Gorillaz

Gorillaz is possibly one of my favorite acts of all time. Mostly everyone in the U.S, U.K and AUS are familiar with them, and they have a reach that extends to other countries as well. My first experience with Gorillaz was when I was twelve or thirteen years old. during summer vacation one night (one of many throughout my life) I couldn't sleep. I kept staring at the ceiling. My parents were very strict with my bedtime even until I was in high school, so often times I would stay up all night reading books, drawing pictures, or listening to Nirvana, Sublime, and Limp Bizkit on my head phones. I admit it, I like Limp Bizkit when I was a kid, but so did everyone else...don't judge me!

I digress! Anyway, I would often stay up late trying to entertain myself until I could fall asleep. At this point in my life I was starting to get a little more rebellious, and decided if I couldn't sleep I was going to watch TV. I knew that The Cartoon Network would show Japanese animation late at night that was uncut unlike the daytime episodes. I crawled out of bed, cautiously opened my door, stepped into the hallway where I proceeded to hold my breath and tiptoed as stealthily as I could past my parents room, down the creeky stairs, and into my living. I didn't turn the lights on. I didn't need them, I was so used to seeing in the dark and feeling the atmosphere around me for objects that I felt as comfortable as I do in the daytime. I found the T.V, turned it on, and immediately muted it as to not wake my parents. I turned it up so I could hear it just enough  without waking anybody. 

I put on The Cartoon Network hoping Gundam or Dragonball would be on in all of their uncut glory. Instead what was on was a series of animated music videos. I'm not going to lie, I was really disappointed --I was risking getting grounded for music videos? Well, I was already in front of the T.V so in my prepubescent mind I thought "fuck it," and proceeded to watch the videos. None of them were particularly spectacular and I was considering bed, when Gorillaz popped on. At first glance I knew I liked them. I hadn't even heard the music yet, I just liked their design and knew that they had to be good. I didn't even know what I was hearing. It wasn't like anything I've heard before. I stepped out of normal. It had elements of rock like Nirvana, some reggae touch like Sublime, and wasn't at all like Limp Bizkit!

What was intriguing was their incorporation of different genres of music in each song. Four songs were aired that night, and each one was different than the the last. They combined rock, reggae, electronica, hip-hop, and world music into a colorful tapestry of awesome. I watched each video, mesmerized by the cartoon characters and groovy beats. It was the closest to being on drugs I would come to for a long time. 

Gorillaz is a musical project with four main Collaborators. Damon Albarn, Jaimie Hewlett, Mike Smith, and Cass Brown make up the original and current members. They employ a wide range of additional musicians from around the world. It creates a unique sound with a grungey brit rock feel.

Well, that was long winded. 

tl;dr: Gorillaz have been inspiring since I heard them when I was 12ish. I have been listening to them ever since and love their visual art.