by Andrew Sacher

Cee-Lo at Lollapalooza 2011 (more by Grant MacAllister)

You may be annoyed that Cee-Lo is on The Voice, or that his 2010 single, "Fuck You," popped up in your life one too many times (though the album it's from is actually quite solid), but we shouldn't forget Cee-Lo's rich history. That history includes playing in the landmark southern hip hop group Goodie Mob, who played a new song on The Voice earlier this year, which will presumably be on their reunion album, Age Against the Machine, which will be the first Goodie Mob album to feature Cee-Lo since 1999's World Party (release date TBA). He's also one half of the duo with Danger Mouse, Gnarls Barkley, who plan to record a third album soon.

Cee-Lo is touring this month, and that tour brings him to the NYC area for two NJ shows: Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall on July 27 and East Rutherford's Izod Center on July 28. Tickets for the Atlantic City show are on sale and tickets for the Izod Center show go on sale Wednesday (7/11) at noon. If you do decide to catch one of these shows, be warned that Cee-Lo is opening for banal club rapper Flo Rida. B.O.B. is also on the Atlantic City show. After the tour ends, Cee-Lo has about a month off before beginning a huge residency in Las Vegas.

In addition to the new Goodie Mob and Gnarls Barkley albums, Cee-Lo is also working on a new solo album, titled Everybody's Brother. A list of all dates and a stream of Goodie Mob's new single, "Fight to Win," are below...

Continue reading "Cee-Lo is touring, prepping new solo, Goodie Mob and Gnarls Barkley LPs (dates & stream)"

Goodie Mob on Fallon

So in one way, at least, it was 1995 again at B. B. King Blues Club & Grill on Friday night, when Goodie Mob arrived, following several years of fracture, as part of its reunion tour. Around 1:45 a.m., the 1980s New York hip-hop standout and nostalgia exploiter Slick Rick left the stage after his opening set; with him went about half the crowd.

And just as in 1995, all of those people missed out. Dressed in grays and silvers, with a female D.J. in a reflective tinsel wig and matching unitard, the Goodie Mob -- Cee-Lo, Big Gipp, T-Mo and Khujo -- were exuberant and comfortable, happily taking their rightful place as oft-overlooked pioneers. [NY Times]

Continue reading "Goodie Mob played BB King's & Jimmy Fallon (videos) "

photos by Bao Nguyen

The nominees for this year's MTV Video Music Awards Breakthrough Video are Anjulie, Bat For Lashes ("Daniel"), Chairlift, Cold War Kids, Death Cab For Cutie, Gnarls Barkley, Major Lazer, Matt and Kim, Passion Pit, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Bat For Lashes, who is also up for this year's Mercury Prize, and who will be back in NYC on August 12th, has a new video for the song "Sleep Alone". Check it out, with more pictures of Passion Pit playing the Diesel Party at Webster Hall on 7/30, below...

Continue reading "Passion Pit (Webster Hall pics) vs Matt & Kim vs Bat for Lashes (new video) vs others for MTV Video award"

MIA @ MoMA (more by Ryan Muir)

Best Alternative Music Album
(Vocal or Instrumental.)

Modern Guilt
Beck
[DGC Records/XL Recordings/Interscope]

Narrow Stairs
Death Cab For Cutie
[Atlantic]

The Odd Couple
Gnarls Barkley
[Downtown/Atlantic]

Evil Urges
My Morning Jacket
[ATO Records]

In Rainbows
Radiohead
[TBD Records]

LCD Soundsystem, RJD2, Devendra Banhart, Mum, The Decemberists, Neon Neon, Devlin & Darko, My Morning Jacket, VHS or Beta, Diplo, Gnarls Barkley, Tim & Eric, Black Moth Super Rainbow, and Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings are among the artists contributing tracks to Causes 2, an album to benefit Darfur (out March 2009).

Causes 1 is out now and has tracks by Animal Collective, Bloc Party, Death Cab, Spoon, The Shins, Bright Eyes, Cornelius and many others.

Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings and the Decemberists are also among the artists who contributed to Dark Was the Night, a new comp to benefit the Red Hot Organization which will be released in February.

