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Gorillaz

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Gorillaz



Gorillaz

Not the first band in history to evoke the response, "So, what exactly is this, again?" Gorillaz doesn't make confusing music; it just has a confusing pedigree, and technically, as a band, doesn't exactly exist. They are an animated band. A conglomeration usually attributed to Blur's Damon Albarn, this hip-hop-rock concept includes musicians like Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads and Cibo Matto's Miho Hatori, Afro-Cuban musician Ibrahim Ferrer, Dan "the Automator" Nakamura and his Deltron 3030 pose- Dell tha Funkee Homosapien and Kid Koala- as well as comic artist Jamie Hewlitt, who conceptualized Gorillaz as an animated troupe of manga-style slacker zombies. What all this means for the music is not as fascinating as how all this looks on TV, where the cryptic, zoned-out horror show "Clint Eastwood" enjoyed a juicy run on MTV (back when that was a thing) in short-format video form throughout 2001. I specifically remember watching that video late at night when MTV broke the news of Aaliyah's death... it was eerie to say the least. Gorillaz' first self-titled album was an anime conception that evoked a rich and unpredictable landscape, whereas the music recalls some serious 90's weirdness. The diverse strains of expertise among the musicians makes for a surprisingly smooth blend- a parallel-universe neo-soul on "New Genius", electronica played underwater with falsetto vocals on "Man Research," a comment on punk in the punk style on "Punk." Their first album is full of  expertly assembled songs-as-references-to-song-styles that range from lounge ("Double Bass") to funky ("19-2000") to salsa-y ("Latin Simone"), all of which is soothing & impressive. They released G-Sides in 2002, which collects five previously unheard songs and some remixes. Gorillaz really came into their own on their sophomore album and their swan song, 2005's Demon Days. This was an album that defined an era for me. Whether it was the radio hit "Feel Good Inc." or the darker tones of that album hit upon with songs like "Kids With Guns." There's a reason their second album has sold eight million copies globally. The band released D-Sides after that album, similar to G-Sides. Since then, the band has released 2010's Plastic Beach, 2010's The Fall (recorded entirely on an iPad and including one of my favorites by them "Little Pink Plastic Bags"), 2017's Humanz (which included "Let Me Out" with Mavis Staples and Pusha T, and 2018's The Now Now. The band is staying steady, releasing a new album this year, the first part of a double-album, 2020's Song Machine Season One: Strange Times with season two to follow next year (2021). It's a great conceptional band, one that would make The Archies jealous. It's a thrilla'!

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Gorillaz

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