Clint Eastwood (song)
Encyclopedia
"Clint Eastwood" is a song by Gorillaz
Gorillaz
Gorillaz is an English musical project created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. This project consists of Gorillaz music itself and an extensive fictional universe depicting a "virtual band" of cartoon characters...

. It was released as the first single from their debut album
Gorillaz (album)
Gorillaz is the debut album by the British virtual band Gorillaz, released in March 2001. It includes the singles "Clint Eastwood", "19-2000", "Rock the House" and "Tomorrow Comes Today"...

 in March 2001. It peaked at #4 in the UK and #57 in the US on 11 September 2001. The single has sold 480,000 copies in the UK according to the Official UK Charts Company. The song is a mix of electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...

, hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...

 and rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

. The song also features the choir line "I've got sunshine in a bag", which is taken from the classic western film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a 1966 Italian epic spaghetti western film directed by Sergio Leone, starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach in the title roles. The screenplay was written by Age & Scarpelli, Luciano Vincenzoni and Leone, based on a story by Vincenzoni and Leone...

, in which Clint Eastwood is referring to a saddle bag of gold. While The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a 1966 Italian epic spaghetti western film directed by Sergio Leone, starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach in the title roles. The screenplay was written by Age & Scarpelli, Luciano Vincenzoni and Leone, based on a story by Vincenzoni and Leone...

stars Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...

, he is not mentioned in the song itself except in the title. The verses are rapped by Del Tha Funkee Homosapien
Del tha Funkee Homosapien
Teren Delvon Jones , better known as Del the Funky Homosapien or Del tha Funkee Homosapien, is an American MC.-Early life and beginnings: 1990-1997:...

, portrayed as a blue phantom in the video, while the chorus is sung by 2D
2D (Gorillaz)
The fictional character Stuart Pot , better known by his stage name 2-D, also simply spelled as 2D, is a member of the British virtual band Gorillaz...

.

In October 2011, NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...

placed it at number 141 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".

Alternative versions

The Phi-Life Cypher version features British hip-hop group Phi Life Cypher
Phi Life Cypher
Phi Life Cypher is a British hip hop group based in Luton, comprising two MCs, Si Phili and Life MC, and DJ Nappa. The trio started making music together around 1996, and since have had much success on the UK underground circuit...

, who also later feature on the group's B-side "The Sounder". For some live performances of the song, alternative rappers are used. For the 2005 Demon Days tour, a version of the song featuring De La Soul
De La Soul
De La Soul is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987 on Long Island, New York. The band is best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres...

 and Bootie Brown, who have also appeared in "Feel Good Inc.
Feel Good Inc.
"Feel Good Inc." is a song by Gorillaz, on their album Demon Days, featuring De La Soul. The song was released as the lead single from the album on 9 May 2005 in the United Kingdom . "Feel Good Inc." peaked at #2 in the United Kingdom and #14 in the United States, at the time the band's highest...

", "Superfast Jellyfish
Superfast Jellyfish
"Superfast Jellyfish" is a song from Gorillaz's third album Plastic Beach. It features Gruff Rhys, lead singer of Super Furry Animals, and De La Soul, who were previously featured on the hit Gorillaz' song "Feel Good Inc."...

" and "Dirty Harry
Dirty Harry (song)
"Dirty Harry" is a song from Gorillaz' second album Demon Days. It was the third single from the album, released 21 November 2005. It peaked at #6 in the UK. It was also released as a promo and onto iTunes earlier that year. An early version of "Dirty Harry" titled "I Need a Gun" was included on...

", was written and recorded. This version was released on the CD Single of Dare. During the Escape To Plastic Beach tour, a third version of the track, featuring British rapper Tinie Tempah
Tinie Tempah
Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu , better known by his stage name Tinie Tempah, is a British rapper. He made his first mixtape in 2007 with 28 songs, freestyles and remixes, the album features Mz Bratt, Chipmunk and G-Unit...

, was written and performed. During July 2010, when Tempah was unable to make tour performances, a fourth version of the song, featuring Tempah's verses performed by British Grime
Grime
Grime is a style of music that emerged from Bow, East London, England in the early 2000s, primarily as a development of UK garage, dancehall, and hip hop...

 MC's Kano
Kano
Kano is a city in Nigeria and the capital of Kano State in Northern Nigeria. Its metropolitan population is the second largest in Nigeria after Lagos. The Kano Urban area covers 137 sq.km and comprises six Local Government Area - Kano Municipal, Fagge, Dala, Gwale, Tarauni and Nassarawa - with a...

 & Bashy
Bashy
Ashley Thomas , better known by his stage name Bashy, is an English recording artist and actor. He rose to prominence in 2007 after the release of his controversial track "Black Boys".-Early life:...

, was devised. Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...

 also performed Tempah's verses during the group's 2010 Glastonbury performance
Glastonbury Festival 2010
The 2010 Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts took place in Pilton, Somerset, England in June 2010.The festival was headlined by Gorillaz, Muse, and Stevie Wonder. U2 were initially announced as headliners, but withdrew on 25 May 2010 citing Bono's recent back surgery...

. During the group's Asian tour dates, a fifth version of the song, featuring all new verses from Lebanese-Syrian rapper Eslam Jawaad, was performed. Murdoc Niccals said in an interview for the iTunes Sessions EP that "The song is a big inky canvas for rappers of all sizes to come paint their rhymes on". Jamie Hewlett
Jamie Hewlett
Jamie Christopher Hewlett is an English comic book artist and designer. He is known for being the co-creator of the comic Tank Girl and co-creator of the virtual band Gorillaz.-Biography:...

 claimed during the documentary-film Bananaz
Bananaz
Bananaz is a documentary film about the animated music group Gorillaz. It is directed by Ceri Levy.-Information:From 2000 to 2006 director Ceri Levy filmed the creators behind the scenes, from the first drawings, animations, music and the musicians, through to the faces behind the voices of the...

 that "The song isn't really about the actor Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...

, but more to do with the Melodica solo in the song".

Music video

The animated
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...

 music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

 was directed by Jamie Hewlett
Jamie Hewlett
Jamie Christopher Hewlett is an English comic book artist and designer. He is known for being the co-creator of the comic Tank Girl and co-creator of the virtual band Gorillaz.-Biography:...

 and Pete Candeland. It starts with the Gorillaz logo in red against a black screen, and the following quote from the 1978 film Dawn of the Dead: "Every dead body that is not exterminated, gets up and kills. The people it kills, get up and kill" in Japanese then in English. This phrase was deemed offensive in some countries and a censored version was produced that omits this intro. The video and song name is a reference to the famous western starring actor Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...

, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. The yell from the film's theme song can be heard at the beginning of the video. The notes that the melodica plays are also based on the yell. The band is seen playing their music against a completely white backdrop. 2-D is seen wearing a T-Virus shirt most likely referencing Resident Evil. Russel's cap then begins to mysteriously rise on its own, and the ghost of Del appears to be emerging from under it. He begins to rap, leaving the other band members dumbfounded, and the backdrop at this point is that of a cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...

. Del then begins to summon enormous tombstones to burst out of the ground, as a heavy shower of rain and thunderstorm begins. Shortly afterwards, zombie gorilla hands rise up from the ground. Murdoc is grabbed by the crotch and pulled to the ground, a reference to the Peter Jackson
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson, KNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, known for his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , adapted from the novel by J. R. R...

 zombie film Braindead. Seconds later, the zombie gorillas themselves rise up. Murdoc immediately flees at the sight of them, with a number of them pursuing him. He then turns and glares at them out of frustration at his inability to escape, and the zombie apes engage in a bizarre dance routine before Murdoc is finally struck by lightning
Lightning
Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...

, this dance routine is similar to the choreography
Choreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...

 of Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...

's "Thriller
Thriller (music video)
Michael Jackson's Thriller is a 14-minute music video for the song of the same name released on December 2, 1983 and directed by John Landis, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Jackson....

" music video. Noodle is then shown joyfully skipping along, almost as if she is completely unaware of her surroundings, and in her playful skipping, she delivers a hard kick to one of the zombie gorillas in the face. Immediately afterwards, Del is then sucked back into Russel's head as the gorillas all disintegrate, and the band members are left standing in the cemetery, now bright with sunlight. The video then concludes with a split screen showing each of the four band members and their names. The video has a running time of 4:32, which is significantly different to the album version, which runs for approximately 5:44, however, the album version features about 1:30 of the backing track playing with no vocals over the top. The video for "Clint Eastwood" won an award at the Rushes Soho Short Film Festival Awards in 2001, defeating entries by Blur
Blur (band)
Blur is an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing...

, Fatboy Slim
Fatboy Slim
Norman Quentin Cook better known by his former stage name Fatboy Slim, is a British DJ, electronic dance music musician, and record producer. He is a pioneer of the big beat genre that achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s...

, Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...

, and Robbie Williams
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams...

.

Regarding Eastwood

In 2001, Hewlett and Albarn indicated that they had not received any feedback from Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...

 over the song. Albarn expressed a desire to send the actor some of the band's merchandise as a mark of respect, and said, "I'm sure Clint Eastwood would like [the song]. He's an intelligent man."

