Department Of Music Correction

The Department Of Musical Corrections, also known as the Department of Music Correction (often abbreviated as DMC) is a secret organization located in London, England, which operates undercover in the music industry and is dedicated to the manipulation and re-forging of popular music aimed at molding people's minds and their future into their own image and ideas, with “sacred values of harmony, obedience and order” and the slogan "Always Listening".

The DMC, whenever speaking publicly, presents themselves as a benign organization with the intention to build a more harmonious future for everyone (the “good guys”) and have had a key influence not just on Gorillaz and its music, ever since the band was formed, but also on various other pop music artists, which have been changed; re-educated or replaced with android clones (as they claim on official documents) in order to attend their wills and objectives. Their website contains nothing but a still image with a message kicking off anyone who accesses it. undefined

Known Members

 * Anna Petrov - Staff Writer at the Ministry of Vacuous Platitudes (? - Febuary 2000 - ?)
 * Brigadier Hubert Asquith - Government Relations Director (? - March 1999 - ?)
 * Cedric Finkle - The Chairman's Spokesman (? - March 1999 - ?)
 * Ian MacDibble - Head of Investigations (? - March 1999 - ?)
 * Joyce O'Neil - Worker at the Ministry of Corrections & Quibbles (? - Febuary 2000 - ?)
 * Lady Eleanor De Busom - Department Board Member (? - March 1999 - ?)
 * Lydia Whitehead - Deputy Director (? - March 1999 - ?)
 * Nasser Patel - Profanity Officer at Level 4 (? - March 1999 - ?)
 * Peter Longbottom - Interrotagor (? - March 1999 - ?)
 * Quentin Plug - Intern (July 2020 - November 2020) / Crisis Strategist (December 2021) / Auxiliary Bathroom Attendant at Lower Basement Level (December 2021 - Present Day)
 * Reginald Pecker - Unknown Position (Febuary 1960 - ?) / Clerk at the Ministry of Office Supplies (? - Febuary 2000 - ?)
 * Victor Fontaine - Jailer (? - Febuary 2000 - ?)

Involvement With Gorillaz
The involvement of the department with the band was first mentioned on the announcement for the 20th Anniversary Super Deluxe Vinyl Boxset of Gorillaz’ Phase 1 content, on the 20th anniversary of the release of the band’s debut album, Gorillaz. On this same day, the Department of Music Correction made an announcement of previously sensitive documents being declassified and made available to the general public, which caused an uncovering of early demos & rarities from different artists. Not much was known about the department at this point, as the institution often remained hidden to avoid gathering unwanted attention.

A few days after, on the 7th of December, 2021, an anonymous user named GFlat emerged, who claimed to be undercover agent from the Department of Musical Corrections and made a post on Reddit and Twitter, which was quote tweeted by the official Gorillaz twitter account, presenting themselves and giving information related to the DMC. On these posts, GFlat stated that a package had been sent to the band on Kong Studios, and inside had classified materials covertly extracted from the DMC, while also describing its operations to mold the minds of people to their own image, which they called “bland, safe, and harmonious”. They also informed that Gorillaz had been at the #1 spot on the DMC ‘most subversive’ watchlist, a list of all popular music artists which represent a menace to the achievement of the department's goals, since their beginning, and announced more documents and information to be dropping soon.

Around this time, the Department Of Musical Corrections set up their own Linkedin group, in which they presented themselves from their own perspective stating they seek only “to do good in the world”. The account was usually maintained and updated by the Crisis Strategist at the Department, Quentin Plug. The first post by him was made on the 8th of December, 2021, and stated that the supposed screenshot from the DMC’s database was faked, a “crude fabrication” and and a work aimed at tarnishing the institution, using an overly formal vocabulary and suggesting the person to spend an hour "inside an iron maiden for corrective purposes". User ''! Lenaaa'' had been keeping close contact with Quentin Plug through Linkedin, often providing help and sending supportive messages, but also in an attempt to quietly gather more information, to which were occasionally responded.

