The Damon Albarn thread.

[laundromatlock]

That's a nice interview, thanks Liz!

I believe this is the first time someone adresses his relationship with Jamie other than Denholm. That's pretty bad, that Jamie considers Gorillaz is done.

Still, you never know. I thought Gorillaz were over after phases 1 and 2 (granted, those were different times, no personal rows or anything).

[Lizzybear]

Oh no he's not retiring! I'm sure he'll keep making music in some form forever lol.
And it's not really soley in his control about either blur or gorillaz.
if jamie doesn't want to go forward with gorillaz then there's not much damon can do. and you can't blame jamie either.
same with blur. even alex said he was too busy with his kids and making cheese to start up blur again. there are so many people in these projects it's impossible to point the finger at one person (which is usually damon and it's really unfair).

he's really honest, can't be upset with him at all for that. i admire him for it.

here are some more:


courtesy of blur forums:



scanned by my blogging partner shelley:

[Mark]

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lizzybear;5271618
Oh no he's not retiring! I'm sure he'll keep making music in some form forever lol.
And it's not really soley in his control about either blur or gorillaz.
if jamie doesn't want to go forward with gorillaz then there's not much damon can do. and you can't blame jamie either.
same with blur. even alex said he was too busy with his kids and making cheese to start up blur again. there are so many people in these projects it's impossible to point the finger at one person (which is usually damon and it's really unfair).

he's really honest, can't be upset with him at all for that. i admire him for it.

here are some more:


courtesy of blur forums:



scanned by my blogging partner shelley:

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That's fair enough that there's not just him involved.

But come on, it's Damon Albarn we're talking about. This is a man that joined the dots between all those huge names with Gorillaz. The same man that formed, easily, the most musically-gifted group since Stone Roses with TGTB&TQ, and has united all-star casts for Africa projects and Rocketjuice.

What I'm saying is, if there's anyone who can make a sleeping band work, it's him. I'm in a sleeping band myself, and it's overwhelmingly difficult to keep it running. He's the man that inspires me to do it, though.

Saying I'll never forgive him was harsh. I was upset, sorry. He'll always be my hero, no matter what he does.

[bedofroses]

Ugh that interview is a good find, thanks Lizzy! Still need to read it, but not looking forward to it judging by people reactions to it

On the upside, the photos of him look rather nice

[Ms Magpie]

I'm actually OK with him not doing anything else with Blur and/or Gorillaz. Still sad I'll never get to see teh monkeys but... at least the musicians have got the balls to call it a day before they go past the 'use by' date.


I'm sure he'll still be making music. No worries there.

[bedofroses]

That is sad about him an Jamie, I hope they start being 'friends' again soon, even if we never see another gorillaz album. I dont like to think about them two as not talking...however silly that sounds.

Tbh I do not mind what he does, as long as he is making music that I enjoy, and by the sound of this, he will not be giving up recording and playing music in some form, for a very long time.

[Mark]

The reason I'm not happy with the "no Blur" thing is because music is boring at the moment. I got into Blur in 2009, and Hyde Park was the start of my adoration of Albarn. I was 11 when Blur went on hiatus, and though they were always there, I haven't had this band for 20 years, I've had them for three.

And when they got back for 2009, I really wanted an album from them. We got Fools Day, and I've played that to death, but I want a Blur record to look forward to. And I know plenty of people my age who would also look forward to it. They're still relevant. And you know what, we don't have anything else at the moment. Everyone else is too huge to care about us - Kasabian, Muse, Arctic Monkeys - and there are no decent indie bands coming through.

Ending Blur is totally the right thing to do. But I just long for one more record from them.

[Cheese Nip 2]

Sad to hear the news about Blur. I just recentally got into them (I guess I still have some stuff to explore in their catalogue). At least we'll get Under The Westway, and in many ways it's sort of...I don't want to say good, but it's sensable I guess, that Damon's ending it. 9 years without a new album is a lot of time, and at least their not having us, the fans, waiting at the edge of our seats for something that probally won't happen. Again, it's sad it has to end, but every band comes to this point eventually.

And it looks like we might have made it, yes it looks like we've made it to the end

Thanks for the music guys!

[Corkus]

Well, I guess I won't be seeing Blur live ever. It's especially disappointing being trapped in North America where Damon never wanted to take Blur during this revival period. I'm okay with Blur not having made another record (post-reunion albums traditionally miss more often than they hit) but I wish they gave the rest of the world a second chance.

Will always love them, of course.

[Lizzybear]

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mrkjhnwht;5271632
That's fair enough that there's not just him involved.

