How does everyone feel about the "new" Gwen Stefani? I've noticed that she goes through phases. When she was with No Doubt her music style was considered to be Ska. She then went through her Reggae phase, her Harajuku phase, now her Swiss phase where she yodels in the song "Wind It Up". In corrolation her music went from substantail, quality music to something more mainstream and "entertaining". Her new song Wind It Up is a strange song. The yodeling is horrible and unnecessary. This song is purely nothing more than a potential dance song. It has no real value, no real passion like her older songs.
When it comes down to it, I prefer Gwen's older music. Give me some Don't Speak or some Sunday Morning to reminisce on the past.
Dont Speak is such an emotional, passionate song. The listener hears a song about two friends who are slowly loosing grip from each other. One friend is attempting to explain to the other about what is going on. However the pain behind this explanation causes so much hurt that the explanation in itself is better left unsaid.
Sunday Morning is an uptempo song about a girl who is reflecting on the person that she used to be. She's a bit confused and conflicted because she thought she knew herself when in reality she is unclear about who she really is.
If I were Gwen, I would venture back to my older roots where Ska was her influence. I miss that passion, those messages and that style.
6 comments:
※※※Ashley a big big news for you!...
I would say that I liked her older stuff too. I do think that it is important for artists of all kind to stretch themselves and that is all she is doing. She will find out what works and what does not. Since "Don't Speak" seems to your favorite song from her I thought you might find this Elle article interesting.
its apples and oranges. On a personal level I can see when you compare Don't Speak to Wind it up, you find that Don't Speak is better. But don't let that blind you. If you look at the function of each song they actually stack up.
I would say the function of Don't Speak is to tell us what Gwen was felling when her long time boyfirend wanted to break up with here. Actually a lot of the power of "Tragic Kingdom" comes from this break up.
"The bittersweet ballad is based on a true story on the turbulent relationship between Gwen Stefani and bassist Tony Kanal. After being in a relationship for seven years, Kanal informed Stefani that his feelings about her had changed and that he did not want to be her boyfrienddepressed. To help cope with her emotional pain, she began to write music" link
I would say that the function of Wind it Up is to get us jumping in the club, she even says in the song.
"This beat is for the clubs, and cars that go".
If I were in a club I would go
Uh, uh, uh, wind it up, uh, uh, uh, uh
So yea I agree with you, I really like the ska stuff on an emotional level and inteligent level. but you know I need to shake my ass everyonce and a while.
Hey, Ashley! I really enjoy your blog. It looks great, really bright. I like that. About Gwen Stefani... I have enjoyed everthing she has done in the past. I also enjoy the new album. However, I see the lack of passion. I think one reason why she has remanded popular is because she is willing to change with the times. This could be good and bad. However, it is very unfortunate that she has to sell out to make a living. I'm still a fan but she will never have a cd as good as, No Doubts: Tragic Kingdom. I enjoy how you included you opinion. You provided great insight. I think that it would have been good to include a little history. Here is the link to the No Doubt site.
Yeah, Gwen did switch up her music and style, but she is getting older and people change, as they get older. I remember when I was in 8th grade and I loved ska, but I’m older and I’m not so much into ska any more. Yeah, she is more pop now, but she just wants to make money. Actually, No Doubt could be considered a pop group… think about it.
Ah, I miss those '90s Ska band days. I grew up idolizing Gwen and loving No Doubt, so of course I have a soft spot for early Gwen. I do like her stuff now, but the key word is like- not love. I'm just happy she's still creating music and sharing her style with us.
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