Introduction

You are now entering the harmonic realm

In 1990, shy guitarist and noise enthusiast Graham Coxon asked comic book artist Jamie Hewlett of "Tank Girl" fame to interview his latest band Blur. It was during that interview that Jamie Hewlett met the band's lead singer and keyboardist Damon Albarn, whom being his usual arrogant self during interviews, left a bad impression on the cartoonist. It was unlikely that the two thought that eight years later they would be sharing a flat together, yet alone starting a musical project. But after a night of watching horrible MTV programming, the two decided to form a cartoon band as a satire of the manufactured pop that haunted the pop charts and still lurks over mainstream culture today.

Gorillaz however are not just a side project of an indie rocker and a cartoonist. Gorillaz are the brain child of two underrated artists from separate fields combining their talents together to make a group that both deconstructs genre and plays with the idea of the pop star image. The characters (singer/keyboardist 2D, bassist Murdoc Niccals, drummer Russel Hobbs and guitarist Noodle) are more recognizable than the people who created it. Through Jamie's brilliant visual imagery and Damon's use of both catchy and avant-garde melodies, it not only broke America (something neither of them managed to do on their own) but also got young kids into music not normally showcased on pop radio like dubby reggae, punk rock, trip hop and even chinese opera. However because of Gorillaz mainstream success and the fact that its a band of cartoons, many people have been led to write it off as nothing more than a joke or a kids band (even Damon Albarn's bandmate Alex James, bassist of Blur, took a swipe at the group.) The goal of this blog is to showcase Gorillaz as an important band in the history of music, one whose ability to combine genres and make them their own is on par with the likes of David Bowie, Prince and Beck, as well as look into songs in the Gorillaz canon that are often overlooked in favor of their singles.