In 2006, Gregg Gillis, a.k.a Girl Talk, stormed onto the scene with his critically accclaimed Night Ripper, a collection of mash-ups that infused popular R&B and rap hits with classic indie and pop tunes. Now, two years later Mr. Gillis is back with his brand new assortment of mash-ups in his forth studio album, Feed the Animals.
Feed the Animals is much more of the same as what Night Ripper was, which is definitely not a bad thing. This time around things seemsa lot smoother though. The transitions between songs fit much better than on <>Night Ripper and overall, things just sound better and have higher production values. This is a logical progression though. Girl Talk gained a large amount of fans after his last album and more fans equals more money. With more money comes better produced albums.
With mash-up albums you can’t really discuss musical ability or lyrical prowess like you can with other musicians. For artists like Girl Talk, you have to look at song selection and how well his choices work together. Gillis has done an amazing job picking complementary and cohesive songs. One of my favorite tracks, “Here’s the Thing,” combines the opening verse of “Since U Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson with “Wish” by Nine Inch Nails and seamlessly transitions into a mix with “Too Legit to Quit” by MC Hammer, just as Kelly Clarkson begins the chorus.
I highly recommend Feed the Animals for anyone who enjoyed Night Ripper or is a fan of extremely good mash ups. Plus, you don’t even have to pay for the record. Girl Talk has pulled a Radiohead type move and has the album up for download for any price you want to pay online. Just type in how much you want to give away, and then justify it with a reason and the album will start downloading. With Gillis scheduled to visit Canopy in November, now is as good a time as ever to start digging into the postmodern mixes of Girl Talk.
Related Posts
