The Odd Couple

I love music, all kinds of music. When it comes to music there is no point in closing off an avenue where you might hear a sound, beat, or lyrics that may change your world. It could be hip-hop, disco, rock, pop, ska, trip-hop, electronic, and everything in-between. I myself have an eclectic mixture on my playlist at home and in the car. I don’t care too much if people find it amusing that “Copacabana” will be blasted from my car or if it is stereotypical that I will bob my head along to some too loudly played Busta. I just get into it.

Even with all of that I have a relatively small CD collection. It is not that I don’t go looking for music it is just that when I do 80% of the album is crap. It comes as such a disappointment. I still managed to rack up about 60 albums and most of those I won’t listen too just because there is no point. The rest of the collection is made up of compilations, soundtracks, and mix-discs put together my friends or myself. I prefer to listen to those because there is a good variety and I get to choose what I hear. What is even bigger is my MP3 collection. There are a couple of thousand songs there. I just open up my Winamp, put it on shuffle, and then press play. It will jump from Mozart, to Madonna, to the Ink Spots, to Radiohead, to Johnny Taylor, and to Pharrell. It is always a surprise.

Why am I telling you this? Well it is because recently I have felt like I am not hearing the music that I want to lately. My song collection has become stagnant and need a bit of refreshing. I actually when out and bought some CDs. It is something that I haven’t done for almost 2 years just because I wasn’t hearing anything of interest. My friends have been recommending artists and songs that have been good but weren’t satisfying my hunger for some good hard beats.

About a month ago I walked into an HMV with the sole intention of getting some music. I speedily walked past all the movies I wondered around and flipped through most of their selection. I picked out 2 CDs and I was happy with my selection but wasn’t overly optimistic about any of it. One of the discs I picked up was “The Odd Couple” by Gnarls Barkley. It is not “new” but it was released just over a year ago.

I have to say I was floored when I listened to “The Odd Couple”. I sat there wondering why I don’t hear this stuff on the radio. It is thoughtful, complex, well executed music. It has been perpetually in my CD player ever since.

The CD has a clear beginning middle and end just like a movie. It starts with “Charity Case”, an infectiously upbeat song about a lost soul looking for salvation (that’s what I get from it anyways). And the juxtaposition between the light and the dark in this song are so seamlessly intertwined that you just get into it. The beat automatically gets your foot tapping and it prepares you for the songs to follow.

All the songs that follow are lyrically deep and musically astonishing. The duo manages to create a cohesive whole while using vastly different parts. There is Soul, R & B, Trip-hop, Bossa Nova and Jazz to be found. You would think that these would not fit together but the talent portrayed here by Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo is simply immense.

It is hard for me to pick a favourite song off the album because the whole thing is just so good. But 2 songs that stick out in my mind are “Would be Killer” and “Whatever”. These 2 songs are in the middle of the album, full of angst and rage. “Would be Killer” is a dark, menacing little song that seems to relieve my tension. I get to be wicked for those 2 minutes as I sing along. “Whatever” is full of suffering and optimism. Cee-Lo whines through the song about being alone and tormented daily. But at the chorus there is a lightness as he says “But it’s cool. It could be better. I don’t care. Whatever.” This song is for anyone who has ever been an outcast.

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At the end of the CD “A Little Better” lets you know the story is over. The lost-ness, confusion, anger, and love have been for a reason. There is an acceptance of all that has come before because that is what allowed for this moment, the now, to be how it was meant to be. There is a final understanding. The song is poignant and touching. With lines like “I wanna thank you Mom and Dad, for hurting me so bad, cause you’re the best I ever had.” You can’t help but feel something.

As you can see I do recommend this album. If you want to sit back and listen to something meaningful as well as catchy then this is for you.

Tra