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Crazy
"Sounds like the music video would be on some field of tall grass runnin thru it wild flowers."
By King Anyi Howell
Listen
to this Commentary!
It seems like every summer, one song is so ubiquitous it becomes the pop
culture anthem of the season. This year, it’s all about ‘Crazy’ - a catchy
genre-blending tune from the duo Gnarls Barkley. Youth Radio’s Anyi Howell
explores just what makes ‘Crazy’ so appealing.
Every few years, a song comes along that mixes genres and influences so well that everyone from young clubhoppers to the squarest soccer moms will crank it up a notch. In 2003, it was Outkast’s “Hey Ya.” This summer that hit is “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley.
“Crazy” fills a void for music listeners by deviating from the same old stale pop formula. It has the heart wrenching vocals of soul, the kicks of hip-hop and the upbeat string and guitar samples of a movie score. Because of all these influences, "Crazy" is getting airplay almost all over the radio dial-making it the most inescapable jam this season. The song’s sound is so unique that my friend Pendarvis Harshaw can't quite wrap his mind around it:
DRU (on tape)
”Alternative though, that’s the word. Kinda out there extreme leftist. Sounds like the music video would be on some field of tall grass runnin thru it wild flowers.”
ANYI
Actually, the video features singing inkblots- you know, the kind they show you at the psychiatrists office to find out if you’re bonkers. Karime Blanco says the song makes her feel a little less looney.
KARIME (on tape)
People do call me crazy. The part that I like the most is when they say, "It’s not that I know too little, I know too much..." It was just like oh snaps! I can listen to this.
ANYI
Like Karime, I can definitely relate to being labeled “eccentric” by my friends and co-workers. But the majority of those people consider me to be pretty musically talented too. For artists, the two often go hand in hand. Like Nirvana's Kurt Cobain or Outkast’s Andre 3000...the same creativity that makes good music can also be the reason people label you “insane." My roomate Karim Chadley doesn’t see himself as mad musician, but I still overhear him singing in the shower.
KAREEM (on tape)
"Who do you, who do you who do you who do you think you aaarrree..." And that was it. It clicked for me... That’s some crazy mojo right there.
ANYI
A lot of industry insiders seem to think it’s career suicide for musicians to step out of a specific genre. But with the Gnarls Barkley single spinning on all kinds of radio stations, the prospect of taking the chance and producing outside the box doesn't seem quite so "Crazy" anymore.
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