Girl Talk has a new album and it’s sure to be as divisive as anything this artist (a label some would hesitate to use here) has released to date. Girl Talk is the alias for mash-up producer Greg Gillis, and his newest recording “All Day” was released free to the public as a digital download by the label Illegal Art. The album features over 70 continuous minutes of hits from several genres mixed (or mashed) together to create music that maintains a dance groove with frequent and frantic shifts between source materials. There are many camps that have been critical of Girl Talk’s prior work, and this new album will only make them more confident in their arguments. These disparagers will most likely be further disappointed by what is sure to be widespread positive reaction to this fantastic record.
This album continues a trend that Girl Talk has followed on his previous output of letting the sources play a little bit longer, allowing the mashed ideas to sit on the groove just a bit more. The result would not be as good if the ideas did not work so well. A fantastic example of this is the riff from Fugazi’s “Waiting Room” providing the rhythm behind a vocal sample transition from Black Rob’s “Whoa!” to Rihanna’s “Rude Boy.” Any of the ingredients here are examples of well-known songs by each artist. They might even be boring to the listener on their own because they’ve been overplayed. What Gillis has done is take the most pleasing hooks of each, and positioned them relative to each other so that the result is fun and exciting. This facet of Girl Talk’s music can certainly be hit or miss, and there are some points with questionable mixes. When Old Dirty Bastard is rapping how raw he likes it (from the classic track “Shimmy Shimmy Ya”) over “Creep” by Radiohead it actually sounds too raw, and is one of the few pockets where the music grates alongside the ever-present dance beat. On the whole the combinations are pleasing, and the constant stream of ear pleasing hits in interesting new contexts is entertaining.
The most obvious and seemingly valid argument against Girl Talk as a quality artist (or an artist period) is the simple fact he takes material that is already popular on its own, and just stacks it all up. The fact Gillis relies predominantly on super well-known hooks is inescapable, but no reason that this album shouldn’t be enjoyed. Many people are tired of the full versions of the songs used on this album because they’ve been played to death. To be sure, most people critical of this album would not enjoy listening to the full version of “Party in the U.S.A.” by Miley Cyrus, but its sugary guitar part is a fascinating contrast to M.O.P.’s “Ante Up” playing over the top. Gillis takes only the most delightful parts of these songs and plays them all together so they can be briefly appreciated in unpredictable contexts, and the slightly smoother transitions on this album add to the delight.
This album is likely to generate significant buzz for several reasons. Much has and will be said about the price and distribution of the product (free and digital), the legality of the album since the samples are not licensed, and of Gillis’ merit as a creative or a thief. This buzz may boost exposure to “All Day” but have an unfortunate negative impact on the listener’s enjoyment if these preconceptions are set in cement. This can be a thoroughly enjoyable listening experience if the only thought before one dives in is, “let’s turn it up and dance!”
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