The Gorillaz

I've had a soft spot for these guys since two thousand and god-knows-when

 * (did my research, it was actually 2001) 

 when i received their first album as a gift for a birthday. 

I was only 10 at the time, but this album, along with Linkin Park's REANIMATION would soon become the albums that got this intrepid little child into his hip-hop in later years,

and into good music from such an early age.

Who was i to know JUST how much i would love this and appreciate it as my years wore on?

anyway - the reasons why i like hip-hop have NOTHING to do with this. 

What i wanted to originally say about this album is that it amazed me from the first time i'd ever heard it.

it was like nothing i'd ever heard before - with songs ranging from 
Clint Eastwood  to
Rock The House, and Latin Simone
i was pretty stunned by the range of things they could produce.
so i loved the album for all of its individual songs, and if you don't have it already, i'd like to recommend it to you.


SO to follow up this album, Four years later, they released Demon Days.

the list of "featuring" artists on this album is incredible. De La Soul, Neneh Cherry, Roots Manuva, MF DOOM, Ike Turner, Bootie Brown of the Pharcyde, Shaun Ryder, Dennis Hopper, and then some choirs (a Gospel Choir and a Children's choir). 

That is not to say that the previous album didn't have some impressive people co-working with Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett (two geniuses). These included Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, Ibrahim Ferrer, and Miho Hatori, amongst a few others, but obviously the Gorillaz' little black book became a little less little after the reception and reputation of their first album.

IN SHORT, Demon Days was fantastic. if you play it for a friend and they don't enjoy it, it's time to get some new friends. 

[NB i'm always looking for friends.]

but anyway, Demon Days is even better than their first Album. after each of these they've released an album of B-Sides. respectively they've been G-Sides and D-Sides, and they've been mainly B-side tracks but also some fun remixes and re-edits, always good to listen to.

however, you do need to kind of focus and think about some of the songs.

and then some group who i've never heard of called Spacemonkeyz released a full CD of their own remixes of various Gorillaz songs, in dub and reggae style.

It's Called Lalika Come Home - but i think thats mostly a typo, 

cause it's a reference to Laika, the space dog.

Needless to say (almost) this album is really good. It's really nice and chilled and makes for good relaxing music with friends, driving music, background music, or anything really.

BACK TO REALITY. Four years after Demon Days, as if on cue, the Gorillaz announced Plastic Beach (their third studio album). of this, i've only heard as much as you fine people, 

the one track they've released - Stylo.

Now this album has a featuring list perhaps even more impressive than Demon Days:

 Snoop Dogg, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Kano, Bashy, Bobby Womack, Mos Def, Gruff Rhys, De La Soul, Little Dragon, Mark E. Smith, Lou Reed, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, sinfonia ViVA and The Lebanese National Orchestra for Oriental Arabic Music.

I'm puzzled, intrigued, and excited about hearing what Lou Reed and Gorillaz do together.

i like the album art, too.

A live countdown to the album's release is available at Gorillaz.com, and as of this moment, there rests one day and seven hours on the countdown.

i'm excited, people. Very, very excited.

a wild genius appeared!