Set sail for the Plastic Beach

Gorillaz find life after Demon Days

By Cody Klyne

orillaz made their mark after
G~ hit the ground running

back in 2001 with their
self-titled album that had enough
momentum to see the release of the
Danger Mouse-produced Demon
Days (2005). It’s now: 2010, and
everyone’s favourite virtual band of
cartoon misfits is at it again. With
Plastic Beach, the band’s third album,
lead singer and co-creator Damon
Albarn (former Blur front man) has
taken production duties into his own
hands and rallied a motley crew of
guests ranging from the legendary
Lou Reed to the bombastic Mos
Def whose combined efforts will
remind fans that Gorillaz are still a
relevant and poignant collaborative
experience.

Taking it from the first track,
something that sets Plastic Beach
apart from previous works is the
focus and scope of the instrumental
work that has been poured into
the album. Lush symphonic and
orchestral sounds are complimented

and brought to life by the
characteristic pop, alt-rap stylings
that Gorillaz are known for. Working
together to create a beautiful and
engaging contrast, between the brassy
bandstand sounds and dubstep-
inspired beats, these elements play a
vital role as the glue that holds this
expectantly unfocused 16-track affair
together.

The first full-length song
“Welcome to the World of the Plastic
Beach” features a special appearance
by Snoop Dogg. Snoop defender
or Dogg hater, it’s simple fact that
he brings a certain set of... biases
and expectations to anything he’s
involved in. That by no means makes

the disc. Songs like “White Flag”
featuring grime rappers Kano &
Bashy and “Sweepstakes” featuring
Mos Def are easily accessible and
instantly memorable; the former
utilizes eastern sounds of The
Lebanese National Orchestra for
Arabic Music to great effect, while
the latter is comparably wild and
chaotic, losing itself to a ravaging
beat.

With Albarn at the production
helm for the first time it should come
as no surprise that, as things carry on,
the album is quick to set itself apart
due to his willingness to embrace
the band as his own creation. The
phrase “fits like a glove” comes to

“Guests ranging from the legendary Lou Reed to the
bombastic Mos Def remind fans that Gorillaz are still a
relevant and poignant collaborative experience.”

it a bad song by definition; however,
the stilted lyrics and drowsy pulsing
beat do make it one of the weaker
attributes to the album.

Thankfully, this misstep isn’t
the only alt-rap representation on

mind. Songs like “Rhinstone Eyes,”
“Empire Ants,” and “Melancholy
Hill” successfully showcase his
strengths as the mastermind behind it
all and incidentally create some of the
most atmospheric and standout songs

 

of the band’s history.

With each release, Gorillaz seem
to be recreated according to Albarn’s
creativity and need to subtly comment
on current social issues. In this way,
Plastic Beach is no different. Cut
from the same cloth as Demon Days
in that it still very much feels like
a Gorillaz album, what sets it apart
is Albarn’s command over each
individual track. Swim, surf, or sail,
Plastic Beach is an island getaway
not to be missed.

 

Nixon makes big

news in Vancouver

Historical opera makes its Canadian debut as part of the Cultural Olympiad
By Jay Schreiber, Arts Editor

 

ixon, the sociopathic criminal
N= lied to the world for the

betterment of his country,
finally comes vocally to Vancouver
as John Adam’s 1987 composition
Nixon in China makes its Canadian
debut. The Vancouver Opera society,
along with contributions from the
Cultural Olympiad has the pleasure of
presenting perhaps this season’s most
expensive and largest-scale operas.

The year is 1972, and Richard

Nixon just landed in Peking escorted
by his wife, Pat, and right-hand man,

 

Henry Kissinger. Nixon spends the
next five days discussing politics
with Mao Tse-Tung and touring
the Chinese country to better learn
about their culture. It’s too bad the
Watergate
scandal

“This production is the most expensive recreation

representations of the orchestra rather
than repeated melodies and themes.
Adams focuses a lot of his work on
the tonal building blocks or “triads
and arpeggios” as many musicians
refer to it
_ as. One

ee of Nixon in China ever performed, with the bill "°¥iewer
Nixon coming to $1.4 million for only four nights of Adams
the butt —_ performances; it’s no wonder why this was the ™usic stated
of every most anticipated opera of the year.” that he did to
joke on the arpeggio
late night what

television, because American
Composer John Adams actually takes
this farce-like event seriously and
was subsequently commissioned to
write an opera for the opening of the
Houston Opera House.

Adams approach to music came
from his love of 20" century tonality
mixed with his upbringing in 1960s
rock and roll. This multi-influenced
musical experimentation led him to
be a central figure in the new style of
modern music known as minimalism,
where the score contains colourful

McDonald’s did to the hamburger by
making it so present in his music.
Nixon’s score is one of the most
interesting in operatic history, with
over 1850 time signature changes
and arias including one focusing on
Nixons obsession with historical
events titled “News Has a Kind of
Mystery.” In act two scene two,
Chiang Ch’ing (Mao’s wife) is given
a gun and pumps a few rounds of
lead into Henry Kissinger before
her big number “I am the Wife of
Mao Tse-Tung.” Mao’s wife shows

her authority in the last scene by
demanding her husband to “show
these motherfuckers how to dance”
after Pat and Dick start doing the
twist.

Yes, this opera is all just a big
historical joke based upon actual
happenings, yet the series of events
in the production have shown to be
truer to what happened than the actual
event itself. This, in a nutshell, is the
beauty of opera. Characters can sing,
speak or dance out historical actions
jokingly in a way that the actual
people cannot do in real life.

This production is the most
expensive recreation of Nixon in
China ever performed, with the
bill coming to $1.4 million for
only four nights of performances;
it’s no wonder why this was the
most anticipated opera of the year.
Regardless of your age, knowledge of
history or despise for opera, this is a
show for everybody—even if you’re a
Democrat!