Plastic Beach

So I got this album the other day, pretty much the first big album of 2010, for me at least. I don't what has happened to me, but I feel as if I've reached the stage where if it sells in HMV it doesn't interest me, but if it's harder to get hold of I'd rather not bother.

Either way, this album came pretty much out of the blue, albeit with the heavily previewed single "Stylo" complete with awesome video. The single itself, however, possessed the distinct side effect of making me want to listen to lots more Mos Def. Lots and lots.

But before I get onto that its time to listen to the album itself. Its pitched somewhere between the zany Blur-like experimentation of Gorillaz and the polished conceptualisation of Demon Days. There are colloborations yes, including a verse-long cameo from (whatever happened to?) Snoop Dogg, which, as I read somewhere else, is possibly the best music he's made in a decade.

Others included are the aforementioned Mos Def, The Fall's Mark E. Smith (As opposed to Mark E. Smith's The Fall) and a rather pedestrian Clash reformation between Paul Simonon and Mick Jones. And many more.

The only danger here is that Plastic Beach is so colloboration heavy that 2-D's (or rather, Albarn's) vocals occur so infrequently that you forget its a Gorillaz album at all. Upcoming single "Superfast Jellyfish" could well be just the last in a long line of crazy collaborations by both De La Soul and Gruff Rhys.

What's happening here then, what with the dramatic shift between albums as well as the change of production (Albarn himself here, taking over from Dangermouse on Demon Days and Dan The Automator on Gorillaz), there's a danger of this virtual band losing their soul.

While you can hardly accuse them of running out of ideas, as the way this band are marketed and performed is still as startingly original as they were when they first came to prominense almost a decade ago, there's a danger of the gimmick taking over.

That said, the vast majority of this album is absolutely fantastic, with "Stylo", "Empire Ants", "Plastic Beach" and "On Melancholy Hill" all brilliant tracks in their own right, there's something vaguely wrong.

I would suggest it could perhaps be Albarn and Hewlett's loss of enthusiasm in this project coming across here. Both claimed that Demon Days would be the last Gorillaz album and Monkey essentially their last colloboration, whilst we, as fans screamed and protested the injustice as much as we did beg for "More films like the Matrix". Luckily, we have spared quite what we wished for this time, and there is more than enough here to satisfy those who have been with the group from the beginning.

It just all feels a bit... half-hearted.

Still, enough for a 7/10.

Monday Mixtape 05/01/09

This is brand new feature for 2009 (ahamagad) whereby I create a mixtape every Monday (that I can be bothered) of what I've been listening to and/or what I think you should be listening to to appear cool to all of your friends.

Occassionally there will be various themes, but this will all depend on the amount of effort I can muster.

Also, the mixtape will only be 10 songs or 45 minutes, whichever comes first, to ensure minimum effort on my part.

DATE: 05/01/09
THEME: none
LENGTH: 10 tracks, 35:29

1. CRYSTAL CASTLES - Untrust Us (3:06) (Crystal Castles, Lies/Last Gang 2008)
2. GORILLAZ feat. BOOTIE BROWN - Dirty Harry (3:45) (Demon Days, Parlophone 2005)
3. DJ SHADOW - Mashin' On The Motorway (2:58) (The Private Press, MCA 2002)
4. BEASTIE BOYS - Shazam! (2:26) (To The 5 Boroughs, Capitol 2004)
5. FRIENDLY FIRES - Paris (4:00) (Friendly Fires, XL 2008)
   
6. BLACK LIPS - Veni Vidi Vici (2:26) (Good, Bad, Not Evil, Vice 2007)
7. BORN RUFFIANS - Hummingbird (3:08) (Red, Yellow & Blue, Warp 2008)
8. WEEZER - Pork & Beans (3:09) (Weezer [Red Album], Geffen 2008)
9. GRANDADDY - Jeez Louise (3:41) (Just Like The Fambly Cat, V2 2006)
10. ANIMAL COLLECTIVE - Fireworks (6:50) (Strawberry Jam, Domino 2007)

Next weeks mixtape will be on the theme of early 90s North American Indie Rock. Maybe.

A Brief Update (BLURBLURBLURBLURBLURBLUR)

Oh dear I still haven't properly got this up and running yet, oh well.

Anyway, coming soon there should be by top albums of 2008, and when I have a chance, perhaps a look at some upcoming artists/etc.

Firstly, however, you may have noticed BLUR are back. Which is awesome on so many levels, and comes just months after Damon pretty much said it wasn't going to happen. An act I like to call doing an Oasis. This is because many of the things that Oasis have done (release a greatest hits, work on new material before 2010, play America again) happened just after they said that they would never do that. Oh well.

Incidentally, this seems to have also led to The Smiths and The Stone Roses to confirm/deny/drum up support for a reunion next year also.

So of course, I already have tickets and I can't fucking wait.

And for buying tickets I was given a promotional code for Damon's colloboration with old Gorillaz partner Jamie Hewlett and legendary chinese director Chen Shi-zheng, Monkey: Journey To The West and London's white elephant shaped dome, The o2 Arena.

It was pretty cool, to be honest, although if I had paid full price I would have been a bit peaved, to say the least. For the price we paid, however, it was a brilliant piece of thatre/opera/acrobatics that I would gladly watch again. Plus I'm 99% set on buying the Albarn-written soundtrack, and I would recommend that anyone who can afford the £60 price (or find a similar offer to mine) should go.

Plus it also reignited my suspicions to visit Kong Studios, which despite lack of recent Gorillaz activity, remains the single greatest band website ever.

I'm also pleased to announced that Arcade Eden have been snapped up by a label and will soon be releasing some of their tracks, but more of that later.

Finally, I have massive newfound respect for Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne.

See you soon.