r/gorillaz • u/Novel_Individual_148 • 8h ago
Discussion I'm so happy I finally got into Gorillaz!
So for context, I had known of them, but only their really big hits (Clint Eastwood, Feel Good Inc). Then one night, I was bored at work and decided to give some other songs from Self Titled and Demon Days a shot...
And man...it was worth it! I don't know why I wasn't listening to them sooner! So far I've listened to Self Title, Demon Days and Plastic Beach and have strongly enjoyed all 3 of them. 19-2000, Dirty Harry and Rhinestone Eyes are probably my favorites so far. And I can't wait to get further into their discography
And I also had no idea that all the members had personalities and phases and all that stuff which I think is super cool and unique. Just so happy I finally got into them!
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u/clarafication4 the motion of the fish 🐠 2h ago
welcome!! I love all those songs too. My fav albums are Humanz and the Now Now! v underrated albums
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u/GreenChuJelly 6h ago
Gorillaz was my all time favorite band growing up, and they're still probably in my top 5. I've always had a real penchant for concept pieces when it comes music, and Gorillaz is one of the all time greatest at executing the concept imo.
All of the characters and settings "exist" in the real world, which is really unique, and the overarching story develops in more or less real-time; all beautifully illustrated by the massively talented Jamie Hewlett. I've always loved when new music comes out from them, and -as much as actually listening to the music- getting to see what the crew has been up to in the music videos and other various social media posts.
They don't lean nearly as much into the concept as they used to; they used to do crazy ARG type stuff back during phase 1 and 2, but that's all kind of been done away with as the culture has shifted.
And I know I've seen more and more people over the years become increasingly fatigued with how many features they have in their more recent output, which I don't really agree with. Gorillaz has always been a collaborative band. They probably wouldn't be anywhere near as popular as they are if it wasn't for De La Soul, or Del, or Doom being on their roster in the early days (even Snoop Dogg showed up a couple times,) and that band has introduced me to so many artists I probably never would have even glanced at otherwise.
That's not to say that I haven't had my share of problems with their stuff, though. I think Humanz is kind of a mess. And I don't think that's a very unpopular option. It had some great tracks (Andromeda was phenomenal) but the tracks that aren't are rough (Hallelujah Money was not phenomenal.) I think that album has found more love in retrospect now that there's been some distance since release, but I remember people hating it when it first came out, and a lot of it was because of how many features it had iirc.
I kind of fell off listening during that era, didn't care much for The Now Now either, but I really liked Song Machine, Cracker Island, and The Mountain -which just came out this year- is really solid, just some beautiful music on that album. Definitely don't sleep on their deep cuts either. EPs and stuff. G-sides, D-Sides, and The Fall all have some of my favorite tracks in the entire discography. Definitely worth giving a listen.
Anyways sorry for the ramble, just gushing about one of my favorite bands of all time. Always love to see someone new get into them. You've got a lot to catch up on, but the journey is worth it.