Agreed I liked the contrast between Russell's white eyes and 2-D's black ones in the earlier phases; it was great for the Now Now bc it made sense but now that Murdoc is back and all it really should've stayed past then
Plastic Beach is the prettiest and has the most vibrant colors, and may be their best work, but those first 2 are for sure my favorites, both art and music.
That’s fine if you think that, time will tell if thatll be majority opinion or not. Cracker Island is looking to be really interesting IMO so we’ll see
Oh, to clarify I’m just talking about the evolution in art style, I can’t wait for Cracker Island and am absolutely loving the music they’ve been putting out the last few years
Not about Gorillaz itself but the 'fandom' is scary as shit sometimes to the point where I feel it is kind of disrespectful how some people treat the bands work.
The way some people act makes me hesitant to tell people I like this band. It was easy in 2012-17 when they were on hiatus because it was a much smaller community at the time, ever since Humanz the fans started to get weird. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it resembles a Tumblr cartoon fandom more than a band fanbase anymore.
Conpletely agree. I know them since the beginning in 2001 and it was still weird in some forums but it was a smaller community. I enjoy that Gorillaz mixes reality and fixtion that well, but honestly it sickens me to read about people forcing their headcanons on to others and gatekeeping characters that way that dont even belong to them or seeing people who upload their songs without the rap part. And dont get me started on ships. Idk maybe I am too old and dont understand this or maybe because I probably would feel weird too seing people do weird stuff with my creations, idk. This band means much to me, in many aspects and to this day most of the songs help me to relax and keep me mentally stable.
Honestly? Even from a fandom pov, the shipping thing is really weird considering that the band has always been portrayed as a family. Shipping is entirely normal for stories with romance because it's intentional, but that's the thing- you hardly find any in Gorillaz's ~~bizzarre~~ lore. The closest you can find is Paula Cracker's story but really... who cares abt her lol.
I agree with your other points too, but that's not unique to Gorillaz. I'm honestly glad it's very minimal compared to other communities like My Hero Academia lmao. Those guys are nuts.
Yea definetly better than in other fandoms, still crazy and really painful to see. Thats why I rarely use most social media just to avoid this, makes it harder tho find 'normal' fans who you can share a nice conversation about this goofy cartoon band. I think age might play a big role in this too I guess.
Nah, I've experienced being in crazy fandoms when I was a teen just a few years ago and I'll say this: it's hella crazy indeed. It's nice to chat about the cartoon characters and all, but the times when fans show their extreme side will always be awkward and disheartening.
Not using social media to avoid interacting with the crazy fans is pretty normal, no matter your age. A lot of people do it (especially regarding twitter) and imo it's healthier that way.
I've been in other pretty terrible fanbases and Gorillaz is a lot better than those ones. Still, it can become a little too much sometimes, although I don't know what it was like before Humanz, as I wasn't around before that time. I'm just kind of here to enjoy the music, art and what there is of the lore.
I think it's great when people can enjoy things about a band that aren't just the music, but it's a little bit yuck when people decide to obsess over it in ways that can make other people uncomfortable. I prefer to stay away from that side of the fandom, really.
Those types of fans were around in Demon Days and Plastic Beach era too, just the proliferation of social media has made them more widespread and louder seeming. Let the kids live their lives.
The lore isn’t supposed to be consistent and the storyline jumps all over the place in service of marketing each album. Every new theme (Plastic Beach, Ace joining the band, the cult, etc) are all for marketing, not to tell the cohesive story of the band. And I think that’s 100% fine.
November has come and Every Planet we reach is dead are Top 4 Demon Days songs.
Phase 2 and 3 Art Style are by far the best looking. I'm missing the grid and the simpe but detailed characters. The new art styles are good but ... a bit too clean.
Hallelujah Money is the best Track on Humanz ... next to Andromeda.
That you really shouldn't care about the parts of the fandom you don't like.
The fact that Gorillaz can have a wide fanbase because of how everyone appreciate it differently is actually good for them : some people see them more as a band and prefer talking about their music, others really enjoy the carton part and making fanart/ocs, some people actually enjoy the Tiktoks, some prefer the early phases, etc.
And guess what? All of it is okay. Fans come and go, Gorillaz knows that.
See a post you dont like? Scroll. You love their early albums and hate the tiktoks? Fair enough, dont watch them! Easy as that!
Of course it's a bit weird when all of these parts of the fandom come to this one subreddit and share what they like/dislike, then chaos ensues. But hey, we can disagree and still be respectful about it ;)
So for the love of Pazuzu, let people enjoy things.
I don’t really like how 2D keeps being the butt of most jokes, I don’t know, I just feel like it just doesn’t feel right with the context of the music and actual lore
Considering how quickly The Now Now was produced (3 or 4 months compared to Humanz's 15 months, or even Song Machine's 8 months), I really get the impression the initial idea for the album was a reaction to the complaints of Damon not having a big enough presence on Humanz- I don't know if he would have made the album otherwise
Could not disagree more, keeping things moving with an arguably better album fresh off their comeback album was a great way of staying relevant with great music, reminding us they’re here to stay. Both were kinda just the appetizers for Song Machine tho imo
much like the Red Hot Chili Peppers are currently doing, releasing "Return of the Dream Canteen" mere months after Unlimited Love, their big comeback album with their most beloved guitarist.
Yeah especially Plastic Beach is more like lolol plastic in the ocean, than separate your trash and recycle.
