Seconds later, the zombie gorillas themselves rise up.
Murdoc is grabbed by the crotch and pulled to the ground, a reference to the Peter Jackson zombie film Braindead. Shortly afterwards, zombie gorilla hands rise up from the ground. He begins to rap, leaving the other band members dumbfounded, and the backdrop slowly develops dark clouds in the sky, and enormous tombstones start to burst out of the ground, and the scene becomes that of a cemetery, as a shower of rain and thunderstorm begins. Russel's cap then begins to mysteriously rise on its own, and the ghost of Del appears to be emerging from under it. 2-D is seen wearing a T-Virus shirt most likely referencing Resident Evil. The band is seen playing their music against a completely white backdrop. The notes that the melodica plays are also based on the yell. An interpolation of the yell from the film's theme song, in particular that film's protagonist Tuco's leitmotif, can be heard at the beginning of the video, followed by sinister laughter from Murdoc. The video and song name is a reference to the famous western starring actor Clint Eastwood, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. This phrase was deemed offensive in some countries and a censored version was produced that omits this intro. The people it kills, get up and kill" in Japanese then in English. It starts with the Gorillaz logo in red against a black screen, and the following quote from the 1978 film Dawn of the Dead: "Every dead body that is not exterminated, gets up and kills. The animated music video was directed by Jamie Hewlett and Pete Candeland.
It took nearly two decades, but even Noel Gallagher came round in the end.The Gorillaz's first hit single Clint Eastwood was released on March 5th 2001 on their self-titled album. But the greatest testament to the strength of Albarn and Hewlett’s vision arrives when you play 2017 single “We Got the Power” and realize which Britpop legend is singing backing vocals. By scuffing away genre boundaries while they helicoptered collaborators in and out, Gorillaz anticipated the pop of today. The album’s reach was certainly broad-selling seven million copies worldwide-and its impact is still audible. Albarn wanted Gorillaz to be for everyone-a mainstream catalyst for exploring all corners of music. Gorillaz was dismissed as “music for 12-year-olds” by Albarn’s old adversary Noel Gallagher, but that wasn’t the insult he thought it was. Rarely had Albarn achieved such a fine balance of adventure and directness. Co-producer Dan the Automator injects an astral glimmer and rib-shaking bottom end throughout, assisted by Jamaican bass legend Junior Dan, who leads bittersweet dub odysseys “Starshine” and “Slow Country.” Listen closely and you’ll hear Tom Tom Club adding finger snaps and backing vocals to the wonky euphoria of “19-2000,” before Buena Vista Social Club’s Ibrahim Ferrer brings stately elegance and wisdom to proceedings on “Latin Simone (Que Pasa Contigo).” There’s no mistaking the careworn voice carried by rolling hip-hop beats on opener “Re-Hash.” Other Albarn identifiers run through the record-the sharpness of melody, the air of melancholy that hangs around even the brightest moments-but he calls on collaborators to help frame them in new, divergent ways. After all, who was a more convincing front for otherworldly adventures in dub, trip-hop, punk, rap Westerns, and bolero sounds? A man inexorably tied to Britpop with Union Jack bunting? Or Noodle, 2D, Russel, and Murdoc, a motley gang of vaguely apocalyptic animations?Īlbarn originally planned to be an anonymous part of the project, but that was a futile notion by the time this debut album arrived in March 2001. Retreating behind comic-book creator Hewlett’s animations gave him a new freedom to experiment. Even as Blur’s increasingly intrepid music distanced them from the creeping conservatism of Britpop during the late ’90s, Albarn had creative urges that couldn’t be satisfied within one of Britain’s biggest guitar bands. However, the concept of a virtual band had another appeal for Blur frontman Albarn: It allowed him to disappear. The traditional origin story says Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett conceived Gorillaz as a comment on the soullessness and artifice of pop at the turn of the millennium.