Danger Mouse, one half of Gnarls Barkley (and also one half of the sorely-missed ) has had a bit of a spat with EMI about his solo release. There are rumors that EMI cancelled his new album, which was a collaboration with the rock band Sparklehorse over a legal dispute.
It’s a vague and unnecessary reason to cancel an album, especially one that looks this innovative. The album contains a ton of guest stars, including Iggy Pop, the Flaming Lips, and random band members from the Pixies, Super Furry Animals, and the Strokes. It sounds amazing, doesn’t it?
Too bad EMI doesn’t think so.
Now, Danger Mouse is saying…“that the album, which comes with a limited edition, “100+ page book” of David Lynch photographs inspired by the music “will now come with a blank, recordable CD-R”.
“All copies will be clearly labelled: ‘For Legal Reasons, enclosed CD-R contains no music. Use it as you will.’”
It is unclear at this stage whether the record has been postponed or scrapped altogether. EMI could not be reached for comment.”
Crazy (yes, that was a bit of a Gnarls Barkley pun).
But all is not lost, This is the best thing I’ve seen public radio do in a long time. Despite the legal issues involved, NPR is somehow legally streaming this entire album. You can listen to it, and maybe that will encourage you to send EMI a nice little note saying they should let it be released.
