You Were All Wrong About The Now Now In Every Way You Could Have Been
This has been on my mind since the album first dropped, but since this fandom has a habit of telling me to kill myself over stating facts like âNo one likes Murdocâ, I just sat on it till the fandom died down the way it does after an album loses itâs just dropped magic. People have been saying all types of things about the Now Now. âItâs an apology for Humanz!â âItâs about Murdoc and 2D!â âIt confirms 2/d/o/c!â âItâs a good album!âÂ
All that is wrong. But not in the way you think it is.
Everyoneâs been viewing this album in such a bleak and uninteresting way. For people who claim to love this album, you donât seem to be giving it more than a surface level glance. Youâre forming your interpretation of the albumâs story based on your headcanons, ignoring the real facts. But Iâm gonna tell you what the album is really about. Itâs a conversation between 2D and Stuart Pot. Itâs a story of self-reflection. Self-hate. And self-love. Itâs about confronting your past so you can live freely in the present.
2D is, no matter your opinion on any of the characters, is a victim of abuse. There is no better time to reflect on yourself, then when youâre away from your abuser. I think 2D took that time, to remember himself before the Gorillaz. Before he was 2D. Back when he was just Stuart Pot. A normal teenage boy, with a set track for his life to roll down.
From the very first song on the Now Now, Humility, which is defined as:
you can see this albums focus is on oneâs self. Itâs the first step into the reflective nature of this album. A humble feeling. Itâs a song about 2D calling to Stuart, and Stuart calling back.
This line, in particular, is what lead me to believe he was just talking to himself. Heâs the lonely twin. Stuart Pot is no longer apart of him. Heâs calling back to his past self. He wants him back. Heâs feeling isolated in his complicated feelings towards his situation. Sometimes thereâs no one you can talk to about such confusing feelings, except you.
Above all, I feel like 2D feels as though heâs let down his past self. He feels like a disappointment to himself more than anyone else. âSee the state Iâm in now?â
I would go into an in-depth analysis of each and every song, because each one very heavily supports my claims, but that would make this too long. What I will say about Tranz, is that I feel like that was Stuart talking. Talking about the star life 2D has lived since Stu âdied,â and asking if theyâre still the same person. Which is why that song leads right into Hollywood. 2D is answering. Telling Stuart what the star life is like and how itâs a painful distraction from his more painful situation.
Kansas is where the album starts to get rather blatant about what itâs doing.
This line itself is 2D asking Stuart if he will ever be the person he wanted him to be when he was younger. Itâs him blaming himself for being a victim of abuse. Wondering if he could ever forgive himself for âletting what happened to him happen.â (Thatâs in quotes because it wasnât ever his fault but, fellow victims? We all know, itâs hard to not blame yourself.)Â
2D is working on healing himself. Heâs figuring out that heâs in control of himself and of what happens next now. Itâs a good feeling. A feeling he wants to share. Which leads right into Sorcererz, where he shares his calming words with others. Itâs the 2D you see in the Now Now interviews. The chilled out âarrogantâ 2D whoâs more firm and more vocal about himself. Heâs right in the middle of working himself out. Heâs jokey, heâs cocky, heâs fun. Heâs finding out that Stuart Pot didnât die when 2D lost his second eye. He was just sleeping. Now theyâre both awake.
Recovery is messy. Itâs messy, painful, and brings up the past in ways and times that are inconvenient for you. Thatâs all Iâll say about Idaho, I donât like that song. Magic City, however, is another song that is blatant about the past and being humble. The reflective feeling this album is putting out is so strong here. Every line in Magic City is dripping in regret and nostalgia. 2D is still on his journey towards self-love. Fire Flies, too, is another regretful song. Itâs a late night. Itâs drinking. Itâs being afraid that youâve failed yourself. Itâs 2D wondering if itâs too late for him to truly be himself. To truly forgive himself. Is he going to be stuck feeling like this forever? Did he spend too long running from his problems? Too long being forcefully kept from them? Heâs not to blame. He was just trying to survive any way he could. Not every way you cope is healthy.
But 2D got through it. One Percent is just a stepping stone into the end. Souk Eye.
Souk Eye is 2D letting go. Of his past self. Of Murdoc. Of the pain heâs been through. Itâs hard for him to make it through, and even though itâs sad, itâs beautiful. Letting go does not mean forgetting. He will always think about it. He doesnât know if he even wants to let it go and move on. But he knows that itâs for the best.
The Now Now isnât a particularly good album. Itâs a bit of a mess. A first glance you might think, this album doesnât flow into itself the way their other albums do. But thatâs because itâs a representation of the road to self-love, which is never a smooth flowing path. The lyrics are what holds it together If you look closely you can see the stitches. The Now Now is an apology. 2D is apologizing to himself, both past and present, for not loving them. For hiding from them. And heâs forgiving himself. Letting himself know that he isnât at fault. This album isnât for us. Itâs for him. He was given the freedom to figure out how he feels, and this is what he gave us.
The assumption that 2D was possessed never went anywhere because it was so blatantly not true. Heâs been held back for so long that you all forgot who he really was, and so did he. He wasnât possessed, he was healing. Not even Noodle could understand that. Russel could, as he clearly was being softer with 2D and giving him his space. Working with him on this. But it was his journey to take, that he happened to let us peek in on.Â
Anyway thatâs just what I think :/
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