Donna’s Anniversary

Ok. I’m going to be honest here. Every time I read a piece on The Donna’s, I flip the page. Not because I don’t respect their vision, but rather because I don’t really buy their records. I have always respected the quartet of girls regardless because they ALL play their own instruments, and are not birthed by some corporate dork in Orlando trying to create a “girl band”. These chicks are all close friends.

(Loverboy’s Get Lucky, The Donna’s Bitchin’)

I’ve had them filed away in my head as some modern-day “Runaways” outfit, some cute girls singing pop tunes banging on some real instruments (actually, if I’m not mistaken, even the Runaways were masterminded by some creepy manager who manipulated them). So that means that The Donna’s are actually the pure archetype.

(Runaways)

Anyway, the reason I’m posting about them today, is because I was just reminded that these women (in their late 20’s) have reached their 15 year anniversary in the business! That’s right, they formed the band in middle-school when they were 13 years old back in 1993.

(Paying their Dues. The Donna’s backstage in the early days)

Not only have they transcended the petty fights, rehabs, and scandals of most bands, but they’ve survived in one of the most historically horrible moments in the music business. They started their own record label, Purple Feather Records, and are releasing their 7th album now. Their following is steady, loyal, and the women are veterans with several world tours under their belt (currently touring with The Hives now).

(The Donna’s today)

My respect points have just risen. Plus I really like their new album cover — the visual mash-up of sugary Loverboy mixed with the sinister color palette’s of Iron Maiden’s world. It’s a proper image to project in conjunction with this new body of work. Give yourself 1 minute to hear their opening song called Bitchin’ Intro…. there’s some serious guitar shredding here. P.S. I just downloaded my first Donna’s song (it’s a good mixed tape opener).

Their new album Bitchin‘ was just released in iTunes. If I had a little sister craving for some inspiration to start her own band, I’d give them this CD as Girl-Rock-Band-101. The Donna’s will probably keep aging with grace. Their music is their vitamin, and they genuinely have fun rocking on stage. I’m not mad at that. Here’s hoping they throw us a little scandal along the way to muddy up their damn perfect reputation.

Google Blackle -Pt2

Hoodwinked?

If you read my post on Saturday, you would have noticed the fact that Google’s homepage was set to Blackle all weekend to announce Earth Hour Day. The theory is that the black screen saves energy in contrast to the usual “energy sucking” white homepage. At least that’s what we’re told.

The people who created Blackle estimated that a black Google page would save 750 megawatt-hours a year — 1 megawatt-hour is the equivalent of 10,000 light bulbs (100 watt bulbs) burning continuously for 1 hour, according to Wikipedia. I asked my web guy, Jack Furious, who’s my “word on the street” for tech talk, and here’s what he said:

“It does not necessarily save you energy by using that search page. It depends on your monitor. So my suggestion is if you really are into to being green and everything, research your monitor and see if it’s one that actually saves energy by using it.”

After some more research, apparently others feel the same way as additional tech journalists have tested out CRT moniters (cathode ray tube) and LCD/Flatscreens (Liquid Crystal Display) to see if energy is truly saved with a black screen. In some tests, the LCD’s hogged up MORE energy trying to display the black screens!

(LCD Flatscreens vs CRT Moniters)

Conclusion: I still respect Google and their attempts to promote Earth Hour Day, despite all their “haters” (see Walter Mossberg of The New York Times), but it is healthy to question everything you read so we don’t end up becoming some fashionable faux-conserving community burning more energy (because of some cute homepage PR pitch).

Jack Furious suggests these things:

(1) Turn off your computer at the end of the day instead of using a screen saver. It takes energy to run the screensaver program.

(2) At the end of the day, turn of your power strip with all your peripherals, which also use energy.

(3) Use the “power-saving” feature built into your computer, even if your using a desktop. This includes dimming your screen and spinning down your hard drive.

His final words: “These things will actually save a lot more energy than putting on some black web page.”

Google Rocks

Learned another thing from Google.

