So I noticed that a lot of you didn’t know the history of the Gorillaz and it made me sad. I wanted to share with you my favorite period of their history, so let’s get into Phase Two: Slowboat to Hades.
I’m so excited.
If you missed it, here is the first stretch of the Gorillaz career.
Let’s talk more about Gorillaz.
I admit I rushed the final bit of the last post. In other words, I wrote a hella long post and wanted to tie it up so I can sleep. Deal with it.
I abbreviated the adventures of the band during their first (spoiler) split, not going into detail about the raven that busted Murdoc, Russel’s solo album, or 2D’s descent into increased stupidity.
Noodle can’t be skipped.
Noodle returned to Kong after awakening her incredible powers, finding it completely overrun by zombies and supernatural entities. Horrified (and like, barely a teenager), she locked herself in the broadcasting room with a smoking monkey.
Over the next few days, Noodle watched Western television for the first time. Seeing the false idols, the mass consumerism, and capitalist degradation of the soul… it changed her.
During the day, she ventured out into the halls and slaughtered beasts. At night, she went back to the broadcasting room. And she began to compose new material.
She learned that the brainless dead were drawn to the brainless marketing. The broadcasting room drew them to her, and she worked endlessly to fend them off.
But most importantly, she was writing new material for the Gorillaz.
After Kong was clean, she sent out calls to the old members. 2D and Murdoc arrived 3 March, 2003. Russel arrived shortly after.
She had an album to make, damn it.
Kong was still closed to the public (the website as well, which relieved Russel and 2D on their return) due to the necessity of producing Noodle’s album. Dan, the producer of the album Gorillaz, would not be returning. He was more in line with Russel’s musical style, but Noodle had a call for much more.
Murdoc talked to Damon Albarn, who called his friend, Danger Mouse. They had a producer.
The sheer amount of work and tracks the band recorded required them to move to London to complete their follow up to the musical world.
Murdoc’s friend, Shaun Ryder, was listening to a track and couldn’t hear in his headphones. He screamed at the band to turn it up. His response as he listened:
“It’s coming up, it’s coming up, it’s coming up, it’s coming up… It’s there.”
Noodle was struck by it, and created a song almost entirely of her doing. 2D provided backing vocals, but otherwise, every bit was written and produced by her.
He even ended up in the insane music video: DARE. (the second from the album).
Noodle reopened the Kong, and the website (to 2D’s dismay), on 8 December, 2004 as to premiere their newest music video, Rock It (leftover from their first album).
Early 2005, the band new they had to strike back with an outlandish music video to accompany their first single.
Jamie Hewlett and Murdoc argued for days, until it came back to Murdoc.
I want to pause to explain how Murdoc ran the band’s videos. Nine times out of ten, he gathered the band and started shooting what he already had planned. This worried 2D, who had an easy time working on Tomorrow Comes Today. Shoots like and Clint Eastwood center around blatant surprises to the band.
Clint Eastwood most noticeably includes the zombie gorillas… Who Murdoc had convinced to assist. Florence, the head dancer, claims that her friends had inspired Michael Jackson’s Thriller dance, and their performance was paying respect to the original rendition.
It’s all a bit wacky, but you should’ve expected that at this point.
Hell, Rock the House is a parody of the film Mister Freedom.
All of the videos were run by Jamie Hewlett. He was the marketing head and editor of all promotional material. With him on visuals, and Damon Albarn assisting in the music industry side, the Gorillaz had two A-list players helping their rise to stardom.
It’s important that I explain the spontaneous and haphazard music videos, for Phase Two’s most important moment is about the El Manana Conspiracy.
But that comes later.
We return to Kong Studios, early 2005. The band had a killer single under their (probably Murdoc’s) belt, and they needed to promote the new album.
Murdoc had control, so he wanted to go large. He built up a tower, rented a couple of helicopters, and filled a small island with helium.
Hello world, we have Feel Good Inc.
