Well, this is it. The final installment of Second Drawer Up's "Top Eleven Albums of 2010". I have to admit I'm a bit sorry to see it finish. Mayhaps I'll hit some of the albums that came close to making my list sometime in the near future (Kele's debut solo record The Boxer springs to mind); I think that would be quite fun. But -- yeah -- this is the final installment. And once again I'd like to remind the reader that these have in no way been listed in a preferential order ... though I have to admit that this record I'm about to put down is certainly one of my all-time favourites. So here it is!
1.
GORILLAZ
PLASTIC BEACH
On the 9th of March last year, Gorillaz released their third (and perhaps final) album, Plastic Beach. A cartoon band created by Damon Albarn (of the late, great Blur) and realized by Jamie Hewlett (who was responsible for the great comic series Tank Girl), Gorillaz consists of part-time Satanist Murdoc Niccals, the pint-sized and impossibly skinny 2D, half-robotic assassin Noodle, and the hulking behemoth Russell Hobbs.
Their self-titled debut was released in 2001, featuring the classic tracks "Clint Eastwood" (featuring Del tha Funkee Homosapien - which in itself was rather ideal) and "19-2000" (with Miho Hatori and Tina Weymouth). 2005 brought us the more fully-realized Demon Days, with the most awesome electro-disco single "Dare" and their pairing with Neneh Cherry, "Kids With Guns". And now, we are blessed with the singularly epic sprawling masterpiece that I'm talking about right now at this very moment. As a matter of course, the cartoon characters have been somewhat sidelined by a very large coterie of flesh-and-blood musicians and guest vocalists -- but their spirit still lingers strongly in the world of Gorillaz' third LP. Set on the titular piece of real estate, somewhere in the South Pacific Ocean, this rollicking piece of work finds itself reveling on chunks of plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch that have somehow manifested themselves into an island where the Gorillaz have set up their home. And, boy, I've got to tell you - they have some seriously awesome guests. Here on Plastic Beach we have musical compositions (ranging from dub, raggae, hip-hop, techno, and - yes - electronica) with such luminaries as Snoop Dogg, Bobby Womack, Mick Jones and Paul Simonen from The Clash, Mark E. Smith, Lou Reed (!), Mos Def, and De La Soul. Eclectic? For sure! And that's one thing (of many) that makes it so special - you can't pin it down. Based on what I've heard, I heartedly recommend it to anybody. Pardon my French, but it's fucking magical.
Probably the most searing, awesomely scorching track off of Plastic Beach has to be the rollicking "Stylo," with vocal performances from Damon Albarn, Mos Def, and the gorgeous soul voice of the one and only Bobby Womack. The accompanying video is something special as well. It features three of the cartoon characters speeding through the desert in their car after some kind of shootout. It's a car chase! Guns blazing! A fat cop with donuts! Bruce Willis chasing them with a humongous gun! Noodle the cyborg with a hole in its head! It freaking rocks.
Thank you all so much for reading! If you like what you're reading at all, then help spread the word for me -- share a link, like on Facebook, re-Tweet, yeah, all that sweet-ass shit. Peace out, and can't wait to hear from y'all again!
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