Formed in 1986 in Anaheim, California, United States as a ska punk band ins… Read Full Bio ↴Formed in 1986 in Anaheim, California, United States as a ska punk band inspired by Madness, the lineup of No Doubt initially comprised John Spence as lead vocal, Gwen Stefani on back-up vocals, and her brother Eric Stefani on keyboards. While playing the party-band circuit around Anaheim, the trio picked up bassist Tony Kanal. Hardened by the suicide of Spence in December 1987, No Doubt nevertheless continued; Gwen became the lone vocalist and the group added guitarist Tom Dumont and drummer Adrian Young. During their early years on the party scene, they played with Sublime, and Brad Nowell sang on No Doubt's Total Hate 95. Gwen Stefani returned the favour on Saw Red.
No Doubt's live act began to attract regional interest, and Interscope Records signed them in 1991. The band's debut a year later, an odd fusion of '80s and ska, sank without a trace in the wake of the grunge movement. As a result, Interscope refused to support No Doubt's tour or further recordings. The band responded by recording on their own during 1993-94; the result was the self-released The Beacon Street Collection, much rawer and more punk-inspired than the debut. Eric Stefani left just after its release, later working as an animator for The Simpsons. By late 1994, Interscope allowed recordings to resume, and Tragic Kingdom was released in October 1995. The album's third single, Don't Speak, which although originally written by Eric was later altered by Gwen to document her breakup with bassist Tony Kanal. Tragic Kingdom went platinum and has sold over 15 million copies to date. As Tragic Kingdom obtained success, the band toured furiously until late '97.

After a long break, the band had prepared a more mellow, and powerfully dramatic album entitled Return of Saturn. It emphasized Gwen's encounters with men, her biological clock, and miscellaneous topics. Although the album had a completely different approach to it, the band was making rock music with less of a punk/ska flare. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard charts in early April of 2000, and then declined to a flop. The public never did justice to the album, and it serves as a favorite for many die-hard fans.

While touring in Jamaica for Return of Saturn, the band wanted to try adding Reggae to their music, and making more of a dance rock record. 20 months after Return of Saturn debuted, the band was quick to jump on the creation of Rock Steady, released in December of '01. The singles Underneath It All and Hey Baby became international dance club symbols as top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. This album proved that No Doubt had not lost their potential with the public, and that they could appeal to various groups of people.

In 2004, No Doubt announced they would be going on hiatus after the release of the singles compilation The Singles 1992–2003, which contained one new song, a cover of experimental rock band Talk Talk's "It's My Life". Tony Kanal did several projects with Gwen and other artists. Adrian Young married and had a child; Tom Dumont formed a new band, Invincible Overlord, often plays with Matt Costa's band. Gwen embarked on a sucessful solo career which consisted of two albums - "Love. Angel. Music. Baby." and "The Sweet Escape". The first of these albums contains the single "Hollaback Girl", a song which was inescapable for most of 2005 and hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won her a Billboard Award for first track to reach 1 Million legal downloads ever. The self titled track off "The Sweet Escape" went on to become her most notorious calling card.

With the hiatus officially over in late 2008 No Doubt announced tour plans for 2009, kicking it off in Atlantic City. The tour concluded with four dates in Irvine, CA. In May, 2009, the band was featured as a fictional 80's band, "Snowed Out", on CW Network's "Gossip Girl" The band performed their cover of Adam and the Ants 'Stand and Deliver.'

The group entered the studio in May 2010 to start recording on their sixth studio album: Push and Shove which will be release on September 25, 2012 and its first single will be "Settle Down". Their first music video for the new album will also be for "Settle Down" and it will be directed by Sophie Muller (who previously has done numerous music videos for No Doubt). The whole album has been recorded with producer Mark "Spike" Stent (who worked on their previous album Rock Steady) but they have also collaborated with Major Lazer (now Diplo's solo project). No Doubt previously revealed they are taking influence from ska, 80s new wave and Jamaican reggae music for the new record.

11-Platinum Blonde Life
No Doubt Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I'm closing all the curtains
So don't you even bother
And I'm calling out the murder
But I'm underneath the covers
But who's fooling who
With this mood like a train
Watch me roll over
Get out of my way

There's a knock on my door
But I'm not gonna open it
I'm gonna close my eyes
And maybe it will go away

I want a platinum blonde life
So I keep bleaching out the colors
I try to do what I oughta
But never drink enough water
And where did my lover go?
I really wish he could stay
I feel it's empty as a widow
I'm gonna sleep it all away

There's a knock on my door
But I'm not gonna open it
I'm gonna close my eyes
And maybe it will go away

I'm gonna sleep, all trough the day
I'm gonna asleep, my life away
I'm gonna sleep, all through the day
I'm gonna sleep, myself away
I'm gonna close my eyes
And maybe it'll go away..

And there's a knock on my door
But I'm not gonna open it
I'm gonna close my eyes
And maybe it will go away
And there's a knock on my door
But I'm not gonna open it
I'm gonna close my eyes
And maybe it will go away

I'm gonna close my eyes
And maybe it will go away

Overall Meaning

In "Platinum Blonde Life," Gwen Stefani sings about her desire to live a lavish and glamorous life. The song's tone is that of a person who is lying in bed, in a state of pure apathy and melancholy. She seems to be over it all, hence why she closes all the curtains and calls out the "murder" without any real intention of actually doing anything about it, which might imply a metaphorical meaning of wanting to escape from her current life. She then goes on to talk about bleaching out the colors, which could mean that she is slowly losing herself in the process of trying to become the perfect image of what she thinks is glamorous. She mentions the fact that she doesn't drink enough water, which could imply her neglecting self-care and her own health in her pursuit of what she thinks will bring her happiness.

Additionally, she sings about her lover leaving and how she wished he could have stayed. The loneliness she feels afterward could be contributing to her state of apathy and disinterest in the world around her. The repetition of "there's a knock on my door" seems to represent an unwelcome disturbance to her preferred way of life. In the end, as she sings about wanting to sleep her life away, it's clear that she is not in a good state of mind and is struggling with finding fulfillment.

Line by Line Meaning

I'm closing all the curtains
I'm shutting out the world

So don't you even bother
Don't try to reach me

And I'm calling out the murder
I'm feeling trapped and suffocated

But I'm underneath the covers
I'm hiding from reality

But who's fooling who
I'm not sure who's deceiving who in this situation

With this mood like a train
My emotions are running strongly and intensely

Watch me roll over
See me give up and surrender

Get out of my way
Leave me alone

There's a knock on my door
Someone is trying to contact me

But I'm not gonna open it
I don't want to deal with whoever is there

I want a platinum blonde life
I want a perfect, glamorous existence