The Alternative Advent Calendar : 17/24

No Doubt - Oi to the World

Aaaaah the late 90s, remember that eh? Back when you couldn't walk into a rock club without being bombarded with shitty ska punk from every angle and every singer had the same irritating Sesame Street accent. Now that this shit is fifteen years old it sounds pretty ridiculous but back in '97 No Doubt were on top of the world, 'No Speak' and 'Just a Girl' having transformed them into global megastars and made Gwen Stefani's blond hair 'n' lipstick chic the look to imitate if you were a teenage girl (no bad thing I admit). Their music blew goats for the most part but this little festive ditty is pleasant enough, cranking up the pace for what sounds like some sort of punk culture rallying call for all the subsections to lay down their arms and get along with each other. I think the mark of true success in the States back then was if MTV persuaded you to do a Xmas single for their video rotation programme in December, cementing your position at the top of the Billboard food chain and providing the suburban brats across America with another single to shell out for. To their credit Gwen and the boys have managed to drop in and out of fashion with alarming regularity since their heyday, popping up with the odd hit from time to time when you thought they'd been locked in the 90s attic along with Hootie and the Blowfish and Four Non-Blondes. I think they even have a record out now in fact, although true to form I have no idea what it's called and no intention of ever listening to it.