Track listing

  • CD Single
  1. "Clint Eastwood" (Original Mix Edit) - 3:44
  2. "Clint Eastwood" (Ed Case/Sweetie Irie Refix Edit) - 3:42
  3. "Dracula" - 4:44
  4. "Clint Eastwood" (Video) - 4:30

  • Cassette
  1. "Clint Eastwood" (Original Mix Edit) - 3:44
  2. "Clint Eastwood" (Ed Case/Sweetie Irie Refix Edit) - 3:42
  3. "Dracula" - 4:44

  • 12" Vinyl
  1. "Clint Eastwood" 5:54
  2. "Clint Eastwood" (Ed Case/Sweetie Irie Refix Edit) - 3:42
  3. "Clint Eastwood" (Phi Life Cypher Version) - 4:54

Charts

Chart (2002) Peak
position
Australian ARIA
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...

 Singles Chart
17
Austrian Top 75 Singles Chart 2
Brazil Top 20 10
Canadian Hot 100
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...

 (Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

)
2
Dutch Top 40
Dutch Top 40
The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting...

2
Eurochart Hot 100
Eurochart Hot 100 Singles
The European Hot 100 Singles has been compiled by Billboard and Music & Media magazine since March, 1984. The chart is based on national singles sales charts in 15 European countries: Austria, Belgium , Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden,...

4
Finnish Singles Chart 6
French Singles Chart 17
German Singles Chart 2
Italian Singles Chart 1
New Zealand RIANZ
Recording Industry Association of New Zealand
The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand...

 Singles Chart
2
Norwegian Singles Chart 1
Romanian Singles Chart
Romanian Top 100
The Romanian Top 100 is the national airplay-based singles chart of Romania. It is weekly and it started running in 1996. It is recognized as an official chart by the European division of Billboard, Music & Media....

3
Spain Top 50 Singles Chart 1
Swedish Singles Chart
Sverigetopplistan
Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association ....

7
Swiss Top 100 Singles Chart 3
Turkish Top 20 Chart 9
UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

4
U.S. Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

57
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play 6
U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks 3

Chart (2000–2009) Peak
position
UK Top 100 Songs of the Decade 96

Popular culture

  • The song was used in episodes of Daria
    Daria
    Daria is an American animated television series produced by Paramount Television, and created by Glenn Eichler and Susie Lewis Lynn for MTV. The series focuses on Daria Morgendorffer, a smart, acerbic, and somewhat misanthropic teenage girl who observes the world around her...

    , Smallville
    Smallville (TV series)
    Smallville is an American television series developed by writers/producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar based on the DC Comics character Superman, originally created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The television series was initially broadcast by The WB Television Network , premiering on October...

    , The Andy Milonakis Show
    The Andy Milonakis Show
    The Andy Milonakis Show is an American sketch comedy television show starring Andy Milonakis, which aired on MTV2, the first season having aired on MTV...

    , Angel
    Angel (TV series)
    Angel is an American television series, a spin-off of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series was created by Buffys creator, Joss Whedon, in collaboration with David Greenwalt, and first aired on October 5, 1999...

    , Dark Angel
    Dark Angel (TV series)
    Dark Angel is an American biopunk/cyberpunk science fiction television series created by James Cameron and Charles H. Eglee. The show premiered in the United States on the Fox network on October 3, 2000, and was canceled after two seasons...

    and Walker Texas Ranger, and in the title sequence
    Title sequence
    A Title Sequence is the method by which cinematic films or television programs present their title, key production and cast members, or both, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound...

     for the 2010 film Fair Game
    Fair Game (2010 film)
    Fair Game is a 2010 biographical film drama directed by Doug Liman and starring Naomi Watts and Sean Penn. It is based on Valerie Plame's memoir, Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House which details the scandalous events that took place in mid 2003, implicating senior White...

    (set just after the turn of the century).
  • Luke Ski
    Luke Ski
    Luke Ski is a parody, filk and rap artist who writes, records and performs comedy music. He had the #1 most requested song on the Dr...

     recorded a parody of this song called "Jon Archer", about the science fiction
    Science fiction
    Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

     television series
    Television program
    A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...

     Star Trek: Enterprise
    Star Trek: Enterprise
    Star Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series. It follows the adventures of humanity's first warp 5 starship, the Enterprise, ten years before the United Federation of Planets shown in previous Star Trek series was formed.Enterprise premiered on September 26, 2001...

    (the parody's title references the series' lead character
    Jonathan Archer
    Jonathan Archer is a fictional character in the Star Trek franchise. He is the protagonist of the television series Star Trek: Enterprise, where he is played by Scott Bakula...

     and captain of the titular starship).
  • Founding member of the band Phish
    Phish
    Phish is an American rock band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams, and exploration of music across genres. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983 , the band's four members – Trey Anastasio , Mike Gordon , Jon Fishman , and Page McConnell Phish is an American rock band...

    , Trey Anastasio
    Trey Anastasio
    Trey Anastasio is an American guitarist, composer, and vocalist most noted for his work with the rock band Phish...

    , covered this song numerous times on his 2011 "Trey Anastasio Band" tour.
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