#2doc2cents

It's no secret that in canon, Murdoc produced Plastic Beach. (A lot of this is obvious but I'm simply restating with as much factual evidence to build my case.)

Now without hard specifics we don't actually know how much was him and / or if he got cyborg or 2D to assist in songwriting in any way, but for the most part it's hinted it's all him, based on these images and some of the Pirate Radio lines.

"This, uh, this is something I've been, ah-ah, a little something I've been working on. Like, uh, you know Gorillaz-style?"

But regardless, I'm focused on To Binge today, and I have a few more context clues that Murdoc was alone and this song was specifically written by him:

First off, To Binge is actually the first song we get a sample of in Pirate Radio. And Murdoc is workshopping the name as he introduces it

"This one, is called PINK Sink Fish!

(The first verse of "To Binge" by Gorillaz plays)

Oh, dear, dear, dear, dear- no, I-I-I've been thinking, I-I-I can't- I can't call that- I can't call that Pink Stink Fish."

Secondly, I also firmly believe 2D is not physically on the island yet. We could argue he might have been there and locked away, but I don't think so. After all, the songs that Murdoc samples before Episode 4 (the one 2D is introduced in) don't have 2D's vocals. They play White Flag, and To Binge but only Littledragon's first verse. The 2D episode is the first time we hear his singing with Pirate Jet, and considering how much Murdoc was ranting about his loneliness in the first few episodes I don't think it's too far of a reach to assume 2D wasn't here yet.

"Uh, anyway, do you know where I'm broadcasting from? It's the most deserted spot. On. The. Planet! Y'know? (fighting talk) I'm on my own, alright? You gotta a problem with that? (yells) Sorry, if you got a problem with that, y'know?"

"Ah, this place is awful, scary, fog rolling in- I don't know how long I've been here now could be six months could be a year I don't know- who knows, y’know."

Okay, so a little bit of canon evidence to support the idea Murdoc started working on To Binge when he was alone, and likely workshopped it the whole time. Once you break down the lyrics more, it makes SENSE that he only had the Little Dragon part first; that's HIS viewpoint so far. What lyrics do we hear and know for sure are done?

"Waiting by the mailbox, by the train

Passing by the hills 'til I hear the name

I'm looking for a saw to cut these chains in half,

and all I want is someone to rely on as thunder comes a rolling down.

Someone to rely on as lightning comes a staring in again"

What is this really saying boiled down? This person is suffering, alone, waiting for someone to help with their struggles. This definitely feels like Murdoc wrote this by himself. I'll even argue the second verse is also likely to have been written even if 2D hasn't sung it yet.

"I'll wait to be forgiven, maybe I never will

My star has left me to take the bitter pill

That shattered feeling, well, the cause of it's a lesson learned

Just don't know if I could roll into the sea again

"Just don't know if I could do it all again, " she said, it's true"

This is also just more emphasis on regrets, realizing you're at fault and there's nothing left to accept the painful lesson and not be sure you can open up again.

Now this might be up to interpretation but I think this song did NOT start as a duet. Even though I floated the idea the second verse could have been written, I think if you pop off the "she said it's true" part, that's the version Murdoc had initially.

And it makes thematic sense. I don't think Murdoc assumed he had anyone left to work on Gorillaz except for himself and Cyborg, and it also explains introducing songs with guest singers only up until this point. As far as he knew, he was truly alone and tried to make it work...

Until he snapped and dragged 2D back into this mess.

So I think taking that step made it from just a song to vent about El Manana and the immediate fallout, to Murdoc making it a duet about him and 2D.

Because up until this point, they had a very strange sort of situationship. Canon seems to make it clear 2D thinks Murdoc saved him, and is happy to give Murdoc his soul when asked about it. Murdoc is mean and abusive to 2D but there's also camraderie still. It's volatile, but it's not anything that seems to break the two apart.

Murdoc was already in a very, very dangerous place when starting Pirate Radio. Clearly getting drunk, losing his mind, and ridden with guilt about Noodle. Of course he snapped and dragged 2D into his shenanigans, because unfortunately you can't just make a good album without the magic sauce. But this really fucked everything up, because Murdoc was digging this hole he had no idea how to get out of, and it kept making 2D scared, angry, and likely feeling further away from Murdoc than they've ever felt before. Seeing this unfolding before his eyes, knowing it's ALL your fault...it makes sense that it's now a song about two people struggling. Because now, Murdoc can suddenly reframe the first verse at 2D.

Wait, first verse? Why not second verse since 2D sings it? I actually think that despite that, from Murdoc's POV, he's the one behind the "2D singing parts" and 2D is behind the "Little Dragon singing parts".

