The Cold Cut

What would I do without scheduled blogging? At this point in time, I will be happily walking around Barcelona, in the sweltering August temperatures. I'm away for four days, returning on Sunday evening.

I'm not going to let that stop me blogging, though. I have a little time today (Thursday ) to upload a few tracks, and prepare some posts for you. I'm sorry to say that the posts aren't going to be mind-blowing, but updates are better than a slowly stagnating blog. You can expect daily updates around lunch-time (for my American readers). So enjoy, and look after the blog for me, okay?

CRS- Sky High Graduates (Dub Floyd Screamixx) (Link 2)
CRS (Child Rebel Soldier) released a mixtape a while back- it kept well under the radar, but I got my hands on a copy, and it really doesn't dissapoint. The concept of Lupe, Pharrell and Kanye sharing a track is always enough to set me salivating, and the T-shirt above does nothing to lessen teh hype.

Daft Punk?- Daft Gang (Link 2)
People have made a huge deal out of this new track from Daft Punk. The fans are going crazy, which I find a little weird considering this is clearly a fake. Daft Punk would never willingly put their stamp on something so textbook. Will the real Daft Punk please stand up?

The Joy Formidable- The Greatest Light Is The Greatest Shade (Link 2)
Okay, this is getting ridiculous. Will someone in a priveliged position cotton on to the fact that The Joy Formidable are awesome? Another few months pass, another few corkers from the band. Injustice? [Myspace]

Gnarls Barkley- Reckoner (Radiohead Cover) (Link 2)
As if anyone needed more proof of Gnarls Barkley's pedigree? Well, if you're in the minority, listen to this tastefully interpreted cover of 'Reckoner'. Cee-Lo even adopts Thom's 'unique' style of dancing:

Gnarls Barkley- Who's Gonna Save My Soul?

Just thought I would use a spare 15 minutes to keep you guys sated till this evening, when a full length post will follow. Earlier today, ?uestlove dropped a new song from the upcoming Gnarls Barkley release, 'The Odd Couple', on Youtube. 'Who's Gonna Save My Soul' is a nice lo-fi tune, with Dangermouse leaving plenty of room for Cee-Lo to showcase his voice. Accompanied by a marching drum and not a lot more, this is a song in the vein of 'St. Elsewhere'. Download it quick, before it disappears... Oh, and check out the interesting, slightly mediocre (official?) video below.

PS- I reckon I'm the first person in the world to post this (other than ?uestlove's video), so get it quick. Oh, and labels etc, I will be happy to take it down at your request!

Enough time has passed for me to face the prospect of even mentioning Gnarls Barkley again. The first few times I heard 'Crazy', it gave me the goosebumps, but over the months it became an unstoppable juggernaut, seemingly following me from place to place, in its original form or transformed into the thousands of covers, remixes and re-tools which dominated the music world for months. But as much as I grew bored of it, the song was fully deserving of its critical and commercial acclaim.

A couple of days ago, Mission Freak leaked a new Gnarls Barkley song called 'Run', said to be a part of a new album, 'The Odd Couple', which is due out in April. This is an exciting leak, purely because it's great to have concrete proof that Cee-Lo and Dangermouse are continuing to create music under the guise of Gnarls Barkley. I must admit, I had my doubts after they pulled 'Crazy' from the download charts, saying that it had 'had its time'.

The song itself isn't anything new, but I find its familiarity both comforting and enjoyable. Cee-Lo and Dangermouse are sticking firmly to their comfort zones: DM with old-school samples and Cee-Lo with his now-trademark soulful intensity. Fortunately, they don't need to do anything else to stand out from the crowd.

'Run' is no 'Crazy', but given the hype surrounding this band, it will still set the world alight. If my gut instincts are on the money, this isn't a potential single, and the second album may have much more to offer. Okay, so Rolling Stone have heard the 'latest cuts' and were slightly impressed, but I doubt Gnarls are going to reveal all their tricks months before the release.

Get your hands on it now, before it disappears in a puff of smoke...

Gnarls Barkley- Run

(Link removed at request of label)

P.S.- This song is a legal nightmare, so its only going up on yousendit. 100 lucky people will get their hands on this track. Oh, and if the label is reading this, I will be more than happy to take it down for you. Peace...