The next post by GFlat was made on the official Gorillaz discord server, on the 9th of December 2021, the same day the boxset was shipped to many people. There, two identical images were shown by the user presenting themselves as classified surveillance logs from the DMC, revealing them to have been observing the band during their beginning. The documents, dated from the 23rd of August 2001, included information about regular activities being done by the band members before the arrival of multiple personalities from the music industry as guests to a gathering being organized in Kong Studios, the Giant Moose (from the Music Video for 19-2000) and an anonymous cloaked figure. An agent of the DMC was attacked and devoured by the Zombie Gorillas while collecting DNA samples from the ambient. The authenticity of the documents and the accusations made towards the DMC were all negated by Quentin on a Linkedin post, ironically giving more information about the supposed activities and instruments used by the department than the ones which were already revealed. The boxset, however, contained 5 confidential documents (a total of 7 pages) from the DMC that were never released before narrating their influence, observation, espionage activities and experiences on the band and its members - Murdoc, Russel, Noodle, 2-D and even Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, during Phases 1 and 2, alongside two pictures of them, but on a beaten-up state.

On the 10th of December, another document was leaked by GFlat: a memorandum listing the names of all songs from December of 2021 and their respective authors and supposed violations which were censored by the DMC due to being classified as "unfit" for public consumption, and revealing their acts of engagement at algorythm manipulation to suppress all the titles' organic growth. The list included both artists who had previously collaborated with Gorillaz and others who had never worked with them before. After this leak, one last post was made by Quentin on the DMC's Linkedin group, mostly joking about the situation, insulting and making fun of GFlat and users from the official Gorillaz Discord server and Reddit community, but reassuring the Department of Musical Corrections was no enemy of modern popular music (while using an example of a piece far from any sort of modern or popular music).

The last post by the DMC was made on the 13th of December, and to the surprise of many released a new document from the Department: another memorandum confirming GFlat to be a real worker and whistleblower from the DMC, but also condemning him for his actions and reporting the punishment to be given to him once the true identity of the 'betrayer' is discovered, the use of the pit directly below the Punishment Pit (a place used by the Department of Musical Corrections as a form of punishment, as the name suggests, for those who do not comply with its rules), claimed to include a wondrous array of "ancient corrective technologies", finishing it with the phrase "Harmony shalt prevail!" (It's worth noting the vast use of the word "harmony" and/or its variations in multiple DMC documents or posts, being used mostly to characterize their goals, ideals or on farewells). After that, the user went inactive on Twitter, Reddit and on Discord. Coincidentally or not, on the same day another post was made on the DMC Linkedin group, but this time not by Quentin (despite still being on his account), but by another DMC employee, stating that, following an interview, Quentin had been reassigned to a new role on the Department as a Lower Basement Level Auxiliary Bathroom Attendant, a severe depromotion, but thanking him for his work during the week and wishing the readers Happy Holidays and a "Harmonious New Year" too. This was an unpopular decision, leading many fans who were keeping up with the occasion to protest against Quentin's reassignment. No post has been made by the DMC on Linkedin since.

List Of Songs Deemed Unfit

 * Two Worlds Apart [ Little Simz]
 * Quiet On Set [ Remi Wolf]
 * RUN IT UP [ Tyler, The Creator & Teezo Touchdown]
 * Chondromalacia Patella [ Black Midi]
 * Model Village [ Idles & Slowthai]
 * ARE U HAPPY? [ JPEGMafia]
 * SYNCOPATE [ MICHELLE]
 * Town's Dead [ Kojaque]
 * Good Ones [ Charli XCX]
 * Time (You and I) [ Khruangbin]

First Document
The first document revealed on the boxset is one from an emergency meeting from the Department dated to the 9th of March 1999, labeled "TOP SECRET" and lists the names of some of the only known members from the DMC, alongside their respective occupations. The meeting's topic was the creation of an operation against Gorillaz themselves, referred to as 'The Subject' or 'Subject G', and the supposed threats the group was posing to the DMC, in order to "identify measures to disrupt, disband or destroy" the band. Attention was first bring into the band after several reports of rioting and gunshots during Gorilaz' live debut concert at the Camden Brownhouse pub in London, which is referred to on the document's second item (the first one being an apology for one of the members of the Department for not having attented the meeting).

The third item mentions "unnatural ceremonies" at the band's adress in Kong Studios, related to Murdoc's satanic rituals, Del the Ghost Rapper's appearences and the Zombie Gorillas. Those activities were described as being "a crime against nature" by Board Member Eleanor De Busom, but as "quite good, in a weird way" by the Profanity Officer Nasser Patel, who was subsequently dropped into the Punishment Pit also for corrective purposes. Such surveillance and footage of the location was made by an agent from the Department itself, who was, at the time, being treated for the shock of the experience and undergoing the DMC's re-education program.