Sharon Jones just announced some tour dates. My Morning Jacket will be at MSG on New Years Eve.

A video trailer for Causes 2, below...

Continue reading "Causes 2 - a new CD comp for Darfur w/ LCD Soundystem, My Morning Jacket, Decemberists, Sharon Jones & many more"

photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

CSS

Gnarls Barkley

Gnarls Barkley and CSS shared a bill Friday night in Austin. The show at Stubb's was of many official Austin City Limits festival after-shows made up of artists who also were in Texas to play the festival proper. More pictures below...

Continue reading "Gnarls Barkley & CSS @ Stubb's, Austin, TX - pics, setlist"

Kanye West @ Lollapalooza 2008 (more by Bao Nguyen)

tonight in NYC & NJ
* FREE
* nothing @ Studo B
* Kanye West @ MSG
* Bob Log III @ Southpaw
* Eddie Vedder @ United Palace
* Brazilian Girls @ The Apple Store
* Keith Caputo (LOA) @ the Stone Pony
* Jungle Brothers in Bush Clinton Park
* 28 Days Later (movie) @ McCarren Pool
* Black Rebel Motorcyle Club @ Irving Plaza
* The Police & Elvis Costello @ Jones Beach
* Earth Wind and Fire @ Radio City Music Hall
* Fiasco, Ninja Sonik & The Homosexuals @ Market Hotel
* Flobots, People Under The Stairs, and Busdriver @ Bowery Ballroom
* Apollo Sunshine, Drug Rug and Sam Champion on a Rocks Off Cruise

Tonight was the night Sam Sparro was supposed to play Santos Party House.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club play Irving tonight, and then open for Stone Temple Pilots at Jones Beach tomorrow.

Spiritualized will be on Letterman tonight. They recently played a couple of NYC shows. Fleet Foxes played Letterman last night.

Help get Iggy Pop's gear back.

Sigur Ros' MoMA performance will be on Current TV tonight.

The Duke Spirit play the Apple Store on Thursday.

Video of Gnarls Barkley covering Radiohead @ Lollapalooza below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Tuesday?"

photos by Ryan Muir

Gnarls Barkley played a 5-song set of stripped down "rare minimalist versions" of their songs at the SoHo Apple Store in Manhattan on Tuesday (June 10, 2008).

setlist
1. Surprise
2. Run
3. Whose Gonna Save Your Soul
4. I Feel Better
5. Crazy

Continue reading "Gnarls Barkley @ the SoHo Apple Store, NYC - pics"

Gnarls Barkley @ Irving Plaza - June 8, 2008 (more by Bao Nguyen)

Tonight is the Apple Store show. Last night was David Letterman...

Continue reading "Gnarls Barkley - 'Going On' on Letterman (video)"

photos by Bao Nguyen

Gnarls Barkley, Battles and Janelle Monae played the 150th MySpace Secret Show at the Fillmore NY @ Irving Plaza last night (June 8, 2008). It was hot, sweaty, crowded and free. People waited on line for hours in the sweltering heat to get in. The line started forming around 2pm. Gnarls Barkley took the stage around 9:45, and their performance, outfits and all, was very similar to the show they recently played at Highline Ballroom. That is not a bad thing.

Catch Gnarls Barkley on Letterman tonight (June 9). Listen to them on NPR. Over the weekend they played the Roots Picnic in Philly. On Tuesday they'll be at the Apple Store (stripped down).

This singular performance, in support of the acclaimed new Gnarls album The Odd Couple, will begin promptly at 7:00 PM, and is first-come, first-in.

"Gnarls wanted to give their fans a live show that's fundamentally different from anything they could get from an album," said a spokesperson for the band. "Recently, they've been experimenting with a stripped-down lineup, and the songs have sounded exquisite. They were planning to hit up the Apple Store anyway, so they thought, 'Why not play a few songs while we're there?' When they heard there was a half-moon on the 10th, they thought, 'Perfect.'"

This show will mark the premiere of Gnarls Barkley's sparse, core-lineup live show. Afterwards, Gnarls will take its stripped-down show to Europe for its June Residency Series in London and Paris, from June 12 - June 18.

