Line #24 Fridge/Gorillaz


1	!Administrivia/SpoilersOff applies to Fridge pages. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned!
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3	!!FridgeBrilliance:
4	* My first listen to Gorillaz's ''Music/PlasticBeach'' left me thinking that it was pretty bland compared to their previous album, having almost no guitar, tons and tons of synths, and with 2D's vocal being almost completely devoid of feeling. Then I realized that this was all reflecting the themes presented by the albums. --Chexo Kuscolv
5	* Also on the topic of Music/{{Gorillaz}}, think of the lyrics to "Feel Good Inc.", the hit single about hedonism and how it only makes you sad. Specifically, this line: "My dreams, they've got to kiss, because I don't get sleep, no..." So his hedonism engulfed him so he no longer sleeps at night due to his raunchy ways of fame and lust. But dreams can also mean hopes, so not only does the lack of sleep literally make him stop "dreaming" but he also loses his hopes and dreams to the way of life. Poetry! --Hitchcock
6	* Watch the videos for "Feel Good Inc." and "El Mañana". The videos show Noodle, and her guitar, and her island as representing innocence, and the destruction thereof. Noodle's "skyland" is attacked by two helicopters, which she attempts to hide from inside the windmill, though it is eventually critically damaged, plunges into a canyon, and is destroyed. Then "On Melancholy Hill" rolls around, and opens with Noodle on a cruise ship. She presents a decidedly more adult appearance, wearing lipstick and stockings-she is 19 now, after all -- and instead of making her way to the "lifebewtz", takes her gun and actively attempts to fight off the flying pirates, managing to down one but not the other before the cruise ship is bombed and sank. She's not innocent anymore, but she has grown up. It probably also means something that we never see her eyes.
7	** By contrast, Cyborg Noodle ''hasn't'' grown up -- Murdoc based her on his memories of the last time he saw Noodle. [[http://www.usmagazine.com/moviestvmusic/news/us-reconnects-with-the-hot-gorillaz-guitar-player-201033 She likes Robert Pattinson, for Pete's sake!]] --Tropers/{{Jonn}}
8	* There has been a debate in my house about how Russell and/or Noodle would know how to get to ''Plastic Beach''. Until I finally realized why... because Murdoc told everyone the coordinates in his Pirate Radio broadcasts!
9	* The band is named after Music/TheMonkees.
10	** A group of gorillas are also known as a [[{{Pun}} band]].
11	** Kong Studios, named after King Kong, a giant gorilla (though in-universe, the place was originally known as Khong Manor, but still).
12	* Why is Noodle shaking her butt in Murdoc's dream? Well, it ''is'' [[DepravedBisexual Murdoc]] we're talking about.
13	* The fact that each of the albums is associated with each character.
14	--> Gorillaz: 2-D and Murdoc, but since Del the Rapper Ghost is involved, then it can be associated with '''Russel'''.
15	--> Demon Days: '''Noodle''' (the production of the album in-universe is credited to her.)
16	--> Plastic Beach: '''Murdoc'''.
17	--> The Fall: '''2-D'''.
18	--> Humanz: '''Murdoc and 2-D'''(though the heavier hip hop and rap influences also point towards '''Russel''')
19	* The ending of the heavily political "Hallelujah Money" video features a clip of ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'' from an episode called [[Recap/SpongebobSquarepantsS1E14SB129KarateChoppers "Karate Choppers,"]] bursting into tears. While it's still [[GainaxEnding really]] [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment jarring,]] an amusing tidbit is what in the episode itself he's crying about: Mr. Krabs telling him "Spongebob! [[Series/TheApprentice You're]] [[UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump fired!"]]
20	* At the end of the ''Saturnz Barz'' video, 2D asks for "just a peppermint tea" for breakfast. Why peppermint specifically? Mint tea is good for keeping the throat clear, and so has a reputation as a good tea for singers. Considering 2D's role in the band, it makes sense he'd have acquired a taste for the stuff.
