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Wikipedia article"'Smelly Cat'" is a comedy song from the American sitcom 'Friends' (19942004), performed by American actress Lisa Kudrow. The song was written by 'Friends' writers Adam Chase and Betsy Borns, with musician Chrissie Hynde and Kudrow for the latter's character Phoebe Buffay, and first appears in the sixth episode of the show's second season, "The One with the Baby on the Bus". Hynde guest stars in the episode as a singer hired to replace Phoebe as Central Perk's in-house musician, to whom Phoebe eventually teaches "Smelly Cat". Borns intended to write the song about a dog, basing it on her own pet dog Gouda, but ultimately decided that a song about a pungent cat would be funnier. Following its debut, Kudrow would continue to frequently perform "Smelly Cat" throughout 'Friends' Established as a fan favorite, "Smelly Cat" has become closely associated with Phoebe, Kudrow, and the series, and is often ranked highly by media publications among 'Friends' Background and writing", musician Chrissie Hynde co-wrote "Smelly Cat" with Lisa Kudrow and performs it in the episode.|303x303px|alt=Woman with medium-length shaggy brown hair, wearing a white vest and tie while playing a guitar. On the sitcom 'Friends', actress Lisa Kudrow portrays Phoebe Buffay, an eccentric masseuse and amateur singer-songwriter with poor rhythm. The character regularly performs her original, peculiar songs at Central Perk, a New York-based coffeehouse at which she and her five friends often socialize. "Smelly Cat" was written for the character by Kudrow with Adam Chase, Betsy Borns and Chrissie Hynde. The song was conceived in 1995 by Borns, a 'Friends' writer who originally intended for its lyrics to be about a pungent dog entitled "Smelly Dog". Having a tendency to incorporate aspects of her personal life into 'Friends' episodes, Borns initially based the song on a malodorous dog she had once owned named Gouda (named after the cheese), at first penning it "as an ode to her childhood pet", before ultimately deciding a song about a foul-smelling cat would be more humorous. Chase, another writer on 'Friends', also contributed lyrics. Kudrow composed the melody herself, as she had done for all of her character's original songs. "Smelly Cat" first appears in the sixth episode of the second season, "The One with the Baby on the Bus" (1995), which Borns also wrote. Hynde (lead singer of rock band The Pretenders) guest stars in the episode as Stephanie Schiffer, a professional singer originally hired to replace Phoebe as Central Perk's resident musician, to whom Phoebe teaches "Smelly Cat" at the end of the episode. Hynde co-wrote the song's music with Kudrow. The musician had agreed to guest star on 'Friends' with little knowledge as to how popular the relatively new sitcom had already become in the United States, having not heard of the show prior to being cast. Kudrow described writing with Hynde as "amazing". Critics believe Hynde's guest appearance bolstered sales of The Pretenders' cover of "Angel of the Morning", which Hynde also performs in the episode. "Smelly Cat" grew increasingly popular among fans of the show, who sent letters to producers asking that they release the song on an album. Upon realizing the song's popularity, Reprise Records' Howie Klein expressed interest in developing a concept album based around "Smelly Cat" as a follow-up to the previous years' 'Friends' album, but Kudrow's participation in the project was undecided. An updated version of the song entitled "Smelly Cat Medley" was eventually released on the soundtrack album 'Friends Again' (1999), credited to Phoebe Buffay and the Hairballs. The track is a combination of "Smelly Cat" excerpts from various episodes, featuring vocals from Kudrow and The Pretenders. Although the album's cover features all six of the show's main cast members Kudrow, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer Kudrow was the only main cast member to contribute a song. Use in 'Friends'"Smelly Cat" is one of several songs Phoebe writes and performs on 'Friends'. Debuting in "The One with the Baby on the Bus", Phoebe first mentions the song to Rachel Green (Aniston) in conversation. The song is initially established as Phoebe's least popular among audiences. In the episode, Stephanie struggles to play "Smelly Cat" to Phoebe's liking, with Phoebe advising the character to work on feeling the song's lyrics. "Smelly Cat" proved popular and would continue to make