Gwen Stefani - Cool

Gwen Stefani's solo effort is being panned as a failure left and right, and it hasn't even been released yet. Take a breath folks! Stefani says that she just wanted to do a silly dance album and went through a lot of anxiety during the recording because she was stepping outside of herself to do something different. Hey, I give mad props to anyone who is willing to take a chance and bring something new to the table. And I actually really do like half of the album, the half that sounds like the soundtrack to an '80's movie.

I can see the video for Cool now: Gwen standing on the stage in the gym, all decked out in a hot pink Jessica McClintock taffeta dress, singing in the band that's playing prom, the gym is all decorated with balloons and streamers as we watch all the different stereotypical John Hughs characters get their pictures made and dance the night away.

BONUS TRACKS: The Real Thing, Serious