Who's Gonna Save My Soul
Encyclopedia
"Who's Gonna Save My Soul" is the third and final single taken from hip-hop duo Gnarls Barkley
's second studio album, The Odd Couple
. It is played in a slow and sad soul style. The single was released in late 2008. The song's official music video was directed by Chris Milk
and was released on July 25, 2008. The video featured work by character animator Keith Sintay
. The single was only released physically in America, in a special limited edition CD + DVD single package.
star Aasha Davis
) breaks up with her boyfriend (Saturday Night Live
writer Jorma Taccone
). After receiving the plate he requested from the waitress, the man stabs himself in the chest, and pulls out his heart, places it on the plate and gives it to the woman. He explains that his heart "is actually [her's] now," that he will never be able to get over her, and says "from now on every girl that I meet will be meticulously compared to the false memory of what you and I once 'had.'" The woman offers to return it after keeping it temporarily for a "shitty day" or when she needs to move something heavy, but the man insists that he is now "heartless" and thus will passively/aggressively ruin all his future relationships. The heart then comes to life, growing arms, legs and a mouth, and begins to sing the lyrics to the song on the counters of the diner using a piece of broccoli
as a microphone before finally stabbing itself with a knife and pulling the man's head out of its body. The head looks around, staring off into space. The scene cuts back to the man staring out the window as the woman speaks. The woman finally asks, "Are you even listening to me?" The man simply replies "No." Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse
also made cameos as chefs in the diner.
on its "Hot List" in August 2008. On December 3, 2008, the video was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video
. Sintay won an 2009 D&AD Yellow Pencil Award for Music Video Animation.
magazine said of the single, "Cee-Lo scorches the vocal hook--"Who's gonna save my soul now?"--and it stops the moderately paced dance cut dead in its tracks." The magazine also said it "might be his finest performance to date." Entertainment Weekly
called the song "dolefully paced: and "nearly dirgelike," while People
called it "a gritty, gospel-infused plea." Performing Songwriter praised the song as "a stark song with plucked strings and bass so heavy and distant it could be a psychic echo." USA Today
said of the single, "Nobody lays bare their broken heart more painfully or more plaintively than Cee-Lo," and named the tune its "Pick of the Week" in late January 2009. It was featured in the closing scene of the final episode of the first season of the AMC
original series Breaking Bad
and Detroit 1-8-7
in its 17th episode.
Gnarls Barkley
Gnarls Barkley is an American soul duo comprising Danger Mouse and Cee Lo Green. Their first studio album St. Elsewhere was released in 2006; along with its first single "Crazy". Both single and album were a major commercial success and have been noted for their large sales by download...
's second studio album, The Odd Couple
The Odd Couple (album)
The Odd Couple is the second studio album by Gnarls Barkley, released digitally on March 18 and in stores March 25, 2008. Due to an early leak of the album over the Internet in early March 2008, the duo decided to push up the release from April 8...
. It is played in a slow and sad soul style. The single was released in late 2008. The song's official music video was directed by Chris Milk
Chris Milk
Chris Milk is an American music video director and photographer. He has directed videos for Kanye West, U2, Green Day, Courtney Love, Audioslave, Modest Mouse, Gnarls Barkley and Arcade Fire. He also has numerous television commercials to his credit...
and was released on July 25, 2008. The video featured work by character animator Keith Sintay
Keith Sintay
Keith Sintay is an American animator. Sintay has been an animation artist at Walt Disney Studios, Dreamworks Feature Animation, Sony Pictures Imageworks, and Digital Domain as well as many smaller independent commercial houses.-Biography:...
. The single was only released physically in America, in a special limited edition CD + DVD single package.
