Kids With Guns / El Mañana

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"Kids With Guns" / "El Mañana"
"Kids With Guns" / "El Mañana" cover
Single by Gorillaz
from the album Demon Days
B-side(s) "Stop the Dams"
Released 10 April 2006
Format 7", CD, Maxi-CD, DVD
Recorded Kong Studios & 13
Studios B109, Timi,
The 12B Reykjavik
Genre Rock
Length 3:45 ("Kids With Guns")
3:50 ("El Mañana")
Label Parlophone
Producer(s) Gorillaz, Danger Mouse, Jason Cox, James Dring
Chart positions
Gorillaz singles chronology
"Dirty Harry"
(2005)		 "Kids With Guns" / "El Mañana"
(2006)
Alternate cover
"El Mañana" cover
"El Mañana" cover

"Kids With Guns" and "El Mañana" are songs from the Gorillaz' second album, Demon Days. They were released in April 2006 in the UK as double A-sides for the fourth and final single from the album. Unlike its Top 10 predecessors from Demon Days, "Kids With Guns" / "El Mañana" reached #27 upon its release in the UK. A week later, the single had fallen out of the Top 40 in the UK (see 2006 in British music).

In late summer 2005 the winners of the "Search for a Star" competition was announced to collaborate with Gorillaz on this single. In early November 2005, Gorillaz' co-creator Jamie Hewlett announced the release of "El Mañana" as the fourth single to be taken from the album.

This album has been released with the Copy Control protection system in some regions.

Contents

[edit] Track listings

[edit] In the UK

  1. "Kids With Guns" – 3:45
  2. "El Mañana" – 3:50
  • Single released 2006-04-10 by Parlophone
  • 7" R6685, CD CDR6685
  1. "Kids With Guns" – 3:45
  2. "El Mañana" – 3:50
  3. "Stop the Dams" – 5:41 (CD only)
  • DVD DVDR6685
  1. "El Mañana" (video) – 3:58
  2. "Kids With Guns" (Manchester visuals) – 3:45
  3. "Don't Get Lost In Heaven" (original demo version) – 2:29
  4. "El Mañana" (animatic) – 3:58

[edit] In Japan

  1. "Kids With Guns" – 3:45
  2. "El Mañana" – 3:50
  3. "Stop the Dams" – 5:41
  4. "Don't Get Lost In Heaven" (original demo version) – 2:29
  5. "El Mañana" (video) – 3:58

[edit] In the EU/Australia

  • Promo CD released in early February 2006 by Parlophone in the EU
  1. "El Mañana" – 3:50
  2. "Kids With Guns" – 3:45
  1. "El Mañana" – 3:50
  2. "Kids With Guns" – 3:45
  3. "Stop the Dams" – 5:41
  4. "El Mañana" (video) – 3:58
  • Single-CD 360942 Released 2006-04-12 by Parlophone in Sweden
  1. "Kids With Guns" - 3:50
  2. "Stop The Dams" - 5:41

[edit] US El Mañana iTunes EP

  1. "El Mañana" (Demon Days live in Harlem -video)
  2. "Kids with Guns (Manchester visuals)
  3. "Hong Kong" (live in Manchester - audio only)
  4. "Stop the Dams" (audio)

[edit] Cover images

UK (promo)

EU (promo)

UK (7" A-side and CD), Japan

UK (7" AA-side and DVD), EU, Australia

UK (DVD - back)

EU (copy control CD)

[edit] Music video

"El Mañana" has a full-budget video from Passion Pictures and "Kids With Guns" features the visuals that were shown during the Demon Days Live show at Manchester Opera House in November 2005.

[edit] "El Mañana"

Directed by Jamie Hewlett and Pete Candeland.

According to Gorillaz.com, the video was to be released 11 March 2006. It is now available on the website and can be seen in the UK on Channel 4. On 2006-03-10, the video was released on Yahoo! Music.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The video is (at least seemingly) a continuation of the Feel Good Inc. video. Noodle is floating along peacefully in the sunshine on her floating island. Suddenly the two helicopters (different from those in the video for "Feel Good Inc.") finally catch up to the island and begin to fire upon Noodle and the island with machine guns. As Noodle flees into the windmill, the helicopters fire at the windmill and damage it. Later when Noodle comes out of the windmill to look around, the windmill is now in flames from the onslaught of the attacking helicopters, the helicopters see her and start to attack again, and she is forced back inside the windmill. Finally the island is so damaged that it cannot float anymore and starts to fall to the earth. It crashes into a deep crevice with Noodle still inside. The video then concludes with the helicopters bombing the crashed windmill.

