The successor to this video is out! Check out my Song Machine analysis!: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/la-kbK2pktWlm40.html

The way I heard it from someone else is that, if Humanz was the party at the end of the world, then The Now Now is the hangover you feel the next morning when the world is still here.

humility "im so happy that Murdoc is gone" souk eye "ya know what, i miss Murdoc"

"Gorillaz is being too political!" Okay so I guess Demon Days and Plastic Beach were about rainbows and unicorns then?

"it's funky but it's also sad" god me too

This album basically stands for fun depression

I feel this album as a summer trip at the beach but everybody is feeling suicidal

Uhh I defend humanz.. this is my defence.. *Z E B A T H*

I still don’t get why humanz gets so much hate, every band tries something different or new plus gorillaz music isn’t really consistent it’s very different in sound with each album

Ace is confirmed as an actor Basically the powerpuff girls was fake and a bunch of actors I have no idea how to feel

The beginning where Damon was talking about reading the critics of his albums.... it made me cry and I wanted to give Damon a hug. Y’all rude.

Humility: Thank god that bully is gone. He’s so mean, and he, ya know... blinded me. Every song in the Middle: Maybe, Murdoc is alright? No... Souk Eye: COME BACK MURDOC!!!😭😭😭

You know, I really wanted Jack Black to be featured in the album. That man can sing.

so is this the stockholm syndrome album

Basically, we have 2D telling us he's happier without Murdoc, and then he realizes he misses him one way or another. And then, with the Song Machine series, we have Murdoc stabbing 2D with a syringe with truth serum, probably trying to find out a secret or something, even though in Aries they seem to be in good terms. And then in Desolé everyone is on their own doing their thing, and Murdoc seems sad to be left alone. That's what I've gathered so far at least.

Man, 2-D is so depressed with this thing of murdoc beeing in jail.... I think this is for the reason of murdoc's crazyness of life and the creation of the band itself.

I really strting to think I'm the only one who can enjoy humanz We don't talk about Sex Murder Party...

I didn't come here to feel.

Very relatable album for me. As someone who struggles with relationships, mostly platonic ones, it really hit home. The isolation and melancholy 2D feels throughout makes me identify with it, but not everything is hopeless. This album, in my opinion, encourages perseverance and hopeful thinking while simultaneously giving emotional lyrics that resonate with me. Not everyone will love you. People are cruel. They'll abuse you. They'll manipulate you. But you have to keep trying. You can't lose hope. It's OK to hurt. But you can't succumb to the negativity toxic relationships deliver.

The best thing to come out of Humanz is.. T H E - B A T H

*Video:* 0:01 *Empire Ants Starts* * Destroy the like buttom *

Fantastic analysis as always, man! I especially enjoyed the inclusion of 2D’s thoughts as you went along the tracks. You did great!

WoW 2D tHaTs PrEtTy GaY

Who hurt you Zeep? Who hurt you who hurt you who hurt you who hurt you :(((

19:20-19:23: "Humility", "Kansas", "Fire Flies", "Magic City", "Souk Eye", and even "Tranz" are the songs that I keep coming back to. They have been the soundtrack to my summer.

I love how 2D's writing style involves love songs

So, The Now Now is pretty much 2D's Stockholm syndrome?

Of course Gorillaz would think so well of California. There British! They probably haven't seen the sun in years.

I appreciate the respect you have towards the risk Damon took releasing an album which was very obviously going to cause controversy. I love Humanz and I disagree with many criticisms that you and other likeminded people knock it down for, but I appreciate that you at least acknowledge the perseverance that Damon showed to release such a wildly different Gorillaz album.

Can we all agree that the individual talked about in the album is murdoc?

This album is less political, which may let down some of the old school fans or fans who loved the concept over all, but i really enjoyed this emotional journey of an album. It’s beautifully produced and the lyrics are sick!

Damn 2D's pain is too relatable 👏🏽How👏🏽do👏🏽I👏🏽move👏🏽on👏🏽

I'm a political person, so knowing that gorillaz pays attention to that stuff too, I'm glad a popular band doesn't just sing about love and how much money they have. Pop songs are annoying. So I thank Gorillaz for not losing their mind over popularity and wealth.

So the album was less about 2-D, and more about Murdoc, and his relationship with 2-D.

I like to think that Tranz is just them tripping out on LSD during a vacation.

Zeepsterd: "this person" "this individual" Me: " omfg just say Murdoc"

That explanation of Kansas made me tear up. Great video!

I hope Damon understands we appreciate him and Jamie so much.