21	** Mint tea is also known to help treat an upset stomach. 2-D asking for only a peppermint tea could suggest that not only did he lose his appetite from when he got attacked by the "haunted food", but he also ended up feeling queasy from this experience as well.
22	* ''The Non-Conformist Oath'' is the only interlude on ''Humanz'' not spoken by the narrator himself... because he's the one who steps out for a "fresh of breath air" at the end of the previous song.
23	* [[WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls Ace]] joining the band might initially seem out of nowhere, except that multiple times where both works had given a ShoutOut toward each other had already given credence that both Gorillaz and Powerpuff Girls exist in the same universe.
24	* In the video for ''Humility'', Russel tripping 2-D over for seemingly no reason makes a bit more sense when you remember that white eyes are either a sign of being afraid, which 2-D isn't, or ''possession.'' Given 2-D's eyes go back to their usual black after he gets back up it's likely that he was possessed during the video and that Russel, the band member with the most experience being possessed, gave him an impromptu exorcism.
25	* When Ace pops the basketball in the "Humilty" video, he looks genuinely surprised when the guys playing with the basketball are not impressed. Why? Think about [[WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls Ace's old gang]]; they probably would have thought it was hilarious. Real-life people? [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome Not so much.]]
26	* One early cartoon short had the band taking a promotional picture while wearing random costumes, and [[JerkAss Murdoc]] decides to dress as [[ThoseWackyNazis a Nazi general]], only to get scolded by Russel. Why Russel? Aside from [[YouKnowImBlackRight the obvious reason]], Russel in that short was dressed as Creator/CharlieChaplin, who had a personal loathing of the Nazis himself.
27	* In the "Rock the House" video, Murdoc successfully [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext deflects several billiard balls being shot at him by pelvic-thrusting while wearing nothing but a padded jockstrap]], but he eventually misses, [[ShotInTheAss one ball ricocheting off the back wall and hitting Murdoc in the arse]]. Where's the "brilliance?" If you're watching carefully, you'll notice that he [[ThirteenIsUnlucky successfully deflects twelve balls, and it's the thirteenth one that hits him]].
28	* In the [[https://youtu.be/9lWKt4vxOdg animatic for 5/4]] (NSFW warning for male nudity), the stage the band is playing on is shown to be almost shaped like a bone when viewed from above. At one point, a plank arises from the stage, the plank that Murdoc would go on to get to the group of fangirls, and this plank, er, [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything points out rather suggestively.]] The plank comes out shortly after Murdoc sees the group of scantly fangirls, in other words, the stage is a visual pun for "boner"!
29	* The number 23 appears several times in Gorillaz artwork, and several other references (May 23rd is 2-D's birthday, as well as the release date for the Demon Days album, and 2-D was also 23 the year the first Gorillaz album was out). Then I found out that Damon Albarn's birthday is March 23rd.
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31	!!FridgeHorror:
32	* Their backstory also has some good FridgeHorror, like 2D's AmusingInjuries. 'Oh, Murdoc just socked 2D in the face.' Typical {{Slapstick}}, right? That is until you realize that 2D has none of the typical cartoon HealingFactor and in fact suffers extensive injuries from accidents and the hands of his blatantly abusive band mate.
33	** This is brought out into the open and taken to extremes in the Plastic Beach chapter, where 2D's been kidnapped, incarcerated, beaten and drugged by his old 'friend.' The relationship between these characters has grown from FridgeHorror to straight-out NightmareFuel; just keep in mind that if Murdoc has no problem doing these things on tape, what do you suppose happens behind closed doors?
34	** Murdoc's sentence for running 2D over and putting him in a coma was to look after the poor guy. [[DudeShesLikeInAComa Rumours fly about what went on that year]], and even if that didn't happen, Murdoc cheerfully admits to having beaten up the unconscious 2D for fun. Not to mention nobody objected when the DysfunctionJunction that was Murdoc, 2D, and Russel adopted Noodle, a small non-English-speaking child they found in a box on the doorstep. Evidently SocialServicesDoesNotExist.
