Music Review: Daniel Bedingfield "James Dean (I Wanna Know)"

James Dean (I Wanna Know)
Album: Gotta Get Thru This
Year: 2002

Daniel Bedingfield asks out a girl who could care less about him in the clueless "James Dean (I Wanna Know."

A drum is tapped in the background, setting a lifeless tone. He says his pop star image could be mysterious and brooding. He could be a legend like Freddie Mercury (which he meant by Queen.) He says he could be a great dancer. However, if the girl he likes doesn't care it's pointless. He adds that he could a movie star smile and wearing high end designer clothing. His hair could be perfectly trimmed. Again, if she doesn't know, it means nothing.

"I could be James Dean of the music scene/I could be a big star like that man called Queen/I could have fly moves, be a dancefloor dream/But if she can't seem to notice me/Then what's it worth now/Could have my teeth flashing a Brad Pit smile/Be wearing Versace 'cause that's my style/Could have my hair cut by the extra mile/But if she can't make it worth my while/Then what's the point now."

In the chorus, he is eager to find out if she's interested in dating him.

"I wanna know if you’re busy/I wanna know if you're doing anything tonight/I wanna know if you missed me/I wanna know baby/I wanna know/I wanna know."

In the bridge, he's sexually frustrated by the sight of her. He wants to embrace her in a passionate kiss. He wants them to be a couple.

"I wish that I could kiss your lips/The way that I/I want to baby/I wish that I could be your man/I wish that you could be my lady."

In the final verse, he says he could be a charismatic lead singer of a band. Again, he gets the pop culture reference wrong. It's Sly and the Family Stone. He says he could bea billionaire, like out of the comic strip Little Orphan Annie. He would still like her, even though she would not even a tenth of what he has. However, he's realized that it's useless and he's embarassed himself enough in front of her. He gives up on her and says he's going to concentrate on making music. She can't see him for who he really is.

"I could be Sly stone of the Family Crew/I could be big Bad Daddy Warbucks/And love you toI could be knocked senseless by what you do/But if it's pain that you put me through/It isn't love now
I made up my own darn mind/I'm getting no love after all this time/I'm gonna make music till my brain is fried/
Because you can't see the man inside/It ain't enough now."

The chorus is sung twice.

The bridge is sung once.

The synths zig and zag in a solo.

The chorus is sung twice to end the single.

Daniel Bedingfield just doesn't get it. In almost all his singles, he blames the women for making him feel love for them. In "James Dean (I Wanna Know)," he expects the woman he likes to automatically fawn over him without any effort on his part. His women issues are a serious problem. Usually, he's obsessed to the point that he wants them to live for him. In this instance, he believes he can be aloof and demand that she like him.

Bedingfield's vocals are petulant and curt. It's as though he can't comprehend that the woman needs to have a conversation with him.

The jittery synths and colorless drum machine are standard electro notes by someone who doesn't know the first thing about the electro genre.

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