Dragonfave
New Yorker
Headache in a Suitcase said:
All heil to idiocy!!! What could possibly go wrong................
Headache in a Suitcase said:
Canadiens1160 said:I'm not really a fan of most of L.A.M.B.
I'd much rather Gwen did a whole album with dance stuff like Kylie except even kinkier.
Headache in a Suitcase said:
HelloAngel said:I really like this song. So much fun, and love The Neptunes vibe.
What I take from it, is that in Gwen saying she "ain't no hollaback girl" is that she isn't a troublestarter, but she isn't going to take shit either.
I heard that you were talking sh*t
And you didn't think that I would hear it
People hear you talking like that, getting everybody fired up
So I'm ready to attack, gonna lead the pack
Gonna get a touchdown, gonna take you out
That's right, put your pom-poms down, getting everybody fired up
A few times I've been around that track
So it's not just gonna happen like that
Cause I ain't no hollaback girl
I ain't no hollaback girl
lauren430 said:reading your first post in this thread Iris
carrieluvv said:i asked my 13 yr old daughter what it means to not be a hollabackgirl and she said...it means shes married....
for example
single guy walking along to cutie walkin along - "holllaaaaaa"
cutie single girl to cutie single dude" -"hollllllaaaaaaa
on the other hand
single dude- holllllllllllllllllaaaaaaaaaa
married lady- *silence*
its all code....
if gwen the middle aged(but bueatiful) whitey she is gets it...why not write a song about it?
inmyplace13 said:
This shit is Bananas.
B-A-N-A-N-A-S
inmyplace13 said:
Guess no one else is digging the Bananas in Pajamas...
But then again it's tough to top our friend Headache.
Numb1075 said:PS - she looks divine in the cheerleader outfit on the video.
Lara Mullen said:This song is getting so much airplay at the moment
I really dislike it. What's worse though is that I always get stuck in the car for 2 hours in the morning with my Dad (we drive all over Belfast) and that song will come on about 3 different times. He's a real "I don't like this new music" merchant so everytime this comes on he gets it in his head and he sings "ain't no hollaback girl" for the rest of the journey. Sometimes it'll carry on for a whole day. My hate for that song is just growing by the day.
LarryMullen's_POPAngel said:I have listened to that CD a total of one time since I bought it.
Bad judgement call on my part. She should stick to her boys and making cute handbags.
Elessarian said:Omigosh, I just heard this song a few days ago and it is terrible! It's like listening to a garbage truck start and stop every few feet.
MissVelvetDress_75 said:what the fuck is this song about and what exactly is a hollaback girl?
Sorry Gwen, this song sucks.
U2girl said:I just saw the video for the first time.
While I like the horns in the chorus, otherwise it's indifference, and I had no clue what the "bananas!" bit is all about
sallycinnamon78 said:Having heard it a few times now, I've decided I really don't mind it. The B-A-N-A-N-A-S bit will always make me laugh I suspect.
I randomly found a bit of info, I think it was on the wanadoo site, giving some background to the song. The gist of it is that Gwen Stefani got very annoyed when some fool told her she was more like a cheerleader (i.e. a 'hollaback girl') than a serious artiste.
However...
According to the urban dictionary, http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hollaback+girl&defid=1222155'hollaback girl' = 'a dumbass who has a comment for everything and excepts no one else's opinions' ... Unsurprisingly, she didn't like that very much, and so 'This shit's bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S', as in 'this shit's crazy', was meant to be a cheerleading chant, Dunno if that is a fact or not, but the song made a lot more sense after reading that.
‘This Shit Is Bananas’
A probing analysis of Gwen Stefani’s ‘Hollaback Girl’
by GREG STACY
Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl” is one of the most baffling pieces of music of the modern age. It’s got something to do with cheerleaders—that much is clear, judging from the chanting and the marching band that’s honking and tooting in the background. Beyond that, good luck deciphering the song’s ambiguities. We were so vexed by the mystery that is “Hollaback Girl” that we have devoted countless hours to its study. Our conclusions are below. The first thing you should know, though, is that Gwen is not singing “I ain’t no Harlem fat girl”—at least, we don’t think she is.
Uh huh, this my shit
Gwen is introducing us to her shit.
