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Harajuku Girls Gwen Stefani L.A.M.B. 4 minutes, 46 seconds |
Believe it or not, mod pop diva Gwen Stefani has a lot in common with prog pop divan Jeff Lynne. Both of them have had diverse musical careers, both of them have split from the groups that made them famous, and both of them have written an embarrassingly-fawning paeans to beloved cultural icons.
But whereas Lynne’s excruciable tribute idolizes the over-idolized Fab Four, Stefani’s aspirations rise considerably lower. Gwen is content to wax saccharaic about the girls of Nigo and I can only assume the listener is supposed to be impressed that she knew of him. (Aside: I reviewed Nigo before he was known as Nigo — his work is as crisp as ever.)
Finally we get to the real meat on Gwen’s song-bone — an incredibly crass product placement for her clothing line, L.A.M.B. She ululates “wait till you get your little hands on ell-ay-em-bee, ‘cuz it’s super kawaii / that means / supa-cute in ‘Japanee.’” Certainly that kind of self-promotion has existed identically in Nippon culture for decades, but here in North America it is just inappropriate.
The guitar line is a funked-up retro pulsator, recalling a mid-’80s Prince in his prime. The drums are aptly done. There is no question that the song has been expertly produced by studio magicians Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, but one has to ask if there is indeed a message buried under Stefani’s vocal gyrations and the shallow Japanese shout-outs. Apparently the message is “buy new clothes.”
Which may, unironically, be the most profound message of the new millennium.