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The Donnas Raunch On
by Nick Tangborn
Music as instantaneously pleasing as The Donnas' American Teenage Rock 'N' Roll Machine tends to freak me out. On first listen, these four 18-year-old girls from Palo Alto, Calif. (Donna R. on guitar, Donna F. on bass, Donna C. on drums and Donna A. on voice) -- who've been favorably compared to the Ramones, the Runaways and Kiss -- drop-kick your head with short, spirited, anthemic blasts of equal parts youth and nostalgia. One is tempted to lavish praise on them -- they're chicks and they rock! They sing about drugs and partying and not caring if they get laid 'cuz they just wanna rock, dude! But like I said, it freaks me out. An immediate pleasure signals a temporary thrill. If the pleasures are so simple, how can they last? Of course, most memorable pop songs are ridiculously simple, and somewhere in the tension between the elements is a recurrent timelessness. So the question is, do The Donnas have what it takes to last? Is there enough between the lines to merit repeated listenings? In the seemingly arbitrary, endearingly raunchy "Wanna Get Some Stuff," Donna A. sings, "I wanna get some stuff tonight/ I wanna get some stuff tonight/ I wanna get some stuff tonight/ Yeah, yeah I feel alright." (Other song titles include: "Leather On Leather," "You Make Me Hot" and "Looking For Blood.") It looks absolutely ludicrous on paper, but somehow the girls pull it off. Donna's juvie- delinquent voice rides the crunchy glam guitar, and her sneer's so big it rides sidesaddle. But at some point, they will grow up, and these songs, that are tied so integrally to their personas as 18- year-old girls, will sound about as valid as the Sex Pistols' last tour. Green Day pulled off the transition from teenage punks to power- popsters by taking the high route, with big-buck videos and clean, clean production. It may be an unfair comparison -- I'd certainly rather listen to The Donnas today than any Green Day album. Despite the nostalgia wave they ride, there's still a naivetÈ and impudent dynamism that keeps you coming back (plus theyþre just plain fun). But I wonder how The Donnas will take the next step -- by continuing to pump out this short and spirited rawk, or by sharpening their rather blunt pop-mechanics with a glossy sheen and a little complexity? It seems they'd be ill-served by either move. But hell, I'm grousing about the future while these girls wanna live for the present (and in the past). American Teenage Rock 'N' Roll Machine is an addictive, immediate pleasure, but I'm not too worried about the withdrawal.