Enjoying Girl Talk

I know I am super late. But as with most things pop culture I catch the train at the last stop or so. I finally got a hold of a Girl Talk album – specifically Feed The Animals. Why? Because he’s (Girl Talk is actually one guy- Greg Gillis) offering the album for free to download- a la Radiohead’s In Rainbows.

Girl Talk capitalizes on the uber popular mash-up style of taking one song’s lyrics and putting it over another’s songs beat. Girl Talk does this what sounds like hundreds of times per track. They are well done and easy to listen, however I admit most of the fun of listening to the songs is trying to dissect pieces and recognize the song. This brings back memories of where you first heard that song. I was taken back to middle and high school on more than one occasion.

I’m pretty bad at describing this so here is what Pitchford said:

Which brings us to the Three Stages of Girl Talk: knee-jerk recognition, easy-to-swallow consumption, and, finally, cemented recontextualization. When people go apeshit for his famous Biggie-Elton John pairing, they’re taking pleasure in their own memories, the room’s collective memory, the indisputable greatness of “Juicy” and “Tiny Dancer”, and, possibly above all else, they’re cheering for the Girl Talk song that combines all those things so seamlessly. In concert, these mental synapses pop at the same time, and the result is thrilling– the apotheosis of the Girl Talk experience.

And that is SO spot on.

You want a more ringing endorsement than that? Okay, try this out:

I spent most of the show in the relative safety of the periphery, where there was room to breathe and practice my B-boy moves. However, photos were needed for this review, so I made a foray into the voracious pit. That may have been the most intense ten minutes I have ever lived through. To begin with, the temperature was at least 50 degrees hotter than my previous position. Second, it was impossible to dance, or even move; you had to surrender to the heave and pinballing of the crowd. Despite the rabid intensity, the vibe was upbeat and friendly. People sang along to songs they liked, shouted like hyenas any time Girl Talk asked for it, and I’m quite certain more than a few couples were becoming intimately acquainted. Come to think of it, perhaps the most apt description of Girl Talk’s sound is  “music that makes 16-23 year old white girls want to get it on.”

I can also see this being GREAT workout music. Just upbeat samples that you don’t have to get too involved in mentally but would get your heart rate up.

If you want to listen to a sample you can check out melophone’s review of his last album.

However, just go download the newest album- heck its free. If you don’t like it, I’ll give you your money back.