The roots of Gorillaz can be traced back to 1990, when guitarist Graham Coxon asked cartoonist Jamie Hewlett to interview his newly formed band, Blur. Coxon knew of Hewlett's work drawing the Tank Girl comic strip in Deadline magazine. When Jamie first met the band's lead singer Damon Albarn, the two did not hit it off well. Hewlett initially thought Albarn was "arsey" and "a wanker," but the two remained acquainted and would eventually become roommates in 1997, living in London.
Both Jamie and Damon tell the story of Gorillaz came to be about the same way. They were in their flat watching TV, specifically MTV, and came up with the idea of a "virtual band" as commentary on the vapidity of popular music at the turn of the millennium. Previously the best-known '"cartoon bands" were animated versions of The Monkees and The Beatles that kids could watch on Saturday mornings. But Gorillaz (initially called just "Gorilla") was to be an ambitious musical project with eclectic, genre-bending tunes, unique visuals, and a detailed backstory for how the virtual band came to be.
With Gorillaz, Albarn departed from the distinct Britpop of Blur and explored influences including hip hop, electronic music, and world music through an "eccentrically postmodern" approach. The band's 2001 debut album Gorillaz sold over seven million copies worldwide. It was nominated for the Mercury Prize, but the nomination was withdrawn at the band's request. Their second studio album, Demon Days (2005), went six times platinum in the UK and double platinum in the US, and has sold over eight million copies worldwide. The band has won other awards, including one Grammy Award, two MTV Video Music Awards, an NME Award and three MTV Europe Music Awards.
The third Gorillaz studio album, Plastic Beach, was released in March 2010. The fourth, The Fall, was released in December 2010 as a free download for fan club members, then in April 2011 as a physical release. In 2017, after a five-year hiatus, Gorillaz announced their fifth studio album Humanz. Their sixth studio album, The Now Now, was released on 29 June 2018. Their seventh album, Song Machine, Season 1: Strange Timez, was released in 2020 through a series of episodical music videos. Cracker Island, the band's eighth album, was released on February 24, 2023. Gorillaz have been nominated for ten Brit Awards and won Best British Group at the 2018 Brit Awards.
The Gorillaz characters only appear in animated form and are not alter-egos of real people, as is often mistakenly assumed. There is an extensive fictional back-story behind these band members, written by Albarn and Hewlett. Their albums, several of their music videos, and their autobiographical book Rise Of The Ogre all tell the saga. Damon Albarn is the only permanent musical contributor to the band, which is also a collaboration between various musicians. Their style is broad with a large number of alternative influences including rock, hip-hop, and electronica.
They have released eight studio albums: Gorillaz (2001), Demon Days (2005), Plastic Beach (2010), The Fall (Also in 2010), Humanz (2017), The Now Now (2018), Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez (2020), and Cracker Island (2023). Additionally, they have put out two B-side collections, G-Sides (2001) and D-Sides (2007), and a reggae remix of the Gorillaz album entitled Laika Come Home (2002). The band has also released three DVDs: Phase One: Celebrity Takedown, Demon Days: Live at Manchester Opera House, and Phase Two: Slow Boat To Hades. At the end of 2010, Gorillaz released their next album, The Fall, which was recorded during their US 'Escape to Plastic Beach' tour. It is promoted as being the first album made entirely on iPad. The album is streamed on the Gorillaz website.
The band's first single, Clint Eastwood, was released on 5 March 2001. This single was the first of four from Gorillaz, which was released on 26 March 2001. The other three singles were released over the next year. These were: 19-2000, Rock the House, and Tomorrow Comes Today. The album sold over 7 million copies worldwide and has gone platinum twice in the United Kingdom earning them an entry in the Guinness Book of Records as the Most Successful Virtual Band. It was nominated for the Mercury Prize, but the nomination was later withdrawn at the band's request. Collaborators on the first album included Del tha Funkee Homosapien (often mistaken for a full-time band member), Miho Hatori (formerly of Cibo Matto), Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads.and Ibrahim Ferrer. The album was produced by Dan the Automator of Deltron 3030.
At the end of 2001 the band released another single, 911, which was a collaboration between Gorillaz and rap artists D12, Eminem and Terry Hall. The single would find its way onto the soundtrack to the 2002 action comedy Bad Company.
Their second studio album, Demon Days, was released on 11 May 2005 and included the hit singles Feel Good Inc., DARE, Dirty Harry and Kids With Guns / El Mañana. Demon Days went five times platinum in the UK, double platinum in the United States, and earned five Grammy award nominations for 2006 and won one of them (Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals). Collaborators on this album – produced by Dj Danger Mouse – include De La Soul, Bootie Brown of The Pharcyde, Shaun Ryder of the Happy Mondays, Neneh Cherry, Ike Turner, MF Doom, Roots Manuva, and Martina Topley-Bird, among others. DARE – the first Gorillaz track featuring lead vocals by Noodle – reached #1 in the UK charts.
