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"Cool" was a pop song written by Gwen Stefani and Dallas Austin for Stefani's debut solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby (2004). The song's composition 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 music critics, and the media have drawn parallels between the song's lyrical content and the romantic relationship that Stefani had with Tony Kanal, a fellow group member of No Doubt.

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

Background and writing

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), and while "Cool" presents an amicable friendship between former lovers, "Don't Speak" is about a failing relationship and never arrives at a solution for the couple. 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."

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 lover; Stefani indicates that she is in a new relationship. They suggest a progression through a turbulent time to a mutual understanding that takes their relationship to a level of respect.

"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"

Stefani sums up the evolution of their relationship with the line "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".

Stefani said that she had never intended to include "personal" material on Love. Angel. Music. Baby. and commented, "but no matter what you do, things just come out. It just ended this whole thing for me in my head, and it puts an end to a chapter in a really nice way."

Music and structure

"Cool" is a mid-tempo love song featuring new wave production and is composed in the key of D major and in 4/4 time. The song follows the common verse-chorus form and features five instruments: 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 quickly descends. She performs her lowest pitch (E3) at the beginning of each verse and sings in a softer, almost sotto voice towards the end of each chorus.

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The synthesizer emulates brass and woodwind instruments, while the bass and guitar retain a prominent and regular eighth note pulse. In the percussion section a drum kit is used, and the snare is introduced at the beginning of the first chorus, which maintains its beat. During the song's fade-out, Stefani repeats "I know we're cool" four times and "yeah" three times, and she occasionally emphasizes "cool". Her vocal range covers close to two octaves.

Critical reception

"Cool" was generally very well-received from different music critics. LAUNCHcast's Jennifer Nine referred to the song as "a liltingly sweet paean to post-break-up friendships", while All Music Guide wrote that the "high school anthem-in-waiting" exuded "sleek, new wave textures". Richard Smirke of PlayLouder commented that the song successfully used the same production formula as 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".

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". While Blender magazine ranked "Cool" at number forty-five on its list of "The 100 Greatest Songs of 2005", the song attracted some negative feedback as well: Bill Lamb of About.com proclaimed it "Gwen's lost Cyndi Lauper tune", but felt that it "doesn't immediately grab attention like her other singles".

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 Pop 100 top ten, and the following week it debuted on the 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 Billboard charts on which it appeared, and its remixes topped the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in mid-November. While "Cool" proved somewhat popular on Adult Contemporary radio, it was successful on the Adult Top 40 format and reached the top ten on the U.S. ARC Weekly Top 40, a chart unassociated with Billboard.

In Canada "Cool" was officially released to radio on July 13 2005. It reached the top five on the Canadian BDS Airplay chart and remained in the top ten for another two months. "Cool" debuted higher on the Canadian Singles Chart than it did in the U.S. and ascended to number one three months later for two weeks, from October 13 2005. The song peaked higher in Canada than "Hollaback Girl"'s predecessor "Rich Girl", while in the U.S. "Rich Girl" was the single that charted higher.

The song was released in 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 "Cool" entered the top ten in the Netherlands, New Zealand and on Russian and South African radio, it was a moderate top twenty success in Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, and Norway. The song reached number six on the United World Chart on October 15 2005.

Music video

The song's music video was directed by Sophie Muller and filmed in Lake Como, Italy. It follows the song's theme very closely and depicts the relationship that Stefani has with a former boyfriend, who is played by Daniel Gonzalez. Gonzalez and his new girlfriend (played by Tony Kanal's girlfriend, Erin Lokitz) are shown walking 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 (her natural brown hair has not been seen since she was in grade school). Although the lyrical theme of "Cool" is maintained within the video, there are frames incorporated to portray Stefani feeling "uncool". Throughout most of the video, she is presented as "cool" with her former boyfriend and his girlfriend, but there are moments where she remembers the past and is uncomfortable.

The video showcases the scenery of Como's forests, lakes and restaurants and was the first from Love. Angel. Music. Baby. not to include Stefani's 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 introduced an orchestral arrangement that differs from the original 1980s composition on Love. Angel. Music. Baby. No music videos were released for the song's remixes.

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

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.

The song was featured in the film Click (2006).

Credits and personnel

Charts

Photek/Richard X remixes

Notes

1. ^ "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. Cohen, Sandy. "'Underneath It All' helped conceive the year's love anthem". September 2 2005. Toronto Star. F1. Retrieved October 15 2005.
4. ^ 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

• "ARC Weekly Top 40 timeline – Gwen Stefani". Rock on the Net. Retrieved October 19 2005.
• "Australian Recording Industry Association". Australian airplay and sales charts. Retrieved October 19 2005.
• "BBC: The Official UK Charts Company". United Kingdom sales chart. Retrieved October 19 2005.
• "Billboard". Billboard Hot 100 airplay and sales charts. Retrieved October 19 2005.
• 70 Countries Worldwide, Number 1 Hit Singles, week of October 21 (2005). "Charly-1300". Retrieved October 17 2005.
• "Jam Canoe". Canadian airplay and sales charts. Retrieved October 19 2005.
• Vineyard, Jennifer. MTV.com. "Gwen Stefani's Song About Tony Kanal To Be Her Next Single". Retrieved November 28 2005.
• Rainey, Billy; Vineyard, Jennifer. MTV.com. "Gwen Stefani: Scared Solo (2004/2005)". Retrieved October 15 2005.
• "Recording Industry Association of New Zealand". New Zealand sales chart. Retrieved October 19 2005.
• "The phenom": Information on the inspiration for "Don't Speak". October 20 2005. "Sign on San Diego". Retrieved October 20 2005.
• Cohen, Sandy. "'Underneath It All' helped conceive the year's love anthem". September 2 2005. Toronto Star. F1. Retrieved October 15 2005.
• "United World Chart". The world's most popular albums and songs. Retrieved October 19 2005.

External links

• Gwen Stefani music videos — watch "Cool" at LAUNCHcast

• 2000s pop songs (first decade)
• 2004 songs
• 2005 singles
• Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one singles
• Gwen Stefani songs
• Music videos directed by Sophie Muller
• Music videos filmed in Italy
• Number-one singles in Canada