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Throughout the song, the synthesizer emulates [[brass instrument]]s (the [[baritone]], [[trumpet]] and [[tuba]] can be heard during the verses) and [[woodwind instrument]]s, while the bass and guitar retain a prominent and regular [[quarter note]] [[pulse (music)|pulse]]. During the song's twenty-one second fade-out, Stefani repeats the lyric "I know we're cool" and sometimes places stress on "cool".
Throughout the song, the synthesizer emulates [[brass instrument]]s (the [[baritone]], [[trumpet]] and [[tuba]] can be heard during the verses) and [[woodwind instrument]]s, while the bass and guitar retain a prominent and regular [[quarter note]] [[pulse (music)|pulse]]. There are three [[rest (music)|rest]]s in the song: eighth rests, half rests and quarter rests, which appear the most after the third verse. During the song's twenty-one second fade-out, Stefani repeats the lyric "I know we're cool" and sometimes places stress on "cool".


==Critical response==
==Critical response==

Revision as of 02:23, 21 July 2006

"Cool"
Song

"Cool" is a pop song performed by Gwen Stefani. It was written by Stefani and Dallas Austin for Stefani's debut solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby (2004). The song's musical-style and production were heavily inspired by pop music from the 1980s, and its lyrics chronicle a relationship in which two lovers have separated, but remain "cool" with each other as good friends. "Cool" received praise from pop music critics, and parallels have been drawn by the media between the song's lyrical content and the relationship that Stefani had with her former boyfriend Tony Kanal, a fellow group member of No Doubt.

The song was released in 2005 (see 2005 in music) as the album's fourth single and it entered the top twenty on the majority of the charts it appeared on, but failed to match the success of its predecessor "Hollaback Girl". "Cool" reached number one in Canada.

Writing and inspiration

The lyrics of "Cool" reflect Stefani's former relationship with No Doubt bassist Tony Kanal. Although their romantic relationship ended, Stefani's lyrics portray her attitude that it is "cool" that they still remain very good friends. Stefani and Kanal's relationship had provided the inspiration for No Doubt's "Don't Speak" (1996).[1] While "Cool" presents an amicable friendship between former lovers,[2] "Don't Speak" is about a failing relationship and never arrives at a solution for the couple.[1] Stefani and Kanal supply the basis for the characters.

Stefani said of the song, "Dallas Austin heard my song 'Underneath It All' and got inspired to write a new song called 'Cool', which he could never finish about his girlfriend and all the bullshit of breaking up, and how he wanted it to be okay. We finished the thing in fifteen minutes. I didn't write all of the melody — I'm ashamed, I want to say that I did — but I also know how magical it is that somebody could be so inspired by my song that they write one."[3]

Because Austin had wanted to write a song about the aftermath of his failed relationship, the lyrics recall a romantic affiliation that once existed, from the point of view of one who has moved on from their former love, with Stefani indicating that she has found a new partner. They suggest a progression through a turbulent time to a mutual understanding that takes their relationship to a level of respect.

File:CoolCap3.JPG
The song's lyrics and music video present Stefani as "cool" with her former boyfriend and his girlfriend.

Stefani sums up the evolution of their relationship with the lyric "after all that we've been through, I know we're cool". The former couple are now "hanging out" with Kanal's new girlfriend, while Stefani has married and is pleased that he calls her by her "new last name".

"And I'll be happy for you
If you can be happy for me
Circles and triangles, and now we're
Hangin' out with your new girlfriend
So far from where we've been
I know we're cool"

While Stefani claims that she had never intended to include "personal"[4] material on Love. Angel. Music. Baby., she said that "it puts an end to a chapter in a really nice way."[4]

Music and structure

File:Sheet music for Gwen Stefani's Cool.jpg
The song has many keyboard notes (bottom) and the guitar (top) retains a regular quarter note pulse.

"Cool" is a love song featuring new wave production and is composed in the key of D major and in 4/4 time signature. It follows the common verse-chorus form and five instruments are used in the song: bass guitar, drums, guitar, keyboard, and synthesizer. Stefani begins to sing the first verse in an impassive state as the emphasis on the synthesizer is lowered and the hard-hitting drum beat increases in volume. To distinguish some of the changes in her relationship, she stresses several lyrics by rising to her highest pitch in the song (C#5) and she quickly descends. She sings in a softer, almost sotto voice towards the end of each chorus, where she asserts that she is "cool" with her former lover.

