The Great Ape

Just picked up the new Gorillaz Singles Collection 2001-2011..

It's been spinning a few times now, and whilst listening I am again reminded what an incredibly talented dude Damon Albarn is.

Remember when he fronted Blur and had to endure the whole "Britpop" thing in the 90's? And the rivalry with Oasis? Well, while Noel Gallagher was busy making the same whiny, tired-sounding album over & over again over the last 10 years, Damon has taken things to another level with this incredibly inventive "virtual band", in partnership with Tank Girl artist Jamie Hewlett.

There's 15 tracks on this Singles Collection -and it's all gold. In fact, one could argue it's not even a collection of the best tracks Gorillaz have put out over the last decade, which is further testament to Albarn's skills.

"Clint Eastwood", "Feel Good Inc." "DARE", "Stylo" - they're all here - plus it even has "Doncamatic"! Oh hells yes!!

My tip for the unfamiliar? Pick this up, plus last year's low-key The Fall while your at it, and enjoy the good vibes.

Some of these tracks are 10 years old - but they still sound fresher than anything Liam Gallagher/Beady Eye have been putting out recently - especially that poor reworking of Lennon's "Instant Karma!" called "The Roller". Just awful.

Anyway I'm getting sidetracked. One final thought: get the special edition with all the video clips on DVD. You'll go apesh*t...

Reissue Were Here

So Pink Floyd have reissued their whole back catalogue. Again.
Now don't get me wrong: I'm the ultimate Pink Floyd fan, but I'm livid because 2 years ago I went out and bought the Oh By The Way box set, containing all 14 albums with mini-vinyl replica sleeves and no new tracks, thinking this was surely the "final cut", as it were, when it comes to definitive formats of the entire Pink Floyd studio catalogue - and then the whole "Why Pink Floyd?" campaign gets unleashed on us in 2011...
This time around there is a "Discovery" edition - where all 14 albums have been reissued - and again there are no new tracks. There are no Meddle or Animals outtakes to be found anywhere - but you can get the "Experience" edition of Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here (released tomorrow) which contains live tracks and a few rare studio out-takes.
If you're really keen, you can get the "Immersion" box set of Dark Side of the Moon (with Wish You Were Here and The Wall sets to follow soon), where you get a 10,000 page glossy book featuring 2 pictures you've never seen before, surround sound 22.1 mixes of the original album and the rare outtake of "Speak To Me", where if you listen closely you can hear Nick Mason fart between the bass-drum kicks.
So am I gonna shell out yet again for another format of some of my all-time favourite albums - all of which I already own??

Yeah, probably.