Me doing mental gymnastics after watching this video: so basically after Murdoc got arrested 2-D went through the five stages of grief essentially.

im getting vibes from 2D and murdoc, the last song had images of murdoc. As Zeep said (im going with his analysis) it was about a person 2D has lost.

I know Murdoc is like a total D bag to 2-D, but I mean, he created the band, so I feel like he has a right to come back to the band. Y'all out here sayin, I don't want him to come back, but I mean Zeep talked about how The Now Now could refer to some of the difficulties of relationships. I think that Murdoc and 2-D need to work out their differences, whatever it takes. And I mean, how would we get more of those awesome bass riffs similar to Feel Good Inc. or Clint Eastwood? #FreeMurdoc

The part where you explain about Kansas, really hit me, I started tearing up when you revised the lyrics and explained what they mean. I already loved Kansas, even if I cry occasionally to it, but I now I love it even more, and possibly will break down while listening to it next time. :')

Why when all like 2D’s Thoughts are like hating and like angry over one person I go “OH ITS ABOUT MURDOC!” WHY DO I DO THAT

*i came as soon as I heard*

The Now Now is 100% a sad summer album for me. It came out a couple days before me and my high school sweetheart of 5 years decided to break it off for good. The album will forever hold a close place with me, not only because Gorillaz are my favorite band, but because I tied it to something that was huge in shaping my current life, something that really shaped me as a person, and something which was truly beautiful. What you said about Kansas and Souk Eye I can really relate to. My ex and I even listened to the album together when it first came out, and on a road trip we took before we broke it off. I'm not sure why I wrote all this, but I loved this album, and I enjoyed this video, truly. I hope you and I recover from the pain we feel

I feel this album and especially 2d I can relate with, you see I'm going though some emotionally hard times most people tell me that I probably have depression, and it didn't help that my girlfriend recently broke up with me, I felt like there was no reason to go on I gave up on art, music, and more and I had lingering thoughts about her thinking about what if, what if we had stayed together ? This album has been my cruch throw the summer, seeing this video really opened my eyes about how I should enjoy my life and how lucky I am to be were I am, so from the bottom of my heart thank you Zeep

Incredible analysis, can't wait to see more!

This whole album is a healing process for me. Years ago I fell in love with a man who became the center of my world. I lost myself trying to make sure his happiness was top priority, and the relationship eventually ended in a very tragic departure from each other. It was horrible...it still hurts to think about. I'm still in love with him and unable to move forward, and because of everything that happened, I completely lost all sense of self. I've never really been the same, and I still struggle with the pain of loss and the longing to go back to the way things were. It could never be the same though...so this album is something that resonates very strongly with me.

I think 2d is struggling with some very complex and painful conflicting feelings about Murdoc being locked up. He is at once his worst abuser and his best friend in a way, he hates him deeply for the things he's done but can't deny that he made him who he is, and has had some fun moments and a long shared history of building success with him as well. I think this album is a complicated "letting go" of someone when you know you need to, even if that feels really emotionally hard to do, and becoming independent of that person, so that when you meet again you can stand on your own two feet and not let them have so much abusive control over you. Basically an abuse victim rising up and out. But that's just what I felt from it!

The Now Now is one of my favorite Gorillaz albums, even up there with Plastic Beach and Demon Days. It made me sad to see how much the critics hated it.

It all sounds like 2D is having conflicting thoughts about his abusive ex lover Murdoc

Saying the fall wasn't good turned me off, it is easily the best album.

2:17 "Thanks so much for exiting my life" Me: *PFFFT* That line was worded so perfectly it made me laugh harder than it should.

this is the DEFINITION of *_PERFECTION_*

Am I the only one who thinks fireflies is about 2d missing murdoc

Into the mouth (inhale) this review was (pop) *NOICE*

someone else who's favourite song from The Now Now is Souk Eye. it's a brilliant song and i can't express how much I love it.

Quick thing about the Fireflies track. The lyric “Sometimes I follow a firefly, it takes me…” is actually incorrect. If you got your hands on the deluxe vinyl boxset for this album, it would include a lyric booklet that also acted as 2D’s personal diary. Meaning this is both the official lyrics and possibly the canon interpretation of such as it is in 2D’s handwriting. The lyric clearly reads as “*he* takes me…” and not “it takes me…” Noting how emotionally charged this song is, how we can immediately debunk that this song is about Paula simply by the fact that it lists his lover/partner is male, and how right after this we get the lyrics “Baby, I just survive. I got drunk, I’m sorry. Am I losing you?” Now this line could be interpreted as 2D telling this to his lover/partner, but that only makes sense if the other common misinterpretation. (Switching “I got drunk” with “I’m love drunk”) Since it’s the first option, that begs the question: Is this 2D perhaps recalling a past conversation he had with his lover/partner or is this the lover/partner telling this to him as an excuse to continue this toxic relationship? I’ll leave you with that what you will.

