What else should we react to? 🤔 Comment below! Also if you like the song in the intro check out ‘Love is Blind’ now 🤟ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-4YpIG60jyHY.html
Would love to see you react to the band AVATAR and their song Napalm (Live from Ages). They are from Gothenburg, Sweden. Johannes pours his soul into this performance
Gorillaz conceptually is fantastic its a mask that allows Damon Albarn to musically collaborate/experiment with any artist he wants outside of the restrictions of being the lead singer of Blur.
In the Lore of the band, Russel the drummer witnessed his friends get killed in a drive by and all their spirits possessed/haunt him, when he lays down a funky enough beat they come out and rap.
If I remember correctly, they also gave him his talent on the drums cause Russel couldn't hold a beat before they possessed him. I love the insanity that is Gorillaz lore.
Del the Funky Homosapien. He wasn't even the first choice for the rap in this one, just happened to be in the same studio, they asked, he said sure, wrote it in like 30 minutes, and recorded it.
Del was chilling with Dan the Automator waiting for a ride and Dan said to Del hey we don't have anybody yet to spit on this you should do something these guys are going to blow the fuck up...or something to that effect, there's a video of Del telling the story somewhere on youtube
The world of Gorillaz is definitely fascinating. They may be digital, but their world is ever evolving, like when Murdoc spent some time in prison and the band replaced him with Ace from the Powerpuff Girls' Gangrene Gang. A lot of the music Gorillaz puts out isn't really "my taste," but I love the band itself.
They’re very hit and miss. Most of their albums are half masterpieces and half decent or good enough tracks. Demon Days is still one of my favorite albums of all time though.
@@theradiantdehd3997 I mean honestly, if half of your songs are considered masterpieces and the other half are still considered alright, I think you're doing pretty fucking good as an artist.
Helpful also to remember that Gorillaz was the brainchild of Damon Albairn of Blur, and his flatmate Jamie Hewlett, who was the creator of "Tank Girl". They really wanted to create the whole audio/visual experience where both pieces worked individually but combined told a complete story.
"Dare" or "Feel Good Inc." next please. Love your breakdowns. I love these guys I remember listening to the Demon Days album start to finish on repeat. It feels like one big track the way it flows from one song to the next (at least to me).
Love Dare - is there really much to break down in that one? I can’t remember - going to go listen to it now as that’s given me a good excuse to put it on :)
The only thing I remember reading about Dare at the time was that the title and lyric was supposed to be “There” but Shaun Ridder couldn’t pronounce TH and could only say D instead, so they embraced it
Demon Days might be their best album overall. And the "Live at Manchester Opera House" concert that's been floating around for years is awesome. I used to put it on all the time when it was free on YT.
I believe it's quite important to watch their music videos in the order they were released, to keep the plot consistency. So next one should probably be Rock The House, then Feel Good Inc.
You’re gonna love going down this rabbit hole. The Gorillaz are about 30 layers deep in metaphors, references, and insanely in-depth lore for you to dig into and break down. The art style you mentioned of the band was created by the creator of the comic Tankgirl and the “band” is basically the lead singer of the band Blur and a revolving cast of guests from musicians to rappers.
Amazing how he never heard Clint Eastwood or feel good before in all his years of being an American on earth. It’s insane to me. I can’t understand how it’s possible
Seconded, an experimental sci-fi rap space opera? YES, PLEASE! "I want Knox to meet Del-Tron 0...and Automator..." Knox is the only reactor that I know of who actually recognized Del...so big kudos for that...
Fun fact the "That its all in your head" whisper if I'm not mistaken is only heard through headphones. At least that part never played on radio, and i distinctly remember just seeing Del mouth the words every time i watched this video when i was younger.
I have always always loved Gorillaz. But by far that is and has been one of the hardest raps I have ever heard. I been jamming on that shit for like 2 decades now.
One of my babysitters introduced me to the Gorillaz back around 4-6th grade (I have mental issues so I had babysitters until around high school just in case), and boy am I glad she introduced me to it, she was a cool babysitter!
The best part is that the entire career of Gorillaz is a story full of rich lore as well. From their very first song to the most recent one is a single continuous storyline. I'm looking forward to seeing you dissect these.
Fun fact about this track. One of the creators confirmed that the whole thing was essentially composed from the suzuki omnichords presets. The main beats backing track as well as when the percussion comes in, it's like 2 layers of presets. There's a video of him demonstrating it while being interviewed.
this is a blast from my teenage years, and ive found new insights from this song almost yearly since. these artists truly make musical art every time they put something out.