All the girls stomp your feet like this
This talk of shit and stomping has nothing to do with actually stepping on feces. But what does it mean? From a reading of the later text, we can conclude that the song takes place in the world of high school athletics, and that Gwen is apparently leading the girls in a calisthenics exercise. The “shit,” we surmise, is what she calls the exercises she’s teaching the other girls.
A few times I’ve been around that track
So it’s not just gonna happen like that
Here, Gwen exhorts the girls to try harder as they jog around the track, reminding them that physical fitness is “not just gonna happen,” but must be worked at.
Cause I ain’t no hollaback girl
I ain’t no hollaback girl
These lines are the most confusing, but their meaning will become clearer later.
Oooh, this my shit, this my shit
Gwen repeats this four more times. She wants to make sure that we are well acquainted with her shit.
I heard that you were talking shit
And you didn’t think that I would hear it
Gwen has been the victim of some slanderous high school gossip, and she doesn’t appreciate it. Gwen is 35 years old sliding into MILF status at this point, but we’ll grant her some poetic license.
People hear you talking like that, getting everybody fired up
So I’m ready to attack, gonna lead the pack
Gwen is going to round up a “posse” of her girlfriends and retaliate against the person who’s been talking “smack” about her.
Gonna get a touchdown, gonna take you out
Gwen is going to beat up the person who wronged her, after she completes the cheerleading routine that will inspire the football team to score a touchdown. Gwen has interesting priorities.
That’s right, put your pom-poms down, getting everybody fired up
It seems the entire cheerleading squad is going to beat up the person who spoke ill of Gwen; they have put down their pom-poms, and they are now “fired up” to exact swift and terrible vengeance on Gwen’s behalf.
A few times I’ve been around that track
So it’s not just gonna happen like that
Cause I ain’t no hollaback girl
I ain’t no hollaback girl
Gwen is apparently the captain of the cheerleader squad; she is the girl who “hollas” the chants, not one of the girls who simply “hollas” them back. Given that the squad is preparing to beat somebody up on Gwen’s behalf, she’s picked a strange time to remind them that she is their leader and they are her sheep-like followers. Gwen obviously rules her squad with an iron fist.
Oooh, this my shit, this my shit [repeated four times]
Again with the shit.
So that’s right dude, meet me at the bleachers
No principals, no student-teachers
Both of us want to be the winner, but there can only be one
So I’m gonna fight, gonna give it my all
We learn that it was a “dude” who gossiped about Gwen. She challenges him to a fight at the bleachers. If he imagines it will be a fair, one-on-one fight, he is sadly mistaken. Gwen and her aforementioned “pack” will pounce on him like rabid wolves.
Gonna make you fall, gonna sock it to you
That’s right, I’m the last one standing, another one bites the dust
Gwen’s pack of furious cheerleaders leaves the boy a quivering, bloody heap behind the bleachers for the groundskeeper to discover the next day.
A few times I’ve been around that track
So it’s not just gonna happen like that
Cause I ain’t no hollaback girl
I ain’t no hollaback girl
Having completed their ghastly work, Gwen’s squad members return to the field and resume their cheerleading activities, as Gwen reminds them once more that she is the boss and they are all her bitches.
Oooh, this my shit, this my shit [repeated four times]
By calling her exercise routines “shit,” Gwen is showing us that for all her bravado, the character in this song secretly suffers from profound self-esteem issues. She is a complex antiheroine for an age of changing gender attitudes and expectations.
Let me hear you say, this shit is bananas
B-A-N-A-N-A-S
Here, Gwen steps away from this bloody spectacle for a moment to comment on the madness and ugliness of what we’ve just witnessed, and, by extension, the petty rivalries of high school in general. This shit is bananas, Gwen tells us, and we can only agree. And lest we miss the point, she spells it out. And repeats it another three times.
A few times I’ve been around that track
So it’s not just gonna happen like that
Cause I ain’t no hollaback girl
I ain’t no hollaback girl
Back on the field, Gwen is still bullying the squad to carry out her routines. But now we see her in a new light, as the sad, lost creature she truly is.
Oooh, this my shit, this my shit [repeated four times]
As the song fades out, Gwen is left only with her “shit,” the mindless exercises that bring her no comfort from the raging emptiness within. As much as she “hollas,” no one hears her cries for help.
Diane L said:The dancing banana is my favorite smilie ever!
As for Gwen solo, I prefer the "Rock Steady" album. I'm constantly recommending it to library patrons, and they've loved it too.