Many themes seem to be displayed throughout the video. Two of such themes are the struggle between childhood innocence and adulthood war, as well as the idea that when kept in a paradise too long, one would rather stay in that paradise as it goes up in flames rather than move on. Also, the turning of the windmill may symbolize the ticking of a clock, more so as the clock of life or something similar.

   
“
 Noodle is killed off in the last video, for 'El Mañana.' She's on the island from the 'Feel Good' video — which represents mental freedom — and in the end it gets blown out of the sky by black helicopters. … And Noodle is on the island, and she goes down in a ball of flames into the abyss. And it's fitting because the song is about the end of something. But it's got some hope in it. …Maybe in time something good will happen.
—Damon Albarn on the video for El Mañana[1]
   
”

Some of the themes, which are continued from the Feel Good Inc. video, are once again the "dumbing down" of mass culture and how mental freedom can be destroyed by a "corporation". This is shown when the floating island (mental freedom) is destroyed by the helicopters (media/"Corporation"). With Noodle on the island when being attacked, another theme is how children are being desensitized by images of violence and war. This particular theme can also be heard in the song and seen in the music video for "Dirty Harry."

The video also seems to reflect Damon Albarn’s views against war. The windmill burning not unlike an oil well and the helicopters, that are similar to the Apache helicopters, can be interpreted as a reference to the War in Iraq. The attack on Noodle and the island itself seems to be a comment on the targeting of innocent by-standers in times of war and that war destroys all things that are peaceful in the world. Finally, in the end, the dropping of the bomb onto Noodle, who is Japanese, can be interpreted as a reference to The Bombing of Hiroshima, or nuclear weapons in general.

In addition, it is shown that the floating island seems to have the only green environment around, while the world below is only a barren land. With the floating island also representing nature and the helicopters representing industry, the theme of ecological destruction is also apparent.

The themes in the single, as well as the themes in the entire album are all based on Damon Albarns observations over the state that the world is in today.[2]

[edit] Noodle's "Death"

For a few weeks before the video release, a series of strange events had been taking place at the fictional Kong Studios on the Gorillaz Website. Boxes and other packing materials were seen in the lobby on 2006-02-16. A few weeks later, they had moved into Noodle's room. Subsequently, Noodle apparently began to pack the contents of her room into those boxes, and the windmill from the "Feel Good Inc." video was seen tethered to the balcony. After 7 March, as an intro before entering Kong Studios, a movie would play depicting the windmill flying away.

Shortly after the video release, few Gorillaz fans believed that Noodle was actually dead. Whether or not Noodle survived the crash is not shown, though when considering the magnitude of the crash and the bomb, it is not unlikely that she was in fact killed. Whether or not the events in the video will become a part of the Gorillaz story and timeline or is simply another staged video (as the "Feel Good Inc." video was) remains to be seen. However, on the Gorillaz Forum, clearly outlined rules for posting behaviour include knowing that Noodle is in fact dead.

Currently, at Gorillaz website, Noodle's room is largely barren, although the links associated with her belongings are still accessible and Shaun Ryder's head (introduced in the music video for "DARE") is still hooked up behind the partition. However, as of 13 March, her room appears to be cracking around the corners, which many have pointed to a connection with the song "Don't Get Lost in Heaven" which contains the lyrics "There was crack on the corner and someone dead and fire coming out of the monkey's head." However, most fans think this has no relation, and that the "crack" is crack cocaine. Additionally, the "Armageddon clock" on the wall seemed to have slowed down, had a fourth hand, and now has fallen off the wall. A part of the ceiling has collasped as well, somewhat revealing what appears to be a corridor from both Noodle's room and the Map.

It is theorized that the events of the video are not merely staged because the helicopters change in appearance. In "Feel Good Inc." they are lighter, and seem to more closely resemble Bell 47Gs. In "El Mañana", they appear heavier and more armoured, seemingly modeled more like the Boeing-Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche attack helicopter. This would seem to indicate that Noodle was pursued in the Feel Good Inc. video, stayed at Kong Studios, packed up, departed, and was then pursued by two different helicopters in the "El Mañana" video. In addition to this, Noodle's clothes changed: in the Feel Good Inc. video, she seems to be wearing a brown or purple cardigan and shorts, whereas in the El Mañana video, she is wearing a black-and-white shirt.

Noodle's "death" could be related to her past. According to the fictional history of the band, Noodle found that she was in fact a test subject in a secret government super soldier project. This also suggests that Noodle could have survived the blast of the bomb, given her super-human nature.

The limited edition of Demon Days includes a DVD full of bonus features, including the "Feel Good Inc." video with audio commentary by the band members, confirming that "Feel Good Inc." was indeed staged. This supports the theory that "El Mañana" was similarly staged, as "El Mañana" is the "sequel" to "Feel Good Inc."

