Making the video that made Gorillaz | Hacker News Reader

Making the video that made Gorillaz

animationobsessive.substack.com

222 pointsdarekkay58 comments

Demon days 4 eva

Gorillaz were an excellent exercise in reminding me as a youth that it was okay to build this sort of fantasy world and make it real. It was more than okay, it was cool.

If anyone has the Japanese minidisc kids with guns and they wanna part with it https://www.discogs.com/release/16025872-Gorillaz-Kids-With-...

my email is in my profile!

Thanks for posting this. I 'member seeing this video originally on MTV at like 3AM. Instantly captivated. I'm a huge fan to this day, but there's something uniquely special about all the Phase 1 stuff: the album, the B-sides (or “G” Sides lol), the explorable Flash Kong Studios site, the DVD, Jamie Hewlett's art†, the fact that the eponymous album as originally released is 55:55 (iykyk)

There's also a track on Deltron 3030 (an album I liked a lot more when it was new than I do now) which I have tagged as “feat. 2-D” instead of “feat. Damon Albarn” because come on :p https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxd_eDTbBMQ

It's also kinda funny that 2D's entire existence is just a stupid pun on Robert Del (lol) Naja a.k.a. “3D” (a.k.a. Banksy?) from Massive Attack, although the later Gorillaz albums strayed from the trip-hop thing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unTP4rn0nc4

And RIP Gorillaz-Unofficial https://web.archive.org/web/20071222221958/http://www.gorill...

† https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/13ub5EfL6YHel5_Gn36v4...

edit: and the art Jamie Hewlett is editing in the article's photo was part of the 19／2000 single: https://www.discogs.com/release/66714-Gorillaz-192000/image/...

What does 55:55 mean? I know ifkyk but idk and would like to k.

I wish I could but literally can't explain it because it's something I came to know via symbology and not via words, so I don't have the words to try and pass it on to others :(

Have you ever seen Interstella 5555? It's a documentary actually.

I cannot parse this response

Me either. Maybe it's referring to something like this: https://www.instagram.com/talkingnummbers9/p/ChAWR1utPOB/

No not like that, like as a general term for the Media Industry™ as arbiters for what ideas you're allowed to see and hear, like 555 fake area code in movies, like in The Heretic Anthem, etc.

I haven't, but it looks interesting so I'm grabbing a copy now :) Thank5555

Enjoy! Make sure it's a rip of the 2014 Blu-ray. I saw it in theaters in December and the “4K” remaster was totally butchered by running it through a sloppy AI-upscaling filter. Upscaling can be done well, but this is some of the worst I've seen in a while with outlines of objects & people shifting and wobbling from frame to frame even within a single scene. It was worth seeing for the theater-sound experience but looked awful lol

And please keep in mind that when I say it's a documentary I mean that in an allegorical sense, not that I believe there is literally a mirrored world of blue humans which we could travel to if only we had the technology. I see it as a depiction of an alternate way of being that Humanity could know if left to our natural predisposition toward Love and Oneness.

I see it as disclosure from Daft Punk about what happened to them after Discovery got so huge. It depicts the media industry as one tentacle of an inhuman system of control which lives forever by finding talented people whose work might lead others toward Oneness, pumping and dumping them, owning their work, and moving on to the next fad while the artists burn out to their coping method of choice (many depictions I won't spoil).

Scenes toward the end (sorry if vague — no spoilers!) do a great job depicting the actual “big bad” as an idea, a concept which only appears to take human form in rich and privileged people due to those people's own trauma but is actually something that's passed down to them. Some people would use the term “archon” but I tend not to because there are too many competing definitions. You'll notice how Crescendolls in their home “world” have no record label, no manager, no grueling tour schedule, no snooty award shows, no record stores — they just are, and it's a big party, and everyone is too busy having a good time and loving each other to notice the intruders who come to take ownership of them.

I don't think Robert Del Naja is Banksy? I think that's kind of an urban legend.

I think every theory about banksy's identity is just a theory, no ?

It's really impressive he has managed to remain anonymous for so long, really.