Am I the only one that has Humanz as their favorite album? I honestly like Murdoc’s design in Humanz

Am I the only one who actually like the Humanz Album?

The first time i listened to this album Fire Flies and One Percent made me cry. Fire Flies hit hard, I had just gotten out of a relationship and a day later my ex and my 'best friend' started dating. At this time I was already struggling in a very low point of my mental health, but it pushed me even further. Then comes One Percent, struggling alone for a long time afraid to speak to others about my issues and only being able to talk to one or two people for help. Consistently feeling a burden on my friends, and always second guessing my worth and where I stood with them. The whole album struck a chord with me, each track in different ways, and I thoroughly enjoy listening to it to this day. The songs hit hard, but music has always been the one things that has helped me get through everything no matter the rush of emotions that comes with it. Listening to these songs and finally being able to get through them without shedding a tear has meant a lot, and being able to listen to one of my favourite bands has always been a relief.

Maybe its because im shipping trash but this analysis, 2ds journal, and both 2d and murdocs words in this phase id giving off some incredibly strong implications of the nature of thier relationship. I highly doubt that the tragic love ballads of this album is about some random unamed indivisual or even paula because that happend almost 20 years ago. Murdoc just really fits the object really well. My point 10/10 fantastic analysis. Also damons been dealing with some shit.

Amazing. just, simply amazing.

It took me two years to find out people don’t like the now now

Souk eye 2-D is talking about Murdoc

Final Fantasy 9 is good. But Garfield Kart is better

Y’all better stop being mean to Gorillaz or they might leave again 🙁

Woah... The Magic City one. Holy shit. I'm born and raised in Vegas, and was AT that exact Gorillaz Concert that year. I have family friends that went to the concert just a few days later when the shooting happened. I remember seeing it on the news, I remember the night it happened. It's still so scary to think that the man was there, and that if he decided to open fire just a few days before, there's a change I wouldn't still be here.

“The fall wasn’t really that good” typical

I think this is my favorite album by Gorillaz so far if I'm being honest, it might come second to Demon Days, but it's close

When 2d gets up he blinks and his eyes go back to black as if when hes happy his eyes get white

The Fall is not that good!!?!?!! EXCUSE ME have you listen to Amarillo yet??? ❤️❤️

My views on the now now: 2D's sad Give him therapy, please

Humanz was not a bad album it was good because we had the baff :>

Amazing job Zeep! Love love this video and your analysis 💕

Now Now was a good album, but no way in hell is it better than Plastic Beach. That album is a masterpiece through and through; Now Now has some lackluster tracks. Still a great Gorillaz project though, probably my third favorite behind PB and DD

You think 2-D is talking about Murdoc, his ex that cheated on him and himself at the exact same time? Just thinking about everything that he's been though throughout the Gorillaz discography you'd easily see that he's a pretty fucked up person deep inside, yet somehow retains a shred of humanity he once held before Murdoc first met him and started the band. After all the abuse he's been through, that fragment has morphed and melded constantly into a series of shapes that 2-D can't recognize, all because of his view of reality being so warped that he only sees it in, well, 2 dimensions. I personally believe that this album is the Yin to the Yang that is The Fall. The two albums represent each other so well now that The Now Now exists to draw comparisons with. Both albums seem to focus on 2-D with mere perfect synchronization, especially with what's occurring inside his head during his ups and downs. If The Fall is 2-D at his peak of absolute psychosis, then The Now Now is what the perception of serenity looks like inside those white eyes before they pitch black again. To me it seems like 2-D is proving to himself throughout this entire album that no matter what circumstances he or the band is in he'll always be dependant upon someone else's will to give him attention, abusive or otherwise. It's more than just a sad reflection on the pondering of ones innermost needs as a human, it's acknowledging that you're someone that you know you could never be comfortable with even if you were given the freedom to choose your destiny; He'll always be codependent on a more dominant being in his life. It's this very detail that makes 2-D more than a 2 dimensional character and more like a 3 dimensional ironic tragedy. That being said, we need an album focused on Russel. That fucking walnut of an enigma needs a good cracking.

