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Originally Posted by RMJ
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ALIZEE TECHNO GIRL
Who said that girls don't know anything about a computer? Not Alizee! We met the singer during the release of her new album, "Psychedelices". Interview with a charming geek, an absolute fan of the iPod.
A rude awakening on a February morning... Hard to get up, even the iPod would refuse to get out of its case! Only enough time to get a cafe and to get warmed up near the road by the big Parisian hotel where we invited Alizee. The singer is back after three years of absence. The time was used to have a baby and to conceive an album. Just like the sound of her new disc, the young woman has matured. Finished with playing lolita under the leadership of the duo of Mylene Farmer and Laurent Boutonnat. The little Ajaccio girl broke with her mentors who discovered her during the show Graines de Star on M6. The artist affirms herself in life without denying anything about the past and takes her career into her own hands, knocking on the door of Alain Bashung's favourite author, Jean Fauque, or of the sombre Daniel Darc, singer of Taxi-Girl. That gives quite a mix to the intersection of pop, and even rap. An eclectisism done in her image, likeable and quite the opposite of the singer marketed by her record company. Alizee shows her tastes like her addictions for boys toys. The iPod and and the Mac are very important to her daily life. She's arriving now, smiling despite looking tired from doing seven Enfoires concerts for the Restos du Coeur in only five days. Meeting.
SVMiPod - You are back from the Enfoires concert... Tired but happy?
Alizee - The Enfoires tour is an interesting moment. It is a bit like a summer camp, you sacrifice your own interests for the interests of the whole group. This year, the show was changed into a play, we put on costumes, we have fun! Most of the artists don't feel nervous at all, when we are singing in front of 10 000 people...
You and your iPod, are you inseparable?
I always have it with me, even during concerts. With the Enfoires, we each have to sing about fifteen songs, and my MP3 player allows me to rehearse. Same with the TV shows, where I am frequently asked to sing several different versions of the songs on the album: I take my iPod, I listen and I count the number of refrains, its a great reminder
(laughs...)! All the artists that I work with have an iPod, and that doesn't even count MacBooks or iPhones. During the creation of the album, I kept all the different versions of my songs on my mp3 player, from the initial draft to the first time I sang it, with the musicians recordings... In summary, the iPod is an amazing work tool, but thats not their only role. I like to see films as well. When I go flying, I take my iPod so my daughter can look at cartoons. She was born with an iPod, she doesn't even know what it's like to fly without an mp3 player! My iPod is also quite useful for sports. I don't do sports anymore without music and without a playlist that I let the thing run, and time flies!
How do you explain the success of the iPod?
For girls, its above all a fashionable thing that comes in different colours, that we can engrave... All the biggest brand names make accessories for it, like Chanel or even Vuitton who have released cases for the iPhone even before its release! Its also ultrasimple, like everything else that is stamped with an apple.
Aren't you afraid that the usage of mp3 players supports illegal downloads?
No, mp3 players are not at the source of piracy, its the price of progress and the Internet... we can't do anything about it, we made a lot of laws, it was a battle lost before it begun, unless we go back to vinyl records. I think we should prepare for the death of the CD.
Are you a fan of the first days of its release?
I found out about the iPod via the Mac. During my tour at the end of 2003, I went into a store to get a Powerbook. I wanted to get the best out of three months travelling and musicians' advice, who all work on Mac computers, to really get into it. And then, when I saw the iPod beside the Mac, I really fell for it! Then, I really loved the Mini rose, a limited edition Hello Kitty that I ordered in Japan, until the day when a funny icon appeared on the screen, a person with little eyes and a smiling mouth. I tried everything to reboot it, pressing both buttons at the same time without success... its my little girl who inherited it as a toy, to do the same thing. Then, I went to the black Nano, all the way to the new Classic 80 Go gray that I received as a birthday present.
You aren't convinced by the Touch?
16 GB of memory is not good enough. With my Nano, already, I had to keep selecting bits of music in iTunes. It is too frustrating when someone like me has a musical library that is 40GB in size! I prefer to take all my music in my pocket. The Touch, I give to my husband (Jeremy Chatelain: editors note), I gave him one for Christmas.