Continue reading "Gnarls Barkley played Irving Plaza for MySpace (pics & setlist) - Letterman tonight, Apple store, other tour dates"

Gnarls Barkley with the first iBook

Performances at Apple Store, SoHo include:
- Wyclef Jean, June 9th
- Gnarls Barkley, June 10th
- Mike Phillips, June 13th
- Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway, June 18th
- Vaughn Anthony, June 20th
- Talib Kweli, June 25th

Wyclef is also playing Summerstage with Jill Scott.

Talib Kweli is also playing a benefit.

Battles @ Coachella 2008 (more by Ryan Muir)

Battles are opening the show which will be at Irving Plaza on June 8th.

Battles are also playing Summerstage and all the other places listed below...

Continue reading "Battles opening for Gnarls Barkley @ Irving Plaza, touring"

Gnarls Barkley @ Highline Ballroom (more by Jason Bergman)

MySpace, the world's most popular social network in partnership with Samsung, today announced its 150th installment of the hugely popular Secret Show franchise (http://myspace.com/secretshows), an original concert series that fuses the online and offline music experience and further connects fans and bands through intimate, "friends only" performances. This landmark 150th Secret Show will feature Grammy award winning artist and fan favorite, Gnarls Barkley (http://myspace.com/gnarlsbarkley), who launched their US career two years ago with a MySpace Secret Show, their first live concert in the states.

The 150th Secret Show will take place in New York City on June 8th. The exact location is still a "secret" but fans can visit http://myspace.com/secretshows to learn more about the upcoming show.

"Music has always been a cornerstone of the MySpace culture and our users are incredibly passionate and involved in the music community online," said Josh Brooks, Vice President of Marketing and Content for MySpace. "With Secret Shows they can truly experience the music they love so much, live, in person and for free just for being a MySpace member. We've had 150 amazing shows and I can't think of a better way to celebrate than Gnarls Barkley in New York City."

Gnarls Barkley @ Highline Ballroom, NYC (more by Jason Bergman)

FUN FACT: the person who was playing guitar with Gnarls Barkley at Highline Ballroom and on SNL, is Heather McIntosh of The Instruments and other Athens and Elephant Six bands.

The Instruments are playing Union Hall on May 21st and Cake Shop four dates later.

New GB video and tour dates below....

Continue reading "new Gnarls Barkley video, tour dates & Heather McIntosh"

N.E.R.D (last time they played Austin) (more)

"The 2008 Austin City Limits Music Festival will rock Zilker Park for the seventh time with a diverse showcase of 125-plus acts over three magical days, September 26-28. Leading the charge this year are Foo Fighters, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Beck, Manu Chao, John Fogerty, David Byrne, The Raconteurs, The Mars Volta, Gnarls Barkley, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, and N.E.R.D."

Full lineup below....

Continue reading "Austin City Limits - 2008 lineup announcement"

Gnarls Barkley's appearance on SNL last night didn't feel like a dress rehearsal at all. Videos below...

Continue reading "Gnarls Barkley on Saturday Night Live (videos)"

Gnarls Barkley are playing Saturday Night Live tonight (April 12, 2008). Santogold is playing Conan O'Brien on April 28th, and then the Virgin Megastore in Union Square the next day. Gnarls Barkley played Highline Ballroom Thursday night. So did Santogold. Various Gnarls & Santo videos below.....

Continue reading "Gnarls Barkley playing SNL, Santogold playing Conan & Virgin"

photos by Jason Bergman

Santogold opened for Gnarls Barkley at Highline Ballroom in NYC last night (April 10, 2008). More pictures below....

Continue reading "Santogold @ Highline Ballroom, NYC - pics"

photos by Jason Bergman

My two favorite Cee-Lo quotes from the evening (April 10, 2008) were (roughly) "This is my favorite part of the show because I get to sing the song that made me rich and famous." (said before the 4th to last song of the night) and "This is kind of like an overpaid dress rehearsal" (said in reference to the whole show).

