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Clint Eastwood (song)

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"Clint Eastwood"
Song
B-side"Dracula"

"Clint Eastwood" is a song by British virtual band Gorillaz, released as the first single from their self-titled debut album in March 2001. 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.[1]

The song is a mix of electronic music, dub, hip hop and rock. The verses are rapped by Del the Funky Homosapien, portrayed as a blue phantom in the video, while the chorus is sung by 2D (voiced by Damon Albarn). It peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart and number 57 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The single has sold 480,000 copies in the UK according to the Official Charts Company. Rolling Stone ranked it number 38 on its 100 best songs of the 2000s.[2] In October 2011, NME placed it at number 141 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".[3] The magazine also ranked it at number 347 on their list of "The 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time".[4]

Recording

Demo versions of "Clint Eastwood" were originally recorded by Damon Albarn on a four-track using a drum machine and guitar. A re-recording similar to these demos were recorded into Logic for use as a backing track. The strings featured in the song are from a string machine, the Solina String Ensemble. According to engineer, Jason Cox, "Damon gave us the OK to set fire to it on stage, but we said 'No, you can't set fire to that! It's a classic!'", and it ended up being used on the song as well as some other tracks on the album.[5] The drums are provided by a drum machine and the main instrument used in the song is the melodica, which Albarn used to make the basic track as well.[5]

Musical style

The song has been described as trip hop,[6] alternative hip hop,[7] rap rock,[8] dub,[8] and indie dance.[9]

Alternative versions

Studio versions

Some of the single releases featured an alternative version of the song which featured British hip hop group Phi Life Cypher, who also feature on the group's B-side "The Sounder". This was the original version.[5]

Live versions

For some live performances of the song, alternative rappers are used. For the 2005 Demon Days tour, a version of the song featuring De La Soul and Bootie Brown, who have also appeared in "Feel Good Inc.", "Superfast Jellyfish" and "Dirty Harry", was written and recorded. This version was released on the CD single of "DARE". During the Escape to Plastic Beach World Tour, a third version of the track, featuring British rapper Tinie Tempah, was written and performed. During July 2010, when Tempah was unable to make tour performances, a fourth version of the song, featuring Tempah's verses performed by British grime MC's Kano & Bashy, was devised. Snoop Dogg also performed a rap during the group's 2010 Glastonbury performance. During the group's Asian tour dates, a fifth version of the song, featuring all new verses from Lebanese-Syrian rapper Eslam Jawaad, was performed.[10]

During Gorillaz co-creator Damon Albarn's 2014 solo tour for Everyday Robots, he performed the song live with Dan The Automator and Del The Funky Homosapien for the first time.[11][12] Later in the tour, he played the song with new guest rappers like Vic Mensa, while also bringing back rappers who have previously performed the song with Gorillaz like Bashy and Snoop Dogg.[13]

Music video

The animated music video was directed by Jamie Hewlett and Pete Candeland. It starts with the Gorillaz logo in red against a black screen, and the following quote from the 1978 film Dawn of the Dead: "Every dead body that is not exterminated, gets up and kills. The people it kills, get up and kill" in Japanese then in English. This phrase was deemed offensive in some countries and a censored version was produced that omits this intro. The video and song name is a reference to the famous western starring actor Clint Eastwood, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. An interpolation of the yell from the film's theme song, in particular that film's protagonist Tuco's leitmotif, can be heard at the beginning of the video, followed by sinister laughter from Murdoc. The notes that the melodica plays are also based on the yell.

The band is seen playing their music against a completely white backdrop. 2-D is seen wearing a T-Virus shirt most likely referencing Resident Evil. Russel's cap then begins to mysteriously rise on its own, and the ghost of Del appears to be emerging from under it. He begins to rap, leaving the other band members dumbfounded, and the backdrop slowly develops dark clouds in the sky, and enormous tombstones start to burst out of the ground, and the scene becomes that of a cemetery, as a shower of rain and thunderstorm begins. Shortly afterwards, zombie gorilla hands rise up from the ground. Murdoc is grabbed by the crotch and pulled to the ground, a reference to the Peter Jackson zombie film Braindead. Seconds later, the zombie gorillas themselves rise up. Murdoc immediately flees at the sight of them, with a number of them pursuing him. He then turns and glares at them out of frustration at his inability to escape, and the zombie apes engage in a bizarre dance routine before Murdoc is finally struck by lightning; this dance routine is similar to the choreography of Michael Jackson's music video "Thriller".[14]

Noodle is then shown joyfully skipping along, almost as if she is completely unaware of her surroundings, and in her playful skipping, she delivers a hard kick to one of the zombie gorillas in the face. Immediately afterwards, Del is then sucked back into Russel's head as the gorillas all disintegrate, and the band members are left standing in the cemetery, now bright with sunlight. The video then concludes with a split screen showing each of the four band members and their names. The video has a running time of 4:32, which is significantly different from the album version, which runs for approximately 5:44, however, the album version features about 1:30 of the backing track playing with no vocals over the top. The BPM of the music video is also slightly slower than that of the album version. The video for "Clint Eastwood" won an award at the Rushes Soho Short Film Festival Awards in 2001, defeating entries by Blur, Fatboy Slim, Radiohead and Robbie Williams.[15]

Regarding Eastwood

In 2001, Hewlett and Albarn indicated that they had not received any feedback from Clint Eastwood himself over the song.[16] Albarn expressed a desire to send the actor some of the band's merchandise as a mark of respect, and said, "I'm sure Clint Eastwood would like [the song]. He's an intelligent man."[16]

