Snarl With Me: Say ‘Gnarls’
Anyone who listens to Mix 98.5 in the Boston area has probably heard the song “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley. Many other people have likely heard it too, since it (is/was?) a #1 single in England. It’s a different kind of song, but I’m obsessed with it.
I was babbling to my friend Dave about it, since he does in fact listen to 98.5, and he made a very good point:
me: I told you I felt a babble coming on.
him: It’s OK, but wouldn’t this be better on your blog?
me: zing.
I got to work one morning, after hearing the song on the radio in the car on the way to the T station, and decided to look up the artist. This is usually the first step in my decision process to buy an album. I may be obsessive, but I’m also methodical. I found that the artist was Gnarls Barkley. A little googling and I was at the dot-com listening to the track “Smiley Faces.” I knew instantly that I was going to have to buy the album.
I started poking around the website, and saw that I had just missed by a day an appearance on Conan O’Brien. I did a couple searches for a recording and came up empty. My AIM away message for the day read:
Anyone who can find me a video on the internet of Gnarls Barkley’s appearance on Conan O’Brien last night wins a prize.
(Disclaimer: In the above, “wins a prize” should be replaced with “receives a heartfelt ‘thank you’ from me.”)
I also started reading the portion of the site that asks, “Who is Gnarls Barkley?” I started off kind of giggling at the obvious fakeness of this “hidden” man. But I wasn’t amused for long. I quickly became annoyed.
I was annoyed that I had been fooled. I was annoyed that some producers had invented a guy, gave him a name, and manufactured some tracks in a back room just for the fun of getting hype up for an imaginary guy. That’s what I thought anyway.
Wrong!
I kept searching the internet (mostly because my builds were taking eons, and I had some spare brain cycles), and I began to find live performances. So my perception of a studio produced voice diminished and I started to wonder for myself, “Who is Gnarls Barkley?” Yes, I know now that I was late to the party. People were wondering who he was before I knew that I should wonder.
I finally did find the real truth. Gnarls Barkley is a collaboration between Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo Green. I’ve heard some Danger Mouse mixes before, but I’m not super familiar with him. As for Cee-Lo, my exposure to the kind of music he normally involves himself with is extremely limited. (I listen to top-40 pop, please forgive me.)
Even without any other knowledge of the individuals, I know the value is in the team. These guys seem to feel a guy named Gnarls, as if he’s real. It really is a special kind of crazy, as even they said they were trying to “out-crazy” each other during the creation of the tracks.
My favorite tidbit of information came from an interview by Pitchfork:
[Danger Mouse]: Yeah, “Crazy” was one take, that was it. The first time [Cee-Lo] did that, he went out of body. I work with a lot of singers; one thing that always screws stuff up is trying to emulate a performance, but the first time you’re plucking at a guitar, when you’re coming up with it and it comes out, that’s the only time it’s real. “Crazy” was out the first time it came out of his mouth; it’s like he sang it on the mic and that’s why it sounds the way it does, I think. I remember afterward he was like, “What do you think of that, how was that” and I was like “Ohhh, that was alright!” (Laughs)
My jaw dropped at reading that. I am in awe at the talent these two have. I love what I’ve heard so far. I love the creativity, the give-and-take, and most of all the spirit in the music.
I’m obsessed.
Postlude
My good friend Tara, knower of all things internet, did in fact come up with that Conan appearance for me. She did receive her heartfelt ‘thank you.’
I found the performance to be amusing to watch, especially considering the attire (note that this was aired after midnight of the May 24th show, I don’t know if they were celebrating, but if they were, hats off!), but they slowed it way down, which I did not enjoy as much. It’s okay. I’ve always got the album recording.
Post-postlude
I have since bought the album, and I listen to it on the Orange line daily. I bob my head and mouth the words. I love it. My fellow commuters probably think I’m insane. I’m okay with that.
The attire is very interetsing, but I shouldn’t have watched the video. Now I can’t stop singing “I remember when…I remember when I lost my mind”
“There was something so special about that place!”
http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Music/06/05/gnarls.barkley.ap/index.html
I so love them!