Damon Albarn topic (Blur, Gorillaz et cetera)
Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2013 3:11 pm
Discuss.
I have admittedly not listened to Blur that much yet, although I've fully enjoyed everything I've heard so far. I actually like Song 2 a lot, even if it's extremely mainstream (I don't think that's bad thing though; if something's mainsteam there's usually a chance it's good), and kinda like Girls and Boys if I remember that song correctly.
Gorillaz is one of my two favourite bands. The collaboration between Damon and Jamie Hewlett is fantastic; I could go on and on about Gorillaz! They inspired me to start a musical side-project with Adsolution, my amazing awesome best-ass friend <3 (alternatively, best ass-friend) and I could spend days listening to Demon Days (lol said days twice).
The debut album is great and hippity hoppity, which I like. Re-Hash is a good song to start off the album - it's kinda repetitive but really pleasant to listen to. The guitar is great, same with 5/4. Speaking of that track, I like how the drums follow a typical drum pattern but fit in the 5/4 time (kick snare kick snare kick; snare kick snare kick snare). Tomorrow Comes Today is one of my favourite tracks on the album, and I love the live versions with the additional instruments and whatnots, plus the drums are nice. New Genius (Brother), well, I don't know that track all that well. Not to say it's forgettable, though! It's pretty neat and the vocals are cool. Clint Eastwood, well, that one's a big fucking hit and I can see why. It's very simple (though it gets a bit "messier" [in a good way] in the second verse, with the drums gaining syncopation and there being a lot of new tracks in the background [like Murdoc gasping and saying "fuck", if I'm correct?], kinda balancing the whole thing out). It's also catchy as fuck! The melodica adds a lot to the track (same with Tomorrow Comes Today), and you can really see how Damon loves that instrument. Man Research (Clapper) is kinda bland in my opinion, but it's not bad. Punk is a nice song, and pretty funny, seeing as it was a parody of punk music in general, right down to the mumbled lyrics. I believe when playing the song live Damon just improvises the lyrics, save for the "*something something* shut up" at the end of the verses and chorus. Sound Check (Gravity) is another favourite of mine off this album, it's a beauty in its own way. I love how the song is kinda split into two parts, and they combine at the very end - it's very well done and the composition is great. The piano gets me every time. Double Bass is a nice trippy track, I think it's very interesting. It's nice how they incorporated some talking in it - somehow it makes the song even more interesting. Rock the House is also a big hit, but I can't say I like it. I find it pretty boring and just not something I'd find cool. Del's vocals are fine, though. 19-2000 is more or less the same to me - a big hit that I just can't seem to enjoy. It's not as boring as Rock the House for me, but it's not outstanding. Latin Simone, though, is arguably my favourite track on the album. I could write a fucking essay about that song and its English counterpart from the G-Sides album. It touches me in a good way and when I hear it, I can't stop listening to it for a while. Just thinking about the story of it, albeit fictional, brings a tear to my eye. For those who don't know: there's a Spanish and English version of the song. The Spanish is sung by Ibrahim Ferrer, who tries to convince his suicidal friend, Damon Albarn, that life is great and there is no reason to take it away. He sings, "Que pasa contigo, mi hermano?", which translates to "What's wrong with you, my friend?". The English version is sung from Damon's perspective - and has lyrics like "what's the matter with me...?" and "what's the point? It's funny until you're left to kill yourself..." (the latter one remains one of the most powerful lyrics ever in my opinion). The two songs share the same instrumental - Ibrahim sings for the duration of the whole song, but Damon stops about a minute before the song actually ends - implying he commited suicide. I can't stress enough how powerful and depressing I find this song and scenario (I'd like to point out that I came to this conclusion by analysing the songs myself). Something I find very interesting, although purely coincidental: shortly after, Ibrahim Ferrer died, while Damon Albarn still writes songs and performs to this day. While the whole Latin Simone story was completely fictional and not Damon's true words (or Ibrahim's, for that matter), this is a very depressing thing when taken in the context of the songs. Damon - the person who was depressed and wanted to kill himself got out of his depression and continued pursuing his most important goal in life, while Ibrahim, the one who was immediately cheerful and just wanted to improve his friend's mood, died soon after. Like I said, this has nothing to actually do with the song, but is very sad if you think of the song as something that was actually happening to these two. Right, I shall continue now - Starshine is a very dark track, and I kinda like it and how eerie it is. The creepy lyrics are a big part of the whole mysteriousness and kinda-not-really-scariness. Slow Country, well, I keep forgetting that this track exists, but it's kinda fine. The piano is very cheerful and fun, though, and the song kinda reminds me of Crazy Frog, in a way. LOL did I just seriously say that. And the last, outro track, M1 A1, is also one of my favourites. It's very fucking creepy and disturbing (in a more "agressive", so to say, tone than Starshine), the bass is awesome, I love the whole composition. The sample is creepy too and helps get in the mood too - hearing a man scream "hello... is anyone there? Hello...! Is anyone there!?" and get louder and more desperate is unnerving, but when the actual song kicks in, it gets even better. I love the chorus and the almost ear-piercing scream at the end of the "lalalalalalalalala hey"s. A great track to finish the great album (I don't give a shit about the Clint Eastwood Ed Case and whatever remix because it's a fucking piece of shit, although the 19-2000 Soulchild remix is arguably better than the actual track).
