Cool (West Side Story song)

"Cool" is a song from the musical West Side Story. Leonard Bernstein composed the music and Stephen Sondheim wrote the lyrics.

Context

In West Side Story, "Cool" is a well known song that is sung by Riff before the Rumble meeting. The Jets are itching to fight with the Sharks, but Riff tells them to wait for the rumble.

In the movie, the song is placed after the rumble where Riff dies. The Jets are saddened by Riff's death and want revenge. When Action and A-rab start fighting, a man throws an object at them and tells them to go home. Action loses it and threatens the man, forcing the Jets to bring him into a warehouse. Ice (Tucker Smith), a character created for the film who is now their leader, has had it. He tells them they will have to play it cool in order to get through this.

This song is known for its fugal treatment of a jazz figure, described by one writer as "possibly the most complex instrumental music heard on Broadway to date".

Use in popular culture

In 2011, actor Harry Shum Jr. performed the song, as his character Mike Chang from TV series Glee, in the third episode of season 3, "Asian F" (aired on October 4).

Cool & Dre

Cool & Dre are a team of American record producers and songwriters from North Miami, a suburb of Miami, Florida, consisting of Marcello "Cool" Valenzano and Andre "Dre" Christopher Lyon.

Epidemic Records

The duo started their own record label, Epidemic Records. They signed a contract with Jive Records in 2003 concerning the distribution of their first artist, Dirtbag.

In August 2010, the duo officially partnered with Cash Money Records. In April 2011, the duo signed a deal with Interscope Records through Cash Money (the first time Cash Money is under another Universal label), also to distribute their label Epidemic Records.

Production discography

Singles produced

References

Cool (The Time song)

"Cool" is a song by The Time, released as the second single from their eponymous debut album. Like most of the album, the song was recorded in Prince's home studio in April 1981, and was produced, arranged, and performed by Prince with Morris Day later adding his lead vocals. The song was co-written with Revolution guitarist Dez Dickerson and contains background vocals by keyboardist Lisa Coleman, however both were uncredited.

The funk-pop relies heavily on synthesizers to provide both the bass and melody for the upbeat song. A guitar solo is present and a relatively simple drumbeat drives the song along. "Cool" sets up the persona created for Day as a wealthy playboy, one who is also popular, and of course, "cool". Day built a career around the persona. Prince's backing vocals are very apparent in the song, especially in the chorus.

The classic video for the song is directed by Chuck Statler, who is best known for directing the early Devo videos.

"Cool" was only issued as a 7" single with an edit of the song and a continuation as the B-side. The full version was only released on the album and on a promo release. One of The Time's more popular numbers, "Cool" is a staple in concert and a live version of the song recorded at the House of Blues in 1998 was included on Morris Day's 2004 album, It's About Time.

Cool (Alesso song)

"Cool" is a 2015 song by a Swedish electronic musician Alesso featuring vocals from American singer Roy English (also known by his real name Brandon Wronski), the frontman of the former American rock band Eye Alaska. It premiered on February 13, 2015 on BBC Radio 1. The track, which samples Kylie Minogue's "Get Outta My Way", was officially released in Europe on 16 February 2015 and in North America on 17 February 2015. The song was released on 26 April 2015 in the UK.

The cover art references his single "Tear The Roof Up" as the locker reads "Tear The Roof Up!"

Music video

A music video for the song was commissioned. It was produced by Emil Nava, and was filmed at Venice High School, where the films Grease and American History X and the music video for Britney Spears' "...Baby One More Time", were filmed. Contrary to his anonymous DJ contemporaries, Alesso himself plays the protagonist, a long-haired, bespectacled nerd who is initially mocked by his fellow students but absconds to the dance class, where he encounters an attractive brunette teacher (Claude Racine) with whom he falls in love. About two-thirds of the way through the music video, his infatuation invokes amorous thoughts involving her dancing in a bra and knickers on a bench, a nod to the music video for Van Halen's Hot For Teacher. These thoughts are interspersed with another man showing him how to dance properly using films containing dance moves. Alesso then uses a school dance to attract the teacher and then dump her with a smile in the middle of the dance floor.

Cool (Le Youth song)

"Cool" (stylized as "C O O L") is the debut single by American electronic musician, DJ, and producer Le Youth. The song was released in the United Kingdom as a digital download on June 28, 2013 and in the United States on July 2, 2013. The song has peaked to number 26 on the UK Singles Chart and number 19 on the Danish Singles Chart. The song heavily samples Cassie's song "Me & U". It rapidly received over 200,000 plays on Soundcloud in a short period of time.

Music video

A music video to accompany the release of "Cool" was first released onto YouTube on April 10, 2013 at a total length of three minutes and thirty-four seconds.

Track listing

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Release history

References

Cool (Gwen Stefani song)

"Cool" is a song by American singer and songwriter Gwen Stefani from her debut solo studio album, Love. Angel. Music. Baby. (2004). Written by Stefani and Dallas Austin, the song was released on July 5, 2005 as the album's fourth single. It was written by Austin basing the song on No Doubt's "Simple Kind of Life", but he did not finish it. He then asked for help from Stefani, and they finished the song in 15 minutes. The single's musical style and production were inspired by synthpop and new wave arrangements from the 1980s, and its lyrics chronicle a relationship in which two lovers have separated, but remain "cool" with each other as good friends.

The song received generally positive reviews from music critics, being compared to Cyndi Lauper and Madonna songs from the 1980s. The media have drawn parallels between the song's lyrical content and the romantic relationship that Stefani had with Tony Kanal, a fellow group member of No Doubt. The song was moderately successful on the charts, reaching the top 10 in Australia, the Czech Republic, and New Zealand, as well as the top 20 in Denmark, Ireland, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States.