For some reason, I think Plastic Beach uses vocoders too much. It detracted from Welcome to Plastic Beach and Broken.

Also, the demo of Broken was better than the final product.

Sweepstakes is probably my most disliked on the entire album, since it's just so bland compared to everything else, and the guy in the background saying 'sweepstakes' over and over again is just annoying. And like someone in the other thread said, Welcome to Plastic Beach is really just boring.

Otherwise I love everything else about it.

>>2972
Twas I that said it about both of your complaints....
Would it be redundant to agree with you agreeing with me?

>>2973
Not at all.

But I used the word "bland," so I get more brownie points.

I've listened to it twice last night. I gotta say I'm SLIGHTLY disappointed. I enjoyed Demon Days more. But that aside, I don't see where the hate for Welcome to Plastic Beach comes from. It's a good track. White Flag, as well. There were a few tracks that just felt redundant though. I don't think there was enough variation on this album for my taste. I finished listening to it the first time and thought, "That's it?" Some of it even felt half-assed. That being said, there are quite a few tracks that I absolutely love. Stylo being one and Rhinestone Eyes. Also, Superfast Jellyfish.

Another observation of mine is that in the entire album, there's almost no hook. There's no Clint Eastwood or Feel Good Inc. There's no sure fire hit which is surprising seeing as they said they set out to make a more 'pop' album this time around.

I'm not saying this was a bad album, just that it was very underwhelming. Here's hoping we won't have to wait another five years to hear their next effort.

...everyone hating on Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach, I don't think you actually enjoy rap.

And I'm not sure where the "not as good as demon days" thing comes from. OH WAIT IT HAS LESS TRACKS THAT ONE WOULD CONSIDER "SINGLES". This isn't a boring or weak album. Boring and weak is the next boy band moaning about how their dicks' limp since their girlfriend left them. Or another band that sounds exactly like all the ones that came before them. Or the love ballad of the week.

Plastic Beach is a chill album; it's meant to be put on and run all the way through while you're sitting on the porch, smoking a blunt. It's entirely a summer album. It's not something I'd bump at any given time of the day, but when ain't shit going down, this album is almost perfect. Unlike the last albums, where I ended up going back and saying "okay these are my favorite songs" and deleting the rest, Plastic Beach is one of the first albums I've heard in a while where I'd just want to play the entire album. None of these songs stand out, none of them are any more prone to being "Singles" than any of the others. But for each of them, the quality is still fantastic, and very listenable.

>>2990
That's sort of how I feel about the first album. I don't ever seek out individual songs from the album, but if I'm walking somewhere or driving, I put it on and let it play through. It's really good background music.

>>2990
I fucking love you, Fang.

>>2990
I said I didn't enjoy it as much as Demon Days because it felt like a step backwards, musically. Demon Days, to me, felt and sounded varied in it's sound with tracks that stood out more and were more memorable. And I think the first half of Plastic Beach feels like that, but, from Some Kind of Nature on, it sounds slightly dull and half-assed. With this disc I got half variety and hook, and half chill and relaxing over and over. Not that it's a bad thing, just not what expected nor wanted. But, you know, to each his own.

>>2990
>the truth

  >>2999
That's kinda my point though. Demon Days, and a lot of the earlier works, had a few songs that were markedly more upbeat or different than the other songs. So you pick about 3 or 4 you like and forget the rest. Anyone else recall Left Hand Suzuki Method?

The beauty of Plastic Beach is that its' soundscape is all very similar. No tracks stand out because no tracks are meant to. Snoop Dogg on the first real track after the intro sets the tone very well for the kind of album it is. There isn't supposed to be a "hook"; it's meant to be an entirely chillax album, of the same tone throughout. I can only guess that that is perhaps what is meant by a "pop" album; like a true pop album, no one song really rises above the others in terms of quality or preference.

Just cause I feel like being a pretentious fag, I'd like to take a swing at interpreting the album and its' meaning. I think ultimately the sound is supposed to set the scene for the U.S. as it is now; we sit on cusp of uncertainty, unsure of where we go next but only certain that it will probably not go the way that is best for everyone. We're living in this perpetual twilight now; our country has run out of that magical steam that fueled the last 50 years. But at the same time, we have elevated the status of "celebrity" and the falsity of that culture to the highest level. If America was any other culture in history, we would've been wiped out as soon as any kind of weakness was sensed.

But we won't be. Though we're perhaps one of the shallowest, the most ignorant, we are also the most powerful and most isolated of any other culture.

We sit in an eternal twilight, on a Plastic Beach, chilling and waiting for the Sunset that may not ever come.[/fag]

>>3002
Fuck yes, I remember Left-Hand Suzuki Method!

But yeah, I can see where you're coming from about the album. While it IS a good album, it's still not QUITE what I desired for their next. So, let's hope we won't have to wait another five years for the next album. Also, I've been thoroughly enjoying my long drives to work listening to it.

Hell yeah I remember Left Hand Suzuki Method. I remember most of the original album. Love me some Left Hand Suzuki Method. There were a couple of ones I didn't really care for on the original album as well.

