In My Headphones: Post-Modern Musical Pop Art

Review: Girl Talk- “Feed the Animals”

So I know, for someone who claims to run a film, music and literature site, I’m very heavy on the film and not so much on the lit and music. Well allow me to start to mend that fence.

Welcome to my latest obsession, Girl Talk. Girl Talk is actually one guy, DJ Gregg Gillis, whose eclectic taste for modern music leads him to blend divergent sources ranging from Public Enemy, Kanye West, Metallica, The Police, Jackson 5, and Kelly Clarkson into interesting and unbelievably catchy packages. Gillis uses tons of illegal samples creating beats, and melding material in ways not usually evident (who knew mixing Elton John’s Tiny Dancer and Notorious B.I.G’s Juicy would be so delicious, ie Smash Your Head). Girl Talk often uses something close to thirty samples per song, sometimes three or four at once. So if your not digging a track, give it thirty seconds, you might hear a well known hook that gets you right back in.

Sampling isn’t new. It’s been used heavily to great effect in rap music for years. But the multiple and often antithetical sources create inspiring tracks (if you had told me a month ago that I’d be jamming to Kelly Clarkson mixed with NIN, I’d have said you were sniffing glue). On his newest album, Feed the Animals, Gillis has continued his mix happiness, bringing not only stellar tracks, but an overall album. This is the self contained DJ album for the Ipod generation. Throw this on at a party. It will definitely get things jumping. Feed the Animals ebbs and flows not only within individual tracks but across whole the album, making a complete seamless package that other mash-up artist don’t provide with their individual mp3-ready-for-myspace one-offs.

Take this little tidbit. On tracks 4, What’s it all about, Gillis mixes Michael singing with the Jackson 5 “ABC” backbeated to Vanilla Ice’s “Havin a Roni” that kicks into a backbeat of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” during Michael’s chorus. It’s a euphorically transcendent ending to a song. Not only does it play into my love of ABC but then puts it against the universally loved Queen, Gillis is playing on your love and recognition of the source material to draw you into his world. You like the source, you like the mash, you like the Girl Talk song.


Good for him. My boys sent me Girl Talk’s way after catching him burning it up over in Chi-town at Lollapalooza. Feed the Animals is provided In Rainbows style for pick-your-price payed download at his site. You can get the album as one whole mix or separated tracks. And paying certain prices get you better files and hardcopies. Smart move considering the legal hurdles he’d have to jump through with all his samples. It’s a quick and effective way to bring fans into his flock. Count me among them, I’m sold. After listening to Feed the Animals hardcore for at last two weeks I’m already trying to get a hold of his previous three albums especially his previous Night Ripper (what I’ve heard so far, I love). I’m also happily holding tickets for his sold out November show here in New York at Terminal 5.

Girl Talk walks the walk. If your looking for a great summer party mix to end the summer, get it now. Be glad you did.

Check out his Myspace page to get a feel.

That's the man behind the music folks, Gregg Gillis. No seriously, I got that off his wikipeida page.