But come on, it's Damon Albarn we're talking about. This is a man that joined the dots between all those huge names with Gorillaz. The same man that formed, easily, the most musically-gifted group since Stone Roses with TGTB&TQ, and has united all-star casts for Africa projects and Rocketjuice.

What I'm saying is, if there's anyone who can make a sleeping band work, it's him. I'm in a sleeping band myself, and it's overwhelmingly difficult to keep it running. He's the man that inspires me to do it, though.

Saying I'll never forgive him was harsh. I was upset, sorry. He'll always be my hero, no matter what he does.

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that's ok, I was on the Blur forums earlier today and just the ignorance some people have towards damon on there pissed me off it's always the same story.

i have no doubt he'll go on to form probably 10 more awesome bands in his life. i really doubt it's the end for gorillaz anyway. give them another year, i can't imagine them staying upset with each other that long. damon's a forgiving person we know that from him and graham getting back together. i bet they make up sometime in the future.

and yes of course he pushes and really inspires bandmates to do their best but i think they all are fine with blur ending. they don't want to tarnish the image, i get that. i would hate it even more if they became even more over exposed and made a so so album (not that they would but you know )

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ms Magpie;5271663
I'm actually OK with him not doing anything else with Blur and/or Gorillaz. Still sad I'll never get to see teh monkeys but... at least the musicians have got the balls to call it a day before they go past the 'use by' date.


I'm sure he'll still be making music. No worries there.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by bedofroses;5271671
That is sad about him an Jamie, I hope they start being 'friends' again soon, even if we never see another gorillaz album. I dont like to think about them two as not talking...however silly that sounds.

Tbh I do not mind what he does, as long as he is making music that I enjoy, and by the sound of this, he will not be giving up recording and playing music in some form, for a very long time.

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agreed and agreed

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mrkjhnwht;5271722
The reason I'm not happy with the "no Blur" thing is because music is boring at the moment. I got into Blur in 2009, and Hyde Park was the start of my adoration of Albarn. I was 11 when Blur went on hiatus, and though they were always there, I haven't had this band for 20 years, I've had them for three.

And when they got back for 2009, I really wanted an album from them. We got Fools Day, and I've played that to death, but I want a Blur record to look forward to. And I know plenty of people my age who would also look forward to it. They're still relevant. And you know what, we don't have anything else at the moment. Everyone else is too huge to care about us - Kasabian, Muse, Arctic Monkeys - and there are no decent indie bands coming through.

Ending Blur is totally the right thing to do. But I just long for one more record from them.

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aww man there is still plenty of good music out there! you just gotta know where to look. clearly not the same 10 bands the NME covers every week (even tho i do love kasabian but they aren't huge over here in the US at all).

[Mark]

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lizzybear;5271855
aww man there is still plenty of good music out there! you just gotta know where to look. clearly not the same 10 bands the NME covers every week (even tho i do love kasabian but they aren't huge over here in the US at all).

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Yeah, there is great music, but there's something about Damon, really. You know that. He just has this ability that few people have... Everything that he writes sounds as if he's writing for you and you only. Same with his performance.

Indie needs a kick up the backside, and a Blur album would do that. There aren't many bands that really, really excite anyone like they did in the 90s.

[MillieSkittles]

Damon and Jamie have stopped speaking before... I feel sure they'll talk again.. I understand where Jamie's coming from though.. with Damon frontmanning on tour, and EMI cutting things like Rhinestone eyes, Jamie has nearly no part of the Gorillaz at the given time, at least, from his prospective =< they should just do it the old way.

[Lizzybear]

aww yeah i know jamie was super bummed a lot of the tour for the rhinestone eyes video, etc. and that was a bit sad to see as i do love jamie too. i remember him and smoggy and us fans making fun of damon a bit (nothing mean haha) before our gorillaz show good memories.

i really loved the way they did these live shows tho :/ it was great to see all those legends on stage. the way they pulled off DoYaThing was great too. maybe they'll do something like that again. give it time

[bedofroses]

Fair enough though, for Jamie, for him to stop playing his part in the project if he felt that his work was not coming across in the way he wanted it to.

Looking forward to the Dee album now!

[Mark]

I think in all fairness to Damon though, the lack of Jamie is not his fault. They are a band. Music comes first. It wasn't Damon's choice to cut the video, nor was it his fault that band became Glastonbury-headliner-sized in three months flat. And as half the band, I'd expect Jamie to accept that, and I'm sure he did, to be honest.

But as Damon said, they can never do a tour like that again. They have to downsize, and that will make Jamie's side of the deal easier. I still want a movie.

Can I plug a Gorillaz remix on this page please?