35	* It's been stated that Murdoc's distinctive puggish nose is the result of being punched in the face on multiple instances, like a boxer. Granted, most of these were his own fault, so what's the problem? The artwork of Murdoc at 10 portrays him with this appearance, which implies that he'd already been [[AbusiveParents smashed in the face several times]] by that age. According to the biography, Rise of the Ogre, the total number of outright breaks in his nose is eight; once from a school bully, twice from his brother, and five times from Russel when Murdoc was caught having sex with 2D's girlfriend. Nose breakages, however, are clearly not the only injury he's suffered. He was also disturbingly matter-of-fact about having been molested as a child, and given what we see onscreen there's only about a fifty percent chance he's making it up.
36	** Murdoc is generally [[ComedicSociopath hilarious]] in his antics, but as the story progresses and his relationship with 2D starts to take on more [[DomesticAbuse domestic abuse]] undertones, it can get a little hard to laugh. Even ignoring [[RapeAsDrama certain]] implications that have cropped up, it's fact that Murdoc beats on 2D regularly, and that 2D is much too submissive to fight back, or simply leave. In the truest meaning of fridge horror, 2D's whole situation just gets more depressing the more it's thought about...
37	** Murdoc being absentminded enough to bring up Paula during an interview while 2D was in the room led to a rather cathartic moment where 2D finally had the upper hand on Murdoc until Russ intervened. 2D was being detoxed from his pain killer addiction at the time. But then you realize -- 2D off his meds is not someone whose BerserkButton you want to press, even accidentally.
38	* In ''Kids with Guns'' from ''Music/DemonDaysAlbum'', 2-D is singing about [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin children slowly taking over with guns]], how they're "turning us into monsters," and that it's all for "desire." He may sing "Kids with guns... kids with guns" in a monotone voice, but when it gets to the chorus, he gets some emotion of hopelessness & grief in there. Now, imagine what he thought when [[AxCrazy Cyborg]] [[CreepyChild Noodle]] came along? [[TearJerker Dear God]]...
39	** Still horror, but crossing over with Fridge Brilliance, keep in mind that this song (as was many of the songs on Demon Days) was written by Noodle. At this point in the story, Noodle had regained her memories of her past, where she and other children were trained as Japanese super soldiers, or, one could say they were all kids with guns (and possibly other weapons). The program got scrapped when the it was discovered the trained children were too violent and unstable for battle, "they're turning us into monsters".
40	* Crossing over into Brilliance, but still mostly Horror: Murdoc's toxic behaviors become a lot darker (but also easier to understand) when you realize that he's been abused during his childhood; some abuse victims end up behaving in a toxic manner because of how they were brought up. Other aspects of his character that aren't toxic can be linked to the abuse he's suffered; his hypersexuality, for example, could stem from the fact that he was molested as a kid, as there are a lot of victims of pedophilia who grow up to be hypersexual.
41	* Also crossing over into FridgeBrilliance: ''Music/DemonDaysAlbum'' was released in 2005, which means it was written and recorded in the wake of [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror 9/11]]. The rap in "Dirty Harry" is from the perspective of a soldier suffering PTSD from the war in Iraq; that's horrifying enough. But watch and listen to "El Mañana" and "Fire Coming Out Of The Monkey's Head" through the lens of the World Trade Center attack and collapse -- both songs become not only heartwrenching, but utterly ''terrifying''. "El Mañana's" video, in particular, with Noodle trapped in the windmill tower as it's gunned down by helicopters...brrrrr.
42	-->'''Fire Coming Out Of The Monkey's Head:''' There were no screams, there was no time. There was only fire and then...nothing.
43	** Come to think of it, this might be the reason the music video for "El Mañana" was [[BannedInChina blocked in the United States]].

Context Fridge / Gorillaz