Since the video was released, an interview with Damon Albarn by MTV[1] had confirmed that Noodle had been "killed off", though he added that she may return. When rumours of the band splitting up began to spread, some fans thought that the video would signal the end of the Gorillaz[2]. Although what Albarn seemed to have meant is that Noodle was killed in the context of the Feel Good Inc.-El Mañana story, but is in fact alive in "real life," and that she may be "coming back" in subsequent videos continuing the story. This could mean that the story will be continued into the music videos for the next album or even into the planned Gorillaz movie.

Many fans cite interviews or videos released after the premier of the "El Mañana" video as evidence against Noodle's death. One such piece was an interview with the Gorillaz that included Noodle[3]. Another example was an issue of Teen People magazine which contained a brief interview with Noodle under the list of "25 hottest stars under 25"[4]. Furthermore, an official mailout was sent out that featured Noodle congratulating Jamie Hewlett for winning the Designer of the Year Award 2006 [5]. There had also been an interview with the Gorillaz in the Australian video music show Video Hits. However, these may simply have been mere advertisements unrelated to the band's storyline. In fact, another recent mailout (released on 6 June 2006) had reported that she was "missing." This seemed to indicate that the events of the music video were in fact "real" and not staged.

On October 24, Gorillaz-Unofficial released an article containing the contents of the book Rise of the Ogre in which Murdoc finally revealed that the El Mañana video was indeed "staged" and that Noodle is still "alive" [6].

   
“
 I guess you've waited long enough. Noodle's safe, she was just acting as planned… Jamie Hewlett gave Noodle the command, and she parachuted safely off the island.
—Murdoc Niccals on the video for El Mañana
   
”

The entire El Manana conspiracy was calculated specifically to get rid of an enemy of the band: Little Jimmy Manson, a psychotic hippie turned industry exec who was set on sabotaging Gorillaz for rejecting his "crappy" music. He co-conspired with Murdoc to kill off one of the band members so that 1) Gorillaz would end with a bang and 2) Jimmy could start a new band with Murdoc. Noodle was to do the El Manana video with Manson stowed away on the island and then, while the windmill was crashing around them, Jimmy would shoot the guitarist whilst taking the parachute for himself. Murdoc turned the tables on Jimmy by not only "forgetting" to leave the weapon aboard the island but by also locking him in the windmill; Jimmy supposedly died within the crash while Noodle parachuted to safety.

It was stated by Murdoc that Noodle had been planning to leave after Demon Days, although leaving what, the band or the country, was never never answered. Though it had been planned for months (the packing boxes had begun showing up in Kong Studios the previously February), she had neglected to tell anyone of her plans (though Murdoc said it was obvious what she was doing). Murdoc, in order to run with his plan to off Jimmy, made a deal with Noodle: she could disappear for some R & R with no fuss if she did the video. According the bass slayer, Noodle is in the Maldives "chilling out".

"There's no way on earth I'm killing Noodle. Are you mad?"

It after this interview that the message is received from the Brian room.

[edit] Trivia

  • The winners of the Search For A Star competition collaborated in the release of this single.
  • The revolver on the cover is a mirror image: revolvers are built such that the cylinder swings leftward to facilitate loading with the free hand.
  • Available in th UK were a number of 12" promo singles featuringa remix by Jamie T called Kids With Guns (Turn To Monsters Remix).
  • When translated, El Mañana means "The Morning."
  • The beat of "kids with guns" is featured on the OC, in season 2 episode 21 " The return of the nana." It is played when seth and ryan meet the beautiful blonde woman.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Montgomery, James. "Goodbye, Gorillaz? Frontman Wants To Exit Hip-Hop-Style", MTV News, 2006-04-10. Retrieved on 2006-04-10.
  2. ^ Gorillaz-Unofficial album webpage. Retrieved on 2006-05-01.

[edit] External links

Gorillaz
2D | Murdoc Niccals | Noodle | Russel Hobbs
Gorillaz discography
Albums and EPs: Tomorrow Comes Today | Gorillaz | G-Sides | Laika Come Home | Demon Days
DVDs: Phase One: Celebrity Take Down | Demon Days Live | Phase Two: Slowboat to Hades
Singles: Clint Eastwood | 19-2000 | Rock the House | 911 | Tomorrow Comes Today | Lil' Dub Chefin' | Feel Good Inc. | DARE | Dirty Harry | Kids With Guns / El Mañana
Related articles
Britpop | Blur | Damon Albarn | Jamie Hewlett | Dan the Automator | Danger Mouse | Del tha Funkee Homosapien | Zombie Flesh Eaters | Passion Pictures | Deltron 3030 | Gorillaz movie | Rise Of The Ogre
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