It was Gnarls Barkley's first show since putting out their new album ('The Odd Couple'). Therefore it was the first time they played a lot of the new songs live, but for a "dress rehearsal" it was pretty impressive. They were tight. I did get the sense that the full band wasn't 100% comfortable playing all the songs with each other (or with the outfits they were wearing), but for some reason that made it even more enjoyable. The show - especially Cee-Lo - seemed real (unlike the Rihanna show the night before in the same venue....yes I went....with a group of people that included a 12 year old.....it was mostly kids there actually....it was an early show.....before Dirty Projectors....shhhh). Back to Gnarls....Cee-Lo (as James Brown) was completely on point. He has an amazing voice - even live. Danger Mouse always seemed to be doing a good job at whatever he was doing too, and he always looked super cool doing it.

Cee-Lo stripped down for the 2-song encore

More pictures & setlist below.....

Continue reading "Gnarls Barkley @ Highline Ballroom, NYC - pics"

Lollapalooza 2008 headliners confirmed
Lollapalooza's Austin, Texas-based promoters C3 Presents are not scheduled to make their official announcement of the acts performing at this year's weekend-long music festival in Grant Park until Monday, but the Sun-Times has confirmed through industry sources all of the major artists.

Art-rock giants Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails, the reunited Rage Against the Machine, Jack White's side project the Raconteurs and hometown heroes Wilco and Kanye West will headline the main stages on Aug. 1-3.

The Raconteurs, Wilco and West will each be making their second appearance at the reinvented destination festival. Other repeaters among the more than 100 acts on this year's bill are Gnarls Barkley, the Black Keys, Broken Social Scene, G. Love & Special Sauce, Blues Traveler and Mates of State.

Quite a few of the other acts -- including many of the most promising -- have earlier performed at Chicago's two independently produced music festivals, Pitchfork and Intonation. These include Bloc Party, Cat Power, Stephen Malkmus, Girl Talk, Kid Sister, Office, the Cool Kids, Battles, the Go! Team, Jamie Lidell and Grizzly Bear.

Advance three-day passes are now on sale for a limited time for $190 (after which the price increases to $205) at www.lollapalooza.com. [Chicago Sun Times] (thx Hiro)

Who would be your fantasy collaborator?

Danger Mouse: I know his: Sly.

Cee-Lo: I would love to work with Sly Stone. First I would like to meet with him and talk to him and kick it with him. Then maybe it would spill over into doing some music. I don't think he would have it any other way. I think Danger would have loved to have done something with Portishead.

Danger Mouse: I understand why he says that, but it's not true. I was just very, very influenced by them. You can't take any of those people and move them around. How I work with people is way different, and they wouldn't be Portishead if I was to do something with them. Right now I'd love to work with the Super Furry Animals. [Guardian]

It seems worth mentioning if I haven't already that AOL is streaming the new Gnarls Barkley. Watch the new Raconteurs video below...

Continue reading "new Gnarls Barkley album stream, new Raconteurs video"

The reason Largehearted Boy missed it probably has something to do with Gnarls Barkley's new album "The Odd Couple" being released three weeks early, and ditital-only (on iTunes now). Look for the CD version on March 25.

"They felt the timing was right to just go for it," said an unnamed spokesman for the band. "With the shifting seasons, furtive romantic entanglements and fierce college basketball rivalries, the latter half of March can be confusing. People need to be soothed and inspired now."

Continue reading "Gnarls Barkley's new album out now + shows in Hollywood, London & a SoCo music festival (like Black Keys/QOTSA)"

Bjork (Wanderlust video) (INFO)

* Help Wanted
* The Verve will tour
* NIN have a new album
* Pagoda is at Living Room
* Win tix to the Plug Awards
* Beastie Boys are playing Terminal 5
* Day of Reckoning for Clinton, Obama
* The Walkmen just played San Francisco
* Boris & Growing are playing Knitting Factory
* Dengue Fever & Cordero are playing Mercury Lounge
* The Black Crowes actually weren't bad at the Fillmore
* The Walkmen & White Rabbits are playing Webster Hall
* Jonathan Richman & Vic Chesnutt are playing Music Hall
* The Last Shadow Puppets play their first show ever @ Sound Fix

In case you missed it, the YouTube version of the new Gnarls Barkley video is below. What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Tuesday?"

Continue reading "Gnarls Barkley - 'Run' (video)"