Track listing
- Disc 1 - CD
- "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" (Original Mix)
- "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" (MTV Live 52 Version)
- "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" (Demo Version)
- "Mystery Man"
- "Neighbors" (Live From The 40 Watt)
- "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" (Instrumental)
- Disc 2 - DVD
- "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" (Video)
- "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" (Subtitled Version)
- "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" (MTV Live 52 Version)
- "Mystery Man"
- "A Little Better" (MTV Live 52 Version)
- "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" (Making Of The Video)
- "Neighbors" (Live From The 40 Watt)
Music video
A couple sits at a booth in a diner, while the woman (Friday Night LightsFriday Night Lights (TV series)
Friday Night Lights is an American sports drama television series adapted by Peter Berg, Brian Grazer and David Nevins from a book and film of the same name. The series details events surrounding a high school football team based in fictional Dillon, Texas, with particular focus given to team...
star Aasha Davis
Aasha Davis
Aasha Davis, is an American actress best known for her roles as Waverly Grady on Friday Night Lights and Chelsea Lewis on South of Nowhere. She has also appeared on Gilmore Girls, Grey's Anatomy, House, ER, Castle and The Shield.-Personal life:...
) breaks up with her boyfriend (Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
writer Jorma Taccone
Jorma Taccone
Jorma Christopher Taccone is an American comedy writer-actor-director. Taccone is one third of the sketch comedy troupe The Lonely Island along with childhood friends Andy Samberg and Akiva Schaffer...
). After receiving the plate he requested from the waitress, the man stabs himself in the chest, and pulls out his heart, places it on the plate and gives it to the woman. He explains that his heart "is actually [her's] now," that he will never be able to get over her, and says "from now on every girl that I meet will be meticulously compared to the false memory of what you and I once 'had.'" The woman offers to return it after keeping it temporarily for a "shitty day" or when she needs to move something heavy, but the man insists that he is now "heartless" and thus will passively/aggressively ruin all his future relationships. The heart then comes to life, growing arms, legs and a mouth, and begins to sing the lyrics to the song on the counters of the diner using a piece of broccoli
Broccoli
Broccoli is a plant in the cabbage family, whose large flower head is used as a vegetable.-General:The word broccoli, from the Italian plural of , refers to "the flowering top of a cabbage"....
as a microphone before finally stabbing itself with a knife and pulling the man's head out of its body. The head looks around, staring off into space. The scene cuts back to the man staring out the window as the woman speaks. The woman finally asks, "Are you even listening to me?" The man simply replies "No." Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse
Danger Mouse
Brian Joseph Burton , better known by his stage name Danger Mouse, is an American musician, songwriter and producer. He came to prominence in 2004 when he released The Grey Album, which combined vocal performances from Jay-Z's The Black Album with instrumentals from The Beatles' White Album.He...
also made cameos as chefs in the diner.
Reception
The song found popular acclaim: Entertainment Weekly put the video on its "Must List" and Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
on its "Hot List" in August 2008. On December 3, 2008, the video was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video
Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video
The Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to performers, directors, and producers of quality short form music videos...
. Sintay won an 2009 D&AD Yellow Pencil Award for Music Video Animation.
Critical reception
BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
magazine said of the single, "Cee-Lo scorches the vocal hook--"Who's gonna save my soul now?"--and it stops the moderately paced dance cut dead in its tracks." The magazine also said it "might be his finest performance to date." Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
called the song "dolefully paced: and "nearly dirgelike," while People
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
called it "a gritty, gospel-infused plea." Performing Songwriter praised the song as "a stark song with plucked strings and bass so heavy and distant it could be a psychic echo." USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
said of the single, "Nobody lays bare their broken heart more painfully or more plaintively than Cee-Lo," and named the tune its "Pick of the Week" in late January 2009. It was featured in the closing scene of the final episode of the first season of the AMC
AMC (TV network)
AMC is a cable television specialty channel that primarily airs movies, along with a limited amount of original programming. The letters originally stood for American Movie Classics; however since 2002, the full name has been deemphasized as a result of a major shift in programming...
original series Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad is an American television drama series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and produced in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Breaking Bad is the story of Walter White , a struggling high school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with advanced lung cancer at the beginning of the series...
and Detroit 1-8-7
Detroit 1-8-7
Detroit 1-8-7 is an American crime drama series about Detroit's leading homicide unit, created by Jason Richman for ABC. It features an ensemble cast of actors including Michael Imperioli and James McDaniel...
in its 17th episode.