS? And could someone please explain to me why people keep
insisting on
> referring to PINK
> as rock? Wasn't she doing the white girl hip hop thing a minute
ago? Yeah,
> she performed on the Aerosmith tribute show --big deal..she was on
the Janet
> Jackson tribute show just before that--Whatever's trendy. WHO
CARES. She's a
> Spice Girl reject...but I digress.
>
> Jewel and Mandy friggin' Moore have full page features as Rock
> Icons...Meanwhile Joan Jett gets one line. ONE LINE. Joan Jett & the
> Blackhearts, who have never stopped touring, recently did 10 days
in the
> Middle East playing for the troops stationed in Afghanistan. In
AFGHANISTAN,
> Joan would come onstage wearing a birkha, which she ripped off and
stomped
> on before blazing through the purest and nastiest rock show
ANYWHERE. But
> even in the RS WOMEN IN ROCK issue, a story like that gets ONE
SENTENCE on
> the bottom of the last page of Random Notes.
>
> Britney's Rock credentials? Well, she butchers the song "I Love
Rock'n'Roll"
> on her latest record, and when asked about it the genius
replies "Well, I've
> always loved Pat Benatar." And SHE is your Rock issue cover girl??
You
> should be REALLY embarrassed.
>
> Sleater Kinney was the only rock group listed on the cover...and
they got
> only half a page. Ashanti, the r&b back up singer who can't seem to
do
> anything without "featuring Jah Rule," has two pages.
>
> What about the Donnas? The Yeah Yeah Yeahs? The Distillers? A mag
like RS
> has the power to shine important light on groups like these--
instead they
> are afterthoughts, and that valuable spotlight is wasted on the
same
> overexposed pop princesses WHO HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH ROCK.
>
> In your own letter from the editor you have the hypocritical balls
to say
> "rock radio won't touch female artists, while the pop factory keeps
churning
> out soundalike clones, and ambitious musicians with something to
say find
> themselves left out in the cold."
>
> The pages that follow those words are a blatant display that
Rolling Stone
> magazine is happily working for the factory now too.
>
> If the issue had been called "Women in Music"...or maybe "Some Cute
Girls
> with Top 10 Records out Right Now"..I would have no beef with it.
Corny as
> it may sound, ROCK is something which is still meaningful and even
sacred to
> some of us. Use the word "rock" in bold letters next to a picture
of Britney
> Fucking Spears, and you're turning your whole publication into a
joke...and
> an offensive joke at that.
>
> -Joan Jett
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Protect your PC - get McAfee.com VirusScan Online
>
This letter was actually written by someone named Maya
Price. When I first saw it people were saying it was
written by Joan Jett, but I don't think she'd refer to
herself in the third person. It was initially posted
on her website, which is why everyone thinks it was
written by her.
Richard
__________________________________________________
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Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now.
--- In SurfGuitar101@y..., Richard <errant_jedi@y...> wrote:
>
> This letter was actually written by someone named Maya
> Price. When I first saw it people were saying it was
> written by Joan Jett, but I don't think she'd refer to
> herself in the third person. It was initially posted
> on her website, which is why everyone thinks it was
> written by her.
>
> Richard
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do you Yahoo!?
> Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now.
>
I don't care who wrote it. It's a great letter with a lot of fine
points. It definitely reminds me why I have such a love for
surf..........In my opinion the chances of surf ever becoming stale
and trendy are very slim. I know there was an era (early 60's) were
surf became a bit mainstream but there are quite a few bands keeping
it were I like it. As far as women in surf you can't forget the super
talented, highly skilled sounds of the TRASHWOMEN.
Landlocked in TX.- Phillip
> > This letter was actually written by someone named Maya
> > Price. When I first saw it people were saying it was
> > written by Joan Jett, but I don't think she'd refer to
> > herself in the third person. It was initially posted
> > on her website, which is why everyone thinks it was
> > written by her.
> >
> > Richard
>
> I don't care who wrote it. It's a great letter with a lot of fine
> points. It definitely reminds me why I have such a love for
> surf..........In my opinion the chances of surf ever becoming stale
> and trendy are very slim. I know there was an era (early 60's) were
> surf became a bit mainstream but there are quite a few bands keeping
> it were I like it. As far as women in surf you can't forget the super
> talented, highly skilled sounds of the TRASHWOMEN.
> Landlocked in TX.- Phillip
>
I thought that sounded pretty Dick Dale'ish to have Joan refer to herself in
3rd person. Regardless it is a good and just rant.
I forgot about the Trashwomen! I think they are defunct now. Some may
quibble with your description of them as "highly skilled", although that is
part of their charm. Personally I think Elka is a pretty rawkin' guitar
player (emphasis on "raw").
I also forgot that The 9th Wave has some female members too.
BN
