Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple

Even though I absolutely loved the first Gnarls Barkley record and thought their live show was something everyone should experience, I was slow to want to hear their second record. After prompting from my buddy Jim, I picked up a copy. No, it doesn’t have a phenomenon like Crazy on it but it is a really solid record, that proves once again, Gnarls Barkley do whatever the hell they want. My favorite song is probably Going On. It has been the soundtrack to my bus journey for a few weeks now. --J

Un-Summer Playlist

The only truly hot summer days I’ve experienced were outside of my new home country. Therefore, I consider this the un-summer of 2008. Here are the songs that have amused me, captivated me, and annoyed me in the last few months. M, this one’s for you since in Houston, it’s summer all year round! --J

Many Shades of Black – The Raconteurs
Let’s Dance to Joy Division – The Wombats
Sex on Fire – Kings of Leon
Strange Times – The Black Keys
Going On – Gnarls Barkley
Closer – Ne-Yo
Like This - GirlTalk

(In the annoyed me category…)
I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You – The Black Kids
I Kissed a Girl – Katy Perry
No Air – Jordin Sparks/Chris Brown

In My Humble Opinion

As you can see we finally got some snow in the Lou.

Okay, I half-watched the Grammys as I worked Sunday night. I just went to their website to look over the list of winners. I must make a few comments.

The Dixie Chicks won too many awards and Gnarls Barkley didn’t win enough. Don't take that as Chick-bashing, the album was okay.

I am surprised that Dani California won an award.

I love that Wolfmother won in the Hard Rock category.

I was moved by Mary J. Blige’s performance. It was truly her night.

Both Christina Aguilera and Beyonce’s performances were unnecessary.

Glad to see The Police on stage all smiles, ready to announce the world tour. --J

Gnarls Barkley is H.O.T.

Unless I'm actually at a show to see the opening band, the most enthusiasm I can muster is a Celine Dion-esque forearm clap while I hold my drink in my other hand. Not the case last Monday night when I found myself whooping for Gnarls Barkley, who opened for Red Hot Chili Peppers at the Scottrade Center.

The band came out in flightsuits and opened with Bowie's Space Oddity. Along with the Bowie cover, the setlist included a rundown of the tracks from their album St. Elsewhere. Highlights included Smiley Faces, cover Gone Daddy Gone, and Feng Shui.

With a little bit of that southern soul that is dear to Judakris, the band made you feel like you were experiencing a religious awakening rather than an opening act. It was so completely unexpected, and despite the fact that St. Louis had once again become arctic and powerless, from our perspective it felt like the warmest place on earth.

I would suggest running, not walking to see them. -K

Gnarls Barkley at the Scottrade Center

Seeing Gnarls Barkley on the bill with the Red Hot Chili Peppers for their St. Louis date was just the nudge I needed to buy a ticket. While I wouldn’t classify St. Elsewhere as a solid favorite of mine, I like several of the songs and was very curious to see how they would translate live. K had mentioned before the show that Gnarls Barkley always wear a costume that corresponds with a cover from their set. The band, complete with a string section and backup singers, came on stage in flight suits and Cee-Lo made Space Oddity his own. Cee-Lo’s voice live is no less rich or full as it is on the record. I would say that it was even enhanced by the outstanding backup singers. Everyone in the band seemed to be totally into the performance, feeling the music in different ways like the guitarist’s aerial splits and the string section’s dance routines. Before launching into St. Elsewhere, Cee-Lo mentioned to the audience that he was from Atlanta, Georgia. He then said, “It’s not where you’re from but where you are”. Amen. Last night, in a city again plagued by power outages and 10 degree temperatures, I was unbelievably glad to be where I was. –J

Gnarls Barkley's Setlist

Space Oddity
Go-Go Gadget Gospel
Who Cares?
The Boogie Monster
Just a Thought
St. Elsewhere
Gone Daddy Gone
Feng Shui
Crazy
Smiley Faces

Saturday Evening Thoughts

This morning as I was driving through my neighborhood, one of my neighbors was standing over his lawnmower looking a tad bit hung over. As I passed I noticed the back of his shirt read in large bold letters: 100% PURE WHOOP ASS.

You read it here first! Judakris predicted that Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy would be the song of summer 2006. This was confirmed by the fact that not one, not two, but three other musical acts covered the song at Lollapalooza. We were really impressed with The Raconteurs’ version. They also covered Bang Bang (My Lover Shot Me Down) which was awesome. I love now that Jack White lives in Nashville he has a Southern accent. Last year when he was promoting Get Behind Me Satan, he sounded like Katherine Hepburn or Cary Grant with one of those weird Continental accents that you just can’t quite place. Jack, if you're reading, I kid because I love! I’m hoping The Raconteurs will head to STL for a show sometime in the future.

Is anyone watching RockStar: Supernova? It’s like a car crash. I find myself watching every week just to see how ridiculous the performances will be and how often Tommy Lee will tell someone they’re “dope”. The part that amazes me the most is from watching the show I have gathered that the performers have a lot of control over the arrangement of the song they are singing. They have very capable musicians backing them every week, but things sound like crap. Do they mean to make everything sound like muzak? Is it in hopes of pulling in American Idol viewing numbers? Okay, and do we honestly think these guys will pick a woman to front their band? It’s not that I think they are sexist, I just don’t think it would work in this case. The only one that has a chance is Dilana and I really can’t stand her voice. I could go on and on dissecting the performances from this week which ranged from boring to silly but I won’t. Sorry to be so acidic, but it’s been one of those weeks at work where you want to come home and crawl into a fetal position. Maybe I just need to focus my energies towards being 100% PURE WHOOP ASS. --J