Reception

Alex Needham of NME praised the Ed Case Refix, stating that it "hauls [the track] down the dancefloor of Twice As Nice, where all the disparate elements fall into place and the jarring culture clash suddenly makes perfect sense. A little shift in perspective and, suddenly, you've got a west London Basement Jaxx, embodying a more interesting - and accurate - vision of England than anything Blur (Albarn's other project) have dared to attempt."[17]

Track listing

  • CD single
  1. "Clint Eastwood" (original mix edit) – 3:44
  2. "Clint Eastwood" (Ed Case and Sweetie Irie refix) (edit) – 3:42
  3. "Dracula" – 4:44
  4. "Clint Eastwood" (enhanced video) – 4:25
  • 12-inch vinyl
  1. "Clint Eastwood" – 5:55
  2. "Clint Eastwood" (Ed Case and Sweetie Irie refix) (edit) – 3:42
  3. "Clint Eastwood" (Phi Life Cypher version) – 4:54
  • Cassette
  1. "Clint Eastwood" (album version) – 5:40
  2. "Clint Eastwood" (Ed Case and Sweetie Irie refix) (edit) – 3:42
  3. "Dracula" – 4:44

Charts and certifications

See also

References

  1. ^ "Welcome to the Monkey House". Entertainment Weekly. 25 November 2005. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  2. ^ "100 Best Songs of the 2000s: 38 – Gorillaz, 'Clint Eastwood'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  3. ^ "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years: 141 – Gorillaz – Clint Eastwood". NME. October 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  4. ^ "The 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time – 400-301". NME. 31 January 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  5. ^ a b c Inglis, Sam (September 2001). Recording Gorillaz's 'Clint Eastwood' at the Wayback Machine (archived 3 March 2016). Sound on Sound.
  6. ^ Nelson, Alex (30 November 2011). "Gorillaz // Singles 2001-2011". Rhythm Circus. Retrieved 24 June 2013. the trip-hop of early singles Tomorrow Comes Today and Clint Eastwood
  7. ^ Morneau, Blake (20 November 2013). "Deltron 3030 Alix Goolden Music Hall, Victoria BC, November 19". Exclaim!. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  8. ^ a b Walters, Barry (29 May 2001). Gorillaz – Gorillaz at the Wayback Machine (archived 7 December 2008). Rolling Stone.
  9. ^ Kessler, Ted (21 March 2001). "Gorillaz : Gorillaz". NME. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  10. ^ Hart, Otis (29 July 2010). "Gorillaz, Recorded Live In Damascus". NPR Music. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  11. ^ Minsker, Evan (15 March 2014). "Watch Damon Albarn Perform Gorillaz Songs With Snoop Dogg, Deltron 3030, De La Soul at SXSW". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  12. ^ Reilly, Dan (17 March 2014). "Watch Damon Albarn, Del the Funky Homosapien, and Snoop Dogg do 'Clint Eastwood'". Spin. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  13. ^ Damon Albarn & Vic Mensa Perform Gorillaz's 'Clint Eastwood' At Gov Ball at the Wayback Machine (archived 28 September 2015). Revolt.
  14. ^ Mitchum, Rob (4 February 2003). "Gorillaz – Phase One: Celebrity Take Down (DVD)". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  15. ^ "Gorillaz win film award". BBC News Online. 2 August 2001. Retrieved 1 June 2008.
  16. ^ a b Davis, Darren (13 July 2001). Gorillaz Go Ape On 'Clint Eastwood' at the Wayback Machine (archived 21 September 2007). Yahoo! Music.
  17. ^ Needham, Alex (5 March 2001). "Gorillaz : Clint Eastwood". NME. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  18. ^ "Gorillaz – Clint Eastwood". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  19. ^ "Gorillaz – Clint Eastwood" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  20. ^ "Gorillaz – Clint Eastwood" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  21. ^ "Gorillaz – Clint Eastwood" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  22. ^ "Gorillaz – Clint Eastwood". Tracklisten. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  23. ^ "Hits of the World". Billboard. Vol. 113, no. 26. 30 June 2001. p. 45. ISSN 0006-2510.
  24. ^ a b "Gorillaz – Clint Eastwood" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  25. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Clint Eastwood". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  26. ^ "Gorillaz – Clint Eastwood". Top Digital Download. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  27. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Gorillaz - Clint Eastwood" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  28. ^ "Gorillaz – Clint Eastwood" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  29. ^ "Gorillaz – Clint Eastwood". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  30. ^ "Gorillaz – Clint Eastwood". VG-lista. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  31. ^ "Gorillaz – Clint Eastwood". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  32. ^ "Gorillaz – Clint Eastwood". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  33. ^ Turkish Airplay Chart
  34. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  35. ^ a b c "Gorillaz – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  36. ^ "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 100 Singles 2001". ARIA Charts. Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  37. ^ "Jahreshitparade 2001" (in German). Austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  38. ^ "Rapports annuels 2001" (in French). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  39. ^ Template:Fr icon Classement Singles – année 2001 at the Wayback Machine (archived 12 December 2013). Snepmusique.com.
  40. ^ "I singoli più venduti del 2001" (in Italian). Hit Parade Italia. Creative Commons. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  41. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2001" (in German). Hitparade.ch. Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  42. ^ "ChartsPlusYE2001" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  43. ^ Radio 1 Official Chart of the Decade, as broadcast on BBC Radio 1 on 29 December 2009, presented by Nihal
  44. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2001 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
  45. ^ "Austrian single certifications – Gorillaz – Clint Eastwood" (in German). IFPI Austria.
  46. ^ a b Template:Fr icon Les Singles en Argent at the Wayback Machine (archived 11 July 2015). InfoDisc.
  47. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Gorillaz; 'Clint Eastwood')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  48. ^ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2001" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2011.
  49. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Clint Eastwood')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
  50. ^ "British single certifications – Gorillaz – Clint Eastwood". British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Clint Eastwood in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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