Feel Good Inc.

"Feel Good Inc."
Single by Gorillaz featuring De La Soul
from the album Demon Days
B-side	"Spitting Out the Demons" "Bill Murray" "68 State"
Released	9 May 2005
Format	7" DVD CD
Recorded	2004
Genre	Alternative rock alternative hip hop
Length	3:41
Label	Parlophone Virgin
Writer(s)	Damon Albarn, Brian Burton, David Jolicoeur
Producer(s)	Danger Mouse Gorillaz
Certification	Platinum (ARIA)[1] Silver (BPI) Gold (RIAA)
Gorillaz singles chronology
"Lil' Dub Chefin'" (2002) "Feel Good Inc." (2005) "DARE" (2005) De La Soul singles chronology "Shopping Bags (She Got from You)" (2004) "Feel Good Inc." (2005) "Superfast Jellyfish" (2010) Demon Days track listing Dirty Harry (5) Feel Good Inc. (6) El Mañana (7) Audio sample file info · help
Music video "Feel Good Inc." on YouTube

"Feel Good Inc." is a song by British virtual band Gorillaz. The song features De La Soul. The lyrical themes of the song revolve around isolation and escapism.

The song was the lead single from the band's second studio album Demon Days on 9 May 2005. The single peaked at No. 2 in the United Kingdom and No. 14 in the United States. It also topped the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart in the U.S. for eight consecutive weeks, a first for the band. This is the only song in Damon Albarn's career to reach the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100. It peaked in the top 10 in 17 countries, reaching No. 1 in Spain. The song was listed in Pitchfork Media and Rolling Stone's Best Songs of the 2000s. The song won Best Pop Collaboration at the 2006 Grammy Awards.^[2] This song has surpassed "Clint Eastwood" to be Gorillaz's most successful single worldwide. Popdose ranked it 26th on their list of 100 best songs of the decade.^[3]It was also featured in the 2013 video game, Grand Theft Auto V for the next generation, and in the 2015 movie The Big Short.

Music video

The integration of computer-generated imagery with two-dimensional animation is more seamless than in previous Gorillaz videos, creating a more textured, layered effect. At the beginning of the video, while the camera is rising up from the Feel Good Inc. tower, a sample of the Spacemonkeyz dub of "Clint Eastwood" entitled "A Fistful of Peanuts" can be heard. The main themes of the video are intellectual freedom and the media's dumbing down of mass culture.^[4]

In the video, 2D yearns for the freedom to join Noodle on her floating island. The characters lying on the floor represent those who have already been "dumbed down", while the band members are the ones who have awakened. 2D is trying to wake all the people from their half-dead state by yelling at them through his megaphone, in the style of a political activist.^[5] Jamie Hewlett said in an interview that the inspiration for some scenes in the video came from Hayao Miyazaki; specifically, the windmill-powered landmass, which has been compared to that of Miyazaki's Castle in the Sky.^[6] The floating island is chased by ominous helicopters, which closely resemble Korean War era Bell H-13s, monitoring the behaviour inside and ensuring that no one escapes. It is unclear whether they are preventing Noodle's escape or are chasing her away.^[7] Back in the tower, De La Soul appear as larger-than life, seemingly omnipotent images on surrounding television screens, laughing at the Gorillaz band members. Their taunting drives 2D into a wild, hypnotic frenzy as he tries to resist the urge to be dumbed down. At the end of the video, 2D appears beaten by his surroundings, and returns to the state he was in when the video began, repeating the words "Feel good" until the video finally ends, in an exact reversal of the intro. The repetition of "Feel good" represents that 2D is convincing himself that everything is OK (as if he is brainwashing himself to believe it), instead of facing the harsh truth of the situation.^[8] The music video for "El Mañana" is a continuation of this video, depicting two helicopter gunships catching up to Noodle's floating windmill island and attacking it.

