Gnarls Barkley's new video may make some people crazy. And that's why you won't be seeing it on MTV.
The clip for the Grammy-winning duo's "Run," which features a cameo by Justin Timberlake, has been kept out of rotation on the music channel after failing the Harding Test. The test monitors strobe effects in video content to make sure the images don't set off seizures, à la the infamous Pokémon scare of 1997.
Danger Mouse, one half of the hip-hop, soul duo, told Billboard that he and rapper-vocalist Cee-Lo Green hoped to retool the video and get it on air as soon as possible.
"I don't know exactly what's going on, but we're having issues. I think [the video] is cool. It works for me. But I'm not necessarily that easily seasick," Danger Mouse told the trade magazine, which first reported the temporary ban. "We can't predict how people are going to interpret it."
For those willing to risk a seizure to see the latest from the "Crazy" purveyors, the "Run" video is available on the group's website.
It begins with a nerd-channeling Timberlake, sporting a curly brown wig, introducing Gnarls Barkley in "City Vibin'," a fictional public access show, sort of a street version of American Bandstand.
The band then launches into the organ-driven song as funky dancers cut loose on the dance floor as Cee-Lo croons and Danger Mouse deejays.
The Harding Test-averse segment occurs about two minutes in.
The background behind the singer and the stage suddenly morphs into a strobing series of black and white shapes and patterns as the dancers continue to boogie.
There was no immediate word from MTV on when the clip might be cleared.
Gnarls Barkley's new album, The Odd Couple, is set to drop April 8. A second single, "Who's Gonna Save My Soul," and an accompanying video will follow.
The duo, who won two Grammys in 2007 for Best Urban/Alternative Performance for "Crazy" from their debut album, St. Elsewhere, are also planning to hit the road this summer, playing festival dates in the U.S. and Europe and a July 27 show at the Hollywood Bowl.