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/...

Banksy's identity is kind of an open secret, it's Robin Gunningham, people in the 'know' have known this for a long time. But we all every now and then partake in the effort of keeping it an (open) secret, for respect of the art and the mystique, and for the respect of the artist's very own desire.

As far as I can tell, this is just another rumour :)

>Deltron 3030 (an album I liked a lot more when it was new than I do now)

I only discovered Deltron 3030 a couple of years ago, fucking love it. Why do you like it less now? Is there a controversy around it or him?

Nah nothing like that. I still listen to it pretty often in fact. I feel like Deltron says what it wants to say, and I enjoy what it wants to say, but it never tells me anything new. I still find new interpretations in all of the Gorillaz albums in a way that keeps them fresher even though I have listened them all to death, especially eponymous and Plastic Beach.

Gorillaz songs do a great job of saying a bunch of different things all layered together, like literally about the fictional band and simultaneously allegorically about capital-H Humanity and our collective perpetuity, the mortal coil, the [G]reat Work, whatever you want to call it. They're all super coded once you're willing to stop caring about the opinions of people who think it's weird/cringe to think about that kind of stuff.

“Fire Coming Out of the Monkey’s Head” is a great example of one I only recently feel like I “get” even though I've been listening to it for twenty years. Like, why Monkey? Just because Gorillaz, or have I looked in a mirror recently? Why a mountain? What shape are those, and where else have I encountered that shape? Without the truth of the eyes, I was blind. Probably still am to a lot of it :)

Or “Saturnz Barz” where the title is about bars in a musical sense but also bars as in jail (hint: you're in it — we all are. They have Broken Our Love.)

Absolutely fantastic answer, thanks very much. Appreciated because I'm at a pretty good point in my life to minimise (or at least accept) preconceptions, and go and freely (re)interpret songs with a half-lifetime of experience behind me. Looking forward to it.

Del the funky homosapien is the singer in both - has a couple stage names, another good group he's in is called Hieroglyphics

Any idea if the Coco Pops ad of Candeland's is online anywhere?

This is 100% a guess as I'm not from any Commonwealth country and didn't grow up seeing them, but maybe this one? Timeline fits (1999), location fits (article says he's from Sydney), it's the only one I found that combines 2D animation with 3D animation, and some of the shots look surprisingly similar to the Clint Eastwood and Rock The House videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4xf475Du9E

That has to be it! Nice find! I searched for a while and came up blank. You can see how someone would see that commercial and end up with Clint Eastwood.

Thank you :)

>Guitar Hero 2 "Woman" Ad

>The Beatles: Rock Band Trailer/Opening Movie

>Motorcity

>Tron: Uprising

>Love, Death, and Robots: Ice

I always forget if it was Candeland or the other guy who was prominent in early Gorillaz productions, but suffice it to say, those videos spawned quite the rad pedigree.

EDIT: Forgot to add that, since this is a Gorillaz-related comment section, I'm obligated to state my personal esoteric theory that DD/PB/HZ constitute Albarn's attempt to reboot Dante's Divine Comedy. (Among all the other fantastic things those albums are.) (Think about it.)

Three more facts about the song Clint Eastwood:

1. The drum beat is just the Rock 1 preset of the Suzuki Omnichord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDX6l9_58RA

2. Del tha Funkee Homosapien wrote the full lyrics in 30 minutes with the help of the book "How to Write a Hit Song": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq2qSq6NpNY#t=373

3. The first version of the song didn't feature Del, but the British group Phi Life Cypher: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZM-DK3b5yuo

> The drum beat is just the Rock 1 preset of the Suzuki Omnichord

I wonder if you need to pay royalties or get permission for that kind of thing... or is license to use it commercially included in the price of the instrument?

IANAL, but you don't need a license to publish yourself playing a piano or a guitar, and synthesizers are also musical instruments. That said, I'm not sure that's ever been tested in court, so if someone wanted to be a right-wing asshole about it, like take over Suzuki and try to get royalties from every hit song that used it, I guess it might be interesting.

