Search - China Forbes :: Ordinary Girl / Brand New Key

A great pop-rock confection

David Pearlman | Arlington, MA United States | 08/09/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This single consists of the track Ordinary Girl by China Forbes that everyone buys it for (and which is available NOWHERE ELSE), and a second [we used to call 'em b-sides] track, "Brand New Key" by Rasputina, that no one buys it for (and which is easily available on Rasputina's album Thanks for the Ether--no need to shell out for this single to hear it...and I won't bother to review it)



Ordinary Girl was the theme song to the TV show Clueless, which followed in the wake of the suprise hit movie, and which lasted three seasons. Expectedly, for the theme to a movie about chipper high school girls, it's a sticky sweet pop rock confection--the aural equivalent of the juicy wad of sugary bubblegum.



Perhaps not so expectedly, the song provides a great 3 minute buzz, a happy rockin' and catchy track that sounds a lot like vintage Go-Gos. That's perhaps no surprise, since the track was co-written by the Go-Go's Charlotte Caffey in collaboration with That Dog's Anna Waronker. Why neither Caffey nor Waronker has delivered this kind of confection to their own projects is a mystery, but China Forbes' rendition is excellent and the track sounds like the big hit it should have been."