Gotta say I miss the times when Gorillaz made music like this. Damon Albarn’s taken his virtual band into quite poppy territory, but there’ll always be those featured guests that still give the material a bit of its edge. I prefer the Gorillaz tunes where Albarn never sounded the same on each track. Where he would barely enunicate any of the words he would say against a strange experimental soundscape, or use some production effect to make his voice sound different. A prime example of the former occurs in today’s track, ‘Man Research (Clapper)’ from the band’s debut album from 2001. Now you’ll either just get your standard Albarn vocal with that effect that makes it sound like he’s talking from a loudspeaker. But anyway, let’s talk more about the song.

What is ‘Man Research (Clapper)’ about? I don’t think anyone truly knows. You can search up the lyrics online. I’ve seen them and, though they somewhat resemble what Albarn could be saying in this song, I don’t think they’re correct. The song samples ‘In the Hall of the Mountain Queen’ by Raymond Scott, which is on his album Manhattan Research Inc. That is where the Gorillaz song takes its name from. That still doesn’t get us any closer to the song’s message. I could only say that I think ‘Man Research’ is connected to ‘Clint Eastwood’ because both songs include the lyric ‘I got sunshine’. It also comes straight after ‘Eastwood’ on the album. And I’ve always thought that song was about drugs. So, I guess that’s what it boils down to, everybody. ‘Man Research’ is about drugs. See you and good night.

I’m just kidding. I’ve never thought about the song’s meaning that much. I need something to discuss on here. Anything with a strong melody’s alright with me. Although Damon Albarn sounds a bit far gone on this one – if that was his intention, he succeeded – the way he ‘sings’ alongside that incessant kick drum always sounded good to me. That ‘yea yea yea’ chorus is very memorable, whether you like it or not. For the last minute and twenty seconds, Albarn become slightly unhinged with every ‘yea yea yea’ repetition to the point where it sounds like he’s either in pain while delivering his vocal or even crying. It’s a bit of a freakout. And it’s those types of strange moments from Gorillaz that I miss. They’re not so strange anymore.