Green World

Pirating music off of the internet is a funny thing.  You can never be sure of what you're actually getting.  Years ago--back in 2005--I downloaded the classic Gorillaz album Demon Days, and was instantly hooked.  I listened to it nonstop until I knew every track.  I thought it was genius--Gorillaz creativity and execution on all levels.  It mixed narrative elements into genres like pop and hip hop with great results.  It was an album that was uniquely intimate for being a multiplatinum record.  I mean, who could forget El Manana?  Or November has Come?

Anyways, the album grew into one of my all-time favorites. It played in the background of some of my most intense teenage years, and has retained a certain sentimental value ever since.  

Loving this album as much as I do, I was surprised to learn the version of Demon Days I had downloaded was not the real version.  One of the songs had been replaced with something totally different.  My pirated version of Demon Days had had "O Green World" replaced with an unrelated song by an unknown artist.  It was a song that sounded like a true Gorillaz track, and skillfully wove vocals from various lesser-known, independent hip-hop artists into a minimally-produced beat.  It sounded like Gorillaz and I would have never guessed it was "fake."  The track was one of my favorites, and I always held it in high regard as an example of just how good Gorillaz were at their craft.  

Perhaps even more bizarre is the fact that the real song "O Green World" sucks.  It doesn't even compare with this mysterious, unclaimed remix.  Maybe it's a little disappointing, but at this point it's hard to care.  Just one more interesting chapter in my relationship with Gorillaz.  

The track in question: