2007年VOA标准英语-Joan Jett: Punk Rock's First Lady

By Craig Fitzpatrick and Larry London
Washington, DC
12 January 2007
 
watch Joan Jett report

Joan Jett has been involved in rock music for over 25 years -- especially the "punk" style that developed as an alternative to mainstream¹ rock 'n' roll during the 1970s.  She started out as lead singer of her own all-girl band ("The Runaways"), then moved on as a solo artist and co-writer, backup singer and producer for other bands.  She has a new band now and has embarked² on a club tour of the United States.  She sat down recently with VOA's Larry London to talk about her life in rock music and her new album.

 
Joan Jett
Joan Jett is a woman of many firsts.  She was the first female artist to own her own record label, an early punk-rock stylist and one of the first American punk stars to perform behind the Iron Curtain in the 1980s.  Her studs-and-leather punk-rock fashion style is now standard onstage gear for many heavy-metal bands.  Now Joan Jett has re-invented herself once again: she has become what she always wanted to be.

“And, I just, you know, had this dream, and I figured until I really failed at it, you know I had as much right as anyone else to do that," she says.

Her biggest hit, "I Love Rock 'N' Roll," has become a frequent chant at many sporting events here in the United States.  A song so 'big,' she says, that it has overshadowed her other music.

 
“Hey, we have other songs, you know,” says Jett. “Then you recognize the bigness of this song.  And it's like, 'Look, am I going to resent this song that I'm so blessed to be involved with, and I'm so blessed to have such a big hit with it?'  I'm very happy when people get so excited about it.”

Joan's band is called the Blackhearts, a name she says is a Portuguese³ nautical⁴ term for someone who steers⁵ her own course, someone who is a loner.  The term, she says, fits her perfectly⁶.

"I like being alone, I'm good being alone.  Some people have to always be with people.  Some people always have to be coupled up; you know those people.  I'm good alone."

Joan says her new album, "Sinner," has taken a slightly different direction.

"You know, musically, it's what our fans would expect from us.  It's straight up rock 'n' roll.  I think it's melodic⁷.  It's 'hook-y' [has a good 'hook,' or catchy⁸ sound, to catch a listener's ear], it's got some good riffs in it.  We still have songs in there about love, relationships, falling in and out of love, a little sex, politics, and some spirituality we've touched on this time.  And I think that's a little different for me, because those are such big subjects and they're also subjects I've never written about before, so to broach⁹ those kind of subjects was kind of a scary thought."

Joan Jett -- setting a new direction with a new album, and still loving rock and roll.

1 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

2 embarked   

乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• We stood on the pier and watched as they embarked. 我们站在突码头上目送他们登船。
• She embarked on a discourse about the town's origins. 她开始讲本市的起源。

3 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。

4 nautical   

adj.海上的，航海的，船员的

参考例句：

• A nautical mile is 1,852 meters.一海里等于1852米。
• It is 206 nautical miles from our present location.距离我们现在的位置有206海里。

5 steers   

n.阉公牛，肉用公牛( steer的名词复数 )v.驾驶( steer的第三人称单数 )；操纵；控制；引导

参考例句：

• This car steers easily. 这部车子易于驾驶。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Good fodder fleshed the steers up. 优质饲料使菜牛长肉。 来自辞典例句

6 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

7 melodic   

adj.有旋律的，调子美妙的

参考例句：

• His voice had a rich melodic quality.他的音色浑厚而优美。
• He spoke with a soft husky voice in a melodic accent.他微微沙哑的声音带着一种悠扬的口音。

8 catchy   

adj.易记住的，诡诈的，易使人上当的

参考例句：

• We need a new slogan.The old one's not catchy enough.我们需要新的口号，旧的不够吸引人。
• The chorus is very catchy to say the least.副歌部分很容易上口。

9 broach   

v.开瓶，提出(题目)

参考例句：

• It's a good chance to broach the subject.这是开始提出那个问题的好机会。
• I thought I'd better broach the matter with my boss.我想我最好还是跟老板说一下这事。