Musical Review

"Bathwater" by No Doubt

You and your museum of lovers

The precious collection you've housed in your covers

My simpleness threatened by my own admission

And the bags are much too heavy

In my insecure condition

My pregnant mind is fat full with envy again

But I still love to wash in your old bathwater

Love to think that you couldn't love another

I cant help it...you're my kind of man

Haunted and adored by attractive women

Bountiful selection at your discretion

I know I'm diving into my own destruction

So why do we choose the boys that are naughty

I don't fit in so why do you want me?

And I know I can't tame you...but I just keep trying

'Cause I love to wash in your old bathwater

Love to think that you couldn't love another

On your list with all your other women

But I still love to wash in your old bathwater

You make me feel like I couldn't love another

I can't help it.. you're my kind of man

Why do the good girls always want the bad boys?

And so I pacify problems with kisses and cuddles

Diligently doubtful through all kinds of troubles

Then I find myself choking on all my contradictions

'Cause I still love to wash in your old bathwater

Love to think that you couldn't love another

Share a toothbrush...you're my kind of man

I still love to wash in your old bathwater

Make me feel like I couldn't love another

I can't help it... you're my kind of man

No I can't help myself

I can't help myself

I still love to wash in your old bathwater

No Doubt- you’ve heard them many a time, but you’ve probably never given the band from Anaheim, California a second thought. Composed of Gwen Stefani, Tony Kanal, Adrian Young, and Tom Dumont, this not-so-new band continually churns out songs that most certainly do not disappoint, and its newest endeavor, in the works now, will undoubtedly please. Formed in 1986, the band has since won two Grammys and sold over 27 million records. Though they had little popularity at first, especially due to the trendy status of the grunge movement in their early years, No Doubt steadily gained fame as they toured and released more albums. Whether you love them, hate them, or hate to love them, you simply cannot deny that No Doubt has wrought a great influence on the music industry.
Though most generally classify the group as ska, No Doubt tries to break away from that idea and actually spans several genres. They combine ska, pop, reggae, dance, and alternative rock to create a new sound that is uniquely theirs. They often include horns, keyboards, complex vocals, and guest singers. No Doubt purposely chooses to ignore the boundaries surrounding musical genres so that its members and its audience can expand their tastes and never feel confined. Lead singer Gwen Stefani successfully enthralls her listeners in all songs; her voice ranges from soft to longing, from hateful to scathing. She engages the audience, lets them feel the emotion behind the song, while all other instruments add even more passion to the songs. In the single “Bathwater,” written by Stefani, Kanal, and Dumont, Stefani lays bare all of her insecurities about a boyfriend, asking, “I don’t fit in so why do you want me?” She sings of a situation that she and many others have been in before, playing on the insecurities of listeners to connect them to the song in a true way, all the while showing her supporters that she and the other members of the band are real people who still doubt themselves, despite what their name might suggest.
No Doubt weaves many varied messages throughout their songs, and they communicate their ideas very well. As they usually write their own songs, the band members choose topics to write about that they know and understand well. Their songs chronicle Gwen Stefani and Tony Kanal’s relationship and their subsequent break up and later chronicle Stefani’s relationship with Gavin Rossdale. “Bathwater,” from the album Return of Saturn, shows lovers’ ability to accept each others’ shortcomings. The line from the refrain, “I love to wash in your old bathwater,” implies that the singer tolerates her beau’s faults so well that she even would not mind bathing herself in his used water. In other songs, No Doubt criticizes society; in “Just a Girl,” the singer complains of societal restraints placed on her because of her gender, saying “I'm just a girl, all pretty and petite/ so don't let me have any rights.”
The group’s ability to cross genres and to promote certain views has influenced other artists and their works. Recently, Paramore lead singer Hayley Williams cited No Doubt as one of their influences and as a guide for the development of her band’s career. The similarities between the album covers for No Doubt’s Rock Steady and Paramore’s Riot! evidences the sway that No Doubt has had. Just as the band influences others, Madness, Fishbone, The Smiths, and other New Wave and British artists inspired and still inspire Stefani, Kanal, Dumont, and Young. Some of these influences are even heard in Gwen Stefani’s solo career, successful due largely to her exposure as the lead singer of her original musical venture.
No Doubt will unquestionably continue their greatly successful musical career, and they will never stop inspiring old and new bands alike. They have attained commercial success, but, more importantly, No Doubt has created music that they love and that enables the band’s members to express themselves, all the while entertaining and teaching its devoted followers.