Gorillaz paid homage to arcade classic Pac-Man with their new song named after the fruit-loving titular character featuring ScHoolboy Q. The song comes as the fifth installment in the animated ensemble’s Song Machine series, which hasn’t seen a new upload since June 9th’s “Friday 13th ft. Octavian”. The release of “PAC-MAN” comes just weeks after the 40th anniversary of when the game originally hit arcades.
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In the video, cartoon bandleader 2-D fires up a game of Pac-Man at the group’s studio while a classic hip-hop beat bumps in the back. The whole song is a simple, down-tempo ride that features breathy, borderline creepy refrain of “You can freak me out/You can throw me in the lion pit.” The allusions to Pac Man the game are thin in “PAC-MAN” the song, but are still present nonetheless as 2-D sings “I’m a mad Pac-Man, livin’ in a leveled world/Everywhere I go I don’t know where I am.”
ScHoolboy Q eventually comes in and adds some more texture with thoughtful, if underplayed, lines of lyrics. All the while, the video transforms all of the Gorillaz members into ghosts, running from the carnivorous Pac-Man.
Watch the video for “PAC-MAN” by Gorillaz. Check out previous Song Machine installments “Momentary Bliss”, “Désolé”, “Aries”, and “Friday 13th“.
Gorillaz ft. ScHoolboy Q — “PAC-MAN”
[Video: Gorillaz]
[H/T Rolling Stone]