Hello, Welcome to Seven Songs a Week
I've been hearing today's song everywhere all week and after a week of hard angry song, I feel like my audience deserves a relief. I never truly listened to the lyrics because I believed this song was a retrospective on a relationship, not a retrospective on a relationship that has ended. I was just wondering the other day if it was awkward for Gwen Stefani and Tony Kanal, fellow band member of No Doubt, because an entire album with hit singles were birthed because of this breakup. But, after reading the lyrics and seeing all they've been through, I know they're cool.
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| Single Cover for "Cool" |
"Cool" is written as Stefani speaking to Kanal about how far they have come after their breakup. Stefani tries to "remember how it felt before...[she] found the love of [her] life." Stefani tells Kanal about her comfortable, happy, life and how she's happy that he found someone. Stefani tells Kanal how "...after all the obstacles...it's such a miracle that you and me are still good friends." The general public can estimate all of the "obstacles" that Stefani and Kanal went through after listening to "Tragic Kingdom," especially "Don't Speak" and "Excuse Me Mr." Stefani does remember the hurt and pain the relationship ending caused and how it was hard to adjust but "time always kill the pain." Stefani remembers "Harbor Boulevard" and how she and Kanal have grown but are still the same. Stefani finds it beautiful how she can be happy for Kanal and how he can be happy for Stefani because they both know their "cool."
The video for "Cool" leads me to believe that Stefani is not cool with Kanal. The video begins with Stefani's ex-lover and his new girlfriend visiting Stefani at her house. We can see that both Stefani and her ex are both nervous to see each other but that goes away when they actually meet. There's a playful familiarity between Stefani and her ex that is evident throughout the video as they stare at each other and grimace at the thought of what could have been. Between the rendezvous are match cuts of a younger Stefani and her ex doing the same things they are doing, Stefani sits, so does younger Stefani. The song begins with wistful Stefani on her bed singing out to her ex while her memories and present are cut between. More match cuts follow the video until we see how younger Stefani and her ex are drifting away as present Stefani and her ex grow closer. Finally, Stefani remembers that her memories are just memories and goes to the beach with her ex and his new girlfriend, which is the same beach that her and her ex used to spend their time at.
I honestly don't know what to think about "Cool" thematically because the lyrics say that Stefani is over the relationship but the video shows how that is not the case at all. "Cool" is a beautiful song and it is so quick with it's three choruses, however, I do find it weird that her husband at the time did cheat on her which became an album of its own. Stefani seems to be doing great now with Blake Shelton and, who knows, maybe her and her ex-husband are cool.
I give "Cool" 4.9 breakup albums out of 5
I hope you enjoyed my review. How do you feel about "Cool"? Leave a comment and a request for Saturday down below.
I listed my sources below in case you are interested in reading more.
Take Care,
Jonathan