Template:Sound sample box align right Template:Multi-listen start Template:Multi-listen item Template:Multi-listen end Template:Sample box end

Throughout the song, the synthesizer emulates brass instruments (the baritone, trumpet and tuba can be heard during the verses) and woodwind instruments, while the bass and guitar retain a prominent and regular quarter note pulse. There are three rests in the song: eighth rests, half rests and quarter rests, which appear the most after the third verse. During the song's twenty-one second fade-out, Stefani repeats the lyric "I know we're cool" and sometimes places stress on "cool".

Critical response

"Cool" received a generally positive response from music critics. LAUNCHcast's Jennifer Nine referred to the song as "a liltingly sweet paean to post-break-up friendships",[5] while All Music Guide wrote that the "high school anthem-in-waiting" exuded "sleek, new wave textures".[6] Richard Smirke of PlayLouder commented that the song successfully used the same production formula as its fellow album tracks "Serious" and "What You Waiting For?", and described it as a "crisp blend of edgy 21C production and early 80s Madonna-esque pop".[7]

Jason Damas, in a review for PopMatters, characterized the song as "a slippery slice of keyboard driven new wave pop that easily could've slotted into any No Doubt album... pitched halfway between The Go-Go's and Cyndi Lauper", and added, "the lyrics immediately ensure it will be sung along to by lonely 16-year-olds".[8] While Blender magazine ranked "Cool" at number forty-five on its list of "The 100 Greatest Songs of 2005",[9] the song attracted some negative feedback as well: Bill Lamb of About.com proclaimed it to be "Gwen's lost Cyndi Lauper tune", but felt that it "doesn't immediately grab attention like her other singles".[10]

Chart performance

Although "Cool" was officially released to U.S. radio on July 5 2005, it appeared a week early on Billboard magazine's Pop 100 Airplay chart. The song reached the top ten on the Pop 100, and the following week it debuted on the Billboard Hot 100, the official U.S. chart. "Cool" peaked at number thirteen in its eighth week and remained on the chart until its twentieth week. The song entered the top twenty on the majority of the U.S. Billboard charts on which it appeared, and its remixes topped the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart for the week of November 12 2005. However, while it reached the top five of the Adult Top 40, it was less successful on the Adult Contemporary format. The song also peaked within the top ten on the U.S. ARC Weekly Top 40, a chart unassociated with Billboard. In November 2005 the U.S. RIAA awarded "Cool" a gold certification for sales of more than 100,000 CD singles and digital downloads.

"Cool" debuted higher on the Canadian chart than the Hot 100 and three months after its release, it reached number one on October 6 2005, a position it maintained for another two weeks. It also reached the top five on the Canadian BDS Airplay chart. In Canada "Cool" peaked higher than "Hollaback Girl"'s predecessor "Rich Girl" (the top twenty), while in the U.S. "Rich Girl" was the single that charted higher (the top ten).

The song was released in Asia, Australia and Europe on August 22 2005. "What You Waiting For?" (Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'s first single) and "Rich Girl" reached the UK top five, but "Hollaback Girl" had only the top ten. "Cool" continued the trend of lower-charting singles when it debuted and peaked at number eleven. Stefani's previous singles had charted most strongly in Australia, where "What You Waiting For?" and "Hollaback Girl" debuted at number one and "Rich Girl" at number two. "Cool" debuted at number ten and quickly descended the chart, but widespread airplay and Stefani's concurrent promotional visit to Australia stimulated a resurgence of interest in Love. Angel. Music. Baby., which ascended the albums chart again. While the song entered the top ten in the Netherlands and New Zealand, it was only a moderate top twenty success in Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Norway, and on Russian radio. "Cool" reached number six on the United World Chart.

Music video

The music video expands upon themes in the song by showing that at moments, Stefani is actually feeling "uncool".

