Gorillaz – Feel Good Inc.

• +1
  General Comment:The tower in the video, the Feel Good Inc tower is a hypodermic needle and these characters are rotting away inside of it trapped wanting to be rescued. One of them is free floating in a lovely sky on a little island with a windmill turning and in the song, you can hear what is supposed to be the windmill, especially during the bridge where there seems to be more than one turning at different speeds. This is what the song is about. At the end, the helicopters which represent our heartless, big brother, destructive and intrusive culture persecutes the island with the windmill about to snuff out the one bastion of freedom and goodness left. The song is about rot, basically. Look at the guy inside the needle. He is imprisoned and rotting. He is also deformed and withering.

  Flag lamelodyon February 03, 2013   Link

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  My Interpretation:I think it is a general statement about how feeling has become an artificial commodity. The rappers are speaking from the standpoint of big industry. The lyrics are purposefully shallow and are about nothing more than explicit desire to feel good. When the singer says "love is free" he means that you cannot put a price-tag on it. Is everybody in?

  Flag dandaman0345on February 02, 2013   Link

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  General Comment:I always thought it was "my dreams I gotta kiss them cause I don't go to sleep."

  Flag matrixcreatoron December 28, 2012   Link

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• +2
  My Interpretation:This song is directly connected with El mañana, in the begining of the video you see the two helicopters that will sink the windmill ship later, and in both musics 2D sings it.
  
  if You pay attention, 2D is caged inside the tower( the INC tower) and murdoc and others don't let him go, but the problem is that 2D have feelings for Noodle, that is free in the windmill, that represents a escape from the INC("A melancholy town where we never smile")
  
  The idea is that Noodle is the rebel that will escape and 2D(In love) sings desperatly:
  Love forever, love is free
  Let's turn forever you and me (let me go with you, Noodle)
  Windmill, windmill for the land
  Is everybody in? (I'm missing, wait for me, Noodle)
  
  This last question "Is everybody in?" is a try to make Noodle wait for him, later you will see that it will not happen (in El Mañana video).
  
  In the other way, they are trying to cage 2D, because if he goes, the INC corrupted system will fall:
  Yo, we goin' to ghost town, this Motown (we will stay here, 2D)
  With yo' sound you in the blink
  Gon' bite the dust, can't fight with us (you can't escape, you can't argue with us)
  With your sound you kill the Inc. (your dangerous voice must be caged here)
  
  and in a lot of parts of the music, when La Soul sings, it shows that 2D can't do anything about it "Steady, watch me navigate(control the INC) Haha haha ha".
  
  Well, in El Mañana video, Noodle fled alone, without 2D, and he couldn't believe that Noodle doesn't love him an didn't wait for him.
  El Mañana lyric parts:
  " Cause I do know, Lord,
  from you that just died, yeah (die is a metaphoric way of telling a end, when maybe you will never see someone anymore, like when you finish a relatioship)
  
  I saw that day, (when Noodle fled)
  Lost my mind
  Lord, I'll find
  Maybe in time
  You'll want to be mine "
  
  2D make a warning for Noodle, that if she goes, there will be concequences:
  
  "If you do that,
  I'll be someone to find you"
  
  and when the birds come(the helicopters) she won't have power to stop it, but maybe in time she will change her mind and come back avoiding the necessity of those helicopters an go back to INC to catch 2D
  
  "Don't stop the bird when it comes
  It's the dawn, you'll see
  Money won't get there
  Ten years passed tonight, you'll flee"
  
  Showing the weakness of Noodle.

  Flag Pikokaon November 22, 2012   Link

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  General Comment:So does anyone else get kinda scared by the manic laughter throughout the song? Good tune though.