The fourth item deals mostly with Murdoc. It states that he had been on the DMC's watchlist since 1995, on his two former groups "Crimson Backdraft" and "Two's A Crowd" for being a concern to them, however they were both too "musically shit" to represent any threat. This explanation, made by Deputy Director Lydia Whitehead was unsatisfactory and led her to also be dropped into the Punishment Pit.

The fifth item describes the measures to be taken in relation to the band and the supposed threat it represents. Head of Investigations Ian MacDibble argued that no interference by the DMC was necessary, because they were "like a driveless ghost train" (possibly referencing the name of the band's first song, "Ghost Train") that would eventually crash and explode if left alone. This claim was heavily disputed by the board members, arguing their unique traits did not fit any of the DMC's modelling cenarious, and the band was proclaimed by Presiding Officer Cedric Finkle "the gravest threat to civilised order since Elvis Presley". This led to the creation of a task force of immediate effect to handle the 'Subject G' and the formulation of covert operations by an unnamed employee (referred to as "IC") to infiltrate Kong Studios and confiscate their master demo tapes.

The document ends with a sixth item regarding a denied permission for Government Relations Officer Hubert Asquith to attend a concert of a (name-censored) artist red-flagged by the Department for his niece's birthday, which led to him being placed on the Department's watchlist as well. The document is signed by Cedric Finkle, on behalf of The Chairman.

Second Document
The second document is the 265th edition of an internal Bi-Monthly Bulletin from the DMC, dated from Febuary 2000. The document starts with a speech by The Chairman, the head of the organization, classifying the new group 'Gorillaz' as a threat unlike anything the Department has recalled, and one that needs to be brought down through any necessary means, 'foul and feir'.

Various news from the DMC are presented on the document, such as the erradication of a new emerging electrinic music sub-genre, 'Garage Conversion' (with the phrase "Truth conquers all!" written in Latin) and the replacement of a pop music solo artist with a clone built by the Department.

Third Document
The third document is a top-secret fax dating from the 13th of April 2001 (ironically with the messege "shred after reading", which was apparently not done) about the DMC's responses to proposals of neutralization of Gorillaz, again referred to as 'Subject G'.

Fourth Document
The fourth document is a bill from the Department of Sabotage and Subversion, yet again regarding the 'Subject G', dated from August 2001, the same month as the surveillance logs leaked by GFlat.

Fifth Document
The fifth and final document is an in-depth personality analysis of each one of the members of Gorillaz, part of the "Alter Ego" project, dated from November 2004.

Trivia

 * Despite the official Gorillaz social media accounts claiming lots of early demos and rarities to have been uncovered as a result of the DMC’s announcement, only Gorillaz' own uncovered songs have been shown to public thus far, and the full list of those songs and their composers has not yet been publicly given.
 * Apart from the main page, the DMC's website only includes one outlink: a Shopping Cart page, despite the website not having a store or anything purchasable at all.undefined When acessed, it only shows the title "Shopping Cart" and the messege "You have nothing in your shopping cart. Continue Shopping".
 * When seen through a web browser, the messege "The DMC are always listening." appears on the website's description, and no other information is present.
 * The two pictures of Damon and Jamie had been previously included on the cover for the October 2001 issue of the New Musical Express Magazine, which featured both Gorillaz and the two of them, but in color instead of black-and-white.
 * The term "Penchil Sharper" appears to be an internal code from the department. It was first referenced by Quentin Plug on his fourth post on the DMC's LinkedIn, where he stated: "We sharpened our pencils in unison to a wonderfully rhythmic 1930s recording of Die Fledermaus by the Yugoslavian Glockenspiel Orchestra!", and was later adressed again on the first paragraph of the second page of the boxset's second document, at under the phrase "Look Sharp, People": "It has come to our attention that Pencil Sharpner #7 has been missing since Wednesday. A reward of one vending machine ration will be offered for information leading to its safe return". The meaning of the expression is still unknown.

Gallery
All credits to the Linkedin screenshots go to user Lenaa Blythe, also known as ''! Lenaaa''.