Skipped last week due to lack of news, but this week Lillaz is bringing the goods:
- COVID-19 Updates
- Aries
- Another New(dle)
- Rare and Unreleased Art
- Did Rock n’ Roll Kill Russ’s Braincells?
- Gorillaz Raritiez Winnebago Contest/Winner/Updates
- The Ultimate G-Playlists
- S/T 19th Anniversary
- Gorillaz Crossing
COVID-19 Updates
The past two weeks have had truly had us singing “I don’t want this isolation…”
Gorillaz recently came out of quarantine to provide inspirational reassurances and confirmation that the Song Machine is still turned ON despite the pandemic the world is facing right now. See the below letter from Murdoc and co.:
As a result of the circumstances, Song Machine has been delayed (to April 9, see the below post). However, our favorite four are encouraging fans to #stayhome:
Also of important note: fans who have recently purchased anything from the Gorillaz store might have received an email this week with the following message:
We’ll all get through this together.
Aries
It became apparent this past Friday evening that our next Song Machine episode will air April 9, will be called Aries, and will feature both Peter Hook and Georgia. Fans were speculating re: Peter Hook a few weeks ago, after noting that the guitar on the preview for episode three sounded like it was straight from Joy Division.
The news came from a leak on Reddit, which shows a sneaky screenshot from Spotify for Artists. The art looks amazing this time around (I mean, when does it not)…
See below:
Another (New)dle
YAY – Jamie blessed us with yet another new Noodle sketch:
Rare and Unreleased Art
Big instagram account and Jamie Hewlett art archive @hewlls_art shared some NEVER BEFORE SEEN concept art from the extremely early days of Gorillaz (back when they were simply ‘Gorilla’). Matt Wakeham, a major member of Jamie’s old team, Zombie Flesh Eaters, graciously shared this art with @hewlls_art and the rest of the fandom this week.
Per hewlls_art on instagram:
Here’s some as of now unreleased art of the band when they were called Gorilla. My buddy @matwakeham found this and said I could post it.
Notice how 2D was called Terry and Murdoc originally called Louie.
This chap was called Salvador Levelle, he was going to be in the band before Murdoc.
Again thank you to my buddy @matwakeham, he was kind enough to show me these images. Hopefully me and him can work together in the future.
Did Rock n’ Roll Kill Russ’s Braincells?
Russ appeared in the NME series Does Rock ‘N’ Roll Kill Braincells?! this week. In this series, artists are ask to look back on their careers to see how much they can remember — that is, if the sex, drugs and rock n’ roll haven’t made too much of a dent.
Gorillaz Raritez Winnebago Contest/Winner/Updates
As mentioned in my most recent post, the Kong Studios revival website from Gorillaz Rartiez has had some new updates! Murdoc’s finally got his winnebago back, all thanks to the winner of the #wheresmywinnebago contest, @thepunleader. See the official announcement here 🙂 :
The Ultimate G-Playlists
Superfans Gorillaz for Beginners and Gail organized some VERY helpful Youtube playlists, arranging all G-videos based on phases/eras.
Peruse them and use them!
Phase One | Celebrity Takedown (Currently missing Charts of Darkness)
Phase Two | Slowboat to Hades (Youtube wouldn’t allow History to Date or either of the Bananaz films)
Phase Three | Escape to Plastic Beach
Phase Four | We Are Still Humanz
S/T 19th Anniversary
March 26th was the 19th Anniversary of Gorillaz’s first album! I think I must have heard the album for the first time myself around November 2001. The impact it had on me was immense! Look at me — 19 years later — writing a devoted blog for my favorite band of all time. The digital truly won’t let me go.
Gorillaz Crossing
If you’re like me and my friends, you’ve been spending the past week playing Animal Crossing New Horizons non-stop. Lots of reddit users on r/gorillaz have made Gorillaz inspired decorations, characters, and clothes! Here are some of my favorites:
Gorillazland 