Gnarls Barkley, The Odd Couple

Gnarls Barkley's new album dropped two weeks ago, and I've been listening to it constantly...but I haven't blogged about it yet. Why not, you ask? Only because I couldn't figure out what I wanted to say about it. First off, Gnarls Barkley's music--a blend of rap, funk, radio-friendly pop and dance-friendly disco--is pretty hard to describe. But secondly, it's because listening to Gnarls Barkley makes me feel like a different person altogether--seriously, the effect of listening to this unusual music is...unusual.

Another thing I note is how often Cee-Lo (the rapping half of Gnarls Barkley, produced by duomate Danger Mouse) is singing or rapping with a positive vibe to his lyrics, which is a little weird in hip-hop these days. For instance the first track, "Charity Case," features these great lyrics: "Oh can't you see / if I help somebody / maybe there's mercy for me." When was the last time somebody not named Leonard Cohen or Marvin Gaye sang about mercy? And the song features a beat that's been stuck in my head for three straight days, too.