OK, so, just so everyone is clear about this, Man Research might be my favorite Gorillaz song.

I have no idea why. It just is.

So, addressing the elephant in the room here: of course the DoYaThing video is the Man Research video.

I lay out in quite immersive detail the numerous synchronizations in the description of the video, and some more thematic concerns in the comments. So I'm just going to briefly expand on those points before moving on.

If you want one glaring observation: Noodle in the Dare video dances to the beat in the bridge.

First of all, I have no connection to Gorillaz or any of their producers. Finding this was sheer luck, if you can call it that.

I forgot for a while why I did this, but looking back on it, it's pretty clear: the image I had in my head for a music video of Man Research is almost point for point what ended up being in the DoYaThing video. That's because the song is literally about waking up in the morning, and those moments afterward where you aren't quite sure who you are. The bass riff, like 19-2000 is evocative of driving, is evocative of shambling around your house.

Also: Man Research. What does that make you think of? Researching a man, I guess. Like in a nature show (like in 2D's dream at the beginning). "Here we see the wild 2D in his morning ritual inspect his face and coat his toast with human ears."

The video also explains the song's meaning pretty well: the "man" 2D needs kept away from the door is a postman. He's a public employee, he's allowed to step near your door.

Do you know how long it took me to make this video in the video maker? five seconds. I literally popped the song in, and it worked. I have not edited either the song or the video.

It's genuine.

Now, I'm a reasonably accomplished person. I have a few achievements I can lay my hat on in life. This is by far the most genius thing I ever figured out.

But on to the music.

Man Research is a f*cking awesome song. One part straight dub, one part straight triphop, this song is almost impossible to decipher: the lyrics could have been written better by Charlie Kelly. But, again, the music video helps.

When we wake up in the morning, there's always that moment where you are not yourself. The cobwebs, call it what you will. These are the moments when your dreams are real.

In this, Gorillaz evokes T.S. Eliot's the Wasteland, as this rough beast slouches towards Bethleham. The bass, taking the rhythm of 2D's awkward gait, might as well be the melody in the tune. I mean, think about it? Where is the melody? Is it the sample that continues throughout the song? Is it 2D's absolutely insane sounding vocals? Where is the center?

Ultimately, it doesn't matter. This is not only a fun song, it is a rocker like no other. Junior Dan's bass riff is absolutely incredible: it might be the best bass job in any song I've ever heard. A mixture between "the Lone Ranger" theme and the "Superman" theme, it manages to keep this grim affair light with sheer cartoonish energy.

We'll see a lot more songs that take a lesson or two from Man Research, but never in this pure of a form. What elevates this track above the rest is Damon's vocals and Junior Dan's bass playing off one another. Like 19-2000, this song will mess with your sense of time (I believe it's a bass trick), dilating the 4:33 timespan into eternity.

Junior Dan is famous for being one of Bob Marley's bassists, and it is no wonder why Damon wanted him for this album: the dub bass brings that element that would otherwise be difficult to fabricate: it is both musically intense and riveting, but also light-hearted and fun.

This song demonstrates 2D's mental illness better than any other song. I previously wrote that I believe him to be a paranoid schizophrenic. I am not a mental health professional: I in fact think mental health as an industry is harmful and dangerous, but there are people who do need help for serious issues. 2D would be one of them.

But, if the song is meant to demonstrate the film over one's mind in the morning, when nightmares are still real, and you don't even know who you are yet, then is he really different from any of us?

The "hallucination" at the climax of the video shows 2D in a wishful-thinking mode seeing a cartoon of he and Murdoc hugging. This is what 2D wants more than anything: to be loved by his bandmate. It's stockholm syndrome, obviously, but it's understandable.

Then, like in his dream (past life) where the predator rises up to take down his prey, Murdoc grabs his (Converse tm) shoe and belts him in the face with it.

Ha ha. Stupid cartoon.

The sheer deranged depravity contained in the climax of this song is absolutely awesome. It's like he's gone so mad that he's given up any hope of rescue from the abusive situation he's in. And yet, you're rocking out to it. And he starts rocking out to it, and all of a sudden a new genre is invented: zombie-rock.

Think of the message like this: 2D is only experiencing what everyone experiences: the fear of facing the day. Think about being a child, and conceiving of an adult life filled with loneliness, challenges and drudgery. This is what 2D is afraid of.

But at the same time, he's being stalked. He's being systematically taken down by his "friend", Murdoc. It's not a joke: Murdoc's trying to destroy him mentally. That's not a delusion, that's right there. There really is somebody after him.

So he responds to this by telling someone to kill the postman, because he's so afraid of the unknown that he doesn't want to see anyone or anything out of the sheer terror of having to co-exist with them.

This is Damon making a statement on life, again a cartoonish one, where he is trying to point out a way to a sense of well-being by showing somebody who is totally messed up (keep away from friends like Murdoc). But it's also just a great TripHop number, perhaps the purist the band ever attempts.

Damon manages to sound pretty nice in his falsetto in this song. Listen closely: 2D is not sinister in his vocals, he sounds like he's pleading. He's pleading for coffee, I guess. It's really difficult to discern when 2D is pleading for something important or not. He also begins the Gorillaz tradition of making Gorilla noises (aaa aaa aaa aaa, ooo ooo ooo ooo). But he sounds nice, actually, a little sweetness in his tone towards the end, as if to say, "oh don't worry, I'm not going to kill you. I like you".

I'm also going to quickly point out that Miho provides some chorus here and she sounds like a fucking Disney Princess. I missed my chance to heap praise upon her in ReHash, but Miho Hatori (descending from Samurai ninja? must investigate) was goddamn perfect for this album, because she has one of the most beautiful voices of anyone alive. Not only that, but aside for a few bars in 19-2000, she is Noodle in this album. But more on her later.

The fact that they performed this song live as a regular number never ceases to amaze me, because it is the most complex song on the album musically and it is absolutely insane to me that Damon would even attempt this song live. But they did, and it's awesome. It makes me wonder if they didn't in fact record the song in studio together, using the sample as their key to staying in time.

A little fridge logic here for the meaning of the video: The Boogie man is still alive. In fact, he appears to be sharing the apartment with the band. Is Murdoc's deal still valid with him? Probably. I think it's possible that the Boogieman owns Murdoc's soul, still, look at the way he stares at 2D, it's like he owns the place. So Murdoc is still essentially "the devil's captain" which inadvertently makes 2D "the devil's soldier". Pretty sad state of affairs for 2D, you ask me.

The is the most "Gorillaz" Gorillaz song in my opinion. Simple, yet layered to the point of almost incomprehensible complexity. Overwhelming, yet palatable. Frightening, but enticing. Beautiful, but unnerving.