Track listings

UK CD single

1. "Feel Good Inc." – 3:41
2. "Spitting Out the Demons" – 5:10

UK DVD single

1. "Feel Good Inc." (Video) – 4:15
2. "Spitting Out the Demons" – 5:10
3. "Bill Murray" – 3:53

UK 7-inch single

1. "Feel Good Inc." – 3:41
2. "68 State" – 4:48

UK digital download

1. "Feel Good Inc." – 3:41
2. "Spitting Out the Demons" – 5:10
3. "Bill Murray" – 3:53

European CD single

1. "Feel Good Inc." – 3:41
2. "Spitting Out the Demons" – 5:10
3. "Bill Murray" – 3:53
4. "Feel Good Inc." (Video) – 4:15

Japanese CD single

1. "Feel Good Inc." – 3:41
2. "Spitting Out the Demons" – 5:10
3. "Bill Murray" – 3:53
4. "Murdoc Is God" – 2:26
5. "Feel Good Inc." (Video) – 4:15

U.S. digital E.P.^[9]

1. "Feel Good Inc." – 3:41
2. "Spitting Out the Demons" – 5:10
3. "Bill Murray" – 3:53
4. "DARE" (Soulwax Remix) – 5:44
5. "Feel Good Inc." (Video) – 4:15

Chart performance

Chart (2005-06)	Peak positions
Australia (ARIA)[10]	3
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[11]	4
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[12]	2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[13]	36
Canada (Canadian Singles Chart)	6
Denmark (Tracklisten)[14]	19
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100 Singles)	5
France (SNEP)[15]	26
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[16]	4
Germany (Official German Charts)[17]	8
Ireland IRMA)	4
Italy (FIMI)[18]	5
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[19]	87
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[20]	2
Norway (VG-lista)[21]	4
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[22]	1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[23]	14
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[24]	12
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)	2
US Billboard Hot 100	14
US Billboard Radio Songs	32
US Billboard Pop Songs	13
US Billboard Alternative Songs	1
US Billboard Adult Pop Songs	18

Year-end charts

Chart (2005)	Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[25]	37
U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks	4

Awards and nominations

Awards

• 2005 MTV Video Music Award
  • Breakthrough Video
  • Best Visual Effects
• 2006 Grammy Award
  • Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals

Nominations

• 2006 Grammy Award
  • Record of the Year
  • Best Music Video

References

1. "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2005 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. 2005. Retrieved 2007-06-20.
2. "Grammy Award Winners 2005". Grammy.com. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
3. "The popdose 100: 100 best songs of the decade". Popdose. 24 November 2009. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
4. Browne, Cass. "Gorillaz: Rise of the Ogre", Riverhead Books Inc., 2006, p. 213.
5. Browne, Cass. "Gorillaz: Rise of the Ogre", Riverhead Books Inc., 2006, p. 214.
6. Kermode, Mark (19 July 2008). "The interview: Jamie Howlett". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
7. Browne, Cass. "Gorillaz: Rise of the Ogre", Riverhead Books Inc., 2006, p. 215.
8. Browne, Cass. "Gorillaz: Rise of the Ogre", Riverhead Books Inc., 2006, p. 216.
9. https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/feel-good-inc-ep/id425900716
10. "Australian-charts.com – Gorillaz – Feel Good Inc". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
11. "Austriancharts.at – Gorillaz – Feel Good Inc" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
12. "Ultratop.be – Gorillaz – Feel Good Inc" (in Dutch). Ultratip.
13. "Ultratop.be – Gorillaz – Feel Good Inc" (in French). Ultratop 50.
14. "Danishcharts.com – Gorillaz – Feel Good Inc". Tracklisten.
15. "Lescharts.com – Gorillaz – Feel Good Inc" (in French). Les classement single.
16. "Gorillaz: Feel Good Inc" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
17. "Musicline.de – Gorillaz Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
18. "Italiancharts.com – Gorillaz – Feel Good Inc". Top Digital Download.
19. "Dutchcharts.nl – Gorillaz – Feel Good Inc" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
20. "Charts.org.nz – Gorillaz – Feel Good Inc". Top 40 Singles.
21. "Norwegiancharts.com – Gorillaz – Feel Good Inc". VG-lista.
22. "Spanishcharts.com – Gorillaz – Feel Good Inc" Canciones Top 50.
23. "Swedishcharts.com – Gorillaz – Feel Good Inc". Singles Top 100.
24. "Swisscharts.com – Gorillaz – Feel Good Inc". Swiss Singles Chart.
25. "Billboard Top 100 - 2005". Archived from the original on March 4, 2009. Retrieved 2010-08-31.

External links

• Pitchfork Media review 3/25/2005
• Music video from official fansite
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics