Artists of the Century
Q, November 2009
MURDOC
Gorillaz' misanthropic mouthpiece, {THE MAVERICK}, is inspired by dining with Bruce Willis and spewing out “sonic turds”.
HOW THE DEVIL ARE YOU?
Sunning myself... on a miserable shore. Lashed by winds. Baked by synthetic suns. Aged 43. Every wrinkle self-inflicted. Me? Never felt better.
What's been the best thing about this century?
Time is only relative to the sodden state you find yourself in. And the Nintendo Wii. Or Spotify.
And the worst?
When I was growing up, the future was a promise of glorious days and unlimited opportunity. Now that canvas is filled up with all types of terrible shit; minutiae of trivia and digital rubbish. The “information superhighway” is a hurricane of paranoia, so now every chalice is poisoned. It's all cloud. And every cloud has another cloudy lining. Mmm... anyone got any Propofol?
Gorillaz re-invented the concept of the pop band: discuss.
It's a monologue, not a discussion. A good pop band should reflect the kind of era it was spawned in. Gorillaz have done that in spades. Gobbling up every bit of cultural plankton and turning it back out as sonic and visual turds. We could have been called “The Zeitgeitzzz”. But that's a terrible name.
You've been accused of being a cartoon band - who does that criticism most apply to?
This is just too easy. You look at the charts, all you have is people who have reduced their personality to a saleable bullet point, a single primary colour. It's all duff. It's like watching a child daubing the walls with it's own faeces. Part of the point of Gorillaz is holding a mirror to all this and going, “Hang on. Who's the real cartoon here?”
You've barely aged this decade. What's your secret?
Gin. I'm a walking pickle. But I had the full check-up recently, and after years of abuse all I've got is a slight ringing in my left ear. I don't think age or bacteria can live inside me, my blood's just too filthy.
Have you ever sent a hologram to represent yourself at an event?
I think people would see right through that.
Did you feel ripped off by the Chinese opera Monkey: Journey To The West?
Tell me about it. I considered suing China for copyright infringement. Then I found out that Monkey King is a 16th-century Chinese text, so possibly they could claim they came first, but still... It's just a rip off of me and Gorillaz. Defo.
What was your most memorable meeting of the decade?
I did lunch with Bruce Willis. Now, my bloodline comes from filthy veins of the most virile and scurrilous pirates. I'm descended from scum. And he, that clean-shaven Bruce Willis character, drank me under the table. In [London eatery] Nobu. Left me in a congealed mass of Ghost wine, teriyaki and sake sauce. He's the Last Boy Scout fo' shizzle. I'll get him next time though...
Led Zep, Spandau Ballet, The Specials, Blur... What's your take on veteran bands re-forming?
Everyone knows it's a teeth-grinding experience, only endured for the promise of a fat cheque. Waste of time. Apart from The
Specials. Everyone loves The Specials. And Blur, of course - great to see Graham back on drums and they played blinders all summer. And I saw the re-formed Magazine play and that was the greatest gig I've seen. And the New York Dolls are incredible now. So my point? I'm against reunions. Apart from... er... well... sod it, I don't know.
Who are your artists of the century?
I... er... got some help with this... so [unscrews bit of paper] Hayao Miyazaki, founder of Studio Ghibli, for sheer volume, joy and colour. Studio Ghibli put out the best films in the world right now. Jonathan Ive, designer at Apple, is probably the most significant worldwide; the globe is Apple-shaped now. My favourite artist is probably Ken Reid. He drew Faceache in the Buster comics. If you're asking about musical artists, I dunno. Not the usual choices. Changing your wig and the sound of your hi-hat
doesn't make you an artist if all you're still selling is yourself and a shitty old disco record.
Can you sum up the century in a Tweet of less than 140 characters?
The decade in which technology allowed us to say more stuff with less insight, faster than ever before. If that isn't evolution, what is?
Gorillaz' misanthropic mouthpiece, {THE MAVERICK}, is inspired by dining with Bruce Willis and spewing out “sonic turds”.
HOW THE DEVIL ARE YOU?
Sunning myself... on a miserable shore. Lashed by winds. Baked by synthetic suns. Aged 43. Every wrinkle self-inflicted. Me? Never felt better.
What's been the best thing about this century?
Time is only relative to the sodden state you find yourself in. And the Nintendo Wii. Or Spotify.
And the worst?
When I was growing up, the future was a promise of glorious days and unlimited opportunity. Now that canvas is filled up with all types of terrible shit; minutiae of trivia and digital rubbish. The “information superhighway” is a hurricane of paranoia, so now every chalice is poisoned. It's all cloud. And every cloud has another cloudy lining. Mmm... anyone got any Propofol?
Gorillaz re-invented the concept of the pop band: discuss.
It's a monologue, not a discussion. A good pop band should reflect the kind of era it was spawned in. Gorillaz have done that in spades. Gobbling up every bit of cultural plankton and turning it back out as sonic and visual turds. We could have been called “The Zeitgeitzzz”. But that's a terrible name.
You've been accused of being a cartoon band - who does that criticism most apply to?
This is just too easy. You look at the charts, all you have is people who have reduced their personality to a saleable bullet point, a single primary colour. It's all duff. It's like watching a child daubing the walls with it's own faeces. Part of the point of Gorillaz is holding a mirror to all this and going, “Hang on. Who's the real cartoon here?”
You've barely aged this decade. What's your secret?
Gin. I'm a walking pickle. But I had the full check-up recently, and after years of abuse all I've got is a slight ringing in my left ear. I don't think age or bacteria can live inside me, my blood's just too filthy.
Have you ever sent a hologram to represent yourself at an event?
I think people would see right through that.
Did you feel ripped off by the Chinese opera Monkey: Journey To The West?
Tell me about it. I considered suing China for copyright infringement. Then I found out that Monkey King is a 16th-century Chinese text, so possibly they could claim they came first, but still... It's just a rip off of me and Gorillaz. Defo.
What was your most memorable meeting of the decade?
I did lunch with Bruce Willis. Now, my bloodline comes from filthy veins of the most virile and scurrilous pirates. I'm descended from scum. And he, that clean-shaven Bruce Willis character, drank me under the table. In [London eatery] Nobu. Left me in a congealed mass of Ghost wine, teriyaki and sake sauce. He's the Last Boy Scout fo' shizzle. I'll get him next time though...
Led Zep, Spandau Ballet, The Specials, Blur... What's your take on veteran bands re-forming?
Everyone knows it's a teeth-grinding experience, only endured for the promise of a fat cheque. Waste of time. Apart from The
Specials. Everyone loves The Specials. And Blur, of course - great to see Graham back on drums and they played blinders all summer. And I saw the re-formed Magazine play and that was the greatest gig I've seen. And the New York Dolls are incredible now. So my point? I'm against reunions. Apart from... er... well... sod it, I don't know.
Who are your artists of the century?
I... er... got some help with this... so [unscrews bit of paper] Hayao Miyazaki, founder of Studio Ghibli, for sheer volume, joy and colour. Studio Ghibli put out the best films in the world right now. Jonathan Ive, designer at Apple, is probably the most significant worldwide; the globe is Apple-shaped now. My favourite artist is probably Ken Reid. He drew Faceache in the Buster comics. If you're asking about musical artists, I dunno. Not the usual choices. Changing your wig and the sound of your hi-hat
doesn't make you an artist if all you're still selling is yourself and a shitty old disco record.
Can you sum up the century in a Tweet of less than 140 characters?
The decade in which technology allowed us to say more stuff with less insight, faster than ever before. If that isn't evolution, what is?