Anyways, My complaint over Welcome To Plastic Beach stands. And actually for the exact reason you stated. I DON'T inherently enjoy rap.

Take 'November has come' from Demon Days. It's probably my third least favorite song. The only thing I want to listen to it is the parts that 2D sing. Of course, it's incredibly well known for guest starring MF Doom, who is among the most notorious of their guests.

At first i was a bit dissapointed. What's up with all these feats? Why so little Albarn on the tracks? WHERE AM MY NEW KILLER DISCOHIT?

But after listening to it again properly, like i guess you're supposed to do, i actually enjoyed it.. a lot.
It's so chill, the songs are pretty catchy and i seriously love some of the guest perfomances, Empire Ants, Some Kind of Nature, Cloud of Unknowing etc. The calm songs are the best of the album in my opinion, so chill and relaxing.
Really liked 'Iron Jet' too. Nice choice for last song.

The intro on 'White Flag' was great, then the rap happened...

>>3008
all my points standing, I do find white flag and sweepstakes a bit hard to enjoy

>go to get Three Hearts, Seven Seas, Twelve Moons on iTunes
>ALBUM ONLY
>curse iTunes.

>>3015
>listening to them both right now

Plastic Beach didn't grab me on the first play-through like the first two albums did, but then, I never trust my initial opinions when it comes to music - and these songs are definitely growers.

But White Flag I liked from the get-go, all the way through. I think the rap is great, especially the 'chorus'. Some Kind of Nature is my resounding favourite, because Lou Reed's voice really stands apart from the rest - it's like Dennis Hopper's role on Demon Days.

All in all I agree that it's a fantastic album, one which lends itself to full immersion, one you can drown in. I do miss the 'singles' feel of Demon Days, though - and I wish 2D sung more. But hey, you can't have everything. I'm still gagging to hear it at the Brighton gig!

Oh, and Sweepstakes? I love it. Mos sounds fantastic!

(Here's a chilling idea - since so many of the artists who contributed didn't make the 'cut', who's willing to bet they'll do an "album and a half" like Lady Gaga in another 6 months to a year?)

>>3028
well, they usually do b-sides. G-Sides and D-Sides were mindblowing.

So I'm listening to it right now for the first time. I think it's really good. I'm listening to it from beginning to end though so maybe that's why? I don't know, whenever I get a new album I normally listen to it like that anyways and for good reason. I'm not sure what songs I've listened to that I've liked because I was sitting away from my monitor and just enjoying them. So far I know I really like Some Kind of Nature and On Melancholy Hill.

So I listened to this online when /co/ did, and I've been meaning to buy it, but I just gotta know:

Is it worth it to get the Experience version of the cd, or just the normal one? I can get the normal cd for 10 bucks and the experience one is twice that. I don't really care about the making of dvd, but I'm not sure exactly if I'm missing out on anything that the online code gives ya?

>>3037
It really isn't worth it. It's just has a "making of" vid, some locked room bullshit for the site, and a game or something like.

I just want more dub reggae remixes of their shit. Laika Come Home is such a stupidly good album.

  I think I'm shifting between favorite tracks on this one. At the moment, I fucking love Empire Ants.

i love absolutely all of it, it's amazing and i want to have it on repeat forever

i got the making of video, they made an 8 by 8 foot model of the entire island, its absolutely astonishing

I can't see this as a summer chill album. Maybe I have different summers, ha.

Maybe my love of Stylo and Empire Ants is overwhelming me, but right now I love this album much more than Demon Days.

  Interesting little animatic.

I can't say I like it as much as I do the other albums. There's too much collaborating. There are more tracks featuring so and so than straight Gorillaz. I'm just not a big fan of the fake band collaborating with real artists, or at least not as frequently as they do now.

I couldn't imagine a cartoon band playing any of these.

It's very interesting to see everyone's opinions in a constructive way. The few times I ventured in to /mu/ to discuss the album, there were all sorts of shit storms.

I just absolutely love this album. I'm not super into music like some of you appear to be, but I remember listening to it for the first time and practically falling in love with every single song. I feel that all of them could have stood out at the best song on any other album; together it is an album of the best songs. The first 20 or so times I've listened to it (iTunes says I've listened to it at least 200 times now) I remember deciding that a completely different song was my favourite each time. Has anyone ever had that happen to them? I never have.

I got into the Gorillaz for the characters. It was such an appealing concept, and the fact that Jamie Hewlett was the artist pretty much sold me (I was obsessed with TankGirl at the time). While I enjoyed the first two albums, I never really understood why the debut was the best or why Demon Days was the best for some people. 'Course it didn't help I was 12 and 16 at the time I first listened to them...

I just don't see the big deal about the first two albums. There are some great tracks, but a lot of them are boring and I'll skip those songs if they start to play. I have skipped nothing with this album. Admittedly, I am starting to skip White Flag and Superfast Jellyfish but I mean I've listened to the songs 218 times now, it's starting to get boring. No fault at all of Damon's...

  The extra guitar really adds a lot.

>>3089

I agree with you.

I wasn't really into S/T or Demon Days, but I like Plastic Beach a lot more.

Also, the title track is God Tier for me.