I had never really listened to music up until last year, I had songs that I liked and would occasionally listen to the odd song on YouTube, however I was never really interested in actively listening to music. However, at the time, I was part of a friend-group which would often discuss music, meaning often I would feel alienated as I’d not be able to add anything to the conversation, nor understand what it was that everyone was talking about. Sometimes I’d be pressured into naming bands that I’ve listened to, so being someone who doesn’t listen to music, I’d just name the only song I remember being recommended to, on YouTube, which was ‘Feel Good Inc’ by Gorillaz. The person who asked me this however interpreted this as me being a Gorillaz super fan as It seemed like it was the only thing I would listen to and would characterise me as such to other people, until eventually, I was known as ‘The Gorillaz Fan’, which was ironic because I didn’t even listen to them.
One day, I thought to myself, if I’m going to be known as ‘the Gorillaz fan’, then I may as well listen to their music. So I sat down and over the course of a couple weeks, listened to all of their albums fully front-to-back in single sittings, starting with their self-titled album. It was the first time I had actively listened to music and also the first time I fully listened to an album.
It was also what got me into music in the first place, and now I have a collection of physical releases of albums I enjoy and have learned instruments to produce my own music.
The album is very enjoyable to listen to and also very unique, the art by Jamie Hewlett, matches the tones and aesthetics of the music, but also serves as a time capsule for the early 2000s culture and art. Damon Albarn creates a fresh blend of genres including rock, hip hop, pop, reggae and punk, which aids its accessibility and means that a wide variety of people can listen and enjoy something from the album. My favourite tracks are ‘tomorrow comes today,’ for its somber tone and amazing production. Clint Eastwood is another example of a classic from the album with its iconic lyrics, sample and feature from ‘Del the Funky Homosapien’. Man research is an odd track, named after the sample it uses from the album Manhattan Research Inc, it features really unique production with very unusual vocal inflictions on top, creating a memorable yet unconventional listening experience. Double Bass is a simple yet enjoyable instrumental track, which serves as a stand out break in the album. 19-2000, star shine and slow country are all fun to listen to with great mixing and performances. The vague lyrics, mean that whilst not much meaning can be gleamed from the songs outside of hints of obscure themes, it allows for more focus to be placed on the vocal deliveries and instrumentation, which are certainly the albums strengths. The album isn’t necessarily any form of a deeper experience beyond enjoyable melodies and choruses however it stands out by being ahead of the time it was released in and a great first step for a band in terms of exploration and experimentation.
Whilst the self titled album may be overshadowed by its far superior sequential albums being ‘demon days’ and ‘plastic beach’, it still is great on its own merit and holds importance to me at least for being introduction into music.
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