I Love Rock n' Roll

I heard a great song on the radio today -- "I Hate Myself for Loving You" by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. The DJ was playing it in honor of "The Runaways", the Kristen Stewart-as-Joan Jett biopic that opens tonight. I was surprised that after all this time, the song still sounds so fresh and current. It's impossible not to see the similarities between Jett and someone contemporary like Ida Maria. Check out Maria's "I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked" -- the bookend to Jett's song. Same raspy voice, same commanding beat. Makes you wonder how much music owes to Joan Jett -- would we have a Courtney Love or even a Liz Phair without Jett? I don't know how the movie will do (will it get a lot of Twi-hard traffic?) but it reminds us of a great, nearly forgotten voice in rock.