Let’s start by saying that I am perhaps the wrong person to undertake this particular Snap Judgment as my bias against all late-era Gwen Stefani has been well established, but never the less, here I am, prepared to watch and assess the former No Doubt singer’s latest personal branding exercise, er, music video, which you can watch here. (Thanks, Yahoo and Pepsi!)
First of all, I’m thrilled to announce that "The Sweet Escape" is actually a song and not a collection of guttural noises and random samples like "Wind It Up," but my excitement at the presence of real live singing and a modicum of melody has been tempered immediately by the ongoing commercialization of Gwen as a brand. Where she used to be strong and empowering, now I mostly find her shallow and glossy, more concerned with hairstyles than substance, with bling and boys than self-awareness. (Just because you can make your first initial look like the Fendi logo doesn’t mean you should.) The irony of it all is that her feminist period occurred while single, and in a band with dudes; now that she’s a married wife and mother with a solo career, she’s acting like a sugared-up tween at the mall with a credit card.
But I suppose none of that has anything to do with this video. Ordoes it? There’s Gwen, trapped in a golden cage, because celebrity ishard! Then she gets out, but she has to use her own perfectly sculptedhair to haul the Harajuku Girls up the side of a building. That musthave hurt… but then, when you’re famous, it often feels as thoughpeople just want to use you (and your beautiful hair) to climb to thetop! Thank God, then, that Akon comes along! The dashing Senegaleseman takes her to 7-Eleven in his Chevy (JUST IN CASE YOU MISSED IT THATCAR WAS A CHEVROLET THANK YOU FOR WATCHING), and sitting there in thefront seat drinking her Big Gulp, Gwen can finally be free. Hooray!Except… oh, it was only a dream. And there she is, back in her goldencage. Damn this fame and all these riches! And has someone bronzed thebaby?
Yeah, so, I’m clearly thrilled with this. Sigh. Why am I so crabby?It’s a perfectly catchy song (the "woo-hoo"s are super fun), the videois cool-lookin’ (especially the parts with the blue background and Gwenau naturel)… I guess I just expect more. You?
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So I must agree. I am really disappointed w/ Gwen. I pretty much “grew up” on no doubt and loved how unique her voice was and her style. But today I feel like she’s gone the way of mariah Carey and squandered her incredible talent for crappy pop songs where you don’t even hear singing!! Gwen needs to stop rapping and return to singing. I didn’t watch the video, I’m at work, but I felt I had to comment because I want Gwen to take heed and quit colaborating and heavilly producing her songs and strip it down and sing.
i don’t know. i think i have to disagree. the sweet escape is a great song, and since it’s gwen, you have to expect an over-the-top, but imaginative video. that’s who she is. i’m a fan.
Gwen needs to start work on the next NO DOUBT album. I like her more with them.
So interesting that the point of Gwen as a brand was made!! I think Gwen was honestly THRUST into the feminist position. Anyone who listens to No Doubt’s “Return of Saturn” and other stuff knows that she has always wanted marriage, love, and fluffy stuff. While I agree that her gimmicks and image worked wonders with LAMB and is now kinda fading on The Sweet Escape, I think she’s keeping her shallow, glossy image for the solo dance records and keeping with her real, deep messages (as deep as they get) with No Doubt.
Really, what other pop star these days makes fearless, silly, good-ole-fashioned fun music without taking themselves too seriously? Fergie, and she’s that way because of the trails Gwen blazed. I think Gwen serves a purpose in music today, and unlike all the other tweens/teens singing, she has earned her place.
99.9% of music played on the radio and/or that has a video on MTV is garbage. This song and all other by Gwen (solo or with the boys) would fall into this category.
“Really, what other pop star these days makes fearless, silly, good-ole-fashioned fun music without taking themselves too seriously?”
Thank you Wes. I agree completely.
I absolutely agree with Whitney’s assessment.
Let’s not even get into the “feminist” thing, once upon a time Gwen used to sing actual songs, that had actual melodies and actual exhuberance and joy and musicality and just…beauty.
