*Note: The Snoqualmie date is on all of Joan’s websites, but I can’t find a website for the venue itself. If you know where it is, or how to get tickets, please leave a comment. Thanks!
This song is incredibly special to me, because it’s the first song Joan Jett ever wrote. Ever. If she had worried whether anyone would still care about it 35 years later, she shouldn’t have. This song definitely deserves its top 5 spot. It was the second track on the first Runaways album, The Runaways, in 1976, but I like the Live in Japan version better.
If Joan does two things incredibly well, it’s writing break-up songs, and writing songs about sex. This song contains lyrics of a frank and sexual nature. The censored version is really not any cleaner, so I won’t bother. If you are under 18 and listening to this, please keep this in mind: “You Drive Me Wild” was written by a 15-ish year-old Joan Jett. “Fetish” was written by Joan in her 30s–a grown woman. Please don’t try to grow up too fast. Never be ashamed of who you are, but please be safe, and respect yourself. You deserve it!
And, if you really pay attention to the lyrics, Joan is saying “YOU are my fetish”… not any of the crazy objects in the room or the acts they are performing. She is putting her partner first, in a reverent and respectful way, without losing her own identity in the process. It’s a grown-up love song. That’s how I hear it, anyway.
Here’s a live video. You can buy the recorded version on Sinner.
Over and over… BA DA DA DA DA DA… *Sways back and forth* …
Another awesome tricep workout. (Try it!) Many artists have covered this Tommy James and The Shondells tune, but this has to be the best one. I also posit that it is the best cover song of all time, in any generation, of any artist. Kenny Laguna was actually in The Shondells when this song was first written in the 1960s, and it still holds magic for him, as he explains to jupiterindex.com in this May 2007 interview:
I love it and there are certain parts of every show that I love every night. Like, I had ‘Crimson and Clover” with Tommy James and I have “Crimson and Clover” with Joan, so I’m so excited with that every time, every night. Every time I go to sing those “ba da das”. I’ve been singing those “ba da das’ since I was a teenager. Can you imagine? I see God when I do it, I really see God every night when we hit the “ba da das”, and at the end -”Crimson and Clover/ Over and over”. I still get excited like the first time I heard it.
I was born as a Jetthead the night I first saw this video on MTV. Up Your Alley was my first Blackhearts cassette. (Yes, I said cassette.) This is, perhaps, the best song Joan and Desmond Child ever wrote together. It peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, and spent 26 weeks on the chart. I hope the NFL gives them both gobs of money every time Faith Hill sings “Waiting All Day For Sunday Night” on Sunday Night Football.
And the song we’ve all been waiting for… Drumroll please…
In my incredibly biased opinion, in a reversal of “Crimson and Clover,” many artists have covered this song, but none of them compare to the original. I wonder what the executives from the twenty-plus record labels that heard the demo for this song, and rejected it, think about it now. They clearly weren’t thinking when they told Joan to lose the guitar or that she had no talent. There is a reason this song is still being featured in movies, TV shows, and video games, 30 years after it was written (See IMDB). Because when you want to assert your independence, and defend yourself against the morons telling you how worthless you are, this is the only song that will do.
So go ahead, jump around like a fool and celebrate! No one is watching. And if they are, you shouldn’t give a damn anyway.
♥
That’s it, finally! I hope you all enjoyed this as much as I did! I am going to do this poll again in 2012, with a longer voting period to get more votes. Maybe by then we’ll have a few new tunes to choose from. (No pressure, Joan.)
I don’t know how I’m going to top this next year though. I’ll just “use the force,” I guess.
Have a blessed, happy, new year everyone! Happy 2012!
The club is dark. You’re in the first row, directly in front of Joan’s mic stand. You’re sweaty; Joan is sweaty. Joan puts down her guitar for the only time this night–she clearly means business. Unencumbered, she leans into you, reaches out her hand, and asks you to bark. Who are you to say no?
Here’s another one… No barking this time, but you can’t beat the visuals.
The original version by The Stooges is on The Runaways official motion picture soundtrack, if anyone still cares. Hehe.
For me, this is one of the most epic Runaways songs, ever. I could get lost in it for hours. Joan wrote this with Kari Krome and Kim Fowley for the album with the same name–the first album without Cherie Currie.
Long Beach, NY — December 12, 2011 –The Long Beach Waterfront Warriors with the help of the Allegria Hotel, Long Beach Catholic Regional School and the VFW Lt. John F. O’Grady Post 1384, held a “wrap party” at the hotel this past Sunday, December 11, loading up care packages to be shipped to soldiers for the holidays. Over 300 packages were filled with necessities for servicemen and women who are on duty overseas and recuperating at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and at the V.A. Hospital in Northport.
…
Several wounded service men from Walter Reed were on hand to meet the hundreds of volunteers who were sorting and packing cartons. And, as a special surprise for the guys, the Allegria’s Entertainment Sales Manager Ingrid Dodd set up a visit from none other than rock & roll legend Joan Jett! The talented musician thanked the men for their service, had photos taken with them and handed out plenty of CD’s for them to take back home.
For three years now, the LBWW’s, with the help of volunteers and contributions, have invited wounded, ill and injured soldiers to Long Beach for a few days of relaxation along our beaches with fun activities, welcome parades and trips to New York City.
Read more on the LBWW’s home page here. If you’re interested in volunteering or donating to the Long Beach Waterfront Warriors, click HERE.
Born to be Jetthead is a fan site dedicated to Joan Jett. This site is newbie-friendly, but contains plenty of goodies for long-term vets of the Joan Jett fandom as well. Take a look around! About Jettheads
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