Simple Kind of Life

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"Simple Kind of Life"
Single by No Doubt
from the album Return of Saturn
B-side
  • "Full Circle"
  • "Beauty Contest"
  • "Cellophane Boy"
  • "Under Construction"
ReleasedJune 13, 2000
Genre
Length4:16
Label
Songwriter(s)Gwen Stefani
Producer(s)Glen Ballard
No Doubt singles chronology
"Ex-Girlfriend"
(2000) 		"Simple Kind of Life"
(2000) 		"Bathwater"
(2000)

"Simple Kind of Life" is a song written by Gwen Stefani for American rock band 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 from music critics, who noted the song's somber melody and raw lyrics.

"Simple Kind of Life" was released as the album's second single in June 2000. It became the most successful American single from Return of Saturn, but had little international success. The accompanying music video illustrates the song's themes of marriage and family.

Background and writing[edit]

Singer Gwen Stefani wrote and composed the track during a last minute recording session.[1] Stefani had been writing with bassist Tony Kanal that day, and she wrote the song late at night during what she referred to as "a PMS moment". Following "Suspension Without Suspense", "Simple Kind of Life" became the second song that Stefani wrote by herself.[2] The song was recorded with no rehearsals the following Monday. Adrian Young's drum parts were mixed through low fidelity filters to get the feel of a lo-fi power ballad.[1]

The lyrics of "Simple Kind of Life" also discuss Stefani's relationship with Gavin Rossdale.[3] She describes wanting to settle down, get married, and have children.[2] In the final verse, she even dreams about how her life would be if there were a mistake in her birth control and she became pregnant.[3] However, she contrasts this with her commitment to music and No Doubt.[2] Stefani describes her relationship as unhealthy because of this disparity, comparing herself to "a sick domestic abuser looking for a fight."[4] She ultimately decides that settling down is just a fantasy for her since her freedom and independence is more important for her.[3]

Music and structure[edit]

"Simple Kind of Life"
The song transitions into a more complex harmony in the chorus.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Simple Kind of Life" is a power pop[5] and lo-fi song[1] composed in the key of C major. It is written in common time and moves at a moderate tempo of 116 beats per minute. Stefani's vocal range in the song covers nearly an octave and a half, from G3 to C5.[6]

The song opens with a four-measure introduction, which introduces the Dm9-Cmaj7 modal chord progression used for the song's three verses. Following each verse is the chorus, where the harmony switches to a Cmaj7-C7-F-B♭ progression. A bridge entirely in D minor precedes the third verse. After the third chorus comes a coda, which closes the song as Stefani repeats the phrase "a simple kind of life" ad libitum while the song fades, as the song confirms its dreamy major tonality in a series of Cmaj7 and Fmaj7 chords.[6]

Critical reception[edit]

"Simple Kind of Life" received positive reviews from music critics. Rolling Stone described the song as being "at once grand, fragile and very, very sad" and commented that "it's clear this woman whom many desire but few regard as a serious artist has penned a song that can sit on the same shelf with the likes of Elliott Smith and Aimee Mann."[7] Entertainment Weekly characterized the song as "manicured power pop" with a melody "buttery to the point of melting".[5] It later included the song in a list of No Doubt's top five songs, referring to it as "musically understated (layered guitar strumming and a melancholy melody), but lyrically devastating."[8] Slant Magazine found the song's melodic structure odd, but was pleased by how it "unabashedly delivers double-takes".[9] "Simple Kind of Life" was listed at number 28 on the 2000 Pazz & Jop list, a survey of several hundred music critics conducted by Robert Christgau.[10]

Chart performance[edit]

In the United States, "Simple Kind of Life" was the most commercially successful single from Return of Saturn. Peaking at number 38, it became the album's only single to enter the Billboard Hot 100. The song fared somewhat better in mainstream music, reaching number 32 on the Top 40 Mainstream and number 35 on the Top 40 Tracks. It had the most success with modern rock and adult contemporary stations, peaking at number 14 on the Modern Rock Tracks and number 18 on the Adult Top 40.[11] The single was a commercial failure outside of the U.S. It debuted at the bottom of the Dutch Mega Single Top 100 in mid-June 2000. It climbed up two positions the next week but exited the chart after its third week.[12]

Music video[edit]

Gwen Stefani in a wedding dress from the music video.