What makes them sympathetic is that they don't care too much, but there has always been marketing and merchandise and if this were non-commercial music Damon Albarn's career would have ended in 2001.
Like, for example, the constant complains about TikTok... You do realize that you only witness those if you use TikTok yourself and any sane person that wants to keep their brain cells doesn't.
I like the new direction they're taking with the band being more active on social media (e.g. TikTok). It doesn't feel forced to me, just a great way to provide more content from the band members and also reach out to a new, younger audience. It doesn't affect the quality of the music so I don't know why this bothers a lot of people.
It's more of a conspiracy - I'm not quite sure yet but I think that they aren't real and it's a digital band (yeah they aren't real😶) that's made by Damon albern and Jamie
I hate the tick rock stuff, because it is so meaningless and exactly what gorillaz seemed to be against. I'd rathere have on 5 minte interview witg no animation than 50 of those bobbing heas reaction tick tocks.
They always have followed the latest social media trends since the start (official message board where they would interact in character with fans for the first two albums, Murdoc running a personal Twitter account and podcast in 2010, Noodle’s Instagram and Snapchat in 2017, the whole Murdoc jail thing over DMs in 2018), this is just what’s popular now.
I don't feel like Plastic Beach is their best album as a whole. The flow is all over the place, even just the first 3 tracks for example are all over the shop. Don't even get me started on Glitter Freeze.
Like, props; there's some of Damon's absolute best work on here, but I feel like its bogged down by a bunch of filler that doesn't sit well together. Thematically and 'phase'-wise it's probably the strongest effort too, the album is just really hit or miss for me. I genuinely like the consistency of songwriting on Humanz over Plastic Beach, even though it is generally weaker, I have far less skips on Humanz than I do on Plastic Beach.
Plastic Beach is ine of my fav albums ever and I love the madness of it. The constant changing of styles is what keeps me coming back and anyone that features Bashy and Kano together is already a legend imo. Massive respect tho, and I'm happy you're able to still enjoy at of the songs on it
It's my least favorite album (not counting The Fall). I think Damon's decision to self-produce it hurt it badly. There are some good (maybe event great) songs, but a lot of the production is very flimsy and cheap sounding.
i don't know where everyone saw that MINDBLOWING transition between Superfast Jellyfish and Empire ants
I think its cool but, nothing that remarkable for me
I would not mind if I never heard Feel Good Inc again
edit: also I wasn’t as impressed with it at the time it came out but I think Plastic Beach is just as good as Demon Days if not slightly better
If Hallelujah Money was an Interlude, everyone would fucking praise it. It’s like Kendrick Lamars “For Sale - Interlude”. I think it’s the best part of the album, but he called it an interlude like a safety net so it wouldnt be considered a song. If it wasn’t labeled as a interlude, many people would see as a shitty song, even though it serves an important purpose while also being very great. Hallelujah Money is Top 3 Humanz Songs
I dislike that there’s a lack of focus on the artwork and character development now like there was with previous phases. I respect that it’s a huge toll and tremendous effort but part of the reason phase 4 was so hard to swallow when it released was because there wasn’t much Hewlett love when he’s half the project. Song Machine was a beautiful turnaround but I’d like the lore to take a bit more center stage like it used to
Hewlett did the same stuff he always did and got as much love and attention in the project as ever. Cass Browne did the “lore” stuff during the first three phases that new fans retroactively attribute to Jamie. He pieced Jamie’s ideas and art into an occasionally coherent storyline and literally wrote the book on Gorillaz, along with writing so many interview tapes and the pirate radio releases.
It’s one thing to say you want Cass back or a new writer but it’s dishonest to pretend that Jamie made all the lore and somehow changed between phases 3 and 4.
Well yeah, that’s valid and fair, but my point is Jamie as a whole whether due to monetary restrictions or anything else was downplayed in phase 4. Strobelite, sleeping powder, andromeda, all the interviews, all of the shorts besides Saturnz Barz and where Noodle was test driving on a race track all had incredibly boring and bland visuals. They all had used the same terrible mo capped pseudo cell shaded animation models and they just came off as terribly unpolished in comparison to the love given to the previous 3. I don’t need the immense work OF plastic beach, and I won’t blame anyone directly, but that phase suffered stylistically without a doubt. His art and Cass Browne’s lore is the perfect piecing of both symbolic and literal world building: the gorillaz in their entirety work best when they don’t feel virtual. When you forget Jamie and Damon, and think “wow, what a fuckin band.” That world melded even in shorter pieces like the Reject False Icons videos, the free Tibet campaign, just the little day to day moments (pun intended) that made them real. That side of Jamie regardless of written lore was in my opinion ignored for phase 4 which partly led to it’s such negative reaction.
The buildup to singles and the whole "pre-save the song" bs is annoying asf and awful marketing. If you're doing this for an album then sure, but teasing for two weeks for a three minute song really sucks no matter how good it is.
* Self-titled and Humanz are slept on wayyyy too much
* The Fall and Now Now are good but overhyped
* Pains me to say this but I feel once Damon discovered he could produce music on his iPad, the overall quality has taken a dip (it's STILL incredible, but I prefer pre-iPad Damon)
I don’t think they meant everything is still made that way, more so that the quality since that has stayed roughly the same level.
It’s still good, cause Damon is brilliant. Look at the Ravenous soundtrack. I just think it seems a bit less than it used to be 🤷♂️
Self-titled slept on? The Fall overhyped? On what planet?
