The Independent reports that the Blur/Gorillaz frontman is a leading contender to become the artistic director of the 2012 Olympic Games. Albarn collaborated with artist Jamie Hewlett on the music and animation for the BBC’s coverage of the Bejing games. The decision process could take months. Regardless, the idea that the opening ceremonies could look a bit more like the “Clint Eastwood” music video is a sufficiently worthwhile one. Albarn, dudes: he just doesn’t cease to explore and excite. (via The Daily Swarm via The Independent)

Gorillaz have released their new documentary, Bananaz, for free on Babelgum. The hour and a half documentary sheds a light of reality upon the cartoon band, and tracks the creative process behind the minds of Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett between 2000-2006.

The documentary follows the conceptualization behind Gorillaz, showing the formation of the band from the start of the very first drawings, music and animation behind the successful cartoon rockers. Giving fans insight behind the mysterious mentalities that created their favorite music, the documentary also features guest appearances from the likes of Danger Mouse, De la Soul and D12, who all aided Gorillaz in the creative process. Bananaz made it’s theatrical debut at the Berlin Film Festival, as well as showing at SxSW.

Along with the free stream, Babblegum has also launched a Gorillaz channel on their website. The new channel gives an even more in depth look at the band through footage of live concerts, as well as videos, games and exclusive clips.

The highly anticipated Gorillaz documentary Bananaz, set for a global online premiere April 20 through Babelgum, will be screened tonight at the New York Soho Apple Store followed by a Q & A session with director Ceri Levy.

If you can’t make it out tonight, you’ll have to wait ’til April — but take solace in the fact that you’ll be part of the first-ever global online film premiere. Internet TV platform Babelgum will host the film, which goes behind the scenes of the virtual cartoon band Gorillaz and into the real inner-workings of Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett’s creative process.

From the press release:
From 2000 to 2006 director Ceri Levy filmed alongside the creators behind the scenes, from first drawings, animations, music and the musicians, through to the faces behind the voices of Murdoc, 2D, Noodle and Russel Hobbs. Made with the spirit of collaboration and madness that is Gorillaz, Bananaz also has appearances from many of those who occasionally pass through this virtual band: Dennis Hopper, De la Soul, Ibrahim Ferrer, Dangermouse, Dan the Automator, D12, Bootie Brown and Neneh Cherry.

The film will receive a theatrical release following the online premiere, and has already achieved a bit of cult status after screenings at the 58th Berlin Film Festival, SXSW and Edinburgh.

Babelgum will also be launching a Gorillaz channel featuring live concerts, videos, games and exclusive Bananaz clips. In the meantime you can catch the trailer below and here.

As we told you earlier in the week, Bruce Springsteen is confirmed as a headliner for the Glastonbury Festival this year, but now the newly reunited Blur have confirmed they too will be playing the festival this year.

After rumors ran rampant about the band possibly performing at the festival, Blur frontman, Damon Albarn, confirmed to the Daily Mirror that they would surely be performing this year. “Yeah we’re doing Glasto this year. We were asked last year, but we turned them down.”

The band is also playing at Hyde Park in the U.K. on July 3, which was supposed to be the bands big reunited debut before they announced their Glastonbury confirmation.

Albarn and Graham Coxon gave us a taste of what’s to come at Glastonbury, at the Shockwaves NME awards, which was their first performance together in nine years, but we are hoping we will be hearing even more from the band before then. Albarn tossed around the possible idea of the band playing a few gigs before the festival saying, “We need a few more warm-up gigs to get back into it, ready for the big one. Glastonbury’s great.”

The Glastonbury festival will take place on June 24-28, and is known for hosting a wide range of performers. Last year’s festival included the likes of Jay-Z, Kings of Leon, and The Verve among many other performers.

Noel Fielding wants Robert Smith to guest star in the upcoming Mighty Boosh film, Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon shared the stage for the first time in a decade and Pete Doherty said he has ways of convincing Carl Barat to reunite The Libertines. Yes, it was all going down at the NME Shockwave awards. But, honestly — can you expect any less from a program that sends its winners home with a giant bronzed middle finger?

The award categories in last night’s ceremony ranged from the standard stuff (Best International Band went to The Killers, while Best British Band went to Oasis) to the slightly more whimsical (the award for Godlike Genius went to Robert Smith and The Cure) to the completely out of place (Villain of the year for the sixth year running was George W. Bush, with Hero of the Year going to President Barack Obama, because apparently even the British would’ve Baracked the vote, had they been allowed the opportunity).

But in between giving out top honors for wardrobe choices, both best (Alexa Chung) and worst (Amy Winehouse), there were some notable happenings. The most notable, of course, was the on-stage reunion of Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon. Their first time playing together in nearly a decade, they performed a stripped-down version of “This Is a Low.” Albarn said the preparations for the impending Blur reunion are going well, and that they’re “taking it really easy …. just doing it once a week and enjoying it — playing every album, every song.”

