"Bathwater" is a

ska punk Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music together. (sometimes spelled skacore) is a subgenre of ska punk that mixes ska with hardcore punk. Early ska punk mixed both 2 tone and ska with hardc ...

song written by

Tom Dumont Thomas Martin Dumont (born January 11, 1968) is an American guitarist and producer. Dumont is a member of third wave ska band No Doubt, and during the band's hiatus, he began Invincible Overlord as a side project and produced Matt Costa's ''So ...

Tony Kanal Tony Ashwin Kanal (born 27 August 1970) is a British-American musician, record producer, songwriter, and animal rights activist. Kanal is the bassist and co-writer for the American rock bands No Doubt and Dreamcar. His musical work outside of ...

, and

Gwen Stefani Gwen Renée Stefani (; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer and actress. She is a co-founder, lead vocalist, and the primary songwriter of the band No Doubt, whose singles include "Just a Girl", "Spiderwebs ...

for

No Doubt No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California, formed in 1986. For most of their career, the band has consisted of vocalist Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal, and drummer Adrian Young. Since the mid-1990s, they ...

's fourth studio album ''

Return of Saturn ''Return of Saturn'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band No Doubt, released on April 11, 2000, by Trauma Records and Interscope Records. It marked the band's first album as a quartet, following the departure of original keyboardist ...

'' (2000). It was released as the album's fourth and final single on November 14, 2000.

Background and writing

The song was written in only ten minutes, opening with slow

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

brass and

Adrian Young Adrian Samuel Young (born August 26, 1969) is an American drummer and member of the rock bands No Doubt and Dreamcar. Biography When not performing, in the studio or touring, Young likes to spend his time out on the golf course, as he is an ...

as a human beat-box. The lyrics discuss overcoming insecurities about a relationship with adoration. The lyric "to wash in your old bathwater" means accepting a lover's faults. "Bathwater" is a ska punk song written in the key of

E minor E minor is a minor scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative major is G major and its parallel major is E major. The E natural minor scale is: : Changes needed ...

. It is composed in

swing time In music, the term ''swing'' has two main uses. Colloquially, it is used to describe the propulsive quality or "feel" of a rhythm, especially when the music prompts a visceral response such as foot-tapping or head-nodding (see pulse). This sens ...

with a medium swing and moves at a moderately fast tempo of 138

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

. The song's verses are carried by

perfect fifth In music theory, a perfect fifth is the Interval (music), musical interval corresponding to a pair of pitch (music), pitches with a frequency ratio of 3:2, or very nearly so. In classical music from Western culture, a fifth is the interval fro ...

chords with a i-IV

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...

. Some use

minor key In Western music, the adjectives major and minor may describe a chord, scale, or key. As such, composition, movement, section, or phrase may be referred to by its key, including whether that key is major or minor. Intervals Some intervals ...

piano chords on the off beat. Stefani's vocal range spans over two octaves in the song, from G₃ to B₅.

Critical reception

"Bathwater" received mixed reviews from music critics. ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' described the song's

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

style as

campy Camp is an aesthetic style and sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its bad taste and ironic value. Camp aesthetics disrupt many of modernism's notions of what art is and what can be classified as high art by inverting aes ...

and noted that "even lovelorn teen girls may... think it's pretty yucky." ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' described it as a combination of

2 Tone Two-tone, two tone, or 2 tone, etc., may refer to: Audio and sound * Two-tone analysis, in nonlinear system measurement * Two-tone attention signal * Two-tone chime, such as the "ding dong" sound of a doorbell * Two-tone sequential paging, sel ...

and the

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such a ...

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity o ...

s by

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

that "never drops the band's signature blend of adrenaline and sugar." In its review of ''

The Singles 1992-2003 ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'',

musicOMH MusicOMH (stylized as musicOMH) is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History MusicOMH was founded and launched by ...

disagreed and referred to it as an "uncomfortable merging" of 1940s

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...

and the work of 2 Tone band Madness.

Chart performance

The single was a commercial failure, contradicting the overall success of the ''Return of Saturn'' project. In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, the song failed to enter the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and barely entered the Billboard

Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...

chart, inching to number 39. "Return of Saturn"

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

. Retrieved January 8, 2007. In the territories where the song did chart, it performed poorly. On the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

ARIA In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

Singles Chart, the single managed a number 71 peak position. In

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, the song reached number 73. On

American Idol (season 6) The sixth season of ''American Idol'' premiered on the Fox Broadcasting Company as a two-night, four-hour premiere special on January 16 and January 17, and ran until May 23, 2007. Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson returned to judge once ...

