Music Review: Gorillaz "Feel Good Inc."
Gorillaz
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Feel Good, Inc.
Album: Demon Days
Year: 2005
Damon Albarn and his friend take control of a collapsing city in the mediocre “Feel Good, Inc.”
Manical laughter and indifferent beats open the single, setting a soiled tone. In the first verse, Albarn says the buildings and landmarks are in disarray. Windows are broken and crude graffiti decorates it. Museums are empty and the university is boarded up. He says the local government needs to be gone. They don’t know how to fix the problems. He watches people protest, demanding that their city function again. He tells them they can’t escape it. They are free-thinking and will land in jail for their protests. He says they will learn new things but only for a short time. It’s a depressing place where people lose hope and believe that knowledge is a dead-end, not power. Albarn prefers to get some rest to the sound of his answering machine. He needs to have a series of neverending dreams. Otherwise, the destruction around him will wake him up and he will be unable to sleep.
In the chorus, he says he would like the city to rotate and recover from its problems. He says love is the one thing that’s free and without it, the city can’t go on. He wants to get involved.
In the second verse, De La Soul raps. He says they need to knock out the the people and buisnessmen polluting the city, profiting from its misery. He says he will line them up in a row and get rid of them. It’s the solution he thinks he will work. He comments he’s witnessing the destruction of minds, too which is far deeper than he thought he’d go. He says eventually he will rid the town of its free-thinking people, too. They can try to yell, but it won’t work.
A peaceful synth gives life to the city, clean and independent of propaganda.
The chorus is sung again.
The manical laughter ends the single.
In the third verse, De La Soul is still around, threatening to brainwash people into dulling their minds once again.
Albarn, at first, wants no part of the political movement. He simply wants it to go away and let his imagination play for a while. However, he realizes he’s losing his friends and soon, no one will have an original voice. He fights back and wins. But the leaders hide, pondering their chance to take the city again. Part of the problem is Albarn has localized it to a single city, therby limiting the politics it’s trying to conquer. The lyrics are incoherent, making listeners scramble and search for the meaning: is it about desituition or commercialism? The first verse points to poverty, but De La Soul emphasize consumerism. It causes confusion, rather than provoking any thoughts.
Damon Albarn’s deadened, faltering vocals are pretentenious. With his preaching, he thinks he’s teaching listeners something how to rise above society’s consumerism. However, it gets muddled in the indecipherable lyrics and arty posing. De La Soul is chilling in their appearance. They are bullying and authoritative, as they lyrics suggest. They are convincing as leaders who are certain to maintain the mindless status quo.
The borrowed arrangement takes a little bit of Beck (with the muffled vocals) and a lot from U2 (the melody in the chorus is stolen from “Staring At The Sun”.) The single is touting originality, yet it can’t seem to find a beat of its own to create. Inexcusable, considering it’s the point of the single.
The dingy “Feel Good, Inc.” is not as innovative or smart as it thinks it is. It’s actually the opposite.
Album: Demon Days
Year: 2005
Damon Albarn and his friend take control of a collapsing city in the mediocre “Feel Good, Inc.”
Manical laughter and indifferent beats open the single, setting a soiled tone. In the first verse, Albarn says the buildings and landmarks are in disarray. Windows are broken and crude graffiti decorates it. Museums are empty and the university is boarded up. He says the local government needs to be gone. They don’t know how to fix the problems. He watches people protest, demanding that their city function again. He tells them they can’t escape it. They are free-thinking and will land in jail for their protests. He says they will learn new things but only for a short time. It’s a depressing place where people lose hope and believe that knowledge is a dead-end, not power. Albarn prefers to get some rest to the sound of his answering machine. He needs to have a series of neverending dreams. Otherwise, the destruction around him will wake him up and he will be unable to sleep.
“City's breaking down on a camel's back/They just have to go 'cause they don't know wack/So all you fill the streets it's appealing to see/You won’t get out the county, 'cos you're bad and free/You've got a new horizon it's ephemeral style/A melancholy town where we never smile/And all I wanna hear is the message beep/My dreams, they've got to kiss, because I don't get sleep, no.”
In the chorus, he says he would like the city to rotate and recover from its problems. He says love is the one thing that’s free and without it, the city can’t go on. He wants to get involved.
“Windmill, windmill for the land/Turn forever hand in hand/Take it all in on your stride/It is sinking, falling down/Love forever, love is free/Let's turn forever you and me/Windmill, windmill for the land/Is everybody in?”
In the second verse, De La Soul raps. He says they need to knock out the the people and buisnessmen polluting the city, profiting from its misery. He says he will line them up in a row and get rid of them. It’s the solution he thinks he will work. He comments he’s witnessing the destruction of minds, too which is far deeper than he thought he’d go. He says eventually he will rid the town of its free-thinking people, too. They can try to yell, but it won’t work.
“Laughing gas these hazmats, fast cats/Lining them up-a like ass cracks/Lay these ponies at the track/It’s my chocolate attack/Shit, I'm stepping in the heart of this here/Care bear bumping in the heart of this here/Watch me as I gravitate/Hahahahahahaa/Yo, we gonna go ghost town/This Motown/With yo sound/You're in the place/You gonna bite the dust/Can’t fight with us/With yo sound/You kill the inc./So don't stop, get it, get it/Until you're Jet Ahead/Yo, watch the way I navigate/Hahahahahhaa.”
A peaceful synth gives life to the city, clean and independent of propaganda.
The chorus is sung again.
The manical laughter ends the single.
In the third verse, De La Soul is still around, threatening to brainwash people into dulling their minds once again.
“Don't stop, get it, get it/We are your captains in it/Steady/Watch me navigate/Ahahahahahhaa/Don't stop, get it, get it/We are your captains in it/Steady, watch me navigate.”
Albarn, at first, wants no part of the political movement. He simply wants it to go away and let his imagination play for a while. However, he realizes he’s losing his friends and soon, no one will have an original voice. He fights back and wins. But the leaders hide, pondering their chance to take the city again. Part of the problem is Albarn has localized it to a single city, therby limiting the politics it’s trying to conquer. The lyrics are incoherent, making listeners scramble and search for the meaning: is it about desituition or commercialism? The first verse points to poverty, but De La Soul emphasize consumerism. It causes confusion, rather than provoking any thoughts.
Damon Albarn’s deadened, faltering vocals are pretentenious. With his preaching, he thinks he’s teaching listeners something how to rise above society’s consumerism. However, it gets muddled in the indecipherable lyrics and arty posing. De La Soul is chilling in their appearance. They are bullying and authoritative, as they lyrics suggest. They are convincing as leaders who are certain to maintain the mindless status quo.
The borrowed arrangement takes a little bit of Beck (with the muffled vocals) and a lot from U2 (the melody in the chorus is stolen from “Staring At The Sun”.) The single is touting originality, yet it can’t seem to find a beat of its own to create. Inexcusable, considering it’s the point of the single.
The dingy “Feel Good, Inc.” is not as innovative or smart as it thinks it is. It’s actually the opposite.