In late 2007, Albarn and Hewlett began working on Carousel, a new Gorillaz project which eventually evolved into the band's third studio album, Plastic Beach, which was released 9 March 2010. Albarn said, "I'm making this one the most pop record I've ever made in many ways, but with all my experience to try and at least present something that has got depth.” The album features guest performances by Snoop Dogg, Lou Reed, Mos Def, Bobby Womack, Gruff Rhys, Mark E. Smith, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, Bashy, Kano, De La Soul, Little Dragon, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, sinfonia ViVA, and The Lebanese National Orchestra for Oriental Arabic Music.
A 3D projection of the group was shown at the 2005 MTV Music Awards and the 2006 Grammys. They also performed at the Brits, in a different format, using screens rather than projections. Gorillaz have performed live in other occasions as well: in 2001 & 2002 they did tours where the musicians played behind screens, and in 2005 & 2006, Gorillaz had five nights in Manchester and New York respectively. This time the screens were behind the musicians, who were visible to the audience only as silhouettes (except for the guest-stars).
Since the band began to achieve mainstream success, there have been rumours of them working on a full-length movie. Some of these have been confirmed, but nothing has gotten beyond planning stages, mainly due to conflicts between the band and studios involved. In 2008, Hewlett said "Ultimately we didn't think that feel we're in a position to make the kind of movie we want to make with Gorillaz at the moment. [...] But I'd still like to make a full, lavishly-animated Gorillaz movie someday."
Albarn and Hewlett created a Pop Opera called Monkey: Journey to the West, which premiered in the summer of 2007 at the Manchester International Festival. A soundtrack album was recorded in the summer as well (initially only digitally available though a CD version was released in 2008). The production went on to show at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris in September-October 2007, the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC, USA in May 2008, and the Royal Opera House in London in July 2008.
The duo behind the Pop Opera built on ideas from Monkey: Journey to the West to release a short film in the Summer of 2008 which accompanied the United Kingdom's coverage of the BBC Olympic Coverage in Beijing. It featured a basic outline of the main plot elements of the Opera, reworked into a "Journey to the East", with the characters finishing in the Beijing Olympic Stadium.
Gorillaz headlined the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury 2010, as an immediate replacement for U2, who dropped out of performing at the festival.
At the end of 2010 Gorillaz released their next album The Fall made in the hotel rooms during their US tour. It was, when released, the first album to be recorded entirely on an iPad. The album was made available for free to Gorillaz fan club members for a limited time as a digital download – and hard copies were released to worldwide markets in the following year.
In April 2012, Albarn told The Guardian that he and Hewlett had fallen out and that future Gorillaz projects were "unlikely". However, it was later announced by the duo that they had reconciled their difference – and that Noodle, Russel, Murdoc and 2-D would return with a new album in 2017. Featuring collaborations by artists such as album Grace Jones, Kali Uchis, Popcaan, Vince Staples, Mavis Staples, Peven Everett, Pusha T, Kelela, Jamie Principle, D.R.A.M. and Graham Coxon, Humanz was released to critical acclaim; the album would go on to win Gorillaz the 2018 Brit Award for Best British Group. Gorillaz would also collaborate with Carly Simon, Kilo Kish and Rag'n'Bone Man on the Deluxe edition of Humanz, while Little Simz would feature on the single Garage Palace. Another 2017 release was the single Sleeping Powder – supposedly written and recorded in a day. Meanwhile, a solar energy-themed collaboration with E.ON, released in 2017, would later win Gorillaz a Webby Award.
A new album, The Now Now, would follow in 2018. Written by Albarn whilst touring Humanz – and featuring two collaborations, including the return of Snoop Dogg and Jamie Principle as well as George Benson and Graham Coxon – The Now Now spawned six singles, including Humility, Tranz, and Lake Zürich. Murdoc was unable to enjoy the band's success for the time being as he was undergoing a stint in jail for an undisclosed malefaction; he was replaced on bass for Ace Copular – who most famously played Ace of the Gangreen Gang in the Powerpuff Girls TV series – for the recording of The Now Now; however, Murdoc would later break his way out of prison. Gorillaz saw the year out by securing another Brits nomination for Best British Group as well as winning a second consecutive Webby Award; this time, for the FreeMurdoc chatbot, which provided a way for Gorillaz fans to interact with Murdoc Niccals during his incarceration.