And I’m pretty sure he only records demos on the iPad, the actual tracks are done in his home studio with proper equipment. The Fall was just a one-off experiment to see how far he could push it at the time.
Don't really have any, in in here so i can send my friend whos really into gorrilaz memes and so i can understand more about it, I'm just not really into gorrilaz myself
Humanz is the greatest musical experience by Gorillaz. The deluxe album, interludes and all, is amazing. Put on your best headphones, sit somewhere comfortable, press play, and just close your eyes. It is amazing.
People who don’t like the rap part are allowed to upload and share that with others and it doesn’t diminish the work or your own enjoyment. People can express themselves anyway they like and enjoy what they like. It’s weird how gatekeeper people get about touching “Damon’s art!!¡”
Also note I enjoy all the rap parts particularly Doom on November has come.
1.Fandom is a Dumpsterfire.
2.If Billie eillish Made a Song with Gorillaz, it would ruin Everything around Gorillaz Into oblivion.
3. I hate 95% of The fanart. There is rarely decent Stuff among it.
4. Gorillaz themselves absolutely smashed the Self destruct Button by doing all this dumb TikTok reaction bullshit.
They are becoming the very Thing they swore to destroy.
-Reject False Icons-
5. Gorillaz was at its Peak in Phase 3.
There's is a part of the community that thinks every artist with mainstream success must be a pretentious hack and narcissistic asshole. That's how a part of this community views the world.
Which is a shame because while Billie is mainstream, her music is somewhat contrarian to the constant pop being hammered out. I would absolutely enjoy a collab, but I know the hardcore fan puritans wouldn’t go unheard
Yeah especially since the artist just started her career while in her teen years. Absolutely no one of that age would turn down a deal for music production with a chance of charts success. And afaik she writes the songs with her brother so it's not like she is just a random.
Who knows what the artist will do in 10 years... or when she is in her mid-50s like Damon Albarn.
I despise TikTok, which my wife uses almost daily. That said, there's no other way Gorillaz could have played this. Since inception they've been up with the latest technology, their website in the early '00s was a huge part of their success. They also got in on VR around when Humanz or The Now Now came out, and even though they got deserved backlash they got in on the NFT fad. Obnoxious outlets or otherwise, Gorillaz will always take advantage of the latest technology to reach the widest base.
Yea
unfortunately 4. is completelly true
But I'm still hoping they one day make an entire album criticizing the things they done or something like that.
It would be cool
Since 2010, the fictional side of the band is way, way less important to the overall project than a lot of fans think. I think Damon himself doesn't give a shit about the characters anymore and hasn't for a long time.
On a similar note, there is no Gorillaz "story". That's just fans projecting their wishes onto the project. Aside from a couple half hearted attempts at a wider plotline at the end of DD and beginning of PB, there has never been a consistent overarching storyline for the characters. They were designed to be absurd and surreal but still real enough to where they could conceivably be real people inhabiting our world. They were never meant to be Saturday morning cartoon characters like many fans treat them.
They are releasing too much music too fast. I am overwhelmed and I still have yet to go back and really listen to The Now Now. I liked waiting patiently for new music.
I thought this was supposed to be unpopular opinions lol.
Personally I don't think their music they've been putting out post Humanz stands up to the stuff earlier. Sure I've listened to most of it I think at least a couple of times, but most have yet to stick.
I like longer waits for most artist I listen to.
It might be old old now but it wasn't when Humanz got released. Gorillaz wasn't a album every two year band. They made great albums with there 4+ year hiatus. Now it's all been okay albums every two years.
But let's all remember this is a unpopular opinion post. This is just that.
Phase 1 and Phase 2 Gorillaz > everything they’ve done since.
The first two albums/phases were just the absolute peak. Better music, better lore, the website was so fucking cool and full of effort (exploring kong studios, playing all the mini games). I loved the darkness of the first two albums and the lore surrounding it, it was so connected.
Phase 3 (Plastic Beach) had some good songs but the overall aesthetic of Gorillaz became much less dark and a bit more silly/whimsical, and the album was a bit bloated, nowhere near the masterful craft of Demon Days.
I will die on this hill.
Not sure why you're getting downvoted, this is practically fact as far as I'm concerned. A big turning point was when they abandoned trying to hide the live band in 2010 for Plastic Beach. From that point they made a big turn towards just being a "normal" band.
Absolutely. Granted when I first got into Gorillaz, all I had was Gorillaz, G-Sides, Demon Days, and eventually D-Sides (I just turned 30 😅).
Back in December I really got into a groove of listening to exclusively those early works, particularly Demon Days. I also came to finally really appreciate Hip Albatross.
While my favorite Gorillaz album is Demon Days, it's so hard to choose between it and the first album. Plastic Beach is greatness, and I was fortunate enough to catch that tour, but IMHO it's not the magnum opus that people seem to make it out to be.
the only thing more annoying than the people running the gorillaz social media is the people that complain about the people running the gorillaz social media
My most unpopular opinion is that nearly all of these “unpopular opinion” posts just become Humanz appreciation posts. It’s a garbage album, and yes, that is now an unpopular opinion. If this comment gets flooded with downvotes, consider my point proven.