several appearances throughout 'Friends' In season five's "The One with Joey's Bag", Phoebe's estranged father Frank Buffay reveals that he used to sing her a lullaby called "Sleepy Girl", which shares "Smelly Cat"'s melody, as a baby, further establishing "Smelly Cat" as a fundamental aspect of Phoebe's life story. However, Sam Ashurst of 'Digital Spy' identified this as a plot hole, since Phoebe had previously confirmed that her father abandons her before she was born, therefore he could not have been present to sing to her. Ashurst theorized that Phoebe could have been so determined to retain the copyright to her most famous song that she lied about its composer. According to Rachel Steinberg 'Radio Times', "Smelly Cat" is heard nine times throughout the course of the series in various capacities. VH1 writer Stacy Lambe believes "Smelly Cat" once signified "a point in Phoebe's career when it seemed like her music was going to take off." 'The New Zealand Herald' described the song as "Phoebe's acoustic anthem [which] echoed throughout the whole series." Following filming of the 'Friends' series finale in January 2004, a wrap party was hosted for the cast and crew at Los Angeles' Park Plaza Hotel, at which a cocktail named after the song was served. A full version of the music video has been included on DVD releases of 'Friends'. CompositionKudrow's original rendition of "Smelly Cat" has been described as a "folky, acoustic" track. The 'Toronto Star' called it a "unique guitar ballad". According to HelloGiggles' Rachel Paige, the music video version is treated to a "90s remix" with heavy production. Amazon identified the updated "Smelly Cat Medley" as a pop song lasting two minutes and twenty-seven seconds (2:27) in duration. "Smelly Cat" alternates between three chords E, A and D although Phoebe never refers to chords by their traditional names. The song consists of a simple melody and humorous lyrics, with Comedy Central describing Kudrow's vocals as "strained". A novelty song, MTV's Lindsay Soll wrote that "Smelly Cat" is about a "feline with a pungent odor", but Phoebe reassures the cat that its scent is not its own fault. Rachel Simon, writing for 'Bustle', summarized the track as a song about "a poor-smelling cat treated badly by society for its odor". The song's lyrics begin "Smelly cat, smelly cat, what are they feeding you?", followed by "Smelly cat, smelly cat it's not your fault." "Smelly Cat" continues, "It may not be a bed of roses/ but you're no friend to those with noses". NME critic Beth Cherry believes that the song "educate[s] the world about the plight of olfactorily-challenged felines everywhere." Ciara Knight of 'Joe' considers the song's opening lyrics to be its most iconic. Simon believes "Smelly Cat" explores an inspiring message beyond the odor of a cat about remaining unbothered while being bullied and shunned. Classic FM's Sofia Rizzi agreed that the song "has a deep and meaningful message at its core". Referring to the line "what are they feeding you?", 'Bustle' Reception and popularityReviews for "Smelly Cat" have been generally positive. 'Cosmopolitan' writer Jo Sayer reviewed "The One with the Baby on the Bus" as "an awesome episode because it's ... where Smelly Cat is first introduced." 'Newsweek' called the song "legendary". A Medium contributor wrote that the song "has become an undetachable part of Phoebe's persona and her anthem". The 'Toronto Star' 'Digital Spy' ranked "Smelly Cat" among "12 amazing Phoebe moments". Sammy Nickalls, writing for HelloGiggles, believes "Smelly Cat" "will go down in history for the best song about an odorous pet". Madison Malone Kircher of 'Business Insider' wrote that "Smelly Cat" predated the Internet as a viral meme by "becoming an oft-quoted and mimicked cultural touchstone for fans of the show." Victoria Dawson Hoff of 'Elle' observed that the song threatens to "unseat 'I'll Be There For You' as the song that's most synonymous with 'Friends'", explaining that fans still struggle to "get it out of our heads" nearly 20 years after it was released. 'Bustle' Live performances and coversKudrow has generally refrained from performing "Smelly Cat" live under most circumstances, despite being constantly asked by fans. The song began to experience a revival in 2009 when a dance remix began circulating on the Internet. Upon learning about the remix, Kudrow said "I can't wait to hear if it is any good". In September 2009, Kudrow performed "Smelly Cat" live with actress Courteney Cox, who portrayed Monica Geller on 'Friends', during the Rock A Little, Feed A Lot benefit concert. Kudrow was originally intended to introduce musician Sheryl Crow, only for the audience to ask her to sing "Smelly Cat" instead. Kudrow then invited Cox to join her for the performance, for which the stagehands provided Kudrow with a guitar at Cox's insistence. The performance was met with a standing ovation from the crowd. 