November Has Come F-MF Doom
Gorillaz Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Slow it down some
No split clown bum
Your gold hit sound dumb
Hold it now! Crown 'Em
Where you found them at?
Got 'em 'round town
Could've drowned in it
Voted sugar coated
Loaded hip shooter
Draw for the poor
Free coffee at the banks
sip through the straw
None more for me, thanks
That blanks the raw
That dank sure stank lit
Sank passed the pit for more hardcore prank spit
Crank it on blast
Roll past front street
Blew the whole spot
Like some old ass with skunk meat
These kids is too fast
Juiced off of junk treat
Who could get looser off a crunk or a funk beat?
(2D) 2x CHORUS:
Something has started today
Where did he go? Why you want it to be?
Well you know, November has come
When It's gone away.
(MF Doom) Can you dig it like a spigot
My guess is yes you can like, can I kick it? wicked
Liquor shot
If you happy and you know it
As you clap your hands to the thick snot of a poet flow it
Broke a pen and I'm in cope hyman
Doperhyming all worth it then
The hope diamond
Acquired off the blackmarket
Or acquired tappin
Couldn't target a jar split
The rapid fire spark lit
zzzzt!
A rapper bug zapper
And it don't matter after if they's a thug or a dapper.
Plug yer trap or it's maximum exposure
The beast got family members asking 'em for closure
Aw, send 'em a gun an tell em clean it
Then go get the nun who said her son didn't mean it
She wore a filled-in thong
A billabong
And said, nah, fo'realla
The Villain on a Gorilla jawn?
(2D) 2x CHORUS
Something is starting today
Where did he go? Why you want it to be?
Well you know November has come
When it's gone away.
The lyrics to Gorillaz's song 'November Has Come' featuring MF Doom are a commentary on society, particularly the fast-paced and materialistic culture that we live in. MF Doom's opening lines 'Slow it down some, No split clown bum, Your gold hit sound dumb' are a call to slow down and appreciate life, rather than constantly chasing after material possessions. He goes on to criticize the way people are so consumed with image and being seen as cool, to the point that they might as well have 'Voted sugar coated'.
The second part of the verse talks about the harsh realities that exist in society, particularly for those who are struggling financially. The 'hip shooter' is a reference to someone who will do whatever it takes to survive, even if it means resorting to violence. The line 'Draw for the poor, Free coffee at the banks, sip through the straw, None more for me, thanks' highlights the irony of how banks give out free coffee to draw people in, but those who are poorer can't afford to buy anything. Finally, he mentions how kids are becoming increasingly hyper and addicted to junk food, and how it's hard to tell who could get 'looser off a crunk or a funk beat'.
Meanwhile, the chorus sung by 2D has a dreamy quality to it, as he muses about something that is starting, and the inevitable passing of time. The line 'Why you want it to be?' suggests a sense of loss or nostalgia for a time that has passed. The overall effect of the song is a commentary on the frenetic pace of modern society and a yearning to slow down and appreciate life.
Line by Line Meaning
Slow it down some
Take it easy, don't be in a rush
No split clown bum
Don't act foolish or clownish
Your gold hit sound dumb
Your popular music is unimpressive
Hold it now! Crown 'Em
Wait a minute, give them the recognition they deserve
Where you found them at?
Where did you discover these talented individuals?
Got 'em 'round town
They're well-known in the local area
Could've drowned in it
It's easy to get lost in the music
Woulda floated bloated
It would be overwhelming
Voted sugar coated
The popular music is overly sweet and lacking substance
Loaded hip shooter
A musician who carries a lot of talent and potential
Draw for the poor
The music is relatable to those struggling financially
Free coffee at the banks
Small, insignificant perks are offered to distract people from bigger issues
sip through the straw
To take something in small doses
None more for me, thanks
I've had enough
That blanks the raw
That takes away from the authenticity of the art
That dank sure stank lit
That music is unpleasant and unappealing
Sank passed the pit for more hardcore prank spit
The music got worse as it progressed
Crank it on blast
Turn it up loud
Roll past front street
Move forward without acknowledging the past
Blew the whole spot
Made a big impact and was unforgettable
Like some old ass with skunk meat
Stunk up the place
These kids is too fast
The younger generation is always in a hurry
Juiced off of junk treat
Excited about things that aren't important
Who could get looser off a crunk or a funk beat?
Who wouldn't want to let loose and dance to upbeat music?
Can you dig it like a spigot
Can you understand and appreciate it?
My guess is yes you can like, can I kick it? wicked
I assume you can also enjoy it, would you like to join in?
