Cool (Gwen Stefani song)

Writing and composition

"Cool" was originally written by Dallas Austin after listening to Stefani's group No Doubt's song "Underneath It All" (2002). Austin commented that he was trying to write his version of No Doubt's "Simple Kind of Life", but he was unable to finish the song. He later asked Stefani if she wanted to co-write lyrics. During a studio session together, they finished "Cool" in 15 minutes. Stefani commented, "When he told me about the track and where it came from for him, it just triggered something in me." The lyrics of "Cool" reflect Stefani's former relationship with No Doubt bassist Tony Kanal. Although their romantic relationship ended, the lyrics portray Stefani's 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 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." The lyrics of "Cool" sum up the evolution of their relationship with the line "After all that we've been through, I know we're cool".

"Cool" is a mid-tempo love song featuring a synthpop and new wave production. The song is composed in D major. It is written in common time, it moves at a moderate tempo of 112 beats per minute, and it has a vocal range from the tone of F♯₃ to the note of C♯₅. The song is written in the common verse-chorus form, featuring five instruments: bass guitar, drums, guitar, keyboards, and synthesizer. "Cool" opens with all five instruments, and as Stefani begins singing, the synthesizer is lowered, and the hard-hitting drum beat steadily increases in volume. She performs her highest pitch (C♯₅) during the chorus, after which she sings in a softer, almost sotto voce, and her lowest pitch (E₃) at the beginning of the verses. The synthesizer emulates brass and woodwind instruments, while the bass and guitar retain a prominent and regular eighth note pulse, using a I–IV–V chord progression for the verses. 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" and "yeah", and she occasionally emphasizes "cool". Her vocal range covers close to two octaves.

Critical reception

"Cool" received acclaim from music critics. Yahoo! Music's Jennifer Nine referred to the song as "a liltingly sweet paean to post-break-up friendships", while Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic called it a "high school anthem-in-waiting" theme; it also was selected as one of the album's highlights. 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 it as "a slippery slice of keyboard" New Wave song referring to it as a "pitched halfway between The Go-Go's and Cyndi Lauper".

Eric Greenwood for Drawer B called "Cool" "a retrofitted [song] with stale synths and chugging guitars" with "dorkier lyrics than even Cyndi Lauper would dare". Sandy Cohen from the Toronto Star called it "the year's love anthem". Entertainment Weekly reviewer David Browne described Stefani, in "Cool" and in another song ("The Real Thing"), as "a glacial '80s synthpop zombie". Krissi Murison from NME found Stefani's performance reminiscent of "Madonna's breathless purr". John Murphy wrote for musicOMH that "Cool" would remind No Doubt fans of "Don't Speak". Blender magazine editors ranked "Cool" at number 45 on its list of "The 100 Greatest Songs of 2005".

Commercial performance

In the United States, the song debuted at number 86 on the Billboard Hot 100 on the issue dated July 16, 2005. The next week it rose to number 64, and it reached its peak position of number 13 on September 3, 2005. On other Billboard charts, the single topped the Hot Dance Club Play, reached number four on the Adult Top 40 and number nine on the Pop 100. In Australia it debuted and peaked at number 10 on September 11, 2005, dropping off the chart on November 13, 2005 at number 49. In New Zealand "Cool" became the second highest debut of the week ending September 5, 2005, at number 11. It rose to its peak position of number nine the following week, becoming her fifth consecutive top 10 in the country.

In European countries the song performed moderately, reaching the top 40 in most of them. It reached number 26 on the European Hot 100 Singles on October 8, 2005. On the Czech Airplay Chart, "Cool" entered the chart number 12, achieving its peak position of number 10 in its 10th week. In Italy, it debuted at number 16 on September 22, 2005, peaking at number 15 the week after. The single debuted at number 18 on the Norwegian chart, climbing to number 16 the following week. "Cool" debuted and peaked at number 12 on the Irish Singles Chart during the week ending September 1, 2005. In the United Kingdom the single debuted and peaked at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart for the week of September 4, 2005, spending 10 weeks on the chart. In Austria "Cool" debuted at number 31 on September 11, 2005. Four weeks later, the song reached its peak position of number 15, and was last seen on December 16, 2005, after 15 weeks.

Music video

The song's music video was directed by Sophie Muller and filmed in Lake Como, Italy. "It was obvious I was gonna ask her to do it", Stefani stated in an interview with VH1's Box Set. The video follows the song's theme and depicts the relationship that Stefani has with a former boyfriend, who is played by Spanish actor Daniel González. González and his new girlfriend—played by Tony Kanal's girlfriend, Erin Lokitz—are shown walking up to a villa where Stefani answers the door. The villa featured in the video is the Villa Erba, in the town of Cernobbio, which Stefani said was "so beautiful". The three of them are seen in each other's company, with intercut scenes of Stefani singing on a bed. There are flashbacks to the time when Stefani and her former boyfriend were dating, where she has brunette hair. Flashbacks and present day images are linked with match cut cinematography. The lyrical theme of "Cool" is maintained in the video; frames are incorporated to portray Stefani feeling "cool". She is depicted as cool with her former boyfriend and his girlfriend throughout most of the video.

The music video for "Cool" premiered on MTV's top-10 chart program Total Request Live on June 30, 2005, where it reached number three. After its July 8, 2005 debut on MuchMusic's Countdown, it reached number one for the week of October 8, 2005.

Promotion

In mid-October 2005, "Cool" was included in the setlist for Stefani's first concert tour, Harajuku Lovers Tour, performed as the 11th song of the show. The song was added to the tour's video album Harajuku Lovers Live, released on December 5, 2005. It was also used in Sofia Coppola's 2010 drama film Somewhere, in which Elle Fanning's character Cleo performs an ice dancing routine to the song.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Love. Angel. Music. Baby.