Caught Up in the Conflict Between His Brain and His Tail

*Ok everybody, I need to make a correction to yesterday's review of G. Love and Special Sauce. I took a shot at G.Love for doing a bad Dr. Pepper commercial, when in fact, as billydwilson pointed out, it was a bad Coke commercial instead. Billy pointed out that the commercial would have been much better if they had played Cold Beverage, however, according to a little fact-checking research, the song G.Love sang was actually a re-tread of the "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke" ditty that was in that popular hilltop commercial Coke did in the seventies. Did you just hear that clopping noise? I think that may be the sound of my respect for G. Love running away... *

Anyway, it's Wednesday and I am bored out of my mind once again. The only highlight of the day has been when the Big Boss Lady called to tell me that the VP of Treasury has selected two of my accounts for special auditing to find out why we are carrying such large overdue balances. My clearly insightful response: "I don't know, because the customer isn't paying?" I'm guessing profound analysis like that is why I've never been asked to join executive management.

I listened to the Gorillaz on the way into work this morning. I have been aware of their presence since they released their debut album and got a lot of airplay with Clint Eastwood. However, I never pursued a greater listening interest. They released a second album Demon Days last year, and again I never followed up on it. I was talking with my cousin a few months ago and he recommended that I give them a try. I said I would, but I didn't (sorry, cous'). Then earlier this week a co-worker of mine in CA asked if I listened to them. I said I didn't. She recommended them as well. Ok, I figure, I'll give them a try since I am always looking for new music to review and lately I have been seeking to avoid repeats. So, now I have both Gorillaz albums and today marks part 1 of a 2-part review of both Gorillaz and Demon Days.

I picked Gorillaz to start out with since it came first chronologically. As I said above, the big hit off of this album was Clint Eastwood, or as I call it "that sunshine-in-a-bag song." Like the Monkees, the Gorillaz are just a made up band with actual musicians backing up cartoonish fronts. In the case of the Gorillaz, that back up is provided by Blur's Damon Albarn. This could probably explain why several tracks sound like Blur songs. Coincidently, those were some of my favorite tracks. I don't know if that means I like the Gorillaz or Blur, but either way I thought this album was pretty decent. It didn't blow my mind out or anything, but maybe a deeper appreciation will come with subsequent listenings. I don't know if it lived up to all of the hype, but I'll give it a favorable judgment. Notable tracks include: 19-2000, Punk, and Rock the House.