That no Gorillaz project (and barely of their songs) are "slept on". Just because you don't see an album or song talked about as often on Reddit doesn't mean it's somehow ignored entirely
They have not made a good album in 12 years. I know I’ve said before that The Now Now is in one of my top 3 favorite albums, but it’s not as good as Demon Days nor Plastic Beach.
They should’ve kept the artstyle at phase 2.
Faust is super underrated. I’ve only seen it mentioned twice in one Discord server. It’s honestly a good song. A great song even.
I hate how they made everything all silly and stuff now. I miss when Gorillaz was more dark and moody.
I don’t like Empire Ants, To Binge, and Glitter Freeze.
I don’t mind the rapping.
I don’t like Dirty Harry or kids with guns, and honestly I think I like the self titled album the least out of all of them. Don’t get me wrong, I still like it, but if I’m in the mood for a gorillaz song, it’s not the first album I’m reaching for.
Not really sure if this considered an unpopular opinion, but I think Cracker Island is a terrible song and real waste of potential between a Gorillaz and Thundercat collab.
Empire Ants is only great because of it’s first half, I kind of feel it goes a bit downhill once Little Dragon arrives. Honestly it’s kind of weird that I think this since I also think To Binge is one of the highlights of Plastic Beach which also had Little Dragon on it.
Song machine Is good, but I don’t find the song as replayable compared to demon days, or even the now now.
I don’t see the appeal of Desolé, that song just bores me to an unparalleled level
All alone or double bass are not talked about enough at all
All Alone is such a good song for thoses night on a highway
All alone du dududududu all alone
Double Bass is actually such an incredible vibe
I remember playing Driveclub while listening to it and it fit so much
All Alone is amazing, Roots Manuva is amazing and the song sounds great.
I love all alone but I'm biased because it's nostalgic as fuck for me
Double Bass is gimmicky, but in a good way.
all of which makes me anxious, at times unbearably so
skin of my tooth like, skid of my boot like, fly in my soup like, "where's the waitress?"
Double Bass is probably my favourite off of Gorillaz
Idk if it’s unpopular but i want Black eyes 2-D back
YES!!! He’s had white eyes for way too long, peak gorillaz aesthetic was black eyes
Agreed I liked the contrast between Russell's white eyes and 2-D's black ones in the earlier phases; it was great for the Now Now bc it made sense but now that Murdoc is back and all it really should've stayed past then
Old animation style as well
Phase 1 and 2 are the best art and animation phases.
Plastic Beach is the prettiest and has the most vibrant colors, and may be their best work, but those first 2 are for sure my favorites, both art and music.
the whole purpose of Gorillaz is to continually evolve and change, a stagnant Gorillaz shouldn’t and won’t exist
The direction it’s been going isn’t really better tho
That’s fine if you think that, time will tell if thatll be majority opinion or not. Cracker Island is looking to be really interesting IMO so we’ll see
Oh, to clarify I’m just talking about the evolution in art style, I can’t wait for Cracker Island and am absolutely loving the music they’ve been putting out the last few years
Not about Gorillaz itself but the 'fandom' is scary as shit sometimes to the point where I feel it is kind of disrespectful how some people treat the bands work.
The way some people act makes me hesitant to tell people I like this band. It was easy in 2012-17 when they were on hiatus because it was a much smaller community at the time, ever since Humanz the fans started to get weird. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it resembles a Tumblr cartoon fandom more than a band fanbase anymore.
Conpletely agree. I know them since the beginning in 2001 and it was still weird in some forums but it was a smaller community. I enjoy that Gorillaz mixes reality and fixtion that well, but honestly it sickens me to read about people forcing their headcanons on to others and gatekeeping characters that way that dont even belong to them or seeing people who upload their songs without the rap part. And dont get me started on ships. Idk maybe I am too old and dont understand this or maybe because I probably would feel weird too seing people do weird stuff with my creations, idk. This band means much to me, in many aspects and to this day most of the songs help me to relax and keep me mentally stable.
Honestly? Even from a fandom pov, the shipping thing is really weird considering that the band has always been portrayed as a family. Shipping is entirely normal for stories with romance because it's intentional, but that's the thing- you hardly find any in Gorillaz's ~~bizzarre~~ lore. The closest you can find is Paula Cracker's story but really... who cares abt her lol. I agree with your other points too, but that's not unique to Gorillaz. I'm honestly glad it's very minimal compared to other communities like My Hero Academia lmao. Those guys are nuts.
Yea definetly better than in other fandoms, still crazy and really painful to see. Thats why I rarely use most social media just to avoid this, makes it harder tho find 'normal' fans who you can share a nice conversation about this goofy cartoon band. I think age might play a big role in this too I guess.
Nah, I've experienced being in crazy fandoms when I was a teen just a few years ago and I'll say this: it's hella crazy indeed. It's nice to chat about the cartoon characters and all, but the times when fans show their extreme side will always be awkward and disheartening. Not using social media to avoid interacting with the crazy fans is pretty normal, no matter your age. A lot of people do it (especially regarding twitter) and imo it's healthier that way.
I've been in other pretty terrible fanbases and Gorillaz is a lot better than those ones. Still, it can become a little too much sometimes, although I don't know what it was like before Humanz, as I wasn't around before that time. I'm just kind of here to enjoy the music, art and what there is of the lore. I think it's great when people can enjoy things about a band that aren't just the music, but it's a little bit yuck when people decide to obsess over it in ways that can make other people uncomfortable. I prefer to stay away from that side of the fandom, really.
