I thought it would be wise to kick off the Week of DJs with someone who has a sound that everyone can appreciate - a man who creates new songs from several existing songs. With no added beats or help. Everything you hear was not created by the artist... except the new version of the old songs that you love that will now BLOW YOUR MIND. Since sampling is so integral to DJ'ing, and everyone can appreciate a top 40 song or two - why not start with Girl Talk?
The Master of Samples is Greg Gillis, aka Girl Talk. I don't give a fuck WHO you think is the best dude on the planet at remixing songs, I'm pretty sure Greg Gillis kicks their asses with room to spare.
If you've never heard his work, you're probably going to be motherfucking delighted to discover it. I don't know anyone who doesn't like Girl Talk.
Girl Talk has been clever since the birth of his musical career. His songs are not original... technically. He creates new songs from existing songs. (Like I said, Master of Samples.) He doesn't have his own "original" beat anywhere in a song. He simply chooses a particular vocal track (typically rap or pop vocals) and puts it over something you would never think to pair it with... Ludacris raps over New Order in one track on All Day, and I don't think you realize how great it is until you hear it. For the last part of this song, which is my personal favorite on the track, White Zombie lays that well-known, powerful & tough groove with Thunderkiss '65 - jesus that was released in 1992?! - The Ying Yang Twins Wild Out over it, and Ludacris wraps it up with Everybody Drunk.*
"On & On" is one of my favorites off of the latest Girl Talk album.
I was loathe to even give you a sample, but without music this wouldn't be much of a music blog... so, I chose a song I think stands on it's own very well and is accessible to almost anyone from the opening.
But even Gillis himself will tell you that the albums are meant to be heard as one continuous track. One GIANT song. It's only broken down into separate numbered tracks for the little people to be able to remember where their favorite part begins.
How does Gillis "get away" with producing tracks that are essentially completely illegal, according to current copyright laws?
Well, he doesn't sell his albums, for one thing. If you go to his website, you'll notice that his album All Day is available for a free download. Yes, he just places it somewhere online and lets people go nuts. I heard rumblings the day it was released, just before Thanksgiving. An exclamation of "the new Girl Talk album is out!" from my friend Hung Le completely verified it. I downloaded it posthaste. You don't actually pay for it, so he's not technically profiting from the "illegal" samples. For his previous album, he accepted donations if you felt like giving him a buck or two, but that was also free. There's this thing called "fair use," which if you're at all familiar with copyright laws (which are stupid strict in my opinon), means you can use something under certain conditions.
I was recently directed to a VERY LARGE jpeg file of a breakdown of Girl Talk's newest album, All Day. GOD BLESS the person who made this chart - I have many sites referencing the substantial amounts of samples Gillis uses bookmarked for my own reference, but this is by far the most appealing and easily understood method in showing someone how his songs are laid out. Big ups to this person, I have no idea who you are.
If you're not already impressed with his music and super-clever ingenuity on the copyright laws, which is his life's mission to battle, prepare to truly be impressed by the man himself.
I'm pretty sure that the fact he gets away with anything is because he's a super smart son of a bitch, too. He went to college for biomedical engineering, specifically, tissue engineering as his specialty. He worked in the field for a couple years before deciding to quit and concentrate solely on music, around 2007. He isn't making money off his albums... so most people wonder why he would do it. Personally, I like to think he has the same idea that I do. Something that makes you feel this happy shouldn't be only for the privileged, aka, people with a solid paycheck. Even if I never had the money to go see him perform live, which is where he does in fact make his money, I would still have access to his awesomeness and information along with it.
Let's read the disclaimer on his website, shall we?
"All Day by Girl Talk is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license. The CC license does not interfere with the rights you have under the
Do you realize that Greg Gillis has found the perfect loophole for fighting copyright laws? He applies his intelligence and it shows in his mixes. He's not using entire tracks, he's not using the entire track length, and he's making sure you realize it's not the original song at any point during an album. He knows how to make his money and get around the laws that would bring a person of normal or below intelligence to their knees, and give the masses music that makes you feel good, as well as fight the fuckin Man. Which brings me right back to the music.
He is technically what's called a "mash up" DJ, or a remixer, if you're nice about it. I will never in my entire LIFE use the term "mash up DJ" to describe Girl Talk. God of Sampled Remixes? Sure. Mash up dude? No. Please don't insult MY intelligence, or his, by saying it and trying to compare him to every other yokel who posts a Youtube video with their "Kelly Clarkson vs. Metallica" mash up or something. (Please note that this is simply a hypothetical example that I completely made up - I know of no such mash up, hah.)
Feed the Animals album cover. Released in 2008.
(Worth noting - to me, saying Artist A VERSUS Artist B in any "mash up" situation will forever piss me the fuck off. When I hear a mash-up, I don't see the artists or songs as battling or facing one another in a competitive way; instead I see two songs that flow together and are essentially complimeting one another! It's not a "facing off" feeling to me, it's more of a melding of wonder.)
I dare you to listen to one album, and tell me you DON'T enjoy it at least in one part or another. The endings to Girl Talk albums make you feel like you're being hugged. Greg Gillis lifts you up, makes you wanna shake your booty for hours, and then brings you back to a warm place to leave you basking in the Bambi-legs-after-sex-feeling that he fucks into your heart.