  Flag AmericanaFUBARon November 01, 2012   Link

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  Lyric Correction:First line, if my correction is approved, should read
  
  "Sand is breaking down on a camel's back"

  Flag Woodsy13on August 25, 2012   Link

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  General Comment:I can give no explanation of the meaning of this poem, that is to be determined by the writer of these lyrics. However, I have heard a lot of gorillaz and have listened to the project since it's beginning. I feel that this is a very in depth piece of art. In an attempt to dive deeper into the mind of the creator I have researched many aspects of the music created by "gorillaz". One instance that catches my attention is 'melancholy'. "a melancholy town where we never smile..." and 'Melancholy Hill'
  this seems to be a theme to the entire project including the appearance of the characters, story line of the animations, content of the videos and the productions or style of the music itself. The best hint that I have recieved so far is the definition and history of the word melancholy itself. I know that is it much deeper than this, but this seems to be the workings of a very intense and educated artist with something to deliver. As for what is going on within his head when he creates this collaboration of muse. I will never be able to tell... take a look at:
  
  the definition of melancholia:
  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/…
  and
  more info about gorillaz:
  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/…
  
  lmfao... wikipedia...
  
  Have fun... but, don't go crazy with it.
  
  
  "The most extended treatment of melancholia comes from Robert Burton, whose The Anatomy of Melancholy (1621) treats the subject from both a literary and a medical perspective. Burton wrote in the 16th century that music and dance were critical in treating mental illness, especially melancholia."

  Flag OzarkGh0ston August 21, 2012   Link

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• +4
  My Interpretation:I remember watching this video and listening to the song a long time ago when I was younger, and I remember loving it for some strange reason even though I had no interest in the genre nor the group at the time.
  
  But now that I'm older I revisited the video on Youtube and read the comments here, and I've finally come up with what I think this song and video really mean.
  
  
  So the video begins with a scene of a dismal, dark, rusty city plagued by the sound of police sirens and helicopters, and you even hear a gun being shot. Then, there's a cloud layer, Above that layer is the Feel Good Inc. tower.
  
  I assume this little clip is showing how the violence and killing is very separated from the tower of pleasure/cheap thrills/etc... Everyone in the tower is cut off from the reality below. Literally, their heads are in the clouds.
  
  Then we are shown the inside of the tower. Dead bodies are everywhere and the only one that stands out is 2D. Then, he raises his head a mutters, "Feel Good". Then he starts to get out of the chair. That screen with the rapping guy (symbolically the media, I assume) is in the background.
  
  2D is stuck in this 'dead' place, and suddenly begins to realize that something isn't right. He finally understands that he's trapped within the guy on the screen's "spell". All the dead people are symbols for the majority of society that's already died from the "spell".
  
  Then 2D pops in with a microphone, telling everybody something:
  
  "City's breaking down on a camel's back."
  From research, I've found out that a camel traditionally represents humility and the willingness to serve. So basically, the city is breaking down on the people's willingness to serve them and to not think beyond what they're told.
  
  "They just have to go 'cause they don't know whack"
  I assume this is 2D quoting the corrupting leaders who tell them not to think for themselves and telling them that anyone who does, doesn't know "whack". AKA, they don't know what they're talking about.
  
  "So all you fill the streets it's appealing to see"
  I think this line is 2D telling them that them going with the flow of the leaders is funny; he thinks it's ridiculous.
  
  "You won't get out the county, 'cause you're bad and free"
  This is a weird line, but I'm gonna guess that it's 2D mocking the leaders once again; I assume in the past the leaders have told them that they can't escape just because they're 'misbehaving' and trying to be free.
  
  "You've got a new horizon It's ephemeral style."
  2D is now telling them that what they're working toward is ridiculous; that it's ephemeral, meaning only lasting one day. Basically, their goals are cheap thrills that are short and stupid.
  
  "A melancholy town where we never smile."
  This is his opinion of the state of the society they live in; they never smile.
  
  "And all I want to hear is the message beep."
  He admits that he's still under the "spell", that he still wants to follow the leaders' messages, he's falling again.
  
  "My dreams, they've got to kiss, because I don't get sleep, no"
  Basically he's saying that his dreams have to kiss his ass, or say goodbye, because he can't reach them without sleep.
  
  An interesting part of this segment is that 2D's eyes are red, the same as the color of the rest of the dead people. AKA while their entire bodies are already tainted by the red, only his eyes (his soul) has been. The red starts to fade from his eyes.
  Another cool thing is how the word "Owl" is on his microphone. Owls symbolize wisdom, AKA 2D is speaking through wisdom.
  
