HOLY JESUS NO DOUBT IS BACK IN THE STUDIO

Just as I stop checking the No Doubt website for signs of life from the band, they start to post new content about their return to the studio. In a moment that brought my superfan status into serious question, a colleague at the office mentioned that they were working on a new album and all I could do was look at her dumbfounded. I hadn't checked the website in months. Gwen, Tony, Tom and Adrian (with supporting musicians Gabriel and Stephen) back in the studio?! It's too good to be true!

BUT IT ISN'T!

It's true, it's true! My favorite Orange County rocker-outters are indeed back in the studio as evidenced by three, three!!!, video podcasts, posts from Adrian and Tony and photographs from the studio. The podcasts document a surprise performance with Gwen on her solo tour and the rehearsals leading up to it. The reception from the No Doubt-starved crowd was really unbelievable. In his post Adrian says, "The audience was crazy. They were louder than I can remember for a regular No Doubt Show," which suggests to me that most of the people in that crowd were probably thinking the same thing I was thinking when I saw Gwen on her tour, which is, "Hey, somewhat mediocre Gwen Stefani solo material is better than nothing. We're keeping hope alive." (Don't get me wrong, I love Gwen, I just accept her solo stuff for what it is, which is ... just not as good as No Doubt.)

But seriously, the prospect of getting to see No Doubt live in the near future is almost too much to bear. Which makes me thankful to have two live No Doubt DVDs to tide me over until that blessed day.