So you can survive when law is lawless (right here)įeelings, sensations that you thought was dead So I'ma stick around with Russ' and be a mentorīust a few rhymes so motherfuckers remember where the thought is Y'all can see me now 'cause you don't see with your eye Through Russel, not his muscles but percussion he provides I see destruction and demise (that's right) You have it or you don't, that's a fallacy To you because I put you on the hype shit Hero who appears in you to clear your view when you're too crazy Picture you gettin' down in a picture tube Now time for me is nothing 'cause I'm counting no age
The easy, fast & fun way to learn how to sing: I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad The magazine also ranked it at number 347 on their list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". In October 2011, NME placed it at number 141 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". Rolling Stone ranked it number 38 on its 100 best songs of the 2000s. The single has sold 600,000 copies in the UK and has been certified platinum by the BPI. It also reached number one in Italy and charted within the top 20 of many countries around the world. It peaked at number 4 on the UK Singles Chart and number 57 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The verses are rapped by Del the Funky Homosapien, portrayed as a blue phantom in the video, while the chorus is sung by Damon Albarn (2D in the video). The song is a mix of electronic music, dub, hip hop and rock. The song is named after the actor of the same name due to its similarity to the theme music of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The fusion of styles in this self-referential anime world is certainly innovative, edgy and original, with this as the breakthrough example."Clint Eastwood" is a song by British virtual band Gorillaz, released as the first single from their self-titled debut album in March 2001.
“I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad, I got sunshine in a bag, I’m useless but not for long, The future is coming on” sung by 2D, may refer to “sunshine LSD”, while the rap is full of references to, anger, frustration, being trapped, warped reality and of course working alongside the rhythms Russel, the virtual drummer. Why the title and what does it all mean? The film star reference comes with a nod to the music of The Good, The Bad and the Ugly by Ennio Morricone in which Eastwood took the lead, and alongside the mix of dub, hip-hop, trip-hop and electronica, the lyrics mix a sea of references to drugs, virtual worlds, paranoia and ego trips.
Albarn has been the only consistent member as 2D, and despite Niccals resembling Blur’s Alex James, the real bassist in 2001 was Junior Dan (later replaced by various others including The Clash’s Paul Simonon), plus Simon Katz (lead guitar), William Lyonell (rhythm guitar), Cass Browne on drums and Mike Smith on keyboards, plus many other lineups since, and guest vocalists on later material, including Mark E Smith, Lou Reed, De La Soul, Bobby Womack and Snoop Dogg.Īlongside Albarn’s high, ghostly vocals, the key performer on Clint Eastwood is the rapper Del The Funky Homosapien (aka Teren Delvon Jones). The band idea was conceived as a virtual ‘hell” world of MTV videos, and the characters are in the style of Japanese anime with 2D (lead vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar, vocals), Noodle (guitar, keyboards, and backing vocals) and Russel Hobbs (drums and percussion). Connecting with yesterday’s Handsome Boy Modeling School’s pairing, Dan the Automator was also the producer behind this quirky first single by the oddball virtual band created by Blur’s Damon Albarn and the cartoonist Jamie Hewlett who created all the visuals.