This came up recently, but generally musical instruments include a license for any music performance with that instrument.

Includes: "STYLES, VOICES, PERFORMANCES, PATTERNS, ARPEGGIOS"

https://usa.yamaha.com/about_yamaha/proprietary_rights_notic...

There are limits to prevent copying of raw sounds and reselling.

So that's the Left Hand Suzuki Method? :v

Re: 1, When I found this out I couldn’t decide whether I felt disappointment or admiration. Currently leaning towards the latter!

Deltron 3030 (the song) is a work of art. I can recite it in full. Lol.

I remember as a kid putting that cd in my computer and driving the car from the "19-2000" music video around. The physics were so mind-boggling to me at the time. I loved it. This article is bringing back those memories.

Actually, I'm not sure if that demo/game came from the CD or from a promo website. It's been so long I don't remember.

It was both. The game was called “Final Drive” or “GEEP Simulator” due to the name of the car and the original URL: http://web.archive.org/web/20011213230145/http://www.gorilla...

Here's a widescreen ver: https://archive.org/details/final_drive

It was a cool demo of the new-at-the-time 3D features in Macromedia Shockwave 8.5 (Director; not Shockwave Flash)

Woah... I can't even describe what it feels like seeing this again! Thank you!

Such cool videos. I listened to Gorillaz a lot when they first came out. Incidentally I’ve been listening to them lately as I’m learning to play the bass and the “Feel good inc.“ riff is super cool yet beginner friendly. By listening to it I got back into the band again

Ahh... nostalgia. Gorillaz, one of my favorite bands and listened to Gorillaz, Demon Days and Plastic Beach many times.

"I'm useless, but not for long

The future is coming on"

Coincidentally Gorillaz just posted a new clip video to their YouTube titled Nostalgiaz:

https://youtu.be/KQBlt1sfUhY?si=2WeBcrrQ1zDxZPi0

is coming on is coming on

Damon Albarn is a genius, plain and simple.

I've always been a huge Gorillaz fan. Such a good name because a group of gorillas is called a band. They have made some really unique music that is almost a new genre.

Aside from the numerous So Fresh instalments, Demon Days might have been the first CD my brothers and I played to death. Timeless.

I was 11 or 12 when I first saw Clint Eastwood and the video + the song lived in my head rent free. Genius work, and aged well.

I loved that song and never saw the video. I don't think a video made any band famous since the MTV era.

Was Ok Go's Here it goes again after the MTV era?

Right at the end. Loved that one.

>I don't think a video made any band famous since the MTV era.

Gangnam Style?

I know they were a hugely popular band, but I the only song I know is the one from the video.

You're missing out! Gorillaz, Demon Days, and Plastic Beach are all great albums. Their other albums are ok. Blur is a great band too, pretty sure I like all of their albums.

Also, if you like that rap verse, check out Del the Funky Homosapien/Deltron

Yeah Gorillaz is my favorite band and this video was the beginning of the journey. Remember watching it and being blown away by the music and the video itself

Deltron 3030 is one of the most amazing things ever!

If you love Demon Days and Plastic Beach, one of the things you probably also love (know it or not) is De La Soul.

De La Soul for legal contractual reasons didn't have their music on any streaming services until recently so a good time to revisit or to discover them.

Dr. Octagon has the same vibe.

> We may act different in some ways

> But we still grouped together like a fuckin' survey

Deltron 3030 -- Madness

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3EiAYQB0pY

Coincidentally the album Plastic Beach came out 1 month before the BP oil spill.

Gorillaz are still massive and were Grammy nominated last year.

I think they're bigger in the UK. Super creative band, I wish they got more recognition, even though I don't really listen to them myself.

This is the video that defined my identity as a teen.

Such an amazing band. Thanks for sharing.

Gorillaz are timeless. My teenage kids love them

I saw both Gorillaz and Offspring a couple months apart at the same arena venue and I want to say they're all in their 50s and the difference in audience was wild. Damon Albarn has been very successful at staying relevant to the younger crowd.

Feel Good Inc.

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