THIS DUO IS `CRAZY' POPULAR GNARLS BARKLEY'S BRAND OF INDIE POP MUSIC FINDS MASS APPEAL.

Byline: Fred Shuster Music Writer

Gnarls Barkley, the musical collaboration between DJ and producer Danger Mouse and rapper/singer Cee-Lo Green, is touchy about its slam-dunk success.

You see, it just isn't seemly for an ensemble whose music is sold as daring indie-pop to rack up a fistful of Grammy nominations along with other kinds of mainstream acceptance.

So, when we reached out to Green (real name Thomas Callaway) to talk about a breakthrough year that will be capped with a grand Gnarls Barkley show on New Year's Eve, a handler first warned that Green would rather not discuss the duo's five nods from the record academy.

So, naturally, that's the first thing we asked about.

``We don't think about that kind of stuff,'' Green said. ``We don't aim for any of that. That's not why we make music. We don't want to be consumed by all that extraneous stuff. Music feeds us, not awards shows.''

On a high

Actually, what literally feeds Green and Danger Mouse (real name Brian Burton) are the dead presidents that come with having a multimillion-selling album, the genre-jumping ``St. Elsewhere,'' which also went top five in almost every country in Europe.

``We knew there would be some real highs when we made the record,'' said Green, 32, a former member of Atlanta rap group/OutKast buddies the Goodie Mob. ``We just weren't sure what the highs would be.''

The highs arrived on the heels of the sweet-sounding retro-soul single ``Crazy,'' which garnered more varied radio format play than any single in radio history -- with nine formats spinning it and a peak weekly radio audience of nearly 100 million.

The soulful, '70s-style r&b single was recently named song of the year by Rolling Stone magazine, which called the track an ``instant classic'' that ``everybody tried to cover'' but which only Cee-Lo could pull off.

``I expected `Crazy' to resonate,'' the supersize Green said in his soft Georgia-accented voice. ``What's weird is when something that comes from a dimly lit private space touches so many people. We don't make music merely to entertain.''

Let them entertain you

But entertain is what Gnarls Barkley does really well. On Sunday night -- New Year's Eve -- the band will put on one of its blindingly colorful, costumed dance concerts at USC's Galen Center, on a bill with the Flaming Lips, Cat Power and Dirty Delta Blues.

Barkley's live act includes cover versions of songs by the Violent Femmes and Metley CrAe, and a range of weird costumes that can take in ``Wizard of Oz'' characters or the Darth Vader outfit Green wore at the MTV Movie Awards.

``We want to give people a show to remember,'' says Green, who is currently listening to the Clash, Iggy Pop and Portishead on his iPod. ``It's easy to walk on stage in your street clothes. Everybody does that. We deeply feel what we're doing and that includes the fun factor. That's what we have in common with the Flaming Lips.''

On the road again

In '07, Gnarls Barkley (Green insists the name is not a reference to basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley -- but we don't believe him) will hit the road with six-time Grammy nominees Red Hot Chili Peppers. Both acts are vying for the prestigious album of the year trophy (Gnarls Barley is also up for alternative music album, record of the year and urban/alternative performance, while Danger Mouse was nominated for non-classical producer of the year). The Grammys are handed out Feb. 11.

Although they are sometimes marketed as some sort of indie-pop offspring of new wave hip-hop, Gnarls Barkley actively dislikes the message and image of much of today's rap music.

``It's disheartening to celebrate the guns and the money and the attitude,'' Green said. ``You read the words of what these guys are saying and you just say to yourself `This is poison.' I don't want to be part of giving that to people.''

Fred Shuster, [phone]

[e-mail]

GNARLS BARKLEY

Where: USC Galen Center, southeast corner of Jefferson Boulevard and Figueroa Street, Los Angeles.

When: 9 p.m. Sunday.

Tickets: $55. [phone]; ticketmaster.com.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

Danger Mouse, left, and Cee-Lo Green will rock the house New Year's Eve.