If you're already a fan of Girl Talk, and you've never seen him live, GO. I don't care if the ticket costs you $80 scalped, just go. And get there early. See all the openers, but get there before then too. I don't know if it's consistent everywhere, but when my friend and I went to see Girl Talk at Sonar in Baltimore, MD, people were tailgating in the parking lot. I laughed! It was like a football event except with super cool people all dressed to the nines and dancing with their trunks open while they played his album. Soda bottles in their hands? Come on people, you're not fooling anyone with that vodka in the Sprite bottle. But you're all awfully cute for dancing in the street. It was a really super vibe the whole night. Which is probably why I wanted to fight the stupid bitch who kept bumping into me when she shoved very unnecessarily through the crowd, she was really harshing my vibe, shoving me like that, seeing as how it wasn't thick at all in the spot where we were dancing... but I digress once again. She lived, we'll just say that much.
Seeing him perform live isn't exactly any different musically, he doesn't do anything too different than he does from his albums, except maybe he might throw in some NEWER top 40 samples at a show. Instead you're going for the community dance party experience - everyone just wants to GROOVE. Either way, once you hear an album, you'll completely understand why it's a blast live. He also invites people up on stage to dance around him and get amped up, because all he really does is use a laptop on stage! It's probably the most minimalist dance party I'd ever been to, and it makes me feel warm and fuzzy.
It's really easy for me to appreciate what Girl Talk does for the dance scene, and the music scene in general. He's creating another type of song, another type of music, altogether. His label, Illegal Art, carries along with it the best descriptor of his music, in my opinion. He's making it all with samples from top 40 songs that are popular today, which for the most part, I consider to be about 85% shit. He's the ultimate alchemist, in a figurative sense - Greg Gillis is making gold from almost total crap. Pairing these elements together, we have something we can cherish and listen to countless times. Countless. Yes. I think of all the complete albums I have of his, hundreds of times listened might be an understatement.
I listened to the new album All Day 7 times withiin about 24 hours. Didn't I get sick of it, you ask? Hell no. I like to completely digest things... chew them up a lot... and somehow, it never loses it's flavor. Not ever. Gregg Gillis never bores me. When you use an SWV track that I used to listen to when I was 14 years old, and then turn around and hit me with Nirvana...
...well, basically, "you nostalgia you lose."
It's completely unnecessary for me to break down his albums one by one - they speak for themselves., and the concept never changes, even if his earlier efforts are far more glitchy and spazzy in nature compared to today's more refined, smoothed-over sound. He never loses his edge, and the idea & concept stands solid - new tracks from existing tracks that make everyone's booty inexplicably need to start bouncing about.
Night Ripper was released in 2006, and was the beginning of Illegal Art's (the label's) rise to success - basically, this was by far their most accessible and easily listenable album put out yet. Girl Talk became their poster child after this.
If Girl Talk can create an environment and sound where I can be exposed to music I might normally scoff at in a format that i appreciate and enjoy in a way I don't appreciate any other kind of music... I want to support him and show my full appreciation by spreading the word and paying to go to his shows every time I have a chance. The structure he uses is completely accessible to the musically inept, who can't discern Justin Bieber from Mastadon... as well as appreciated by the musically inclined ear, and musicians themselves.
Besides, who doesn't wanna hear how Lil Mama's infmous "my lip gloss be poppin'" line sounds when paired with Metallica's "One" guitar riff?
You're curious, admit it. It's FREE! Don't be lazy - go get All Day.
And thank Greg Gillis for being god damn fucking awesome & original, and pioneering a sound none of us can rival as of right now.
I feel almost proud, I've been with him since 2006. This is huge. Girl Talk is the perfect start to my DJ week.
Just for fun, please note that the label Illegal Art posts "Challenges" on their site and encourages people to submit their music, awarding winners awesome prizes... it's so much fun and worth checking out.
Delicious Bonus Aural NOMS:
The Hood Internet
If you enjoy the likes of Girl Talk and need to know JUST WHERE TO GET MORE MUSIC LIKE THIS RIGHT NOW, I have something else special for you.
I really love The Hood Internet. Once again, everything they create is available for Free Download!! *squee* My personal favorite mixes by them are ALL "The Mixtape Volumes." There's 4 of them, to be specific about it. Their other smaller collaborative remixes are all fun and everything, but I really love the full album length creations of theirs.
I won't hold your hand, you're from the damn Internet. Go search for them on the left sidebar on their site, they're all posetd there mixed in chronologically. All are simply titled, "Mixtape Vol. *insert # here*" and if you're not sure which one to grab, (if not all of them!) at least download the The Mixtape Vol. 4. It's my favorite one, if I had to choose one with a gun-to-my-head-type-of-situation. They're fantastic!! A slight bit different than Girl Talk, but if everything and everyone was the same, life wouldn't be very interesting, would it? I love them.
Here's a pretty terrific stand-alone track by The Hood Internet.
The Hood Internet - Decalogue (The Hood Internet vs The 2000s) by hoodinternet
It's one of their newest ones too, and really lays the groundwork for the type of things you'll be hearing within their songs & "mixtapes."
(I'll forgive The Hood Internet for falling victim to the "vs." phenomenon simply because they're wonderful.)
Theeeeeeeeeee Ennnnnnnnnnnnd.
Dear Girl Talk -
Come play a party at my house, Greg Gillis. I will get kicked out of my community and arrested just in order to throw a party DJ'd by yourself. The invite is open - anytime. Pick a day, and let me know when you'll be over. I will bring the people, I know plenty who love you - you just bring the laptop.
Love, Mercie.
*(As much as I ADORE Ludacris as a rapper, this was one of his more boring songs to me - but suddenly when paired with a solid beat like White Zombie's guitar riff, it perks that song right back up for me, and I love it now. I felt the same way about Crank That, when used near the end of Feed the Animals... go check it out, for sure.)
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