Demon Days is my favourite album by Gorillaz. It's fucking perfect and one of the only albums on which I like every single track at least a bit - the flow of it is flawless, dare I say! hehe "dare" The intro, sampled from Day of the Dead, I believe, sets the dark mood of the album very nicely and flows greatly into Last Living Souls - which is actually one of my favourite songs of the album. A great song to start with - the violins are amazing and I love what Damon did with that (same with Dirty Harry's violins, and of course the ones in Demon Days, the final track of the album... but we'll get there). I love how at the end there's two tracks of Damon singing - one's a monotone semi-whisper and the other is shouting; both saying the same madness mantra - "are we the last living souls?" which brings me to the lyrics of the song - they're great. They're about the question with no answer, really - are we the last living souls, i.e., are we the last to feel joy and happiness inside? A pretty simple subject, but done very well. Kids with Guns is a kickass track too - it's not one of my favourites, but I can't seem to find any flaws in it. It's awesome. O Green World is great, its awesome composition is very creative and I like the crow (?) sample there. Plus in the live performances, the bass is so motherfucking holy badass fuck, it's better than sex. There, I said it. The bass in live performances of O Green World is better than sex. If you disagree, feel free to form a queue to suck my dick. Dirty Harry, while I realise is pretty genius, I don't find all that amazing personally. Gabriel Wallace's drumming in the rap part in the live performances is great, though, and the violin part has a special place in my fart I mean heart. I transcribed it by ear once :3 I like how Dirty Harry flows perfectly into Feel Good Inc., which is a big fucking hit, just like Clint Eastwood, and rightfully so. It's pretty much perfect. The message, the composition, the gorgeous asscrack of Murdoc's in the music video. There's nothing left to say. El Mañana used to be my favourite, but eh, it's kinda boring actually. However, still remains one of the better Gorillaz songs in my opinion! The music video is great and oh also the guitar in the song too. Every Planet We Reach Is Dead is said to be the literally best Gorillaz song ever, and I understand that - it's a fucking brilliant composition, and essentially a five-minute symphony of amazingness and eargasmic riffs. But I don't like it that much. November Has Come is kinda boring, but the chorus makes up for it, same with All Alone... well, except for the "chorus making up for it" part.
I don't find these two songs all that great, but I do think they're at least good. White Light is generally disliked by the fanbase, but I love it. It's simple but cool, and the bass is also gr9 (that means it's more than gr8, for the emshom.rars). Dare is sweet as fuck, and the backstory behind it is hilarious (with Shaun Rhyder not pronouncing "there" pwoperly. I always want to shake my delicate ass to this song. Fire Coming Out of a Monkey's Head is another brilliant one - its instrumental is brilliant as fuck, the storytelling by Dennis Hopper ( 
) is brilliant, the chorus and lyrics are amazing. And brilliant. Then, the grand finale, Don't Get Lost In Heaven and Demon Days. Words cannot describe this beauty. Fucking click and go listen to it you little bitch. 
The Fall is ok
I'll write a lengthy description to Plastic Beach later, not to leave you hanging, lel.
The live band consists of Damon Albarn, Paul Simonon, Mick Jones (both from the Clash), Jeff Wootton, Gabriel Wallace, Cass Browne (
) and a few others, like the back-up singers and sometimes even a whole violin section! I fucking love them. A big, musical family of geniuses. How can you not love those fucking adorable faces?:left-to-right: Damon Albarn, Jamie Hewlett, Paul Simonon, I think bald Cass Browne? I can't recognise this one, Jeff Wootton and Mick Jones
I love what Cass Browne and Jamie Hewlett did with the Gorillaz characters - their personalities are hilarious but also very nicely thought-out and tied-in, the story is epic and awesome and epic too (and not to forget awesome!), and I'd fuck Noodle in her virgin face.
