stray cat blues. What goes on:

I've been playing Gorillaz's Plastic Beach quite frequently, as unknown as that may be. Brought on by the recruiting of Mick Jones and Paul Simonon, as good as a possible live review in my near future, I find Plastic Beach oddly mesmerizing. I've come to really respect Damon Albarn (I should mention I love aught about Blur) and his elaborate vision.

I suppose he has a real knack for bringing things to life - no cartoon puns intended - and I champion him as one of the few genuine artists in today's music world. As for the album itself, it contains that rare breed of childlike whimsy I so gleefully enjoy, blended with stark realism. Albarn sets out to describe the man as it is, but takes a Pythonesque approach (with songs like "Pirate Jet") to it. He sets his own political views to lullabies and pop songs, and its entirely good and perfectly laudable. The sublime interplay between Albarn's vocals and Little Dragon's Yukimi Nagano is utterly serene on "Empire Ants" and "To Binge". The album gets fantastically funky on tunes like "Rhinestone Eyes" and "Stylo" (Bobby Womack, say whaaaaaat!). "Superfast Jellyfish" is dippy and playful, sounding like a child's television theme, yet exploring the depths of geographic despair. "Glitter Freeze" is a pulsating number, sounding zippy and futuristic. Truthfully, the atmospheric tune could potentially die as self-indulgent, luckily I caught it go on the Gorillaz webcast for Letterman. It explodes so entirely with the last act, Albarn must feel electrifying being at the helm of such a force. "On Melancholy Hill" is illuminating - with its simple string arrangements, delicate cooing from Albarn, and proper electronic utilization, "On Melancholy Hill" is luscious and heavenly. I find "White Flag" incredibly dull, but since I love naught of Damon Albarn, he can screw around with a Lebanese orchestra all he wants, and it doesn't annoy me. I just cut the tune and believe nothing more of it. I make no expectations of this record. It makes it that much better. "Some Sort of Nature" is too boring. I don't like how "cool" Lou Reed is, he bores me, as does his droning voice. "Sweepstakes" is likewise a drag, but Mos Def certainly proves his chops elsewhere. (On "Stylo" with Bobby fucking Womack. At first, I plant the title track (featuring Mick Jones and Paul Simonon) to be less than stunning, until after that day. As with so many other numbers on this album, I launch the hook religiously stuck in my head.