But they weren’t the only ones talking reunions — not shockingly, Pete Doherty still has dollar signs (or probably pound signs, really) floating in front of his eyes and is determined to cash in on a Libertines reunion. Doherty took home the award for Best Solo Artist last night, and told NME that he will convince Carl Barat to get the band back together. The two did a joint interview in which Barat didn’t seem as adamant as he was before that a reunion was out of the question. Doherty said he would twist his arm. Literally.

It was also a big night for The Cure, with the band taking home the award for Godlike Genius (presented by Tim Burton, for no other discernable reason than that he looks eerily like Robert Smith), and Noel Fielding of The Mighty Boosh declaring his desire to have Robert Smith play his uncle in the upcoming Mighty Boosh film. The show won the award for Best TV Show.

And then there was Dizzie Rascal, who proved you can actually be completely unaware you were nominated for an award and still take one home.

Finally, it must be said: any award show that a.) has categories for the worst band and worst album of the year and b.) gives both of those awards to The Jonas Brothers, is a-okay in our book.

We gave you the heads up yesterday about Damon Albarn’s appearance on BBC’s Radio 1 to preview new Gorillaz tracks, and despite the fact that he and Jamie Hewlett jokingly broke up live on the radio (you can still hear the whole show here), the talk today is about Albarn’s comments on recording sessions for their third album kicking off in March.

Albarn played two Gorillaz demos on last night’s show, and confirmed that work on the follow-up to 2005’s Demon Days will begin with a collaboration in Syria in just under two months. Albarn credited the location choice to his “fascination with Arabic orchestral music.”

The two demos were “Electric Shock”, a track Albarn had previously debuted live at Africa Exprez (which features those Arabic rhythms we’re sure to be hearing more of) and “Broken”. Albarn said he’d started writing “Electric Shock” several months ago. “It’s rough and not finished by any means, but hopefully people will enjoy it. I come back to a song a lot of times, but six months is the maximum. It’s hard to tell when a song’s finished.”

The show also included highlights from Blur’s 1997 sessions with DJ John Peel at Peel Acres and other favorite tracks of Albarn’s.

If you can take a break from fantasizing about Blur in Hyde Park for just a few minutes this afternoon, Damon Albarn will be playing new Gorillaz demos on BBC Radio1 when he fills in as a guest DJ for Zane Lowe.

The show will air from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. GMT (2 p.m. to 4 p.m. EST), and you can listen live through the Radio1 web site. Joining Albarn on the show will be Radio1 DJ Steve Lamacq and, apparently, Gorillaz bassist Murdoc Niccals. Albarn will be playing the demos from the as-yet untitled album, plus some of his favorite tunes and a few Blur radio sessions.

As for what type of conversation we can expect between “Murdoc” and Albarn, based on the message from Murdoc to his fans on several Gorillaz fansites, it should be good.

“Let’s try and clear this up,” said the cartoon creation. “As far as I can work out, I, Murdoc Niccals, the Gorillaz musical auteur, have been requested by the BBC to take over Zane Lowe’s radio show this Wednesday. Sounds simple. They want ‘the guy who wrote all those Gorillaz tunes’.”

He added: “But now apparently ‘Damon Albarn’, is hosting this farce and he’s going to be playing some of the new Gorillaz demos, and ‘would I like to maybe put in an appearance, say hello, kind of thing’. Shurely [sic], some kind of admin mistake. So yeah, folks, I’ll put in an appearance this Wednesday, for sure. Let’s find out who’s hosting who, exactly.”

Like a bad fiancee, it took them four years to set the date. But Blur have finally confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt that their much-anticipated, highly speculated about reunion will happen next year. The band announced on its site this morning that July 3, 2009 will see them play at London’s Hyde Park.

The gig will be the first time guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James, drummer Dave Rowntree and lead singer Damon Albarn have shared the stage since their 2000 performance at the Royal Festival Hall in London. Tickets go on sale this Friday at 9 a.m. in the UK, 4 a.m. Eastern/3 a.m. Central. They will cost you £45 each, which according to today’s exchange rate is $66.27. Each buyer will be limited to six tickets and will be subject to a booking fee.

For more updates on the progress of the show, you can give Blur a few details like cell phone and e-mail address, and they’ll send you more info on Blur in 2009. You’ll also get to see a video interview with the band about the show, where they talk about the time they spent apart — “a lot of little experiences, nothing personal” — and what it’s been like practicing together again — “a bit like putting the A-Team back together for a job, we’ve gotta bust Rowntree out of law school.”

Blur