Damon Albarn puts that memorable, monotone voice to good use in “DoYaThing” with backups by Andre 3000 and James Murphy on the production. As much as I love to hear Albarn’s soothing vocals, Andre 3000 was the add-on that this shit needed. I don’t know what’s the plans for the future (too lazy to Google it right now), but 3000 better.be.in.it.
[audio:DoYaThing.mp3|titles=DoYaThing]
Gorillaz gon dubstep, I always wondered how this would sound. And as much as I like all three tracks separately, I wish the drops would’ve been weaved in with “Clint Eastwood” a bit more. Though, some parts were quite enjoyable (had me at the Del Drop).
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We’re half way through the “Music that Got Me Blogging About Music” and it’s only up hill.. down hill.. get’s better from here. So far we’ve covered Midwest hip-hop, West Coast hip-hop, and now we’re going International!
In this portion we will be covering groups from abroad and, not surprisingly, are all from genre’s other than hip-hop (unlike the other sections). This portion was only going to have four artists covered, the final list (my top five) took the best one from here, but I decided to add one because a few of his songs were very influential in my current music tastes (like every other artist on here).
So check ’em out and drop some feedback in the comments below. Also, prepare for The Bay Area next week!!
[audio:Knee-Deep.mp3|titles=Knee Deep (feat. Alice Russell & Jim Oxborough)]
As far as reports go, Damon Albarn & Jamie Hewlett, creators of Gorillaz, were bickering about each other’s dedication to the band. Jamie complained about Damon’s involvement with other projects and Damon about Jamie’s “party lifestyle”. Whatever the reasons may be, Gorillaz are on an extened vacation for now (euphemisms always help ease the pain). As saddened as I was when I heard the news, I tried to look at what they’ve given us.
Not only have the two created three groundbreaking albums, along with many side projects, they’ve also ushered in a new genre/sub-genre/style (whatever you wanna call it). I haven’t been the biggest Alt Rock fan over the past years, but Gorillaz and the few groups like them have helped me find a place to start in the clusterfuck of a sub-genre.
To honor my favorite cartoon band, here’s a mini memorial featuring a few of my favorites from each of their albums. Hit me up with your Gorillaz favorites in the comments below.
The Fall was released yesterday, ending the Gorillaz Advent calendar. The album was created by the Gorillaz while on tour, with each track representing a stop on the way.
I’ve heard a few people criticize the album for its unusual take on the Gorillaz sound. Its minimal, electro dominated tracks may be a slight variance to the usual, but their ability to blend and create new styles is what made them so great in the first place. It may be difficult to vibe with this right now, but like all of their music, it just takes some time to get use to. A few, however, have sparked my interest so far […]
[audio:Amarillo.mp3,Bobby-In-Phoenix.mp3|titles=Amarillo,Bobby in Phoenix]
Started listening to Plastic Beach about a week ago. My first thoughts were similar to that of Demon Days, sounds good but nothing stands out. It seems like with Gorillaz, at least in my case, you need to give their albums a few listens to really feel their sound. Well, after a few listens I found some keepers, unfortunately not as many as in Demon Days.
Stylo was the first single from the album, released at the end of January of this year. Though it’s not my favorite, it’s among the better ones, some others being Superfast Jellyfish, On Melancholy Hill & Plastic Beach. But we aren’t here to discuss those, we’re here for the best (of the best), and those would be…
Empire Ants (for one). The song is split in two, the first half with vocals from 2-D (or Damon Albort in reality), with some pleasant, dreamlike instrumentals; and the second half with vocals featured from Little Dragon’s Yukimi Nagano, with a beat that’s straight 80’s XTC (or is that just me, I didn’t live through much of the 80’s). The song takes you to another reach, typical of Gorillaz. It’s my #1 pick, followed closely by Broken.
Broken is a little like the first part of Empire Ants, in that it has a pleasant & smooth sound (other than that, not so much). What I particularly like about this track is its soul-striken lyrics, instead of the usual drug induced ones (those can be fun too, though). They really capture the heart …or maybe that’s just my sensitive side… Anyways, it’s a well thought out track, and good for the those times of heartache … actually, that may not be the best idea (but listen to it nonetheless).
Finally, I just wanted to touch (a little) on some of the tracks that aren’t worth listening to: Sweepstakes (gets stuck in the head, and not in a good way), Some Kind of Nature (sorry Lou, ya just don’t do it for me here), and Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach (Snoop I expect much more with a beat like this). The other tracks on the album are fairly good, but I haven’t warmed up to them quite yet. Tell me what you think, and let me know what your most/least favorites are
[audio:EmpireAnts.mp3,Broken.mp3|titles=Empire Ants,Broken](Download Link in Full Article)
I first caught glimpse of Hyperstory on a Facebook ad about a month back. The headline read something to the effect of “Like the Gorillaz Check out Hyperstory!” My first thought was “Ha! They are comparing themselves to Gorillaz Fools!”. They only had one song up on their site at the time, A Happening, so I gave it a listen to prove (in my mind) that they were wrong. But, fortunately, I was wrong…
[audio:AHappening.mp3|titles=A Happening](Download Link in Post)
Going back to 2000, we find a futuristic narrative set in the year 3030. Del tha Funkee Homosapien, or “Deltron Zero” in the story, is a superhero sworn to fight against the evils of the universe (viruses, an oppressive government, the Corporate Bank of Time… just to name a few) with his trusty side-kicks, The Automator or “The Cantankerous Captain Aptos” and scratch mastermind Kid Koala or “Skiznod the Boy Wonder”. Yea, this may sound a little corny for a hip-hop album, but with Del on the mic, Automator and Kid Koalo with backup, it’s a hell of a hip-hop classic.
[audio:3030.mp3,Virus.mp3,Mastermind.mp3,Turbulence(Remix).mp3,Upgrade.mp3,Madness.mp3,MemoryLoss.mp3|titles=3030,Virus,Mastermind,Turbulence (Remix),Upgrade (A Brymar College Course),Madness,Memory Loss]