The song's music video was directed by Sophie Muller. It opens with a scene of Stefani and Kanal holding each other. During the chorus, she runs to a church while wearing a wedding dress designed after a fashion show by John Galliano, while her bandmates run after her.[13] During the next verse, Stefani and guitarist Tom Dumont sit on a couch, and Stefani gets up on the table while Dumont plays an acoustic guitar. Stefani has a nightmare during the second chorus, in which she is in an endless hall full of wedding cakes, attempting to stop her bandmates from destroying them. There is then a dream sequence in which Stefani is backlit in front of a circle of stars. She sits with Young for the third verse, during which point in time a light in the shape of a birth control pills flashes, with one missing pill. This coincides with her line "Sometime I wished/For a mistake," referencing her desire to get pregnant. In the video, Young quickly stands up and leaves after her line "You seem like you'd be a good dad" to play with Dumont and Kanal. The band walks through a cemetery, and Stefani finds a baby. Her bandmates extend their arms to hold the baby, but Stefani hands the baby off to a woman and enters her trailer to remove her makeup.

Muller was staying with Stefani when the song was written, so Stefani stated that "it was obvious that she would be the one to do the video" when Stefani played Muller the song after writing it. Muller designed the video around the song's lyrics because she felt that "there are very few [songs] that reveal as much in their lyrics". She set the band members up with props and filmed after giving loose suggestions. Muller originally intended for the dream sequence to show Stefani over a sea of orange juice but changed the scene based on Stefani's performance.[13]

The music video was unsuccessful on video chart programs. It debuted at number seven on MTV's Total Request Live on April 24, 2000. The video made two more appearances later that week but was unable to reach a higher position and dropped out of the countdown.[14] It was unable to chart on MuchMusic's Countdown.[15]

Track listings[edit]

Charts[edit]

Release history[edit]

Release dates and formats for "Simple Kind of Life"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States June 13, 2000
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
[citation needed]
Japan July 19, 2000 CD Interscope [29]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Simple Kind of Life". Montoya, Paris and Lanham, Tom. 2003. The Singles 1992-2003 (liner notes). Interscope Records. November 25, 2003.
  2. ^ a b c Laban, Linda. "Happy Returns". Boston Phoenix. March 28, 2000. Retrieved from Weekly Wire September 18, 2007.
  3. ^ a b c Willman, Chris. "Future Tense?" Archived 2007-05-19 at the Wayback Machine. Entertainment Weekly, issue 539. May 12, 2000. Retrieved October 7, 2007.
  4. ^ Jones, Liana. "Simple Kind of Life". Allmusic. Retrieved October 7, 2007.
  5. ^ a b Browne, David. "Return of Saturn | Music Review" Archived 2007-08-30 at the Wayback Machine. Entertainment Weekly. April 10, 2000. Retrieved September 17, 2007.
  6. ^ a b Sheet music for "Simple Kind of Life". Hal Leonard Corporation. 2000.
  7. ^ Walters, Barry (April 27, 2000). "No Doubt: Return Of Saturn". Album Reviews. Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  8. ^ Hiatt, Brian. "Reasonable Doubt" Archived 2012-05-31 at the Wayback Machine. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 17, 2007.
  9. ^ Cinquemani, Sal. "Music Review: No Doubt: Return Of Saturn". Slant Magazine. 2002. Retrieved October 7, 2007.
  10. ^ "Pazz & Jop 2000: Critics' List". The Village Voice. February 20, 2001. Retrieved October 7, 2007.
  11. ^ "Return of Saturn". Allmusic. Retrieved January 8, 2007.
  12. ^ "No Doubt - Simple Kind of Life". DutchCharts.com. Retrieved September 18, 2007.
  13. ^ a b "Music video director Sophie Muller: Gwen Stefani comments on working with director Sophie Muller". MVWire. Archived from the original on July 6, 2002.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  14. ^ "The TRL Archive - Recap - April 2000" Archived 2008-02-04 at the Wayback Machine. ATRL. Retrieved October 7, 2007.
  15. ^ "MuchMusic Countdown". MuchMusic. Retrieved October 7, 2007.
  16. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 204.
  17. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 7211." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  18. ^ "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 7186." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  19. ^ "Tipparade-lijst van week 27, 2000" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  20. ^ "No Doubt – Simple Kind of Life" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  21. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  22. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  23. ^ "No Doubt Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  24. ^ "No Doubt Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  25. ^ "No Doubt Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  26. ^ "No Doubt Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  27. ^ "Most Played Adult Top 40 Songs of 2000". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 8, no. 51. December 22, 2000. p. 48.
  28. ^ "Most Played Modern Rock Songs of 2000". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 8, no. 51. December 22, 2000. p. 38.
  29. ^ "シンプル・カインド・オブ・ライフ | ノー・ダウト" [Simple Kind of Life | No Doubt] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved August 31, 2023.

External links[edit]

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