Tom Scharpling name checked me pretty hard last night on WFMU. He played a Gnarls Barkley song (Crazy) while I was on the chat room that he watches while broadcasting. I typed "Aargh! Gnarls Barkley!" which is the correct response, and he said "some guy in the chat is mad that I played Gnarls Barkley. You're gonna be hearing that song all summer buddy."

Where will I hear this song? On the radio that I never listen to? I might hear it coming out of a car window in my neighbourhood it three years, judging by what's on heavy rotation in the pimped '87 Civic hatchbacks of Little Italy.

I'll admit I judged the Gnarls Barkley book by its cover when I saw the press photos and heard who was involved. So I got the album and listened to it (something I would not have done in my mid-twenties. I would have just dismissed it. [blog about growing up and maturity later])

There are parts that are so annoying and also parts that make my balls shiver for the awesomeness. Cee-lo is an amazing singer. I'll admit the construction of the songs is mind-blowing. The low-fi vinyl scratching sounds are meticulously placed by a cold, dead digital god. Was each scratch and damaged *CLICK* placed by hand, or did you just sample three minutes from a sound effects OCD...uh CD?

This style of music is so heavily borrowed from so many other styles of music as well as specific songs, it comes off as a collage. More than this, it demands of you a specific musical knowledge that goes past certain genres or even certain songs, down to certain beats or samples in certain songs.

I understand the appeal of Gnarls Barkley. It's fun. In fact, I like fun music, I swear to god. I liked Hey Ya by Outkast for a few months, but oh holy god did that song turn like milk. I fear the same fate for Gnarls Barkley.

My solo project Barls Charkley, however, is nearly ready to be released. I'm just adding a little more timelessness.