But when she performs in Raleigh - decked out now in a studded, black-leather bikini top - she draws a large lesbian contingent among her demographically diverse crowd. She has never made a public statement about her sexual orientation. In terms of gender, I was really excited, and confused.' And the other thing is she didn't change the pronoun. 'Her vocal was so good, it was just dripping. 'I remember being in the car the first time I heard ?Crimson and Clover,'' Hanna says.

Kathleen Hanna, formerly of riot-grrl pioneers Bikini Kill and current leader of electro-pop feminists Le Tigre, co-wrote four songs with Jett on 'Sinner.' Before she was a collaborator, she was a fan. 'She's out here mentoring people, showing bands like Shiragirl that she's been doing it for all these years, that you can't give up,' says Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman.ДЄs Jett's stature as a mainstream rock star faded, her standing as a heroine to young female rockers grew. There can't be, since all the acts, from Jett to current big-sellers like AFI, get to play for only 30 minutes each. And there's not a lot of ego-tripping among the bands.'

'It's the kind of music I love, and the energy of the show is just great. 'It's amazing,' she says of Warped, talking before the show in a chilly hotel lounge. (And some, like NOFX, that are.) She's riding the bus, staying in Holiday Inns - here in Raleigh, a middle-aged housekeeper named Connie professed her love and turned Jett's rock-star scowl into a grin - and knocking them out with 'I Love Rock N' Roll' every day. It reveals that in addition to looking and sounding as good as she did a generation ago, Jett has gotten better at writing and choosing crunchy rock songs that fool around with issues of sexual identity, like her glam-rock cover of the Sweet's 'AC/DC,' whose video features Carmen Electra as Jett's lover.ДЄnd Jett's out on the road with Warped, headlining along with bands that are not half her age.

The femme-rock icon has a new, startlingly vital album called 'Sinner,' released on her own Blackheart label. This summer Jett, who's best known for raw, rugged ?80s hits such as 'Crimson and Clover' and 'I Hate Myself for Loving You,' has ample opportunity. Because I'm a girl that plays rock ?n' roll.'

A real wild child