Gorillaz's "Stylo" Leaks, New Album "Plastic Beach" Out March 9th

Just one day after Gorillaz were named Coachella's closing night headliner, "Stylo," the first single off the cartoon band's upcoming third album Plastic Beach, leaked out into the blogosphere. Gorillaz's Murdoc Niccals wrote on his Twitter page, "A leak! A leak! Plastic Beach has sprung a leak! One of those Russian pirates has put a bullet hole in my island! My single's leaked! STYLO!" The first single features R&B singer Bobby Womack's trademark croon on the chorus, as well as rapper Mos Def, who will join Gorillaz as an animated character named "Sun Moon Stars" on Plastic Beach. "Stylo" will officially be released on January 26th, with Plastic Beach to follow on March 9th.

Rolling Stone previously spoke to Womack about being recruited by Gorillaz to cameo on their third album. At first he turned down the collaboration but ultimately changed his mind after his daughter recommended he work with the band. "The only thing that convinced me was my daughter said, 'Dad, you got to do this. They're awesome.' I said, 'You're hip to them?' "Womack told RS. Womack also thought Gorillaz was a band of actual gorillas until it was revealed to him that the band was in fact the side project of Blur's Damon Albarn.

Gorillaz has established a penchant for recruiting an eclectic mix of artists to cameo on their albums, from Del tha Funkee Homosapien and Talking Heads' Tina Weymouth on Gorillaz to De La Soul, Happy Mondays' Shaun Ryder and actor Dennis Hopper on Demon Days. Plastic Beach continues that tradition with Snoop Dogg, De La Soul, Lou Reed, the Fall's Mark E. Smith, Gruff Rhys and the Clash's Mick Jones and Paul Simonon all making appearances throughout the album.

Check out the track list and art below, and listen to the "Stylo" radio edit leak up top:

Plastic Beach
1. "Orchestral Intro"
2. "Welcome To The World Of The Plastic Beach" (feat. Snoop Dogg and Hypnotic Brass Ensemble)
3. "White Flag" (feat. Kano Bashy)
4. "Rhinestone Eyes"
5. "Stylo" (feat. Bobby Womack and Mos Def)
6. "Superfast Jellyfish" (feat. Gruff Rhys and De La Soul)
7. "Empire Ants" (feat. Little Dragon)
8. "Glitter Freeze" (feat. Mark E Smith)
9. "Some Kind Of Nature" (feat. Lou Reed)
10. "On Melancholy Hill"
11. "Broken"
12. "Sweepstakes" (feat. Mos Def Hypnotic Brass Ensemble)
13. "Plastic Beach" (feat. Mick Jones Paul Simonon)
14. "To Binge" (feat. Little Dragon)
15. "Cloud Of Unknowing" (feat. Bobby Womack)
16. "Pirate Jet"

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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