In reading my articles you have learned a bit about what my interests are, such as my love of The Beatles, ‘80s music, cartoons, comics, record collecting and reading just to name a few. The band that combines a majority of my interests are the Gorillaz.
I started to get into their music in my teens when I was just beginning to carve out my own taste and not just what my parents listened to. What drew me to them was the sound and way the group is presented.
But first let’s go back in time to the late ‘90s where roommates, Blur frontman Damon Albarn and comic book artist and “Tank Girl” co-creator Jamie Hewlett, were in their apartment watching MTV.
Both were bored with the music being played on the channel, noticing the abundance of boy bands that looked like they all came from the same factory. The guys came up with the idea of a virtual band as a response to this and the Gorillaz was born.
Hewlett, in a 2005 interview for Wired, went into more detail on what led to the idea of the band, “We were flatmates. One day, we were home watching MTV with our eyes just kind of glazed. Because 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 cartoon band, something that would be a comment on that.”
So with the concept created Albarn took charge of the music and Hewlett the visuals. Now, on the virtual band level, who are the Gorillaz? Well, the group consists of lead singer 2-D, bass player Murdoc Niccals, guitarist Noodle and drummer Russel Hobbs. Each album (eight as of now) are referred to as “phases”.
What sets apart the Gorillaz from other cartoon bands like Josie and the Pussycats (Archie Comics), The Archies (Archie Comics) and Alvin and the Chipmunks is that they are not a part of an existing intellectual property. The fictional members of Gorillaz have personalities and squabbles with each other.
As the years past the dynamics and appearances get slightly altered. One example is Noodle who during phase one is around 10 years old , but it has been over 20 years since their debut album. So now her character is in her early 30’s.
The fictional group functions as if they are a real one. They have a backstory on how they formed and they have given interviews (my favorite piece of Gorillaz media is their “MTV Cribs” video).
Their social media presence has them posting pictures at their house and studio. The world of the Gorillaz is like our own, but slightly more absurd. In real life they have won a Grammy (2006 Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals for “Feel Good Inc.” featuring De La Soul), and they have been nominated for many more over the years.
When I listen to their music or see an image of them, I wonder why someone is drawn to a particular artist. Did the listener come for the personality/image and stay for the music or vice versa? Why do we have such a strong connection to music? For example, why do some people feel a deep connection to Taylor Swift and others don’t?
In the beginning of this article I explained that the Gorillaz combined many of my interests, so I came for the image and stayed for the music.
We live in an age where people have instant access to our favorite celebrities through social media apps like Instagram and X, but with this access, they are looking at highly curated lives where they can control how they are perceived through carefully picked photos that make it look like they are living a perfect life.
However a paradox occurs where, as the viewer, we ask for authenticity because we think we know the person, but we don’t; we know the version they want people to see. Music especially can make the listener feel like they know the artist personally.
Listening to their songs and hearing their lyrics and the emotion in the singing makes us feel like we have been let in on a secret. To me music has the most artificial nature to it because the image is highly controlled, but it asks the musician to be the most vulnerable with their audience.
The Gorillaz image like many pop acts is meticulously thought out. Their image is integral to the music. The band asks the listener to suspend their disbelief while listening to them. You are not listening to Damon Albarn singing, but 2-D singing.
One of my favorite songs is “Busted and Blue” from their 2017 album “Humanz.” It is one of the more melancholy moments on the album. I have always interpreted the song as a commentary on our growing dependence on technology to make connections with people.
The second verse expressive these emotions perfectly, “I was asked by a computer/A shadow on the wall/An image made by Virgil/To rule over us all/ So amplify the sirens/And to find real amends/I’m through the echo-chambers/ To other worlds away.”
In 2004 for the release of their single “Rockit”, the band started their “Reject False Icons” campaign (the saying appears at the end of the song’s music video) as the beginning of their second phase “Demon Days.”
According to Noodle, “Reject False Icons means many things, one of them is to think for yourself.” We should be able to enjoy pop culture, but we should not make gods out of the people who make it. They are human beings who make mistakes like the rest of us.