According to you, the status of geek is no longer reserved for just guys?
Effectively, since I have always liked new things in technology... Finally, a few years ago, I blamed myself for only liking guy things! When I started to earn my own salary, I spent as much money on gadgets as handbags, my two passions! I love going to Japan to shop in high tech shops. There, they have several story buildings where each floor is reserved for cameras, videocamcorders, computers, quite a surrealistic thing! Quite modestly, I have learned some stuff and today I know more than my husband...
(laugh). With him, I play the customer service representative. Its my dad who is responsible for me liking this stuff, and he is proud of it. I have always had computers at the house, I have photos where you can see me as a little kid beside a piano. When I have a problem, I will troubleshoot for hours why it doesn't work. It's only in really difficult situations that I call my dad up. Besides, he always picks up the phone and says
"Apple Assistance, hello!"
What do you use your computer for?
I do a bit of everything. In total, I have 21000 photos that I keep track of with iPhoto or Aperture (that my dad told me about), and, definitely, Photoshop to do some retouching. I also like making some small movie cuts with iMovie to show them on my iPod for people close to me: vacations during
making-of the recording of my last album while going through my dad's birthday...In 2003, I called him during a concert with 4000 people to tell him happy birthday. The makeup artist filmed in the wings of the set and I put everything on my Mac to give to him. Its a unique gift that particularly touched him.
Do you use the Net a lot? Do you personally work on your site?
Artists official websites are heavy and difficult to keep up to date. I prefer to use MySpace with is really accessible to everybody, to publish new photos and news. Therefore, I keep up my pages everyday and I receive fans messages directly... I am naturally on FaceBook, but there, its more personal.
What digital device has not been invented yet that you dream about?
Something that can drive everything in the house (from TV to food), like the iPhone, at the touch of a finger. And so something I liked a lot on my iMac and the other manufacturers should get ideas from: it only has one wire! And that, for a girl who is doing housework, its very important...
By Olivier Frigara
I BLAMED MYSELF FOR ONLY LIKING GUYS THINGS!
MP3 PLAYERS ARE NOT AT THE SOURCE OF PIRACY
HER SITES
The Geek Journal: this site talks about current gadgets.
Nitrolicious: A fashion blog that is about the latest bags, sneakers, and even MacBOok Air. I could have done it myself, it is quite like me.
Clubic: I get little shareware programs that I need for my Mac there.
Purse Blog: A blog on It Bags, these timeless high fashion bags like Hermes' Kelly.
FaceBook: This is the fasion site. Its cool to keep in contact... But in the end, I think I will get tired of it.
Sold Out: Collete's store website. I order sneakers or clothes that you can only find there.
HER PLAYLIST
Gorillaz - Dare
I am totally a fan. I adore the graphical universe of the clip!
Madonna - La Isla Bonita
I had the chance to sing it in her presence during a special show on France 2.
The Killers - Somebody Told Me
It is my favourite group and the reference album for the creation of my last CD.
50 Cent and Justin Timberlake - Ayo Technology
I am not very hip hop, but there, I have always had feelings for that music!
The Beatles - Let it Be
The song for my dad. Everytime I listen to it, I think about him.
IN HER BAG
A Beez pink robe: it looks like a big Malabar. There is nothing that could be better for protecting the MacBook.
A FreecomToughDrive Pink Hard Drive: 250 GB always in my hand, for pictures of my daughter!
A Blackberry: A work tool, above all.
A LG Shine telephone: I adore its good luck charm, a USB keychain drive of 2GB, that it is attached to. Its a gift from my dad.
A paper Louis Vuitton agenda book: I have had too many problems with the electronic version...
A MontBlanc in its case: I signed my first contract as a producer with this pen. I am sure it will give me good luck!
Ray-Ban sunglasses: these are Wayfarers, that my dad used to wear for a long time and that are now back in fashion again. I use them to remind me of the Ajaccio sun.