My Top 5 would have to be 5. Magic City 4. Kansas 3. Fire Flies 2. Tranz 1.Souk Eye

The few weeks before The Now Now's release is without doubt one of my most worried times I've been about a project ever. The relief I had when listening to it realising it was good was the best feeling ever

I actually LOVE the Now Now honestly. It has sooo many good songs like Humility, Hollywood, Souk Eye, Fire Flies, and tbh Souk Eye and Fire Flies are easily my favorite songs of their atm. Soooooo good.

I love this album a lot. Definitely at the top for me again like the first two albums. And yeah, I guess here's my list: 5. Humility 4. Souk Eye 3. Tranz 2. Lake Zurich 1. Magic City

Honestly I don’t like how close to home some of the “2D monologues” did. Still a good video

Everything you said about this album is what I got out of it. Except for Magic City. I thought it was about how being with someone can make you feel lost in a magic city. Seeing how Fire Files comes right after, so it's the pain of losing that one person you can't get over. But, I respect Magic City even more now knowing that it might possibly be about the Las Vegas shooter booking a top floor room when he was performing.

The Fall is so chill and lovely, so that makes it my favourite Album by Gorillaz

Souk Eye is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. I'm a pretty new Gorillaz fan but damn, The Now Now just has a vibe an aesthetic that compliments its subject matter so well that I can;t help but keep coming back to it. The whole Stolkhom Syndrome thing always put me off but in the end, I think Souk Eye is 2-D coming to the conclusion that he can be friends with Murdoc, they don't have to be estranged for 2-D to be happy.

I normally watch porn on a Saturday night.

humanz was so good !! i fail to understand why people think its so bad

i think HIM is hypnotizing the band through ace

A long time ago, when I was thinking back on how people say their art isnt good, I had a thought. There is no such thing as good or bad art. This goes for music too. Good or bad art/music is based off of peoples opinions. Some like it, some dont, it's all about personal preferences of what is pleasurable to the eye/ear. So basically, all those peeps out there who think their stuff isnt good. That only means theres room for improvement. There is no such thing as good or bad art/music.

Great content as always mi amigo

*who disliked this video? It’s amazing.*

You are literally the best content creator on youtube I remember watching the first video and loving your style

This gave me goosebumps! Great work!

Humanz was one that had to mostly grow on me. There are great songs on the album, like Charger, She’s My Collar, Let Me Out, and Saturnz Barz. I mean, Sleeping Powder is great and fun. These of course are the songs where Albarn is actually a central singer. Common consensus seems to be that not enough Albarn was one of the main drawbacks of Humanz. Personally I just think it lacked the kind of variety of previous albums which were really tough acts to follow. Where is the even occasional punk feel? It’s all hip hop. That’s fine if that’s the precedent they set but it wasn’t. It was always a major thing but there was so much more flavor and complexity. The Now Now has more Albarn, which is ONE thing we wanted, but it was even more underwhelming. It was an overly simple solution - Oh, they didn’t like that Damon wasn’t more present on Humanz, so let’s do an album that’s basically all Damon. I love the dude, and I’m all for it, if it were a Damon Albarn project besides Gorillaz. And I LIKE the album. But once again it feels like “Gorillaz” in name only. I’m just saying, listen to their debut and Demon Days and Plastic Beach, and compare the colors, and flavors, and complexity, and wonder, and perfect balance with what we have gotten in the last two years. It is either too many collaborators or not enough, and definitely a focus on too few musical styles to really have that Gorillaz vibe. It ain’t raw anymore. But they are still one of my all time favorite bands, and Albarn is still one of my all time favorite artists of any kind. He’s brilliant. Art is subjective, and I’ll definitely go ahead and disagree with the maker of this video when he says this new album was better than Plastic Beach. Fireflies was absolutely gold for any piece of music, and Hollywood is really fun too. But again, it could really be almost any band that Damon was fronting. Still didn’t feel the character that Gorillaz really came with for the first few things they did. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it. Plastic Beach was a masterpiece. This is like, okay just slap our name on it. Sounds close enough. I mean I get it, following Demon Days with anything even close was an impressive feat. Most bands can’t do that shit. I just think the magic might be gone or at least need some time to regenerate. I sill have faith.

At the end of the day Albarn can just blame all of his problems on Fantano

i really don't think it's about murdoc i really hope it's not about murdoc

I thought tranz was about... you know.... that other dopamine-related thing you do alone on a Saturday night.

great review man when i first listened to the now now i was confused about what it meant but now i have a more clear interpretation

Ah, I love this video! Another great one.

Another great review! I always enjoy listening to your opinions! Have a great day!