Wow this is old school. A great tune from way back in the day. Did you know the tune was a preset on the synthesizer he was using at the time. What a genius to make it into a belting hit.
Yes! Gorillaz are very underrated. Almost everyone knows Feel Good Inc. and Clint Eastwood, but they have some other amazing tracks. And they use rap flows a lot in them. Should definitely check out DARE, Rhinestone Eyes, Ascension, Dirty Harry, and on Melancholy Hill just to name a few.
This song brings back so many memories. I used to listen to it all the time and it was the song that woke me up on 09/11/2001 as I wearily walked out to the living room and my college roommate said, "Dude. America was just attacked." I laughed and was like, "Dude I'm hung over, stfu." And then facts. This song will ALWAYS trigger me to remember. And I appreciate it even more for that.
Yep...first saw the video clip at 20 years old in the early hours of the morning on Rage ABC - music night on Australian public broadcast tv. Was so happy to have had a VHS in and recorded that night, can't remember what band/artist was hosting but replayed the clip to so many friends. It's a great song alone but the clip was the best way to experience Gorillaz
honestly their entire discography is filled with bangers >< Dare, Saturn Barz and the entire Plastic Beach album are some of my favourites but the early works are classics, dirty harry, 19-2000 etc etc Have good fun listening to these folks!
"That's all in your head" is of opposite phase in each ear, so can be heard only when you have your headphones on - so it is all in your head, impossible to be heard otherwise. Neat trick playing between lyrics and production techniques.
For me, those few melodica sounds have always made the song. Del is fantastic, and the entire song is, but that melodica adds something otherworldly. It's simply perfect.
These aren’t just graphics, they are the characters, they started almost like a digital masked band and most people didn’t know who each character represented. We’ve since found out who most of not all of them are. They did live shows using only theses animations and recently they took over the 3D billboards in NYC Time Square you should check it out
Damn, you're really good at parsing out the words and their meaning. I learned so much about what he's actually saying in that moment. I'd love to see you react to their other songs, specially Feel Good Inc.
Bro dope reaction. Your one of the few reactors that recognized the funky homosapien as well. Only real hip hop head remember. 🔥 Gorillaz are legendary.
2:11 it’s not “I’m happy” it’s “I ain’t happy” & “I’m useless” which would explain the delivery. I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad I got sunshine in a bag I'm useless but not for long The future is coming on
How fun, when I first saw this in the early 2000s it blew my mind. I hadn't seen or heard anything like it, and I knew it was deeper than my experience could fathom. It was so fun watching you dig into some of the metaphor, and I feel like you went way farther than I ever could have. I would encounter Del in the opposite fashion later in my life. "Hey, this is Del the Funky Ghost Rapper from the Gorillaz." I hope your further encounters with the Gorillaz lead you to Plastic Beach, and eventually the Rhinestone Eyes animatic.
Your narrative really opened this song which I've heard for years. You gives it such an amazing break done. I wish this could be done for all Hip Hop to show the deeper lyrical beauty.
Omg, I could rap the whole thing but never knew it was about drugs... Your breakdowns are legendary man. "Finally someone let me out of my cage" is drugs hitting, now I finally get that line! Thank you Knox
I can sense a Damon Albarn rabbit hole on the way , Knox great breakdown , he had many guest rappers on his tracks . Damon is a rue artist in a few genres , looking forward to your next Gorrilaz breakdown 👍
Also I have want to say a big thanks to you Knox, since I've watching your channel I have gain a much better understanding of Hip Hop and rap in regards to bars, structures, cadence, punchlines and so much more. Because of your breakdowns I've been able to tracks on more levels and enjoy songs in newer ways. Thank you Knox keep up the great work, peace to you and yours brother.
“I can put on tights and get out on the dance floor and move my pelvis around”🤣🤣🤣 Knox I would pay good money to see that!! Also the line in the beginning “What in the Zombie Apocalypse is this?” 😂I love how your mind works not just in masterfully breaking down these lyrics but you’re personality! ❤
I love the gorillaz. They have some amazing songs. Clint Eastwood is my favorite for sentimental reasons and it's the first one I ever heard. I'm all for more. Shout out Ghost. Peace and love ❤
The gorilla could also be a nod to the expression "a monkey on your back", meaning something that's robbing you, holding you back from what you want to do.
I see a double meaning in "And I'm under each snare". Of course "snare" is about the drums, but snare is also another word for a tripwire, which is used to prevent intruders from entering unnoticed. So this "manifestation of drug addiction" is sneaking under each snare, entering you and becoming a problem without you ever realising.