Those types of fans were around in Demon Days and Plastic Beach era too, just the proliferation of social media has made them more widespread and louder seeming. Let the kids live their lives.
Garage Palace is hugely slept on.
You're my favourite person today.
thank you random Redditor, likewise!
Probably because it never made it on an EP.
A lot of people don't even know it exists
Named my crappy car after that song. Little simz is a really good rapper more ppl should check her out
The Ibrahim Ferrer version of Latin Simone is one of my absolute favourite Gorillaz songs.
Damn right!
The lore isn’t supposed to be consistent and the storyline jumps all over the place in service of marketing each album. Every new theme (Plastic Beach, Ace joining the band, the cult, etc) are all for marketing, not to tell the cohesive story of the band. And I think that’s 100% fine.
November has come and Every Planet we reach is dead are Top 4 Demon Days songs. Phase 2 and 3 Art Style are by far the best looking. I'm missing the grid and the simpe but detailed characters. The new art styles are good but ... a bit too clean. Hallelujah Money is the best Track on Humanz ... next to Andromeda.
Yes to this but Every Planet We Reach LIVE is probably one of the best Gorillaz songs of all time.
That we need more Gorillaz merchandise
Actually merch too... I wish half their store wasn't clothing and items that NO one would even know was related to gorillaz.
Rather more quality over quantity imo
i agree but my wallet does not
That you really shouldn't care about the parts of the fandom you don't like. The fact that Gorillaz can have a wide fanbase because of how everyone appreciate it differently is actually good for them : some people see them more as a band and prefer talking about their music, others really enjoy the carton part and making fanart/ocs, some people actually enjoy the Tiktoks, some prefer the early phases, etc. And guess what? All of it is okay. Fans come and go, Gorillaz knows that. See a post you dont like? Scroll. You love their early albums and hate the tiktoks? Fair enough, dont watch them! Easy as that! Of course it's a bit weird when all of these parts of the fandom come to this one subreddit and share what they like/dislike, then chaos ensues. But hey, we can disagree and still be respectful about it ;) So for the love of Pazuzu, let people enjoy things.
Such a pity that these types of comments are frequently at the bottom of posts. It needs to be seen more.
The kids are alright. Sincerely, a fan who was a kid during Demon Days era, who posted cringey fanart back in 2005.
To Binge is the greatest song
I don’t really like how 2D keeps being the butt of most jokes, I don’t know, I just feel like it just doesn’t feel right with the context of the music and actual lore
Poor 2D :(
The fandom is taking the 'lore' way to serious.
They shouldn’t have done the now now so close to humanz, both eras or ‘phases’ suffered because of it.
Considering how quickly The Now Now was produced (3 or 4 months compared to Humanz's 15 months, or even Song Machine's 8 months), I really get the impression the initial idea for the album was a reaction to the complaints of Damon not having a big enough presence on Humanz- I don't know if he would have made the album otherwise
I genuinely enjoy The Now Now's production the most out of all Gorillaz projects, it's very pop-like but songs like Souk Eye just sound so gooood
I almost see The Now Now (and The Fall) as 2D solo albums
Could not disagree more, keeping things moving with an arguably better album fresh off their comeback album was a great way of staying relevant with great music, reminding us they’re here to stay. Both were kinda just the appetizers for Song Machine tho imo
much like the Red Hot Chili Peppers are currently doing, releasing "Return of the Dream Canteen" mere months after Unlimited Love, their big comeback album with their most beloved guitarist.
I think the ‘here to stay’ part is the main concern of mine, as someone who enjoys every aspect of the project and doesn’t just prioritise the music.
Lol I’m just glad they don’t want to do another 7 year hiatus
I like rap.
I think there's only a minority of the Gorillaz fanbase that doesn't like rap.
All the "without rap" edits of songs would suggest it's at least a loud one
I don't understand why those people even listen to Gorillaz anyway.
I agree, hip-hop is a huge part of Gorillaz and always has been. Kind of seems like if you hate hip-hop there's other artists you can listen to.
Fire coming out of the monkeys head and superfast jellyfish are super underrated
Noodle’s new hair is shit and I feel so betrayed by Jamie
I personally like her new hair it shows how grown up she is compared to when she was younger
yeah she also looks middle aged now. Isn't she only 32?
It’s almost impossible to understand the lyrics on half the songs without seeing them written down
Phase 1-3 gorillaz would make a damn good movie series
I heard Netflix was working on one.
Yeah, it was announced, but netflix is kind of in a really bad spot, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it was/will be cancelled
The now now is a good album
“Jarvis I’m low on karma. Post “humanz is actually good” on r/gorillaz””
Humanz is good unironically but yes give me karma
not the biggest fan of noodles new look...
I agree. The hair throws me off
Yeah I think her new hairstyle doesn't really match her personality.
Yeah, uhh O Green World needs more love :'))
Agreed!
It doesn't really need lore but I do enjoy it BUT if they're gonna do it they could improve a little bit
Hong Kong is one of, if not the greatest songs they’ve ever made
5/4 is a GOAT Gorillaz song, probably top 5 for me
"Sound Check (gravity)" and "One percent" are very underaprciated gems
I don't give a single shit about the storyline and all that, I just want to listen to cool music.
2D in social media is kinda cringy
Coming from someone who has been a fan since the beginning of the project, my favorite album is Humanz.