In a raw,essential way.
Now she sings crappy pseudo-jingles and she is all about Stefani, Inc.
No, there’s nothing wrong with commercial music, but when your music is simply A COMMERCIAL for your clothing line and your purses and your eyewear collection, that sucks.
Well, that song was about 100 times better than the other one! I might actually consider buying the CD now. The video kind of gave me a headache with all the flashing quick-cuts, and the Chevy logo was annoying.
I have to agree with Dre. Luckly there are some indie bands out there that have turned their backs on this over chewed garbage. But then again the wheel turns the same. In the sixties bands wanted to be like the Beatles, in the eighties bands wanted to be either Duran, Duran or Def Leppard, late ninties to now over done teen pop or over produced hip hop. It is silly.
Wes – Dammit! I had typed pretty much everything you said, and then I noticed your post. But I totally agree with you. Gwen is out there to make FUN music. She has everything she’s ever wanted out of life, so now it’s time to enjoy it. God forbid she actually does that…geez, people.
Gwen is a sell out, and a horrible one at that. She was great w/ NO DOUBT, but lost her self along the way. Music just isn’t about music anymore, and artist like Gwen remind us of that!
Imagine if the Rock Steady cd were released this year. Hella Good, Hey Baby and Underneath It All would destroy the saccarine crap being played on the radio. Come back Gwen!
We need to take a look at Gwen’s solo track record so far…her first single off of “Love, Angel, Music, Baby” was “What You Waiting For”, which is just as out there as “Wind It Up”. I would not have chosen “The Sweet Escape” as the 2nd release, though. Instead, I would have loved to see the brilliance that is “Early Winter” or the Depeche Mode homage “Wonderful Life” take on the charts next. “Yummy” wouldn’t be too bad, either, but it’s more a 4th or 5th single.
Gwen Stefani as a feminist? I don’t think I’ve ever thought of her as an artist young women can look to and aspire to. I’d put Madonna, Sheryl Crow, The Dixie Chicks, even Mariah Carey as examples of feminist pop stars before I’d name Gwen Stefani. I’m not dissing her music, but there’s no underlying message of empowerment in it. Madonna’s made a career of following her inner voice and putting out groundbreaking albums. Mariah and Sheryl have been through a lot of personal turbulence and used their experiences to put out some great music. The Dixie Chicks could have rolled over and put out a straight-up country album to appease their former fans. The fact that they defiantly continue to put out great, political music instead make them feminists in my book. Not so Gwen Stefani.
Wow. I’m glad someone else is getting annoyed with this. I’ve always liked Gwen, but her commercialization is getting on my nerves. She seems now to be all about selling her clothing line and her products and making money. She’s been seeming very money grubbing lately. I prefer Gwen in her No Doubt days!
first of all NO DOUBT and GWEN STEFANI are two different entities. did anybody really think she was just gonna sound like no doubt, but be by herself? c’mon now. rob thomas went solo from matchbox 20, and his songs (for the most part) didn’t follow the same pattern. there is music and video that’s allowed to be harmless fun, ya know? why does everything have to be so freakin’ serious? with all the other problems in the world, can’t we just be happy once in a while? if she wants to be a brand, more power to her. rap guys can turn into name brands every day, but a woman can’t. whatever.
This is coming from a magazine who proudly features American Idol on the cover this week. People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. EW just as commercialized as they claim Gwen is. They get off on celebrity, put people like Mel Gibson on their cover to sell issues, and make their money off of advertisements.
Hollywood is a business. EVERYONE in it makes money from it.
RE: Mike
Not only was American Idol on the cover last week, but Gwen Stefani was on the cover about a month ago.
Two hours later… I think the video was crappy, but the song didn’t deserve much better. This comment was brought to you by Chevy. If you don’t drive a Chevrolet, you’re lame… Chevy.*
*Just so I could unnecessarily work it in a third time)
What’s up with the Harajuku girls that are always flanking Gwen like human props? Do they have names? It’s freakin’ 2007. I thought we were past the age of Silent Asian Sidekicks.
