No Doubt, the band, not the expression, formed in 1986. They were a melding of light punk and ska. Clash Ultra Lite. In 1990, they were signed to Interscope Records. In 1992, No Doubt released No Doubt to lukewarm reception, 300,000 copies. Drama began with Gwen Stefani seeing the bass player.

In 1995, No Doubt released Tragic Kingdom. Huge. It was produced by Matthew “Nothin’ gonna break-a my stride” Wilder. More drama after Gwen Stefani stops seeing the bass player. Huge. “Just A Girl”, “Spiderwebs”, and “Don’t Speak”. Quite frankly, huge.

2001 sees the release of Rocksteady. The single “Underneath It All” co-produced by Sly and Robbie was huge. “Waiting Room” was co-written and co-produced by Prince. Not so huge.

2002 to present day was a lot of hype without a pipe to smoke it in. She currently sees Blake Shelton. They are judges on the NBC television show, The Voice. By the way, Gwen Stefani has a solo career.

I’m not sure where I’ve heard this story, but I just scoured the internet and could not find any sort of confirmation. It’s so true, it’s got to be.

It was 1993. Grunge was the flavor of the time. Allegedly, two music promoters snorting and smoking were arguing over art versus promotion. One insisting that art was the impetus of sales, while the other claiming you could package shit, promote the hell out of it, and then ka-ching.

But music without art or substance is nothing.

Our very jobs as promoters, is to promote anything regardless of content. Nothing can be content.

But if the content is devoid of art, how can you possibly market it? How can you sell nothing?

Eddie Vedder.

There was an uncomfortable silence as the promoter defending art gulped. The lights went out, and No Doubt appeared on the stage. A crew of clashing archetypes of punk, ska and gaudy stupidity started their set.

Like the scene from My Fair Lady, the two promoters locked arms and danced in circles. The bet was on.

The conclusion is obvious. No Doubt went on to become ginormous superstars and proved that art and substance is nothing without promotion and payola. Sad. Huge too. The reason I believe this tale is at least half-true is because it’s the only thing that justifies the fourth or fifth wave of bad ska in 1995. The logic of No Doubt being a relevant sound in that time is ludicrous. It stinks of a marketing ploy.

If there’s one take away lesson from all this, we should be thankful that a lot of music promoters were dismissed after Napster came along.

Gwen Stefani jerk reaction

/gwen/ /ste/fä/nē/ /jərk/ /rē’/ak/sh(ə)n/

noun

spasm caused by shooting pain directly from ear to knee from overly trite music

synonyms: tasered, shiver after urination, intense sensation prior to a death rattle

“At first, I thought I was having a seizure in the Starbucks, but it was just a Gwen Stefani jerk reaction to the song, “Sweet Creature” by Harry Styles.”

“Just A Squirrel”

““The Gwen Stefani jerk reaction was so overwhelming; I had to lean on the ottoman to hurl or unhurl a nasty hairball,” said the dry-food-breathed cat to the vet.”

#JamesBrownDancesLikeHe’sHavingAGwenStefaniJerkReaction, #WhyHe’sTheHardestWorkingManInShowBusiness