  Then comes the first chorus, where 2D looks out the window onto a skyscape full of bright, soft colors and only the windmill appears above the clouds. I assume that the windmill represents the state of mind/land he wants to live in, but there's that glass window/barrier that keeps him stuck. The windmill goes beneath the clouds AKA out of his mind, and the bright colors switch to dark and the helicopters appear once more.
  
  "Windmill, Windmill for the land."
  Windmills turn air, correct? Traditionally, air represented intellect, ideas, and most of all freedom. That windmill on that island is generating that freedom. AKA the intellect and new ideas are bringing forth a new freedom.
  Windmills also have been thought to symbolize bringing about a transformation; from a hard grain that can only be used to reproduce into flour that can support and feed people. I assume that 2D is like the grain, wanting to become useful and not just a sex-obsessed slave.
  He wants this thought process, the windmill, to be 'for the land' AKA he wants everyone to have this better thought process.
  
  "Learn forever hand in hand"
  He wants to society to keep learning more and more and not be stuck in one mindset. When one doesn't learn, they cannot understand. He wants them all to learn and understand together 'hand in hand'.
  
  "Take it all in on your stride"
  2D wants them to use this philosophy in their stride AKA their lives.
  
  "It is sinking, falling down"
  2D's either commenting on the windmill falling or society falling, or even maybe his strive for that new way of living is fading.
  
  "Love forever love is screaming"
  Because of their fickle and physical obsessions, love has been forgotten.
  
  "Let's turn forever you and me"
  As I said before, he wants to become the windmill, as in wanting to live in that new way and transform other 'grains' into 'flour'. He's telling the viewer that they both should turn and make others realize what's happening.
  
  "Windmill, windmill for the land"
  Same as above.
  
  "Is everybody in?"
  He's asking everyone if they want to follow this new way with him.
  
  
  Then the rapper 'leader; appears on the screen and starts speaking to 2D. 2D instantly turns around and his attention is captured. Then as the rap goes on he keeps moving robotically, as if he is programmed that way.
  As it goes on, 2D starts getting that red hue on his skin again. Then he starts the "Feel Good" chant once more.
  
  "Laughing gas these hazmats, fast cats,"
  Hazmats are hazardous materials or substances, laughing gas is a drug that makes people laugh, and fast cats I assume mean just things that move fast like modern communication, cars, technology, etc... This is what the leaders use to trap people.
  
  "Lining them up-a like ass cracks,"
  The leaders are saying that the people line up the stuff mentioned above and take them all in excess.
  
  "Ladies, homies, at the track"
  Ladies means sex appeal, homies means things that are seen as cool, and the track is the mainstream media; all they're shown in the media are those drugs, sex stuff, things considered 'cool' etc.
  
  "It's my chocolate attack."
  Chocolate, when eaten, makes people release feel good chemicals in their brains. The leaders are saying that letting these people do all these bad things is the leaders' way of attacking them; trapping them with the feel good chemical.
  
  "Shit, I'm stepping in the heart of this here"
  The leader is mad that he just revealed the way he traps people.
  
  "Care bear bumping in the heart of this here"
  He's saying that this matter doesn't mean much; it's just soft care bear bumping. He's not doing anything terribly bad.
  
  "Watch me as I gravitate, ha ha ha"
  He's telling 2D to watch as he pulls more people in, then laughs because he knows 2D can't do anything about it.
  
  "Yo, we gonna go ghost town,
  This Motown, with yo sound"
  He's telling 2D that his ramblings are bringing the supposedly 'lively' town down.
  
  "You're in the place
  You gonna bite the dust
  Can't fight with us
  With yo sound, you kill the INC."
  He tells 2D that he's stuck, he's going to get snuffed out, he can't fight against it, and that his ramblings are killing the bad society.
  
  "So don't stop, get it, get it
  Until you're jet ahead.
  Yo, watch the way I navigate, ha ha ha"
  
  He tells 2D don't stop listening to him, keep striving for the cheap thrills and media and to keep following him.
  