First of all, it’s a music video. It’s not “The Feminist Mystique,” so the feminism talk is a bit of a reach.
Secondly, it’s a great song and the video is just dressing over it. It’s nothing special but with PopWatch’s raging Fergie-love, they have seriously compromised their cred in reviewing the work of female pop artists.
Lastly, I can’t hate on Gwen for the prominent Chevy ad. Music companies are not giving out money for videos anymore like in the Janet Jackson “If” 90s. Artists have often put cars and iPods in their videos to get more money to make them in the first place.
I miss the old Gwen. This new stuff is…bizarre. The Sweet Escape is ok, but Wind it Up is ridiculous.
This is actually the first Gwen solo single that I REALLY like! Haven’t seen the video yet, but the song is great.
And Maggie, as the lead Mariah Carey fan on EWs websites I take exception to your contention that she doesn’t sing anymore. Check out ‘We Belong Together’ and Don’t Forget About Us’ for the definition of great singing!
Gwen wrote Tragic Kingdom when she broke up with Tony. That’s why it was all angst and feminist. She later met Gavin and is happy and satisfied so it makes sense that her music reflects the feeling. The Sweet Escape (and Love, Angel, Music, Baby for that matter) is non-sensical fun. She didn’t try to make music to change the world, she wanted people to dance and have a good time listening to it.
I will say that I miss No Doubt and will wait another 5 years more if that’s what it takes. Gwen is different with the boys because they also influence song lyrics and the feeling of the music. Gwen by herself is not No Doubt, she’s Gwen.
I have to admit, I never heard much of No Doubt beyond what was on the radio. And yes it was great, and I eagerly await their return as much as the next guy, but why must missing No Doubt be synonomous with hating on all songs new-Gwen? A few fellow posters got it right when they said she wasn’t trying to change the wolrd with her last 2 CDs, but just have some fun and make a different kind of music. I give her credit for expanding her art, and I personally love “The Sweet Escape.”
On a different note, if I hear one more person say “everything on the radio sucks” I’m going to scream. I’m 99% sure that you could take a non-mainstream song that these people love, put it on the radio, and they would instantly hate it. Of course there’s crap on the radio, but there’s great music there too. And the same goes for non-radio music; some is great, some is terrible. Don’t get me wrong, I wish more stations would broaden their horizons and introduce different styles, but merely being “on
…(continued from above)…the radio doesn’t make a song suck.
What I really like about Gwen is that she’s selling her name as a product. She’s a smart girl, she knows that there’s money to be made as a solo artist.
People like her music enough to buy her solos, cha-ching; people like her L.A.M.B clothing enough to buy it, cha-ching; and she has a ton of other endorsments which to make lots of money.
We all know we’d do the same thing because once the fame has passed all that’s left are the duckets.
Maya, sorry to say this but Gwen ripped off Alice Cooper and Prince with the “Harajuku Girls” concept, or does anyone not remember the seventies when Cooper had a bunch of dancers in monster costumes (one was his wife), and the mid ninties when Prince had “Diamond and Pearl” as back up dancers. I loved her as a punk, but like someone pointed out N.D. and Gwen are different identities. There are some singers like Billy Idol who stayed on the same path in their solo careers (Idol was a member of Generation X) and Joan Jett (Runaways), but then again you have Sting, and his solo career was nothing like it was with The Police.
I still can’t get over the fact that she never released “The Real Thing” (which she should have titled (“Love Supply”) as a single, going with “Luxurious” instead. I like “Wind It Up,” but only live.
http://moviemartin.blogspot.com
It is so annoying the way Gwen is so self-promotional now, at any moment she is advertising her music or LAMB. I am tired of musicians relentlessly giving themselves props in their music. Like Fergie. What is so Fergalicious and delicious about you? The fact that you still look like a meth addict?
i think gwen rocks shes the best singer i have ever heard. stuff the ppl who think theres somthin wrong woth her shes smart talented and gorgouse i rather the solo singer rather than the no dought gwen she rocks go gwen