Mark’s Pick of the Week: Demon Days by the Gorillaz

I was recently given some bad news. Apparently Damon Albarn made some comments in the Guardian that he might be pulling the plug on both the Gorillaz and Blur. Rifts between Albarn and members of each project have made him question the chances of anything new from each. I figured because of this revelation I should take a look back at the album that turned me onto the impressive catalogue that Damon Albarn has created over the years: Demon Days.

This CD is AMAZING. It features some fantastic collaborations. It was mixed spectacularly (by Danger Mouse none the less.) And above all was overseen by the musical direction of Albarn, who both takes the helm in the songs as well as steps back letting others into the spotlight.

Songs like November Has Come, Dirty Harry, and All Alone feature some impressive hip-hop contributions while songs like DARE, White Light, and Kids With Guns have fantastic beats that just make you wanta move. All these tracks have something all their own that they bring to the table, while the album manages to fit together perfectly.

The crown jewel of this album is by far “Feel Good Inc.” Some people may not agree with me, but I think everything about it is amazing and is really a fantastic crescendo to the first half of the album. The song is put together magnificently, De La Soul’s rap entangles itself perfectly with the chaos of the songs, and the music itself is just plain awesome. Even the music video, something I don’t normally put to much stock in, fits the song like a glove.

Even if this is the best The Gorillaz have put out, their catalogue is still very impressive. I wish I could say they will most certainly be putting out some more, but after the comments that have been made my faith is a bit shaken. At least we still have over 10 years of Gorillaz to enjoy. It might have to last us a long time. (Sad face)

Track of the Moment: Gorillaz, James Murphy & Andre 3000 - DoYaThing

Hello everyone! I'm excited to post my first track of the moment...about shoes! Well, it's not really about shoes, just made as a promotional tool for the shoe company Converse. The company has gathered three artists together for a collaboration in each of the last four years, but they had been nothing but a nice curiosity. The first song "My Drive Thru" with Santigold, Pharrell and Julian Casablancas of the Strokes was good, and the eclectic collaborations continued with featured artists from Soulja Boy to Best Coast. Some of these artists have serious music cred, some of them don't; overall, not much buzz was generated.

This year, the bar has been dramatically raised. Getting more of a dream collaboration than Damon Albarn (Gorillaz), James Murphy (ex-LCD Soundsystem) and Andre 3000 (OutKast) will be very tough. Each is a commercially successful and critically revered figure, and has been for more than a decade. I can't count more than two artists with that kind of status in past Converse songs, and this year we get three. Needless to say, expectations were high, but they were actually exceeded. I think that "DoYaThing" has a good chance to be regarded as one of the best songs of 2012.

The best thing about this dream collaboration is that spontaneity was strongly encouraged and necessary. After all, they only had 3 days holed up in a studio to come up with something good. Turns out that they did that, then went the extra mile. The final of the product of the brief session was a 13-minute, one-take, stunning freakout that had to be cut to the four and a half minute single length. Removed is the fantastic and completely spontaneous second Andre 3000 verse that centers around the phrase "I'm the shit!" Hilarious boasts such as "The sun is jealous of me!" are punctuated by full-out screaming, and sometimes the screams are chopped up or dropped an octave to thrilling WTF effect. Murphy leads the charge in driving this freakout, throwing in tons of chugging distortion and sending synth frequencies into the stratosphere.

Full version link: http://blogs.1077theend.com/endmusicdiscovery/2012/02/23/end-music-discovery-gorillaz-james-murphy-andre-3000-do-ya-thing-13-minute-version/

While the ending of "DoYaThing" is a crazy twist, the song works because Albarn, Murphy and 3 stacks all play exactly to their strengths. Albarn has his buzzing, Plastic Beach-era synths and "Rhinestone Eyes" style vocal delivery for his two verses. Most of Murphy's work is concentrated on the production, with quintessential LCD drums that are reminiscent of "Drunk Girls" as well as the aforementioned freakout. However, it's Andre 3000 who's the star of the show, going from a solid hook to two great verses, the first featuring a flow straight out of "B.O.B." and the second...well, you know. Those three elements and styles are classic on their own, but "DoYaThing" makes them sound like they were meant to be together. That surprise makes the song better than I'd ever hoped.