"Cool" is a pop song written by Gwen Stefani and Dallas Austin for Stefani's debut solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby (2004). The song's musical-style and production were heavily inspired by pop music from the 1980s, and its lyrics chronicle a relationship in which two lovers have separated, but remain "cool" with each other as good friends. "Cool" received praise from pop music critics, and the media have drawn parallels between the song's lyrical content and the romantic relationship that Stefani had with Tony Kanal, a fellow group member of No Doubt.
The song was released as the album's fourth single in mid-2005 (see 2005 in music) and entered the top twenty on the majority of the charts it appeared on. Although "Cool" failed to match the success of its predecessor "Hollaback Girl", it reached number one in Canada.
"Cool" was the second single released from The Time's debut album. Like most of the album, the song was recorded in Prince's home studio in April 1981, and was produced, arranged, and performed by Prince with Morris Day later adding his lead vocals. The song was co-written with Revolution guitarist Dez Dickerson and contains background vocals by keyboardist Lisa Coleman, however both were uncredited.
The funk-pop relies heavily on sythesizers to provide both the bass and melody for the upbeat song. A guitar solo is present and a relatively simple drumbeat drives the song along. "Cool" sets up the persona created for Day as a wealthy playboy, one who is also popular, and of course, "cool". Day built a career around the persona. Prince's backing vocals are very apparent in the song, especially in the chorus.
The classic video for the song is directed by Chuck Statler,who is best known for directing the early Devo videos.
"Cool" was only issued as a 7" single with an edit of the song and a continuation as the B-side. The full version was only released on the album and on a promo release. One of The Time's more popular numbers, "Cool" is a staple in concert and a live version of the song recorded at the House of Blues in 1998 was included on Morris Day's 2004 album, It's About Time.
"Cool" is a song from the musical West Side Story. Leonard Bernstein composed the music and Stephen Sondheim wrote the lyrics. In the stage version, it is sung by Riff, the leader of the Jets (one of the feuding gangs of the story), but in the movie, it is sung by a Jet named Ice, who is not in the stage version. This is because this song is sung after the Rumble (where Riff dies) in the movie version.
This song is known for its usage of a tritone.
