Billboard (March 11th 2000)
The Modern Age
Bevies of single women can sense impending breakups after they've had a few failed relationships. To find solace, many share ex-boyfriend horror stories with each other.
This may explain why No Doubt's single "Ex-Girlfriend" strikes such a chord with fans. Drummer Adrian Young says, "Girls can really relate to it. For the guys, it's just an edgy song."
Young says that lead singer Gwen Stefani, who wrote the lyrics to the track, "has been in relationships before where she knew that she would become the ex-girlfriend of the guy she was going out with. I probably had girlfriends who had that same feeling when they were dating me."
Ironically, the song that rings so true almost didn't get recorded. "It was the last track that was written at the end of the recording session. It was definitely kind of a last-minute idea. We felt that the album wasn't quite complete and that we needed another uptempo song. Oddly enough, it became the first single," says Young.
He continues, "We did eight club dates in California where we played the song, and it just didn't feel right. We changed it around and decided to give it a shot."
No Doubt's gamble worked, and "Ex-Girlfriend" is No. 3 in this issue's Modern Rock Tracks. The single appears on the group's Interscope album "Return Of Saturn," its first full-length set since 1995's "Tragic Kingdom."
"Return Of Saturn" refers to Saturn's 29-year orbit around the sun. Young says, "There weren't any preconceived themes going into the album. We weren't resting on any laurels when we recorded it. It ended up just being a reflection of being 29-ish, especially from Gwen. Everything kind of tied in. We're all looking at both the past and the future at this point in our lives."