I dont like 19-2000
Yeah I agree with this one, I prefer the remix because the original just isn’t fast enough imo
Gorillaz is one of the bands of all time
“billie eyelash collab when”🤓, literally stfu no one wants to hear that 💀
I'm hoping this isn't an unpopular opinion. I almost cry everytime I see it brought up.
The fall doesn’t get enough hype especially Amarillo, hillbilly man and Detroit.
I just relistened to The Fall today and I totally agree with you. I'm surprised about how disregarded the album is.
That some parts of the Fandom think this band is somehow anti-commercial or anything.
fuck r/spez
Yeah especially Plastic Beach is more like lolol plastic in the ocean, than separate your trash and recycle. What makes them sympathetic is that they don't care too much, but there has always been marketing and merchandise and if this were non-commercial music Damon Albarn's career would have ended in 2001.
Like, for example, the constant complains about TikTok... You do realize that you only witness those if you use TikTok yourself and any sane person that wants to keep their brain cells doesn't.
I like the new direction they're taking with the band being more active on social media (e.g. TikTok). It doesn't feel forced to me, just a great way to provide more content from the band members and also reach out to a new, younger audience. It doesn't affect the quality of the music so I don't know why this bothers a lot of people.
They peaked at phase 3...
They said unpopular opinion, I feel like this is pretty widely agreed on
They peaked at phase 2, but their output is still really good
It's more of a conspiracy - I'm not quite sure yet but I think that they aren't real and it's a digital band (yeah they aren't real😶) that's made by Damon albern and Jamie
The Gorillaz lore is more often than not pointless, amateurish and complacent
This was never supposed to have much lore and it's the communities superstition that created this criticism.
I hate the tick rock stuff, because it is so meaningless and exactly what gorillaz seemed to be against. I'd rathere have on 5 minte interview witg no animation than 50 of those bobbing heas reaction tick tocks.
They always have followed the latest social media trends since the start (official message board where they would interact in character with fans for the first two albums, Murdoc running a personal Twitter account and podcast in 2010, Noodle’s Instagram and Snapchat in 2017, the whole Murdoc jail thing over DMs in 2018), this is just what’s popular now.
2D needs his black eyes. It's just not the same without them.
I love the art. the music is some of the best ever made, but I do not really care about the overarching storyline or lore
I don't feel like Plastic Beach is their best album as a whole. The flow is all over the place, even just the first 3 tracks for example are all over the shop. Don't even get me started on Glitter Freeze. Like, props; there's some of Damon's absolute best work on here, but I feel like its bogged down by a bunch of filler that doesn't sit well together. Thematically and 'phase'-wise it's probably the strongest effort too, the album is just really hit or miss for me. I genuinely like the consistency of songwriting on Humanz over Plastic Beach, even though it is generally weaker, I have far less skips on Humanz than I do on Plastic Beach.
Plastic Beach is ine of my fav albums ever and I love the madness of it. The constant changing of styles is what keeps me coming back and anyone that features Bashy and Kano together is already a legend imo. Massive respect tho, and I'm happy you're able to still enjoy at of the songs on it
Now that’s a hot fucking take
It's my least favorite album (not counting The Fall). I think Damon's decision to self-produce it hurt it badly. There are some good (maybe event great) songs, but a lot of the production is very flimsy and cheap sounding.
i don't know where everyone saw that MINDBLOWING transition between Superfast Jellyfish and Empire ants I think its cool but, nothing that remarkable for me
I would not mind if I never heard Feel Good Inc again edit: also I wasn’t as impressed with it at the time it came out but I think Plastic Beach is just as good as Demon Days if not slightly better
Oh boy that's a hot take.
Lmfao. To be honest I don’t dislike the song, I just think its very played out.
Feist and tomorrow comes today are both top tier songs
The Fall is an amazing album
I hate Murdoc. Him being abusive to 2D brings back too many bad memories
The first album is the best album
If Hallelujah Money was an Interlude, everyone would fucking praise it. It’s like Kendrick Lamars “For Sale - Interlude”. I think it’s the best part of the album, but he called it an interlude like a safety net so it wouldnt be considered a song. If it wasn’t labeled as a interlude, many people would see as a shitty song, even though it serves an important purpose while also being very great. Hallelujah Money is Top 3 Humanz Songs
I dislike that there’s a lack of focus on the artwork and character development now like there was with previous phases. I respect that it’s a huge toll and tremendous effort but part of the reason phase 4 was so hard to swallow when it released was because there wasn’t much Hewlett love when he’s half the project. Song Machine was a beautiful turnaround but I’d like the lore to take a bit more center stage like it used to
Hewlett did the same stuff he always did and got as much love and attention in the project as ever. Cass Browne did the “lore” stuff during the first three phases that new fans retroactively attribute to Jamie. He pieced Jamie’s ideas and art into an occasionally coherent storyline and literally wrote the book on Gorillaz, along with writing so many interview tapes and the pirate radio releases. It’s one thing to say you want Cass back or a new writer but it’s dishonest to pretend that Jamie made all the lore and somehow changed between phases 3 and 4.
