First published in The Brag, here.
In 1975 an all-girl rock group called The Runaways formed in LA. Until then, women playing hard rock was rare in mainstream music. Fronted by guitarist Joan Jett and singer Cherie Currie, the five-piece – most just 16 at the time – braved it out until 1979, released four records, and were supported by bands like Van Halen and The Ramones. The Runaways tells this story with Twilight star Kristen Stewart playing Jett, and child star (now teen star) Dakota Fanning as the band’s manufactured ‘sex kitten’, Currie.
(The real thing)
October 20, 2008: Novi Sad, Serbia
Today I walked across the Varadin Bridge in Novi Sad. As far as bridges go, it’s nothing amazing. But it’s a moving experience all the same because it’s not the original Varadin Bridge. The original was bombed by NATO on April 1, 1999, as part of Operation Allied Forces during the Kosovo War.
Varadin Bridge, Novi Sad
The day after Varadin Bridge was destroyed in 1999, I turned 22. I had been accepted into Poli Sci at Berkeley so I was living back at my parents’ house and working double shifts as a waitress to save money. I’d hurtle up and down the Great Western Highway seven days a week in my rusty old Dato, immersed in dreamy thoughts of California.