This was the first single that Gorillaz put out, which is insane to think about how long ago this was. Jesus. But there's such an incredible depth to the Gorillaz discography. Truly icons for how they have been able to do something unlike any other artist in music both visually and stylistically. For review recommendations, their well know songs Feel Good Inc, Stylo, or Dare. Lesser known songs: 19-2000, Plastic Beach, and Don't Get Lost in Heaven + Demon Days are all great songs in their own right.
Thank you so much for your reactions. You really bring songs from my youth more near to me because of your lyrical break downs! I can appreciate songs way more. ❤❤
I just found you on YT and i do love diving into my youth with your reactions. Even when I'm still more into heavy metal. Loved your reactions to Evanecence. Born in 1984... That was my growing up time. Greetings from Germany.
My first ever concert I went to was Blur in 1996. That same weekend I got my first tattoo. Blur was my absolutely most favorite band and I still have all of their CD's. Also theirs was the first band shirt I ever bought, at the concert. It was waaayyyy too big for me so I just slept in it 😂😂😂 Then the lead singer, Damon Albarn, bought a house in Iceland and every teen girl (and some boys) would dream about Albarn (rumors say some were lucky, I'm not one of them though 😂). Later Albarn created this band, Gorillaz, and of course I love everything they do ❤
Throughout the song, he often connects what's going on to the drums, and how an industry, whether entertainment or war, is controlling people's perception. Like the drums of war, have soldiers march into battle, taking lives. And after Wars, we get war stories which tell us of those horrors, and how the lifeless can now enlighten what life is, it's priceless. So in the video we're seeing the graves pop up. And they're marching to a beat.
I'm old enough that I saw this play on Cartoon Network, original Toonami, during commercial breaks. It's where I heard the song first. This song was written in 30 minutes. Also, side note; he's not saying you make it without the basics. The line is "The essence, the basics without did you make it?"
Noodle actually grows older as the years went by, and there is some crazy lore for the band. For a little while they had Ace from the Powerpuff Girls show standing in for Murdoc while he was in jail. They also even did an episode of MTV Cribs where high was pretty funny
We gotta bring back those Mathers Days, prof! Do Em - Fine Line, which has one of Em's best polyrhythm flows, plus it'll certainly play on your heart strings as a Stan
LET'S GO! Pacman is another wildly good song, along with Rock the House, The Sounder, Saturnz Barz, Dare, Feel Good Inc, Let Me Out, and so so many more.
just a old nice detail: For anyone who is wondering how the "it's all in your head" part at 14:14 becomes inaudible on certain speakers, it works by way of phase cancellation which happens only in mono, but not in stereo. It's an incredibly simple trick, they just took the "it's all in your head" vocal, copied and pasted it so there are two identical versions of it, panned one of them hard left and the other one hard right, then inverted the phase on one of them. This means that when you listen in mono (eg. on a phone or laptop that only has one speaker), the two opposite signals combine and cancel out (phase cancellation), but when you listen in stereo (eg. on headphones or a stereo speaker system) the opposing signals each come out of their own speaker, which prevents them from canceling out, since they don't interact until they leave the speakers and meet in the air, and at that point there are too many other variables for cancellation to happen (or, in the case of headphones, they don't interact at all until they are processed by your brain, and your brain doesn't have built in phase cancellation).
I found this band on...NPR. They played a song along with an interview. I love this band not only for the music but also the messages within. I'm glad someone else has caught it! The Russel spirit is not negative. It is the voice that tells you to move just before a car flies by. It's the real driver of the flesh vehicle. Listen to it.
The coolest fact about this song for me is that you can only hear the "It's all in your head" line with headphones on, so when you listen to the song in public without them, you're left thinking "WTF, is it actually all in my head?"
I can't believe the instrumental to this song so catchy is literally the preset of a rhythm machine. I just saw one of the member revealed this and he played it on the video. Another fun thing is I used to do this as karaoke and I would get requests to do it which is funny looking back.
Ive seen so many of your videos, but this one sold me on your reactions. You understand the lyrics so quick and you break them down just as fast. Keep it up, man!
“I ain’t happy. I’m feeling glad, I’ve got sunshine in a bag. I’m useless, but not for long. My future is coming on.” I take that as “ I not happy, but I am glad cause I’ve got my fix in a bag. I’m useless right now but not for long because this hit will fix everything “ So basically the first few lines tell you the entire plot straight away and the rest of the song is exposition.
"I've never heard something sung so unenthusiastically for someone saying they're happy... there's that dripping sarcasm with it" You need to hear "happy" by Jenny Lewis. 10x dripping sarcasm levels.
