Comments on: Gnarls Barkley

By: Theresa

Theresa — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 22:13:22 +0000

I’m crazy for “Crazy” (which by the way, you need to fix the link) but had no idea they covered the Violent Femmes song. That video is hilarious! As a child of the 80’s, that song brings back a lot of memories.

By: pj

pj — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 22:19:47 +0000

Thanks, Theresa, for catching that. Link is fixed! Oh, and I saw the Violent Femmes a few years ago at a street fair and it was so much fun. Definitely a blast from the past!!!!

By: MA

MA — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 05:29:28 +0000

great article :)

By: Fiona Lattimer

Fiona Lattimer — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 00:45:40 +0000

Wow..high demand….I looked up “The Grey Album” and found some copies, but a sealed original at the following link was going for like $90.00. Dang.

I love controversy, and thought provocation, so I of course enjoy Gnarles Barkley. Personally, one of the best things about this music is all the crazy samples. (Which, in my opinion are legit. It is not as if they are trying to front like the sounds are their own. It is like any forward thinking movement. We use what has come before us to progress further ahead. It is almost paying homage to those songs and noises they sample. But I guess people don’t get that.) I am not sure how many of you have actually tried to use samples in music, or loop music for that matter, but it takes a pretty impeccable skill set to do it well. You can always throw a lot of sounds together, but these guys blend the most surprising combinations together, such as accordions and telephones, tv snips and chainsaws, and somehow create music I want to play over and over again. Skills.

Applying effects to vocals sounds easy enough, but to do it with style, and in a way that is new and fresh sounding is somewhat rare these days. The song “Crazy” is one of my favorites. If you didn’t watch the video on youtube that was linked in the original write up you should check it out now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nekInx7DV0o

I was wondering why I wasn’t surprised when Blake mentioned working with the guys from Gnarles, and after I watched the video for “Crazy” again, I realized why. It reminds me of Blake’s style. It is sort of an abstract, artsy, soulful, flavorful, sexy, luscious vibe of brilliance. Just rays of music and art flowing from these guys, and that is what I reminded of when I hear Blake Lewis compose, sing, and produce. I truly hope these guys team up, collaborate, or whatever they may do, because it could be spectacular.

Man, the underground music scene should give a big up to TeamPlaid. Lots of folks read this now…and to highlight these musicians for people who might have only been familiar with American Idol type music, is a pretty valuable service to the music makers. All of you responsible for this are pretty fantastic…..*applause*

By: FirstBEver

FirstBEver — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 01:52:26 +0000

Delurking again because I would like to give this site a loud *applause*, too!!! Fiona Lattimer is totally right, I am one of those folks that didn’t (and still don’t) familiar with these underground music, but I really do appreciate you all putting this out. Thanks pj!!!!

ETA, because of these efforts, I think I get to know more about music in general, how great is that!?

By: Charles C.

Charles C. — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 02:20:23 +0000

Thanks for these music background and influences posts. One of the reasons why Blake (and Elliott last year) was my favorite contestant is because of his taste in music and his influences.

By: RollTide

RollTide — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 13:38:24 +0000

Another great spotlight, pj. :) You really have a gift for writing girl. :)

By: jenlar

jenlar — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 16:32:26 +0000

Great spotlight! I’m going to check the used CD store, but if you want The Grey Album, where there’s a t*or.re/nt there’s a way *snicker*. It’s got a good, confusing sound. These spotlights are the best!

Oh… not sure if this belongs here, but I think so… KJ Sawka’s solo album (that we’ve been jamming to for weeks now!) comes out in stores tomorrow. Here’s the myspace bulletin:

Date: Jun 25, 2007 12:18 PM
Subject reminder - Cyclonic Steel in stores TOMORROW! June 26th
Body: Hey everybody,

Thanks for all the support and nice comments. If you look for the album in a store and don’t see it, please tell the store to order it.

Thanks,

Wax Orchard

By: Butet

Butet — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 17:07:19 +0000

Jenlar, i knw that cd rocks..i bought it all of it on itunes, plus the other cd’s. my fave is Ancient Wedding!…

By: pj

pj — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 17:45:35 +0000

I’m glad y’all are enjoying the features. It’s good to know.

Jenlar, thanks for the info on ASD’s album. I don’t have it yet, but plan on picking up a copy or downloading it. We are planning to feature them sometime down the line.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 20:20:47 +0000

PJ, this is a GREAT feature. Thanks for pulling it all together. I LOVE Gnarls, but I hadn’t really listened to each of their solo stuff. I’ll check that out, fo sho!

I’m also glad to hear that you are all enjoying the feature posts. We’ve always wanted our site to be quality over quantity. That’s part of why we chose to do these spotlighting posts. So it really makes me excited to hear that y’all are enjoying them. :)

By: star

star — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 22:23:10 +0000

I finally got the chance to read this - excellent piece, pj! I didn’t know they stopped distribution of The Grey Album. I think Gnarls Barkely (or even just Cee-Lo or Danger Mouse) would be a great collaborator for Blake.

By: pj

pj — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 17:23:57 +0000

I just did a little housecleaning to keep this thread on topic.

Laura, I moved your links to the Blake videos over to Tour thread so peeps wouldn’t miss them. That’s the area for general talk about Blake.

I also deleted the links to the tour interviews since they are not on topic for this thread and are posted in the new thread. Thanks for posting them, however. :)

Also, The Mob Law has posted a new video on youtube. I posted the link to that in The Mob Law feature thread for those interested.