Liquor shot
Taking a quick drink
If you happy and you know it
If you are content and satisfied
As you clap your hands to the thick snot of a poet flow it
Enjoy the unique, poetic style of music
Broke a pen and I'm in cope hyman
Writer's block is challenging
Doperhyming all worth it then
Coming up with truly great lyrics is worthwhile
The hope diamond
The greatest treasure, worth searching for
Acquired off the blackmarket
Gained through unconventional means
Or acquired tappin
Mined and discovered on your own
Couldn't target a jar split
Didn't hit the mark
The rapid fire spark lit
The energy and excitement is contagious
zzzzt!
An explosive reaction
A rapper bug zapper
A musician who can repel negativity
And it don't matter after if they's a thug or a dapper.
Doesn't matter if they are rough or polished
Plug yer trap or it's maximum exposure
Keep your mouth shut to avoid a scandal or controversy
The beast got family members asking 'em for closure
The pressure is too much for even their family members to handle
Aw, send 'em a gun an tell em clean it
Offer them a way to end their problems
Then go get the nun who said her son didn't mean it
Bring in someone pure and innocent to help
She wore a filled-in thong
She was revealing and scandalous
A billabong
A brand that represents freedom and fun
And said, nah, fo'realla
No way, seriously?
The Villain on a Gorilla jawn?
Are the Gorillaz collaborating with a villainous rapper?
Something is starting today
A new beginning is happening
Where did he go? Why you want it to be?
Where did he leave and why are you so curious?
Well you know November has come
The time for change is here
When it's gone away.
Once it ends, it's over
Contributed by Brooklyn H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@humannumberzero2620
Slow it down some
No split clown bum
Your old hit sound dumb
Hold it now, crown 'I'm
Where you found them at
Got 'em 'round town
Coulda drowned in it
Woulda floated bloated
Voted sugar coated
Loaded hip shooter
Draw for the poor
Free coffee at the banks
Hit through the straw
None more for me, thanks
That blanks the raw
That dang sure stank lit
Sank passed the pit for more hardcore prank spit
Crank it on blast
Roll past front street
Blew the whole spot
Like some old ass with skunk meat
These kids is too fast
Juiced off a junk treat
Who could get looser off a crunk or a funk beat?
Something is starting today
Where did he go why you want it to be?
Well you know November has come
When it's gone away
Something is starting today
Where did he go why you want it to be?
Well you know, November has come
When it's gone away
Baha
Can you dig it like a spigot
My guess is yes you can
Like, can I kick it?
Wicked
Liquor shot
If you happy and you know it
As you clap your hands to the thick snot
Of a poet flowin'
Broke a pen and I'm in cope hymen
Dope or rhymin all worth it then
The Hope Diamond
Required off the blackmarket
Or wire tappin'
Couldn't target a jar of spit
The rapid fire spark lit
Zzzz!
A rapper bug zapper
And it don't matter after if they's a thug or a dapper
Plug yer trap or it's maximum exposure
The beast got family in numbers asking 'em for closure
Aw, send 'em a gun and tell 'em clean it
Then go get the nun who said her son didn't mean it
She wore a filled-in thong
A billabong
And said, nah, fo'realla
The Villain on a Gorilla jawn?
Something is starting today
Where did he go why you want it to be?
Well you know November has come
When it's gone away
Something is starting today
Where did he go why you want it to be?
Well you know, November has come
When it's gone away
When it's
When it's gone away
@AxiomApe
Back again November 1st 2023 :
November has come again
I’m here to meet with friends
When fall leaves we sigh
When souls’ freed we cry
Remember to always come back like November
Always does and
Please render your thoughts with pure love and no guns man
The world is getting crazier and humans just getting lazier
The clarity’s fading now and the skyline’s looking hazier
Dirty apes, dead stuck on life’s thrillahs
I’d keep it simpler, vibe with my n* Gorillaz
Rest in peace to MF DOOM
The man myth the legend, just gone too soon.
Make sure you give thanks, live life and you pray
Before you know it, it’s all gone away.
@austinmcconnell
It’s tradition.
@Void-im9hg
AustinMcConnell?!!!!
@elicarlson7682
I love your video about the “disabled” basketball team.
@anothersoul1881
Justin! You were the one who introduced me to cinematography! Love me some gorrilaz
@amriayoub942
Knowing now DOOM died on the last day of October , this is hard...
@ibuprofensaint
Instantly came back to this song, it’s a great collaboration from my favorite band and rapper
@TexasGreed
Fuckkkkkkkkkkk
@ianplumadore9446
Rip mans bro
@lexushing1873
yo WTF
@monsterzero9456
November Has Come for him RiP