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.

In My Headphones: Vietnam, fishing trips, Italian Opera

Review: Cold War Kids-“Robbers & Cowards”



It was over the summer. I was sitting downstairs in my best friend’s bedroom shooting the shit. He had some low music playing off his laptop. A song that I would later know as “St. Johns” came on. I literally stopped mid-sentence, pointed to the computer and asked “Who is this? And why haven’t I been listening to them?” My friend grinned.

This was my introduction to the awesomely named Cold War Kids.

Their LP, Robbers & Cowards is a collection of songs from the various EP’s they have put out and rerecorded for this awesome studio album. How do I describe the their style? Well, they’re an indie bluesy soul rock band that has hints of folk and gospel combined with a junkyard band. That’s right, a junkyard band. There are times during this CD where the various shakers, rattles and other divergent sounds are as if they picked up something in the street, heard it had an awesome sound and worked it into the song. All this is combined with some awesome off beat drumming and backed by a lively piano that equals a force of a band having discovered the magic of music, having fun and loving every minute of it. I love the sound on the CD, I heard it was sight to behold live (note they are one of the many bands I am actively awaiting shows for.)

The Cold War Kids also have some amazingly catchy and meaningful lyrics. Lead vocalist Nathan Willett doesn’t sing about young love and heartbreak like most the bands you know. In fact most of the songs are very storyteller based. Songs Such as “We Need a Vacation” speak of alcoholic fathers who miss graduations and slowly tear their families apart. They talk about divorce and the shame anger and viciousness that come where once sweet laughter filled a household in “Hair Down.” The aforementioned “St. John” tells the tale of a guy on death row for accidentally killing one of a group of kids who were attempting to rape his sister. Most powerful of all in “Hospital Beds” they show the casualties of war, about making friends with people you would never choose to; the injured who merely lay next to you. However these meaty tales aren’t drowned into our ears. These songs are delivered with a verve that is addictive. You’ll find yourself rocking to the tunes while screaming their catchy lyrics.

The Cold War Kids deliver thoughtful, storied poetry for your ears with zestful instrumentation. They throw enough change ups for you to always keep it interesting, and know when to repeat their mantras like “Vietnam, fishing trips, Italian Opera” on “Hospital Beds” the zenith of the album.

The album has been out for a while now, but it deserves to be checked out. It’s very rare to find a sound that is refreshing and simply this good. They went back into the studios in December. I can’t wait to hear the next album.