Welcome back, music lovers. We have experienced one heck of a series of news cycles this week, so it’s time for a little something different. This week I am devoting this diary to a band called Gorillaz. This is the brainchild of Blur’s Damon Albarn and cartoonist Jamie Hewlett (famous for Tank Girl. In the late 1990s Albarn and Hewlett were apparently chatting about the lack of substance in contemporary pop music and that one might as well simply put a bunch of cartoon characters on stage or videos. So, they set out to do precisely that – with Albarn hoping to produce something a bit more substantial. The Gorillaz also let him explore some sounds that he ordinarily would not do within a Britpop format. First album got released in 2001, and there have been periodic releases and tours since, with a brief break early this decade.
I’ll start out with the opening video for the latest album, The Now Now, called “Humility” (George Benson vocal and Jack Black handling the guitar chores):
The songs on the album center around one of the characters (2-D) who has some conflicting thoughts about cutting off ties with those he once trusted. That’s the overall arc. There’s a whole back story to the characters that is itself intriguing. I may look up a video or two just for those who dig that kind of thing. Now the idea of using cartoon characters as a “band” is not entirely new. What is different is that these characters are not tied to a TV series or franchise. Albarn has used this concept as a vehicle to explore some social commentary to emotional and interpersonal conflict – always with a healthy dose of dark humor. Their 2010 album The Plastic Beach, for example, has as part of its back story some commentary on our pollution of our environment (specifically our oceans).
I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing them live (wrong place, wrong time). But thanks to one of my kids I got turned on to their recordings. Political activists who enjoyed the old Colbert Report might remember their appearance on that show, which had guest musicians Mick Jones and Paul Simonon (formerly of the Clash) as not only part of the studio recordings but part of the touring band as well. They have, as noted before, utilized numerous collaborators. More to come.
Includes a brief explainer of the Gorillaz story arc, including the introduction of Ace (you might know of him as the leader of the Gangreen Gang in The Powerpuff Girls). If you are new to this universe, this will explain things, sorta. The story is told in phases (not unlike the MCU films). The fandom is interesting as well. The impression I get is that last year’s album, Humanz was not well-received by fans. Maybe 2017 will be looked at as Gorillaz’ gasleak year. We’ll see. Personally I liked it, but that’s me. The animation has improved considerably over the years, and the characters have aged up somewhat since the series started. For example, the guitarist, Noodle, was a kid who could play mind-bending solos at the start and is now an adult. I’ll try to post a few more vids, mainly focusing on their hits.
I was wondering who that was. I just knew it wasn’t Murdoc.
Because of the crossover character, today’s feature at the bar consists of Powerpuff Girls Shots.
The bartender is taking requests.
When I saw the vid a couple months ago, I thought that had to be Ace from Powerpuff Girls. Just too familiar looking. So did a bit of Googling and sure enough…apparently those universes intersect.
For today’s drink, I’m going to be a good environmentalist and recycle the drink from the tip jar to Part 3 of Toys R Us, a tale of the Retail Apocalypse — Company Man, Cotton Candy Shots.
Continuing with the candy drink theme, today’s selection from the bar is Drunken Candy Skewers.
Since the diary is still on the rec list, I’ll continue pouring drinks. Today’s bar feature is Four Candy Infusions.
A little something from the Phase One era at the turn of the century.
This is fun:
One of the tracks from last year’s album. The video includes some of the intrigue Murdoc is involved in that leads to his eventual downfall (for now).
And live in studio during their promotional tour for Humanz
This one was performed live in studio on the Colbert Report in 2010. Finding that video is always a pain – Comedy Central is very proprietary about its old content. But the original video is fun in its own right. In some respects, it reminds me a bit of an early Mad Max film, except instead of perhaps Max chasing the Toecutter and gang, it’s Bruce Willis going after Murdoc and what’s left of his band. Since a number of their vids have somewhat post-apocalyptic imagery, that seems fitting enough:
Some Phase Two stuff:
This should give a flavor. There are real humans behind the characters – more than a few in fact. Here’s one from when they were promoting Plastic Beach:
A live in studio performance from when they were making the rounds to promote Humanz:
I love that first song, but this is my favorite by the band: Gorillaz – Feel Good Inc feat. De La Soul (Live on Letterman)
I was thinking of posting the one from Colbert, but this is the better performance.