Gorillaz - Stylo from mario ucci on Vimeo.
For many (most?) of us, the internet has surpassed radio, MTV, and other communication avenues to become the primary conduit through which we find new music. This has had some well-publicized negative consequences for artists and labels (digital piracy being the obvious). However, this development is a double-edged sword: unknown bands, given some deft self-marketing and/or promotion through the new media entertainment gatekeepers: blogs, Facebook, etc., can rocket to stardom perhaps quicker than ever before.
Now no doubt blogs and social media sites, as they continue to replace traditional media in the role of information-spreading, will fall more under the influence of people with the resources to execute traditional marketing campaigns. It has already begun: labels send promo copies to influential bloggers, hoping to curry favor among the new media set. But I digress.
The point is, anyone with a microphone and an Internet connection can now create and release a record. This is both a good and a bad thing. Overlooked talent has a new platform to be heard, but there is also exponentially more white noise to sift through to find something you might like.
This glut of availability is changing tastes, too. Increasingly, no longer do we have "rock" fans vs. "pop" fans vs. "rap" fans, etc. In the age when one no longer has to travel to a store, buy an album, come home and pop it in the player, but has the entire gamut of music available to instantly experience, people are finding their likes are not so easily categorized. The next time you see an iPod zombie shuffling down the street, staring blankly, knock him out, take his iPod, and put it on random. (Don't really do this.) You will hear Jay-Z followed by Lady Gaga, the Rolling Stones, and Linkin Park. You will then punch him a second time for listening to Linkin Park and continue on your way. (Really do this.)
Enter: Gorillaz. Blur's Damon Albarn forms a cartoon fantasy band. Sounded like a one-off side project, right? 15 million records sold later, with their 3rd album out as of yesterday, it's sounding like they're here to stay. Gorillaz is a unique phenomenon. Lots of bands have had rotating memberships, but they are the first major "group" (in quotes because Albarn is the only permanent member) I can think of to make the essence of their very existence a continuous collaboration with various third parties. Blending pop, dance, dub, electronica, hip-hop and more, Albarn sews the seams together with his production as guest stars float through on track after track. Take a look at a list of their collaborators, past and present.
Gorillaz is a "group" that, perhaps, could only exist in the present era. It's a "fantasy band" in more ways than one: Albarn is an iPod zombie, just like us, except he puts his on shuffle and makes an album from what he hears. "Oy, Danger Mouse. Love the beats. Come do some for me. Mos Def. Brilliant verses on The Ecstatic. You're in the band. Ah, Lou Reed. Velvet Underground. Wicked. Call 'im up." [Quotes from Albarn are verbatim.]
Ever wondered what would happen if some of your favorite musicians collaborated? What if you could pick your favorite singers, throw them together with your favorite producers, maybe call in your favorite rapper to guest on the track. Damon Albarn doesn't wonder; he just does it. The guy is playing his very own game of "fantasy pop group". And he's winning. With a job like that, how could he not be? Enjoy their latest:
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