Girl Talk Makes Mash-Ups Fun

By Broadside Style Columnist Andy Minor

In addition to my usual summer regiment of sleeping, loafing and working, I found a little bit of time to be artsy as well. I got caught up on a few books, saw some great films and continued my exploration into the tombs of musical enlightenment. Last May, with miles of crowded, DC Metropolitan area roads, open windows and my iPod, I set out on my summer journey with a smile on my face and anticipation in my ears. They were, of course, waiting to hear what summer jams might pass through them and set the aural tone for the heated laziness I like to enjoy in June, July and August. The early part of summer was mostly spent studying parts of my iPod I haven't visited since high school, painting my summer with a thin film of nostalgia.

But then, probably about mid-June, the new Girl Talk album, Feed The Animals, came out and everything changed.

I know this is probably really old news, and I shouldn't be raving about an album that came out months ago, but I can't help myself. For those of you who don't know, Girl Talk is the project of Gregg Gills who started doing the sickest mash-ups known to man back in 2002. His premise is simple: put existing songs on top of other songs to make new songs.

Those of you who are DC area natives may remember the Saturday night DC101 airing of “Flounder's Mash-Ups,” where Flounder would take two songs and play them at the same time and sometimes they'd line up. Girl Talk does the same thing, only infinitely better.

A few examples: everybody loves the fade out to The Police's “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic.” It's exceptionally smooth sounding and the band really blends quite well. Now take that fade out and allow Busta Rhymes to chime in over top with his intense wail and impeccable rhymes. Don't think it would work? Guess again. Girl Talk does it with gusto and doesn't even have to apologize.

Not good enough for you? Try the combination of “Under the Bridge” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers and “Lollipop” by Lil Wayne. Or sample Public Enemy's classic, “Rebel Without a Pause,” over Heart's hit from 1976 “Magic Man.” None of these songs you expect to hear together, and most of them you'd never expect would even work if they were. Every time I go through this CD I get another little surprise; a little sample I never heard before, perhaps another forgotten 90s classic I hadn't heard since middle school. Listening to Girl Talk is like listening to 15 to 20 songs at the same time, and even if you don't like a good 10 of them on their own Girl Talk lets you enjoy them.

I have also encountered a lot of people who simply pass off the mash-up as pedestrian and boring, thereby passing off Girl Talk at the same time. Some people even lose respect for an artist who doesn't come up with his own material. While I can see this as a valid stance, I still have to defend the mash up as legitimate music, and one of the artsier forms at that. It takes something, several things even, that already exist and makes something completely new out of them. Not only that, a mash up shoves its previous form in your face.

Regardless of any artistic motives behind Girl Talk's mashing, it's still an extremely fun style of music to listen to, one that really couldn't exist until recently. Think about it. In what other decade would you be able to combine Missy Elliot, Nu Shoes, George Harrison, Soulja Boy, Roy Orbison and M.I.A on the same album? Girl Talk plays on all realms of music, breaking down barriers to show us that all music deserves to live in the same environment. His new album can be picked up on his Myspace page with a Radiohead-esque “pick your price.” This album is so good, however, that you may choose to actually pay for it.