Avril Lavigne: A Modern Tribute to Punk Pioneer Joan Jett

Avril Lavigne is clearly trying to be the new Joan Jett. Her very physical approach to live performances, her hard edged pop-punk band, and even the sneakers and shirts she wears on stage are pure Joan. Her messages of independence, self-respect, defiance, and sexual self-determination to her primarily young and female fans maintain the tradition of hard-rock feminism pioneered by women like Joan Jett, Chrissie Hynde, Patti Smith and Pat Benatar back in the late 70s and early 80s.

Why am I listening to girl-punk and watching Avril Lavigne videos online when, like Joan Jett I'm closing in on the age of 50? Maybe it's because of the memory of a Joan Jett concert I attended with a good female friend and crime partner in 1980. Maybe it's because of my 15 year old stepdaughter, whose musical tastes I pay attention to. Maybe it's because of the appearance of Avril Lavigne clone-girls everywhere (we had "Joan Clones" back in the 70s). Maybe it's only because of how many times Comcast has put Avril Lavigne on its front page. Whatever the reason for my fascination, the Joan Jett-Avril Lavigne connection became obvious to me as soon as I started watching.

I did a few searches to find out how many other people had seen this obvious resemblance, and discovered that Avril Lavigne had recently covered Joan Jett's "Bad Reputation," creating a clever video in the process. Some old-school Joan Jett fans view this as blasphemy.

The lovers and haters of Avril Lavigne wage war on the pages of Rolling Stone's blog, Rock & Roll Daily, provoked by Rolling Stone's Nicole Freshee and her post titled "Avril Lavigne to Give Everyone the Bird on Upcoming Tour" . The haters say she's not a real punk rocker, leveling charges of "poser" and "spoiled brat," and her fans respond with equally passionate declarations of love. The bottom line in all this is that Joan Jett herself seems to be fine with it.

By covering a Joan Jett song, Avril Lavigne is acknowledging that her place in the music industry wouldn't exist if it weren't for Joan Jett. The music industry arbiters of pop sensibilities were seriously intimidated by the unladylike and aggressive metal-edged punk-pop cranked out by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. Ultimately she had to start her own record label after many rejections from established record companies, defying all predictions and conventional wisdom with four hit songs. While she never quite achieved superstar status, as an artist Joan Jett has proven to be versatile and enduring, venturing into film production and political activism. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Jett)

When I listen to rock, my tastes admittedly go towards more hard-line metal, punk and grunge. Sadly these genres remain male-dominated, and there are many female rockers who merit a lot more attention than they have received.The women who gain even minor recognition in these areas have to really struggle and deliver an exceptional product. Kitty, some serious Canadian death-metal screamers; Drain STH, a Swedish, all female metal band with a gloomy Alice in Chains-like sense of harmony and tonality; Sleater-Kinney; Courtney Love and Hole; Veruca Salt, as well as a huge underground female hardcore punk and metal scene all have gone without the level of commercial success that they deserve.

I can't really fault Avril Lavigne for her more commercial approach; I've recently grown out of the self-defeating elitist/"artistic"/leftist belief that artists shouldn't try to make money. Perhaps if I'd reached this point much earlier in life, I wouldn't be still doing hard dirty work for absurdly low wages at this late stage in my life. In any case, at the age of 22 Avril Lavigne is doing very well, and for now seems to be avoiding so many of the drug, alcohol, and relationship traps that her more pop oriented female colleagues seem to seek out.

Joan Jett is turning 50 this year, and she's looking really good, strong and healthy. Perhaps I'll direct my stepdaughter to one of Joan Jett's videos sometime soon. Right now, she's into Shakira, Beyonce, and Fergie, all of whom have fairly positive lyrical messages for young women, but she seems to be slowly drifting in the direction of rock. When she gets there, she might as well start with the best.

Sources:Nicole Freshee
2-6-2008 article:
Avril Lavigne to Give Everyone the Bird on Upcoming Tour
Rock & Roll Daily
www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily
Rolling Stone
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Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Jett