  Then the windmill returns with Noodle on the very edge of its island, playing her guitar. She seems carefree and doesn't even notice 2D or the tower at all. That windmill, that way of thinking and living, is what is keeping her island and freedom up.
  2D sings the chorus again, looking very depressed and tired, and looks down from the window. Then in the last part of the chorus, Noodle is singing at the same time as him.
  It's as if he's watching her and imitating her, wanting to be like her and where she is, but is stuck.
  
  Then the island flies by, the light leaves, and darkness shadows the window. 2D becomes red again and starts to fade and sits back in his chair, the leader laughing at his futile attempts at freedom.
  
  Basically, overall, here's the symbolism:
  
  CITY BELOW THE TOWER: Reality. What's really going on. Violence, decay, evil.
  
  CLOUD LAYER: Separates the tower from the city. Separates reality from society.
  
  TOWER: The manufactured and fake happiness, a prison, keeping people from independence and freedom. Corruption. Stuck in the clouds as in stuck in fantasy.
  
  WINDMILL: Generating intellect, freedom, free thinking, etc. Transformation from grain to flour AKA reproductive goals to something that benefits society.
  
  DEAD/ASLEEP PEOPLE: People who have no chance; not only is their soul dead, they're physically dead.
  
  RED: Corruption of the leaders/media. 2D's eyes start from red, to black, to red, and then his skin becomes red.
  
  ISLAND: Place of freedom, love, new ways, thought.
  
  SCREENS: Brings the message from the bad leaders to the people, keeps them under control.
  
  Overall, I think the song means what everyone else has been saying; the media and our leaders are corrupting society and benefiting from it. When someone tries to stand against it, they're brought down. Eventually their soul decays from all these sins; sloth, lust, gluttony, etc.... sex without love, drugs, and fake things, basically.
  
  Whew! Sorry that it's so long, lol.

  Flag supagameron August 09, 2012   Link

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    I think you hit the bulls eye on that one
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    download.cnet.com/Free-Youtube-Downloader-Pro/… >youtube downloader

    Flag devindude1on January 13, 2013  
• +1
  General Comment:I think this song is about how the world is forgetting what is really important and instead they are wasting time on hip hop and retarded stunts, as most gorillaz songs try to get out, but for this song the gorillaz knew that they needed a way that the future generation would listen to the song. Therefore the song has rap in it. That didnt mean gorillaz was losing their originality.
  
  I really like how the gorillaz use the essence of a follow up story in every song and video. Like how feel good's video leads to el manana's and then it shows where the rest of them are in stylo's video then to melancholy hill's video.

  Flag xXWhiteShadowXxon May 26, 2012   Link

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• +2
  My Interpretation:um like im really late but i think this is what it means...feel good inc. ........basically there making people feel good..incorporations create rigth? so its like feel good inc. is making fake feelings...feelings of goodness and happiness or the want to "feel good" but nobody actually feels good..........when he says "City's breaking down on a camel's back" i guess he's pointing out how ssomething really small is supporting sommething really large like the president supprortibng or giving to a nation and the nation is so use to that support by something that really cant support that it starts to break down and fall apart until its broken,,,,,,when he says "they just have to go cos they dont know whack".its like saying there so use to it that they keep doing the only thing they know which isnt knowing much......... .............in the video he uses something to make his voice loud * not a microphone but i cant remember what it is* and he makes all his statements known........but he still cant say feel good out loud because ewhen he says "feel good" he's just convincing his self that he feels good even though he doesnt ...........he basically is saying that even though he can voice evrything else *or real people can voice everything else* but are to scared to seriously stop falling in the place of people before and feeling good instead of doing the same thing people have beendoing.............when he is talking about the windmill he is basically sayingthat if poeple werent so stupid and all lands of all people come together then the society before go falling down and when he looks out of the window with longing he wants to be outside of the walls tthat he was in because it was so sterotypical .........musicians getting women and all being bunched up in one place but do any of them actually feel good having everything but what they truly want which is to feel good............oh and when he says melacholy town where no one smiles ..........its like saying your all the same so no face is different everyone has the same white pickett fence and same facial exspression so is a smile actually real...........it also says "with your voice you kill the inc" speaking up and not being afraid of whats on your mind may possibly save you from the poison being spread......................i might be wrong but i think thats what it means

  Flag diamond123on April 04, 2012   Link

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