"O Green World" - Song Review

Title: O Green World
Artist: Gorillaz
From the album: Demon Days
Year of release: 2005

This song is a suggestion from my IRL friend Asparagus. Thanks for the suggestion!

Introduction

Welcome back to my blog. Today, I am going to review and give my opinions on "O Green World" by Gorillaz. Gorillaz was one of the first bands I properly got into, the others were probably Portugal. The Man and The Beatles. And this is a song I actually overlooked when listening to "Demon Days". But here I am now, giving the song some light and showing you what I like about it.

The Gorillaz Lore and some background

First of all, Gorillaz aren't real. The members of Gorillaz aren't real. Gorillaz is a product of musician Damon Albarn (of Blur fame) and illustrator Jamie Hewlett. Despite the members not even being real, Gorillaz's fictional members have gained a huge amount of love on the Internet and I've seen whole pages dedicated to stanning them. Gorillaz has been an outlet for Damon to show his beliefs that the legitimacy in the music industry is declining. This is more evident than ever due to the rise of AI songs. Like Jay Kay and Thom Yorke before him, Damon Albarn tried to warn us.

The Gorillaz lore can get pretty complex, but let me give you a narrow breakdown. Gorillaz were formed in 1998 by Satanist bassist Murdoc Niccals (who's from Stoke-on-Trent like Ritchie Blackmore). After knocking a young Stuart Pot's eyes out by driving his car into a music store, Pot joined the band as 2-D (short for 2 dents). Murdoc then kidnapped an American drummer named Russel Hobbs. A while after the band got started, a super soldier experiment named Noodle arrived at Gorillaz's home in Kong Studios. She ended up joining as the guitarist.

Back to the real world, Damon Albarn used his collaborative abilities and music virtuosity to put together Gorillaz's self titled debut in 2001. It was an extreme success with Gorillaz becoming a cultural phenomenon, particularly thanks to songs like "Rock the House", "19/2000" and most famously, "Clint Eastwood". Following this success, Damon knew he had to release an even better followup, giving the world "Demon Days" in 2005, and in turn, "O Green World".

Composition

"O Green World" is a song heavily inspired by industrial rock. Industrial rock was especially popular in the 90s, thanks to bands like Nine Inch Nails and KMFDM at the forefront. "O Green World" is far tamer than NIN and KMFDM, but the influences are still there. This is most evident through the harsh electronic bass that is present throughout the song. There is a lot of tension in the instrumental thanks to this electronic bass riff. When it starts playing before the verse, it really makes you think what this song's going to be about. But you know it's gonna be negative, not just because of how dissonant it sounds at times, but remember the album it's on. Another integral part of this song is the percussion, which features drum sounds, but also just random industrial sounds. In the beginning, we hear samples of a raven's caw, a sign of death in folklore, adding to the existential dread this song creates. In the lore, this is a sample of Murdoc's pet raven (because of course he has a pet raven). Throughout, we also hear wordless vocals from 2-D over synthesizers, which are kind of beautiful and tense at the same time. The song features two verses and has repeating instrumental segments, though they never get old as the different percussion sounds keep it interesting. One of my favourite parts of the song is in the second verse, where a crackly synth arises through a crescendo from halfway through the verse, with 2-D's vocals continuing. This serves as a climax to the outro when the song calms down at the end, ready to move onto the next track, "Dirty Harry".

Lyrics

Lots of Gorillaz's songs touch on social issues, and "O Green World" is no different. As if the title isn't a giveaway, "O Green World" is about the environment. The song is about an existential crisis involving the world, with 2-D, and in turn Damon, questioning about what happened to the Earth and why we ruined it. The song is all about pollution and how it seems like nothing is alive anymore, the world is just full of metal, pollution and carbon dioxide ("O, green world / Don't desert me now / Bring me back to Fallen Town / Where someone is still alive). I love the messaging in this song as it rings so true. This song is relatable to many as we all continue to question why we pollute the Earth. The first verse mainly shows us the outlook that the world is different now and there's nothing we can do. We're just in a place we don't know anymore. The second verse is even more sombre, about how the people in top don't do anything to help because they feel their riches make the environment none of their concern, even though it is very much their concern. In the end, 2-D morosely says all we can do is cope like everyone else by trying to take our minds off of it ("Hope, sex and drugs thrust into myself, holy / It feels holy"). This is a depressing song through and through, and I do see some parallels to Radiohead's "OK Computer" in this song. The lyrics of this song are so real and are probably some of the best on the album.

Miscellaneous thoughts

"O Green World" is similar to songs like "Virtual Insanity" by Jamiroquai and "No Surprises" by Radiohead. It's a song about a huge issue and it doesn't try to sugarcoat it. It's brutally honest about it and that's what I love about it. This certainly wouldn't be a song you'd play a party or a song you'd listen to lighten your mood, but it's a song that you listen to when you feel like you want to have an existential crisis and I think that's great. It certainly isn't a song for everyone, but it's a song I think everyone should hear at some point. And just like all the songs on "Demon Days", it's a great song with a thoughtful message.

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Final thoughts

Rating: A

This is a truly interesting listen and is a great introduction to Gorillaz. The industrial rock influences and environmentally-friendly message makes for a great listen. If there's one thing I'll say about this song, it's that you should be in the mood for it! It's not a song you listen to to make you feel happy! ;)

You can listen to the song here:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMt_YXr90AM

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/4hNPMfFHauPIbOKvdYqFt7