'Hello!' joked that "hitting the right notes wasn't really a concern [for the actresses] if they wanted the performance to reflect Lisa's character's dubious musical talents", while Inquisitr's Asher Bayot reviewed the duet as awkward. The performance remained Kudrow's only documented post-'Friends' "Smelly Cat" performance for several years. In 2014, singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat sang an a capella version of "Smelly Cat" live at a Central Perk-themed pop-up caf in Manhattan, New York, which had been launched to commemorate the show's 20th anniversary. Caillat's unscheduled performanced surprised many fans in attendance, who she encouraged to sing along. Despite praising Caillat's rendition as "awesome" for "fulfill[ing] every 'Friends' fanatic's fantasy", 'Bustle' invited Kudrow to perform "Smelly Cat" with her live during one of the final performances of her 1989 World Tour. In August 2015, Kudrow performed "Smelly Cat" live with singer Taylor Swift at the Staples Center during the final North American legs of her 1989 World Tour. Her fifth and final performance at the venue, Swift introduced Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay, advising the audience that "She's only ever played in coffee houses before. She's never played in a big venue like this". Kudrow then entered the stage wearing a long skirt reminiscent of Phoebe's wardrobe. Adopting her character's personality, both Kudrow and Swift accompanied themselves on guitar. Kudrow interrupted Swift midway through the duet to offer feedback and remind her to feel the song's lyrics, prompting screams and laughter from the audience. Referencing her duet with Hynde, Kudrow ultimately assured Swift that she master the song eventually. The performance was widely reported and positively received by media outlets. Yvonne Villarreal of the 'Los Angeles Times' found the rendition superior to "Smelly Cat's" "over-produced music video" from "The One Where Eddie Moves In". 'The Daily Telegraph' Michel Serra of 'Closer' reviewed that Kudrow "has not lost any of Phoebe's intonations", despite being performed 10 years after the actress had last played the role. 'Business Insider' To commemorate the show's 25th anniversary in September 2019, a flash mob of 25 women dressed as Phoebe assembled in New York's Union Square and performed "Smelly Cat". In tribute to the character, each woman donned a suede fringe jacket, blonde wig, and guitar, replicating one of Phoebe's outfits from the series. The impersonators also sang the song at each location they stopped, including 'The Today Show', WPIX TV and Grand Central Station. The performers used the occasion to raise awareness for pet rescue and encourage witnesses to adopt a cat, on behalf of the Best Friends Animal Society. During 'Friends' 2021 reunion television special, Kudrow performed a special rendition of "Smelly Cat" with Lady Gaga. Legacy"Smelly Cat" has since been established as a fan and cult favorite. Although Phoebe performs nearly 40 original songs over 'Friends' NDTV recognized "Smelly Cat" as one of 'Friends' In addition to ranking "Smelly Cat" first on BuzzFeed's "Definitive Ranking Of Phoebe Buffay's Top 40 Songs", author Tasmai Uppin called it "the ultimate Phoebe Buffay song" against which all of her songs are compared. 'Entertainment Weekly' ranked "Smelly Cat" Phoebe's fifth greatest song, with author Hillary Busis calling it "iconic and charming and ready-made for merchandise" but questioned its popularity, considering it less funny than some of her other songs. Busis also praised its music video. The 'Irish Independent' included "Smelly Cat" as one of 'Friends' Ranking "Smelly Cat" among 'Friends' ReferencesCategory:1990s ballads Category:1995 songs Category:1999 songs Category:American folk songs Category:American pop songs Category:Comedy songs Category:Folk ballads Category:Friends (1994 TV series) Category:Novelty songs Category:Pop ballads Category:Songs about cats Category:Songs from television series Category:Songs written by Chrissie Hynde | |
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