Why do I think that? I think it fits with the lyrics better, and honestly the lore itself! If this song IS about their relationship, Murdoc is too prideful to be the "guest female role". He's the 'real' reason why Gorillaz is successful in his head, so of course he's behind the actual, important singing. We already know he is insanely jealous that 2D gets to be the face of the band and that people flock to because of the looks and the voice. Murdoc wants to be that role; of course he's gonna be the self insert in the part that 2D is singing.

Okay, so the first verse we agreed is means what? This person is suffering, alone, waiting for someone to help with their struggles.

"Waiting by the mailbox, by the train

Passing by the hills 'til I hear the name

I'm looking for a saw to cut these chains in half,

and all I want is someone to rely on as thunder comes a rolling down.

Someone to rely on as lightning comes a staring in again"

THAT IS 2D NOW. Murdoc isn't alone anymore; he's got 2D. But it's clear 2D doesn't want to be here and still feels alone, locked away and calling for help the first time they're brought upstairs onto the radio show.

And that ties the second verse in as Murdoc. Regrets like we stated before, and it still feels impossible to escape back to how it was. But now 2D is there, really driving it home that it's all broken.

"Just don't know if I could roll into the sea again

"Just don't know if I could do it all again, " she said, it's true.

So with that in mind...let's analyze the next section with this lens.

"Waiting in my room and I lock the door

I watch the coloured animals across the floor

And I'm looking from a distance

And I'm listening to the whispers

And, oh, it ain't the same when you're falling out of feeling

And you're falling in and caught again

Ca-au-au-aught again"

This person is shut in and essentially disassociating. They can no longer handle what is happening to them. This feels so in line with 2D, especially the coloured animals part; considering how whimsical and dreamlike their thoughts can be at times, at least in Murdoc's eyes. Meanwhile, there's a numbness there that is only brought back every now and then; likely by fear or anger in regards to Murdoc. No semblance of good camraderie like they used to have.

"I'm caught again in the mystery

You're by my side, but are you still with me?

The answer's somewhere deep in it, I'm sorry, but you're feeling it.

But I just have to tell you that I love you so much these days.

Have to tell you that I love you so much these days, it's true"

Murdoc shouldn't be surprised but he is. Maybe he's just shocked that finally 2D sees through the bullshit and is actually fighting against him this time, either literally or even with just mentally checking out. 2D is there physically but there's nothing like what they had before. And Murdoc is so damn prideful and can't admit that he hates that...that he knows it's all his fault and he doesn't want it to be like this. But even when 2D is suffering, even when the singer is feeling hopeless and wants to be far away...Murdoc still loves him in his toxic, fucked up way in this point of the lore.

So....that's great, that's bittersweet. And then plot happens, Plastic Beach ends violently and with the band rifted apart, only to come together again later to get a sort of "send off" framing during Lost Chord, featuring the deep pains and regrets all the band mates had back then so....that's that, right?

Except, this.

2D's door in Kong Studios. It was revealed in 2025, which basically means with eight main albums and countless other side albums and singles....out of ALL the songs 2D could latch on to, it's this song. But not JUST this song...this verse. Why this song, why this verse, during arguably the worst time of his life?

"My heart is in economy due to this autonomy"

I don't think 2D saw this song for what it was initially. It was all likely too fresh and too painful, and there was way too many other things eating away at his mental health. I'm not sure when exactly the shift could have occurred, but I wouldn't be surprised it really started to sink in around Song Machine, when they were forced to reconcile the past and face that time in their lives. This is when it really could have clicked.

Because what exactly has Murdoc been saying this whole time with that line?

"My heart is in economy due to this autonomy"

OR

"My emotions are kept on a tight budget because of how independent I am."

Simplifying it even more...

"It's hard for me to express myself and it's my own fault."

Of all the messages from Plastic Beach 2D gravitates to, even more so than the direct 'I love yous', THIS is the one that stuck to 2D the most. Because it can be easy to say things and not mean it. Murdoc says a lot of shit....but one of the things he almost never does is own up to his actions. 2D sees this line for what it is; a beautiful, poetic, hidden apology out in the open. This is why this phrase is in his room, likely on this door because he HAS to be physically reminded of this line every time he exits his room. 2D finally sees it; the most pivotal point of when Murdoc tried to reach for him earnestly, even when he was too damn prideful and stubborn to just go to him and say sorry. It's a constant reminder of what Murdoc has been trying to make up for this whole time, and how far he's come from since those dark times on the beach.

"I'm the one making this harder for us and I'm sorry"

Rolling in and caught again..

Ca-au-au-aught again