If you haven’t seen the video yet, I don’t know what you’ve done in your life. Hewlett’s flawless animation illustrates the band lounging in a corporate tower while Noodle floats outside on the windmill island.
2D thought that his repetition of the phrase: “Feel good” reflects how the material world tries to convince itself that they’re happy while the true world floats outside. A few minutes later he admitted he had no fucking clue what the song was about.
It doesn’t matter, though. The video aired a week after it first premiered on the radio, and the world has never been the same.
Fun fact: Murdoc was concealing narcotics on-set in his taint, when the bag broke. He was paralyzed from the legs down during the shoot. That’s why the ladies push him up.
There is a reason Gorillaz are the first British band to chart so high on the US charts for over a decade.
This single ushered in an era of Demon Days.
Gorillaz reached super stardom (as if they didn’t have it already with their Guinness World Record, performances with Missy Elliot, and various features). MTV Awards, Grammy nominations, and a sold out tour. They played five sold out shows at the Apollo, but Russel could not attend due to continuing to deal with his demons and Grim Reaper.
What could possibly go wrong?
Murdoc.
Murdoc is always the answer to that bloody question.
While on their first North American tour, in Mexico, and back at Kong studios, Murdoc felt like tampering with satanism and the supernatural. As if there wasn’t enough darkness in their lives.
After summoning endless petty demons, invoking the wrath of beasts, and even killing himself (wanna know why he’s green? he toyed with immortality. He’s a corpse who tried to tan, so he rotted straight green). With all his debts and enemies internationally, everybody around him could see the pendulum swing low.
After releasing Demon Days, the band started to acrue some enemies. Charles Manson’s brother starting hunting him down, trying to attack the satanist.
Murdoc and co. decided to follow up Feel Good Inc. with Dare, the aforementioned pop-track that Noodle pushed. By inserting a fun dance swing, she felt that she could balance the heavy vibe of the rest of the album.
The jaunty number was followed by Dirty Harry, a video Noodle used to continue her message of peace. Her Rock It video attacked idols, and this was firmly anti-war.
Noodle was on a humongous roll. And the fans loved it. Demon Days was everything anybody could have asked for from the group: a wide variety of musical styles, incredible guests, catchy tunes, and hard hitting themes.
Murdoc wanted more. He needed more. He told Noodle to go off and “build her inflatable beach”, while he plotted on what would inevitably be the grandest shoot the band ever made.
Murdoc wanted to follow up his success from Feel Good Inc. He got the helicopters back (no small feat, for they in themselves were now celebrities, highly coveted), and told Noodle to unleash her helium island. It was time for El Manana.
His plan, he later tells, was to have the island gunned down while Noodle safely parachuted away.
The day of the shoot, as the helicopters came in for their final runs, the island went up in flames. It became unclear if Noodle got to her parachute, or if it was damaged. When the island crashed, the entire band watched on, horrified.
Murdoc has sworn that Noodle made it out safely. Her parachute was found in the wreckage, clearly burned, but not clear if the beautiful guitarist landed with it.
2D and Russel could barely breathe. They fled the horrendous scene and the band broke up once more.
Murdoc promises fans, to this day, that Noodle has spent the time getting much needed vacation in Hawaii.
During a drunken binge on one of his radio broadcasts, he said something very different. Murdoc plainly states that Noodle is in Hell (from the period of the video shoot in 2006, to this statement in 2009), and that he believes he may have rescued her, but was too intoxicated to tell.
Noodle was gone.
In the epilogue of Rise of the Ogre, her distress signal from Hell is registered in Kong Studios basement.
Shortly after the band split, Murdoc burned down Kong for the insurance money and set off to find a new recording studio.
Phase Two: Slowboat to Hades had finished it’s course in tragedy.
The band was gone. Noodle had vanished. But Murdoc had his money, his conspiracy, and his power.
An island looms in the horizon.
To be continued.
~T.
LITBITSNSHIT 