Gorillaz Blog
This is just where I'll have some basic overview and info on Gorillaz and also yap about the music and lore!
Who are the Gorillaz?
The Gorillaz are a british cartoon band made in 1998 in response to the superficialness of MTV. Damon Albarn, a previouse member of the band Blur, and Jamie Hewlett, creator of Tank Girl, were watching MTV when Jamie remarked how If you watch MTV for too long, it's a bit like hell-there's nothing of substance there. So we got this idea for a virtual band, something that would be a comment on that.
Albarn also added This was the beginning of the boy band sort of explosion... and it just felt so manufactured. And we were like, well let's make a manufactured band but make it kind of interesting.
And thus Gorillaz were born.
Originally they were called "Gorilla" but added the "z" later. The name is a pun on how a group of gorillas are called a band and a reference to both Jamie and Damon being born in year of the monkey. Lore-wise Murdoc wanted to swing through the music world with his ass out so Gorillaz fit just right.
Phase one: Celebrity Take Down
Album: Gorillaz
The self titled was released on March 26, 2001 and was Gorillaz's debut album. It was generally well recieved and was among 50 of the best albums of the year. It entered the charts on April 1st and reaching #3. Gorillaz don't exactly do genre's but some influences on the album are: trip-hop, alternative rock, dubstep, and hip-hop.
Discography
- Re-Hash
- 5/4
- Tommorow Comes Today
- New Genious(Brother)
- Clint Eastwood
- Man Research(Clapper)
- Punk
- Sound Check(Gravity)
- Double Bass
- Rock the House
- 19-2000
- Latin Simone(Que Paso Contigo)
- StarShine
- Slow Country
- M1A1
- Clint Eastwood(ED Case & Sweetie Irie refix)
G-Sides
G-Sides was originally released in Japan on December 12th, 2001 to appeal more to their market, it was planned it would only release there but was later released on February 26, 2002 in the US and March 11, 2002 in the UK. It was also the only album where Paula Cracker, a previouse guitarist, had worked on. The track she played for was "Ghost Train" which is Gorillaz first song. She was also accompanied by a previouse drummer, "Mr. Maggits", who was supposed to be a primate of some sort who played the bongos in the early stages but was later scrapped. Most versions sported an image of Noodle holding Bonesy, a reoccuring mascot for Gorillaz, but in Japan she's holding a Godzilla figurine instead.
Discography
- 19-2000 (Soulchild Remix)
- Latine Simon
- 19-2000 (The Wiseguys House of Wisdom Remix)
- The Sounder
- Faust
- Clint Eastwood (Phi Life Cypher Version)
- Ghost Train
- Hip Albatross
- 12D3
Phase two: Slow Boat to Hades
Album: Demon Days
D-Sides
Phase three: Escape to Plastic Beach
Album: Plastic Beach
Sea- Sides
The Fall
Phase four: We Are Still Humanz
Album: Humanz
Phase five: No More Unicorns Anymore
Album: The Now Now
Phase six: Wish You Were Ear
Album: Song Machine, Season 1: Strange Timez
The Meanwhile Episode
Phase seven: The Static Channel
Album: Cracker Island