The music video was directed by Sophie Muller and was filmed in Lake Como, Italy. It follows the theme of the song very closely and depicts the relationship that Stefani has with a former boyfriend, who is played by Daniel Gonzalez. Gonzalez is seen walking with his new girlfriend (played by Tony Kanal's girlfriend, Erin Lokitz) to a house. Stefani answers the door, and the three of them are seen in each other's company, with intercut scenes of Stefani rolling around on a bed. There are brief flashbacks to the time when Stefani and her former boyfriend were dating where she wears a brunette wig, which represents her younger self. (Stefani's natural brown hair has not been seen since she was in grade school.)[11][12] While the lyrical theme of "Cool" is maintained within the video, there are frames incorporated to portray Stefani feeling "uncool". Throughout the majority of the video, she is illustrated as being "cool" with her former boyfriend and his girlfriend, but there are also moments where she thinks about the past and is uncomfortable.[3]

The video showcases the scenery of Como's forests, lakes and restaurants. It was also the first video of Stefani's from Love. Angel. Music. Baby. not to include her Harajuku Girls, who were present throughout the majority of the album's promotion. The complete version of "Cool" featured in the music video was released commercially through CD singles and digital downloads and it introduced an orchestral arrangement that differs from the 1980s musical-style of the original version available on Love. Angel. Music. Baby.

"Cool" premiered on MTV's top-ten video-chart program Total Request Live on June 30 2005, where it reached number three; it also reached number two on VH1's Top 20 Video Countdown. Following its debut on MuchMusic's Countdown on July 8 2005, it ascended to number one for the week of October 7 2005. "Cool" reached number nine on LAUNCHcast's top one-hundred most-watched videos on July 23 2005.

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Cool". For reasons that were never confirmed, the U.S. digital download was removed from iTunes and other online music stores shortly following its release. It was the first digital download to be removed.

Credits and personnel

Charts

Chart (2005) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100
 13
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play 1
 1 (1 week)
U.S. Billboard Adult Top 40
 4
U.S. Billboard Pop 100
 9
U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream
 9
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary
 23
Canadian Singles Chart
 1 (3 weeks)
Canadian BDS Airplay Chart
 4
Dutch Singles Chart
 6
United World Chart
 6
Chart (2005) Peak
position
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart
 9
Australian ARIA Singles Chart
 10
Mexican Singles Chart
 11
UK Singles Chart
 11
Irish Singles Chart
 12
Italian Singles Chart
 15
Russian Airplay Chart
 15
Norwegian Singles Chart
 16
German Singles Chart
 20
Swiss Singles Chart
 24

1 Photek/Richard X remixes

Preceded by Canadian number-one single
October 6 2005 (3 weeks) 		Succeeded by

Notes

  1. ^ a b "The phenom": Information on the inspiration for "Don't Speak". October 20 2005. "Sign on San Diego". Retrieved October 20 2005.
  2. ^ Vineyard, Jennifer. MTV.com. "Gwen Stefani's Song About Tony Kanal To Be Her Next Single". Retrieved November 28 2005.
  3. ^ a b "Cool". Information about the song's commercial release. NoDoubtWeb.com. Retrieved October 25 2005.
  4. ^ a b Vineyard, Jennifer. "Gwen Stefani's Song About Tony Kanal To Be Her Next Single". MTV.com. Retrieved November 30 2005.
  5. ^ Nine, Jennifer. "Gwen Stefani — 'Love, Angel, Music, Baby'". LAUNCHcast. November 25 2004. Retrieved October 25 2005.
  6. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Love.Angel.Music.Baby". All Music Guide. Retrieved October 25 2005.
  7. ^ Smirke, Richard. "Love. Angel. Music. Baby.". PlayLouder. November 23 2004. Retrieved October 25 2005.
  8. ^ Damas, Jason. "GWEN STEFANI – Love.Angel.Music.Baby.". PopMatters. November 29 2004. Retrieved October 25 2005.
  9. ^ "The 100 Greatest Songs of 2005". Blender. January/February 2006. Retrieved June 1 2006.
  10. ^ Lamb, Bill. "Gwen Stefani — Cool". About.com. Retrieved October 25 2005.
  11. ^ "Artist Biography - Gwen Stefani". OnlineSeats.com. Information on the personal life of Gwen Stefani. Retrieved June 18 2006.
  12. ^ Gwen Stefani Biography and Quotes — "Stefani's original hair color is brown". Retrieved November 28 2005.

References

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