Sanjaya Malakar Sanjaya Joseph Malakar (born September 10, 1989) is an American singer, who was a finalist on the sixth season of ''American Idol''. He gained national attention on the series, controversially advancing to 7th place with public votes, despite bei ...

performed "Bathwater", the week that

was the mentor for the contestants. This performance is most famed for the

mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans *Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people *Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been t ...

Malakar wore, which was composed of seven ponytails.

Music video

The music video was directed by

Sophie Muller Sophie Luise Elisabeth Muller (born 31 January 1962) is a British music video director who has directed more than 300 music videos. She won a Grammy Award for Annie Lennox's 1992 ''Diva'' video album, and an MTV Video Music Award for Lennox's son ...

, who also directed the video to their previous single, "

Simple Kind of Life "Simple Kind of Life" is a song written by Gwen Stefani for No Doubt's fourth album '' Return of Saturn'' (2000). The song contrasts Stefani's desire to settle down and start a family with her commitment to the band. It received positive reviews ...

". The whole video comprises dancing. In it, Adrian Young cross-dresses as Gwen by wearing a platinum blonde wig and a black dress and Gwen appears herself with her trademark platinum blonde hair and wearing a black shirt saying "CAN'T TOUCH THIS" in glittery writing. It also features members of the

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

group

The Pussycat Dolls The Pussycat Dolls were an American girl group and dance ensemble, founded in Los Angeles, California, by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995 as a burlesque troupe. At the suggestion of Jimmy Iovine, Antin decided to take the burlesque troupe ...

Track listing

# Bathwater (G. Stefani/T. Kanal/T. Dumont) - 4:03 # Beauty Contest (G. Stefani/T. Kanal) - 4:14 # Under Construction (G. Stefani/T. Kanal) - 3:12 # Ex-Girlfriend - Acoustic Live (G. Stefani/T. Dumont/T. Kanal) - 3:50

Charts

Invincible Overlord Remix

"Bathwater (Invincible Overlord Remix)" was released as a single to promote the album ''

The Singles 1992–2003 ''The Singles 1992–2003'' is a greatest hits album by American rock band No Doubt, released on November 14, 2003, by Interscope Records. It features 13 of the band's singles from three studio albums—''Tragic Kingdom'' (1995), ''Return of Satu ...

'', although the version on the album is the original version from ''Return of Saturn'', not the remixed version. The song was remixed by Invincible Overlord, No Doubt guitarist Tom Dumont's side project. "Bathwater" was not originally released in the UK as a single; however, it was issued in 2004 as the second single from ''The Singles 1992–2003'', as a

double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

with a re-release of previous single " It's My Life". The single peaked at number 17 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The video for "Bathwater (Invincible Overlord Remix)" is an edited version of the original video. It was the last single released by No Doubt before their five-year hiatus due to Gwen Stefani's solo career.

Track listings

CD single # "Bathwater" (Invincible Overlord remix) # "It's My Life" (

Jacques Lu Cont Stuart David Price (born 9 September 1977) is an English electronic musician, DJ, songwriter, and record producer known for his work with artists including Madonna, Dua Lipa, The Killers, New Order, Kylie Minogue, DMA's, Example, Take That, ...

's Thin White Duke mix) # "Bathwater" (Invincible Overlord remix) (video) # "It's My Life" (video) UK CD single – " It's My Life" / "Bathwater" # "It's My Life" – 3:48 # "Bathwater" (Invincible Overlord Remix) - 3:07 # "It's My Life" (Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Mix) - 6:59 # "It's My Life" (Chocolate O'Brian Remix) - 5:43 # "Bathwater" (Invincible Overlord Remix Video) # "It's My Life" (Video)

Charts

References

External links

No Doubt's official site
*
"Bathwater" lyrics
* {{Authority control 2000 singles 2000 songs Interscope Records singles Music videos directed by Sophie Muller No Doubt songs Song recordings produced by Glen Ballard Song recordings produced by Jerry Harrison Songs written by Gwen Stefani Songs written by Tom Dumont Songs written by Tony Kanal