Gnarls Barkley Talks New Album, Barely

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


mojo-photo-gnarls2.JPG

Danger Mouse (aka Brian Burton) gave an interview to Billboard recently to discuss the upcoming sophomore effort from Gnarls Barkley, but didn’t say, or offer, very much. He apparently went back on a promise to play multiple songs from the new album, instead offering to play only one, from his personal iPod, and don’t look at it or ask any questions:

“I can play the song now or after the interview,” he says. “I’m not going to talk about the song, so it doesn’t matter when I play it. And I can’t tell you the name of the song, either.”

Urp. He also refuses to give a name or possible release date for the new album (the follow-up to last year’s surprise hit, the 1.3-million-selling St. Elsewhere). Idolator muses that perhaps he’s “cracking a little under the pressure,” but this kind of secrecy worked for “Crazy:” mp3s of the track began circulating in late 2005 without a title attached, an acapella of Cee-Lo’s vocal was never released or distributed (despite voracious demand from bootleggers eager to pull a Grey Album on Danger Mouse), and it took months for bloggers to track down the original sample. While “Crazy” was a once-in-a-lifetime slice of brilliance, perhaps Burton’s tactic of resisting the internet age’s mantra of “everything you wanted to know (and even things you didn’t want to know) all the time” is an astute strategy for hit-making. We’ll see whenever the new album comes out.

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY...

Trump is clamping down on the media—using lawsuits, lies, intimidation, and a thuggish Federal Communications Commission. Corporate media are caving, but Mother Jones won’t back down. To help us stand strong, a generous board member has chipped in a $50,000 digital matching gift. Help us make the most of it!

Every contribution through September 30 will be matched dollar-for-dollar.

We have nearly 50 years of experience standing up to bullies. Government intimidation, nuisance lawsuits, threats to our nonprofit status—we’ve seen it all. Yet because we’re supported by a community of readers like you, we’re still here and still reporting like hell. Please stand with us. Every dollar you give will go twice as far.

payment methods

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY...

Trump is clamping down on the media—using lawsuits, lies, intimidation, and a thuggish Federal Communications Commission. Corporate media are caving, but Mother Jones won’t back down. To help us stand strong, a generous board member has chipped in a $50,000 digital matching gift. Help us make the most of it!

Every contribution through September 30 will be matched dollar-for-dollar.

We have nearly 50 years of experience standing up to bullies. Government intimidation, nuisance lawsuits, threats to our nonprofit status—we’ve seen it all. Yet because we’re supported by a community of readers like you, we’re still here and still reporting like hell. Please stand with us. Every dollar you give will go twice as far.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate