Released two years after 2006's Night Ripper, in the same pay-your-price fashion as Radiohead's In Rainbows, Girl Talk's Feed the Animals finds Gregg Gillis continuing to reinvent the mash-up with his everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach. For his last album, Gillis took the concept of bastard pop to a new extreme -- not by merely syncing up two unlikely artists, but by taking up to 20 unlikely artists and mashing them together on particular tracks. Like a sequel to a big-budget summer blockbuster, Feed the Animals follows the formula that made Night Ripper a success and piles on even more action. This time, the material is taken from a wider genre pool, the samples are more fragmented, and the breakneck pacing is stepped up a notch. Where Night Ripper had approximately 150 samples scattered throughout, Feed the Animals scurries through 322 samples. Where Night Ripper succeeded because of its use of records that typical DJs wouldn't dare spin, Feed the Animals is comprised of even riskier choices -- with Gillis pulling more frequently from the annals of rock (borrowing from Megadeth, Argent, Temple of the Dog, Thin Lizzy, and AC/DC, among others), and diving deeper into the pool of irony (with Kenny Loggins, Chicago, Rick Springfield, Big Country, Journey, and on and on.) The old-school and Dirty South theme runs rampant over the backing beats, no matter their vibe, as thuggish lines like "Where I'm from, I see a dead body every day" and "You know that I'm liable to bust a cap 'cuz it's all about survival" coincide with the peaceful coos of Sinéad O' Connor and the disco-funky keys of Hot Chocolate. With such a vast wealth of content, there's a little of something for everybody: nostalgia for those who recall the originals, singalong hooks for fans of modern and old-school rap (courtesy of E-40, Chuck D, Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, ODB, T-Pain, Eminem, Ice Cube, Ray J, Lil Wayne, and Kanye West), an anarchistic attitude and element of danger for fans of a bad boy aesthetic (no, he didn't pay to use these samples -- who could afford to?), and enough uber-precise slicing and dicing to inspire a new generation of DJs to follow in his footsteps. An enthralling post-modern mosaic of found art -- a true masterpiece that you can dance to.
I've got a brand new review up at Blogcritics Magazine of Girl Talk's album Feed The Animals. Here's an excerpt:In an era where mash-ups, remixes, and mixtapes are plentiful, it takes a lot to stand out from the crowd. Girl Talk (aka Gregg Gillis) certainly does so on his newest album Feed The Animals. Drawing from an unbelievably wide variety of songs and genres, Gillis has not only crafted a...
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Pete Bloxham breaks his chair, all in the name of musical reviews.
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With the recent release of Girl Talk, I've been thinking about the mash-up. Girl Talk with his mass of bloghype, was quite a disappointment (wait, can one be disappointed if one has no expectations?) Considering the mash-up, I'm trying to realize the good and the bad. Ignoring the bad, let's reflect on the good. Sample-based [...]~~
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Giving away things for free is awesome, especially when you yourself make your music for free. Such is the case for Pittsburgh's very own Greg Gillis, who's better known to the world as Girl Talk. Gillis is the name when it comes to mash-ups in the modern era. With Feed the Animals, his fourth full-length on Illegal Art, his marketing seems more important. Resembling more of the method offere...
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--- - |- MP3: Girl Talk - Set It Off MP3: Girl Talk - No Pause Girl Talk released the pay as you please download of "Feed the Animals" this morning. As of this moment I don't like it better than "Night Rippers", but I'm still listening to it. He certainly wasn't lying when he said that it would be more seemless and full of more popular music, but in some ways that works again...
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....I was given this cd with the admonition that i must....give it a chance...and i'll be damned...I like it! I guess as the King Of Rock & Roll once said..It goes to show you never can tell.
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Former biomedical engineering nerd turned cool-f#*cking DJ Gregg Gillis aka Girl Talk is looking smoking these days. Just check out the cover of BPM magazine. I've talked to Gillis before - nice guy, but total geek, a geek we love for the way he morphs the old school with the new school. The Band with some Kanye West? Elton John spinning side-by-side with Avril Lavigne? We can't even keep up wi...
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Greg Gillis has released his latest Girl Talk album himself via his label, and you can go get it right now and pay whatever you want for it. Go here for detailswww.illegalart.net Like most GT albums its meant to be listened to as one long track, but here is a sample for you...let's play "Name That Sample'...
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The song this year that would be the best soundtrack as I am dying, attempting to run 400 meters. Yeah...excercise and me are not such good frriends. But here I am looking for songs that will at least get me pumped up and out of the gates fast...I figure the song will carry me the first 50M...the rest? Cue the vultures Bronze - The Raconteurs - 'Consolers Of The Lonely'Consoler Of The Lonely - ...
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Giving away things for free is awesome, especially when you yourself make your music for free. Such is the case for Pittsburgh's very own Greg Gillis, who's better known to the world as Girl Talk. Gillis is the name when it comes to mash-ups in the modern era. With Feed the Animals, his fourth full-length on Illegal Art, his marketing seems more important. Resembling more of the method offere...
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So apparently this is what I missed when Girl Talk came into town and I showed up late to the sold out show.Alright, hopefully it was more like this.
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Girl Talk is the perfect music for my musically ADD generation. His spastic samples are enough to keep any mind busy, what with trying to figure out what the hell is playing and grinding to the person next to you, or yelling out all the words you know will trying to jump the stage. It's music to dance to, plain and simple. There is no pretentiousness, no grandiose statements or concept album...
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Close your eyes and let your life flash before the back of your eyelids.
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Even if you don't care for dance beats and rap peppered with expletives, it's hard not to get hooked by the craftiness with which Girl Talk (Gregg Gillis) mashes up hundreds of soft pop, classic rock, hip-hop and rap samples. Simply playing "what's that sample" will provide hours of fun as you untangle iconic riffage from the Spencer Davis Group, Twisted Sister, Argent, Eddie Floyd, Heart, Ric...
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I've got a brand new review up at Blogcritics Magazine of Girl Talk's album Feed The Animals. Here's an excerpt:In an era where mash-ups, remixes, and mixtapes are plentiful, it takes a lot to stand out from the crowd. Girl Talk (aka Gregg Gillis) certainly does so on his newest album Feed The Animals. Drawing from an unbelievably wide variety of songs and genres, Gillis has not only crafted a...
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--- - |- MP3: Girl Talk - Set It Off MP3: Girl Talk - No Pause Girl Talk released the pay as you please download of "Feed the Animals" this morning. As of this moment I don't like it better than "Night Rippers", but I'm still listening to it. He certainly wasn't lying when he said that it would be more seemless and full of more popular music, but in some ways that works again...
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Here is another album I picked up for free at Girl Talk's site. They took the Radiohead approach and said name your price. Since I hadn't heard them before I didn't want to spend ca$h on it. (I did for In Rainbows) However, I will go back and give them a donation. After you hear this song, let me know if you would like to hear more and I'll post other songs.
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The new Girl Talk album, Feed The Animals is available for instant streaming here:http://www.snuzu.com/search.aspx?query=Girl%20Talk%20Feed%20The%20Animals
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Pete Bloxham breaks his chair, all in the name of musical reviews.
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Play Your Part, Pt. 1 |
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| 2 Shut the Club Down |
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| 3 Still Here |
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| 4 What It's All About |
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| 5 Set It Off |
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| 6 No Pause |
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| 7 Like This |
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| 8 Give Me a Beat |
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| 9 Hands in the Air |
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| 10 In Step |
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| 11 Let Me See You |
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| 12 Here's the Thing |
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| 13 Don't Stop |
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| 14 Play Your Part, Pt. 2 |
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Click to purchase…
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 "Feed the Animals")
