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Author Topic: Dis Beach Be Plastic  (Read 2110 times)

Glorb

  • Banned
« on: March 14, 2010, 04:06:04 PM »
It's the new Gorillaz album. Personally, of the three Gorillaz albums, I place it below their debut (Demon Days > Gorillaz > Plastic Beach). It shifts away from the hip hop influenced Danger Mouse production of Demon Days and towards the weird ecclecticism of their first album, which, to be honest, isn't always a good thing. Damon Albarn said it was the most pop album he's done, and he's right. The album is lean, with most songs clocking in at a radio-friendly three minutes. Also, every [darn] song says "plastic" as least once in the lyrics. Here's the highlights:

Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach wasn't as tongue-in-cheek as I had initially assumed it would be (I really don't think anyone has taken Snoop Dogg seriously as a rapper since 2000), but still has the signature Gorillaz not-taking-this-too-seriously approach, which gels nicely with Snoop's vocals and the Hypnotic Brass crew's, um, brass, to create a great 70s kind of vibe.

White Flag feels like two British rappers I've never heard of hijacked the soundtrack to a documentary about India. It's fun, and the first MC sounds like the singer from Bloc Party, except rapping.

Rhinestone Eyes reminds me of Dare from Demon Days. It's disco-y and catchy. Also one of the few non-colab tracks on the album.

Stylo is catchy and doesn't play it as safe as I would've thought, considering its the first big single off the album. I love Mos Def and want to bear his children, so I was a little disappointed that his part wasn't as big as I would have wanted. Of course, if this album were everything I would have wanted every track would feature Mos Def, Slash, Michael Jackson, Beck, and all of the members of Wu Tang Clan, so maybe that's a good thing.

Oh god, I love Superfast Jellyfish. Maybe it's because I'm getting a kind of Murs/Z-Trip vibe off it, but it's really because any time Damon Albarn collaborates with Second Golden Age alternative rappers, absolute gold is created. It's the closest thing to alchemy that's scientifically viable. I smell single!

Glitter Freeze feels like something you'd hear in a slickly-produced commercial for something relating to performance sports cars and supermodels - it's flashy and futuristic. The main vocals are deadpan, few and far between; in fact, I initially mistook them for samples from a speech or something. Not sure if that's a good thing or not, but I'm leaning towards "good".

Some Kind of Nature. It's Lou Reed with Gorillaz! What more do you want? I personally love this, though the drums bug me a bit. Something a bit more...live-sounding, thicker, would fit better, in my opinion.

Melancholy Hill, one of the eleventeen songs on the album that has the word "plastic" somewhere in the lyrics, sounds like a, well, more melancholy version of Feel Good Inc. Still manages to be pretty upbeat, though.

Pirate Jet has a similar vibe to "Every Planet We Reach is Dead". Bluesy and jazzy, but still very electronic and Gorillazy.
every

Chupperson Weird

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« Reply #1 on: March 14, 2010, 06:56:22 PM »
I approve of the album although it isn't as groovetastic as Demon Days. Melancholy Hill wins.
That was a joke.

« Reply #2 on: March 15, 2010, 04:03:04 PM »
Weegee's critique of Plastic Beach:

Lol, singing cartoon characters.
YYur  waYur n beYur you Yur plusYur instYur an Yur Yur whaYur

Chupperson Weird

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« Reply #3 on: March 15, 2010, 05:58:35 PM »
Where was your incisive insight when the first two albums came out?
That was a joke.

« Reply #4 on: March 15, 2010, 06:11:51 PM »
Waiting for an opportunity to discuss them to arise.

If I sent fan mail to Gorillaz, who would sign it?
YYur  waYur n beYur you Yur plusYur instYur an Yur Yur whaYur

Chupperson Weird

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« Reply #5 on: March 15, 2010, 07:00:36 PM »
Damon Albarn?
That was a joke.

Glorb

  • Banned
« Reply #6 on: March 15, 2010, 08:33:23 PM »
But Damon Albarn as who?

I'm pretty sure they said it was Murdoc on, like, the website or something.
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