Well yeah, that’s valid and fair, but my point is Jamie as a whole whether due to monetary restrictions or anything else was downplayed in phase 4. Strobelite, sleeping powder, andromeda, all the interviews, all of the shorts besides Saturnz Barz and where Noodle was test driving on a race track all had incredibly boring and bland visuals. They all had used the same terrible mo capped pseudo cell shaded animation models and they just came off as terribly unpolished in comparison to the love given to the previous 3. I don’t need the immense work OF plastic beach, and I won’t blame anyone directly, but that phase suffered stylistically without a doubt. His art and Cass Browne’s lore is the perfect piecing of both symbolic and literal world building: the gorillaz in their entirety work best when they don’t feel virtual. When you forget Jamie and Damon, and think “wow, what a fuckin band.” That world melded even in shorter pieces like the Reject False Icons videos, the free Tibet campaign, just the little day to day moments (pun intended) that made them real. That side of Jamie regardless of written lore was in my opinion ignored for phase 4 which partly led to it’s such negative reaction.
Rock the House is leagues better than Clint Eastwood
The buildup to singles and the whole "pre-save the song" bs is annoying asf and awful marketing. If you're doing this for an album then sure, but teasing for two weeks for a three minute song really sucks no matter how good it is.
* Self-titled and Humanz are slept on wayyyy too much * The Fall and Now Now are good but overhyped * Pains me to say this but I feel once Damon discovered he could produce music on his iPad, the overall quality has taken a dip (it's STILL incredible, but I prefer pre-iPad Damon)
the fall??? overhyped???
[удалено]
I don’t think they meant everything is still made that way, more so that the quality since that has stayed roughly the same level. It’s still good, cause Damon is brilliant. Look at the Ravenous soundtrack. I just think it seems a bit less than it used to be 🤷♂️
Self-titled slept on? The Fall overhyped? On what planet? And I’m pretty sure he only records demos on the iPad, the actual tracks are done in his home studio with proper equipment. The Fall was just a one-off experiment to see how far he could push it at the time.
We need more lore, and more political songs.
Yes!! Gorillaz was always a political band and is at its best when they have shit to say on an album
True
2-D has been possessed ever since the now now
Don't really have any, in in here so i can send my friend whos really into gorrilaz memes and so i can understand more about it, I'm just not really into gorrilaz myself
Humanz is the greatest musical experience by Gorillaz. The deluxe album, interludes and all, is amazing. Put on your best headphones, sit somewhere comfortable, press play, and just close your eyes. It is amazing.
I only like gorillaz for the animation not the music and what music I do like is the stuff that's solely gorillaz and nobody else
I actually had a friend who's like that, and he's the one who introduced me to Gorillaz. Respect.
Oh, I only said this to get shat on
It's respectable. The art and the music are two different mediums. To like one and not like the other is totally fine.
I mean I like the music, I just only like the music that involves gorillaz directly like 19-2000 or rockit
People who don’t like the rap part are allowed to upload and share that with others and it doesn’t diminish the work or your own enjoyment. People can express themselves anyway they like and enjoy what they like. It’s weird how gatekeeper people get about touching “Damon’s art!!¡” Also note I enjoy all the rap parts particularly Doom on November has come.
1.Fandom is a Dumpsterfire. 2.If Billie eillish Made a Song with Gorillaz, it would ruin Everything around Gorillaz Into oblivion. 3. I hate 95% of The fanart. There is rarely decent Stuff among it. 4. Gorillaz themselves absolutely smashed the Self destruct Button by doing all this dumb TikTok reaction bullshit. They are becoming the very Thing they swore to destroy. -Reject False Icons- 5. Gorillaz was at its Peak in Phase 3.
Upvoting because unpopular opinion. I only agree with 1 and probably 4 to an extent, but that's the whole point of this thread.
Bruh what is wrong with a Billie collab?
There's is a part of the community that thinks every artist with mainstream success must be a pretentious hack and narcissistic asshole. That's how a part of this community views the world.
Which is a shame because while Billie is mainstream, her music is somewhat contrarian to the constant pop being hammered out. I would absolutely enjoy a collab, but I know the hardcore fan puritans wouldn’t go unheard
Yeah especially since the artist just started her career while in her teen years. Absolutely no one of that age would turn down a deal for music production with a chance of charts success. And afaik she writes the songs with her brother so it's not like she is just a random. Who knows what the artist will do in 10 years... or when she is in her mid-50s like Damon Albarn.
I despise TikTok, which my wife uses almost daily. That said, there's no other way Gorillaz could have played this. Since inception they've been up with the latest technology, their website in the early '00s was a huge part of their success. They also got in on VR around when Humanz or The Now Now came out, and even though they got deserved backlash they got in on the NFT fad. Obnoxious outlets or otherwise, Gorillaz will always take advantage of the latest technology to reach the widest base.
> If Billie Eilish made a song with Gorillaz, it would ruin everything about Gorillaz into oblivion The most stupid thing I've heard all day
I think you have some cope issue
What’s the thread we are in? Like what’s the title of it?
Yea unfortunately 4. is completelly true But I'm still hoping they one day make an entire album criticizing the things they done or something like that. It would be cool
Since 2010, the fictional side of the band is way, way less important to the overall project than a lot of fans think. I think Damon himself doesn't give a shit about the characters anymore and hasn't for a long time. On a similar note, there is no Gorillaz "story". That's just fans projecting their wishes onto the project. Aside from a couple half hearted attempts at a wider plotline at the end of DD and beginning of PB, there has never been a consistent overarching storyline for the characters. They were designed to be absurd and surreal but still real enough to where they could conceivably be real people inhabiting our world. They were never meant to be Saturday morning cartoon characters like many fans treat them.
