Your monthly crib sheet ... take that, music snobs!(PLAYLIST)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)

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GNARLS BARKLEY, The Odd Couple (Downtown/Atlantic) Maybe they ore crazy (see our date with Cee-Lo on p. 78). On their second album, Gnarls is ablaze, filled with explosive sonic experiments. Don't look for another transcendent pop hit in this mash up of garage-rock organs, kerpow! sound effects, and dark-night-of-the-soul howling, but genius is still at work--and play--here. Download Now: "Run"

DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE, Narrow Stairs (Atlantic) Death Cab's pretty melodies warm your heart--but their lyrics threaten to rip it out. Here, the emo demigods pump up the volume with distorted guitars and nine-minute jams. While dissonance rubs salt …