Thursday, September 15, 2005

While in the Van...

...I've been listening to the new Gorillaz CD. I haven't even begun to listen to the lyrics, so don't take this as an endorsement. The fusion of many different musical styles, the dark timbre of which goes with the comic book animations intrigue me.

It seems to me that the entire Gorillaz project could be a harbinger of things to come. For one thing it perfectly fuses audio and visual dimensions and it allows musicians who might be considered "over the hill" by younger audiences to continue to present them with music to which they might not otherwise be open.

I could do without songs that have titles like, Kids with Guns, although with a sound reminiscent of Dire Straits and a catchy melody, it's difficult to avoid having it play over in your mind.

2 comments:

Cathie said...

Why do you say "a harbinger of things to come?" Gorillaz has been around for years.

I wish what's his name would put out another Blur album.

Mark Daniels said...

Daedalus: Thanks for dropping by the site and for your comments. I guess one could say that the Gorillaz "has been around for years," since their first release came out in 2001, four years ago, although I would only use that phrase for an artist or band that's been at it for something like ten years.

But my point had nothing to do with how long Gorillaz has been around. Rather, it had to do with the model or the pattern they leave for other consortiums of musicians, animators, web designers, and other artists. I think that the Gorillaz approach works particularly well for musicians who tend to be dismissed out of hand if they get to be around thirty and have been on the scene for more than five or ten minutes. Gorillaz has also given Damon Albarn the ability to experiment that he might not have been given within the context of Blur.

The great thing about the Gorillaz format, too, is that, freed from the burden of touring, it could allow Albarn the ability to do more Blur projects.

Thanks again for dropping by and for taking the time to share your thoughts.

Mark