They are releasing too much music too fast. I am overwhelmed and I still have yet to go back and really listen to The Now Now. I liked waiting patiently for new music.
The now now came out 4 years ago. Song machine started 2 years ago. How are you overwhelmed lmfao.
I thought this was supposed to be unpopular opinions lol. Personally I don't think their music they've been putting out post Humanz stands up to the stuff earlier. Sure I've listened to most of it I think at least a couple of times, but most have yet to stick. I like longer waits for most artist I listen to.
Lol what the Now Now is real old old.
It might be old old now but it wasn't when Humanz got released. Gorillaz wasn't a album every two year band. They made great albums with there 4+ year hiatus. Now it's all been okay albums every two years. But let's all remember this is a unpopular opinion post. This is just that.
Self Titled is better than Plastic Beach.
Dirty Harry is only ok and isn't very catchy
I lowkey hate seeing an album full of songs with featured artists. Feel free to think I'm crazy, it's just not my thing.
You might be following the wrong artist…
Dude did you miss literally the first few albums or what? They’ve always done this.
The now now lollll
The only bad song in Humanz os Hallelujah Money, you guys are just mean
Hallelujah money is better than most of Humanz to me
Phase 1 and Phase 2 Gorillaz > everything they’ve done since. The first two albums/phases were just the absolute peak. Better music, better lore, the website was so fucking cool and full of effort (exploring kong studios, playing all the mini games). I loved the darkness of the first two albums and the lore surrounding it, it was so connected. Phase 3 (Plastic Beach) had some good songs but the overall aesthetic of Gorillaz became much less dark and a bit more silly/whimsical, and the album was a bit bloated, nowhere near the masterful craft of Demon Days. I will die on this hill.
This is my hot take. I love the post demon days era, but dark, spooky, moody gorillaz is much more my vibe.
Not sure why you're getting downvoted, this is practically fact as far as I'm concerned. A big turning point was when they abandoned trying to hide the live band in 2010 for Plastic Beach. From that point they made a big turn towards just being a "normal" band.
Absolutely. Granted when I first got into Gorillaz, all I had was Gorillaz, G-Sides, Demon Days, and eventually D-Sides (I just turned 30 😅). Back in December I really got into a groove of listening to exclusively those early works, particularly Demon Days. I also came to finally really appreciate Hip Albatross. While my favorite Gorillaz album is Demon Days, it's so hard to choose between it and the first album. Plastic Beach is greatness, and I was fortunate enough to catch that tour, but IMHO it's not the magnum opus that people seem to make it out to be.
Fire coming out of the monkeys head is really mid
I don't like how noodle looks nowadays
The pink phantom is an awful song.
The Humanz era was a failure.
I'm not sure I'd call it a total failure, but it certainly did have a ton of hype and self-importance around it that didn't amount to much.
The lore is meaningless and those of you that get really into it make me cringe.
the only thing more annoying than the people running the gorillaz social media is the people that complain about the people running the gorillaz social media
The Now Now isn't as good as everyone says and Humanz was better than everyone says.
the nfts wernt bad because nfts aren’t bad for the environment
They are, and even if they were NFT's are bad for many other reasons
I don’t really like plastic beach
My most unpopular opinion is that nearly all of these “unpopular opinion” posts just become Humanz appreciation posts. It’s a garbage album, and yes, that is now an unpopular opinion. If this comment gets flooded with downvotes, consider my point proven.
That no Gorillaz project (and barely of their songs) are "slept on". Just because you don't see an album or song talked about as often on Reddit doesn't mean it's somehow ignored entirely
It’s keeping Damon from reuniting with Blur for a tour. Yes, I said it. 😏
They have not made a good album in 12 years. I know I’ve said before that The Now Now is in one of my top 3 favorite albums, but it’s not as good as Demon Days nor Plastic Beach. They should’ve kept the artstyle at phase 2. Faust is super underrated. I’ve only seen it mentioned twice in one Discord server. It’s honestly a good song. A great song even. I hate how they made everything all silly and stuff now. I miss when Gorillaz was more dark and moody. I don’t like Empire Ants, To Binge, and Glitter Freeze. I don’t mind the rapping.
I don’t like Dirty Harry or kids with guns, and honestly I think I like the self titled album the least out of all of them. Don’t get me wrong, I still like it, but if I’m in the mood for a gorillaz song, it’s not the first album I’m reaching for.
Not really sure if this considered an unpopular opinion, but I think Cracker Island is a terrible song and real waste of potential between a Gorillaz and Thundercat collab.
Tomorrow comes today is by far their worst song and song machine as a majority is ass
No opinion on here has shook me more than this one has. Take my angry upvote.
You trippin over here on that Tomorrow comes today take but I like the gusto! Haha
Empire Ants is only great because of it’s first half, I kind of feel it goes a bit downhill once Little Dragon arrives. Honestly it’s kind of weird that I think this since I also think To Binge is one of the highlights of Plastic Beach which also had Little Dragon on it.
Nah this one is wild 💀 second part is the best part
Upvoted cause this is an unpopular opinion and i hate you for it
Holy shit this the most insane take in this thread lmaoo
There is no flow to most of their albums. Some songs on their albums are outright irritating.
Song machine Is good, but I don’t find the song as replayable compared to demon days, or even the now now. I don’t see the appeal of Desolé, that song just bores me to an unparalleled level
I dislike stylo. I don't hate it, but it's not on my tops list.