This is the reason they shut their homepage lights off today. If you’re reading the blog on a Saturday, shut off your lights tonight from 8-9pm (local time). Check out this short Earth Hour Video to learn why — It takes only 2 minutes to watch.

Stipe Talks

Breaking News

Runway Show Music

DJ Playlists from Runway Shows

( “Go to the Light, Carol Ann!” )

I took this picture at the Alice Temperley show last Fashion Week. The room was calm and quiet as we awaited the stampede of editors finishing their previous show. This is the view each model sees when walking down the plank with only show music as her guide. There’s nothing like seeing a really well produced Fashion show. Done correctly, the 10 minute presentation (which takes half a year to prepare) can be an enjoyable ride comparable to good theater. So the pressure to pick your top 1 to 4 “money-shot” songs can make or break the effect. No pressure, eh?

Here’s some of the latest inspirations each designer chose to present their collection with. The overall sound champ on international runways these days is the girl we all love and adore — M.I.A. (who likes Boyz).

CHLOÉ RTW
Bucky Done Gun • M.I.A
Jimmy • M.I.A
Miss Broadway • Glass Candy

JEAN-PAUL GAULTIER
Boyz • M.I.A
Fog Bound • Klaus Badelt
Hussel • M.I.A
Kings Of The Wild Frontier • Adam And The Ants
Up Is Down • Hanz Zimmer

DIOR COUTURE
Crosstown Traffic • Jimmy Hendrix
Black Dog • Led Zeppelin
Whole Lotta Love • Led Zeppelin
American Woman • The Guess Who

KARL LAGERFELD
Get Innocuous • LCD Soundsystem
Prince Harry • Soho Dolls
The Boys • Dragonette

BURBERRY
Child In Time • Deep Purple
I Put A Spell On You • Creedence Clearwater
You Do Something To Me • Paul Weller

DIOR COUTURE
Crosstown Traffic • Jimmy Hendrix
Black Dog • Led Zeppelin
Whole Lotta Love • Led Zeppelin
American Woman • The Guess Who

LOUIS VUITTON
Lex • Ratatat
Stronger • Kanye West
Technologic • Daft Punk
Touch It • Busta Rhymes

CHANEL RTW
Be My Baby • The Ronettes
Melody Day • Caribou
Don’t Worry Baby • The Beach Boys
The Last Time • Andrew Oldham Orchestra / The Rolling Stones

CHRISTOPHER KANE
Law Of Life • Farah
Miss Broadway • Glass Candy
Wild Thing • The Troggs

ALESSANDRO DELL’ACQUA
Claire De Lune (Remix)
Love Is A Battlefield • Pat Benetar
Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence • Ryuichi Sakamoto
Purple Rose Minuet • Susumu Yokota
When Under Ether • PJ Harvey
Yeah Yeah • Bodyrox

GUCCI
Heart of Glass • Blondie
Keys To The City • The Go! Team
Love Cats • The Cure
Overpowered • Róisín Murphy
Psycho: Prelude • Bernard Herrmann

RODARTE
Beach • Miracle Fortress
Being Boiled (Fast Version) • Human League
Franz Schubert • Kraftwerk
Have You Seen In Your Dreams? • Miracle Fortress

YVES SAINT-LAURENT
Bird Flu • M.I.A
Sleeping Beauty • Patrick Wilson
Juju Space Jazz • Brian Eno

These designers passed on multiple playlists, and just went for 1 song. Short and to the point.

• STELLA McCARTNEY (Paper Planes • M.I.A)
• VIKTOR & ROLF (Close To You • The Carpenters)
• LANVIN (Fireworks • Siouxsie and the Banshees)
• MARC JACOBS (Bolero • Ravel)
• MATTHEW WILLIAMSON (Prince, Live Performance)
• BALENCIAGA (Storm • Vanessa Mae / Vivaldi)
• MISSONI (It’s A Man’s World • James Brown & Joss Stone)
• CHANEL COUTURE (Running Up That Hill • The Chromatics)
• DONNA KARAN (Inside & Out • Feist)
• GIVENCHY (Heartbeats • The Knife)

Source: Agenda Inc.