The drone of Boredoms, the soul of James Brown and the erratic bass of OutKast mingled with Jeff Mangum's count-offs and the strings of The Verve last Wednesday at the Black Cat. The venue wasn't host to some bizarre new version of "We Are the World," but packed to capacity for a single performer's set.
This "artist," the legitimacy of whom is disputed, copies other artists' music without prior request or any sign of remorse. He has yet to release a note of music that is genuinely his own, and has the potential to be in serious legal trouble due to copyright infringement as a result. Some of his music could be considered "up and coming," but a large percentage of it is literally decades old.
During his live shows, he can't be bothered to step away from his laptop for the entire performance. Nonetheless, he manages to sell out mid-sized venues all across the country and win over all the critics.
Greg Gillis of Pittsburgh, performing under the alias Girl Talk, may make his music by copying others, but the end product shows an unprecedented level of innovation and mastery. He could be described as a disc jockey, even though he doesn't consider himself one. He would actually be more accurately described as a mash-up DJ - a DJ who uses samples from existing songs to create new ones.
While it's true that all of Girl Talk's music is completely synthesized from existing songs, these sonic mosaics are more precisely constructed than a large percentage of popular music today. He doesn't just "mash" them together either. The precision with which he constructs his songs is almost architectural. The songs flow together phenomenally, essentially turning "Night Ripper," a 16-track album that uses more than 160 samples, into a single 41-minute song.
Another aspect of Girl Talk's music that makes it remarkable is the wide musical spectrum from which he takes his samples. While he samples almost exclusively from popular music, some of his oddball combinations are sure to turn heads and ears. One of his best tracks, "Hold Up," starts with a sample of James Taylor's "Your Smiling Face" backed by a rap beat, which melts from Timbaland to the Pixies, to D4L's "Laffy Taffy" and Internet cult favorite "Peanut Butter Jelly Time," and finally ends with the guitar solo from Weezer's "Say It Ain't So." The mastery with which all of these diverse songs are made into one really strips them of their genres and makes them all seem like great music. This aspect of Girl Talk's music also makes it ridiculously accessible to almost all audiences. Even if the music's appeal initially seems limited to novelty, upon closer examination it becomes obvious how well assembled the randomness is.
Aside from simultaneously being deliriously innovative and purely derivative, the music is also a milestone because its very existence as a commercial product is currently illegal. Releasing his records on a label called Illegal Art, it's obvious that Gillis isn't taking any measures to portray his music as anything but what it is. With the rate at which his music is gaining popularity, it's very interesting to see what kind of legal action will be taken regarding Gillis' obvious copyright infringement. A case against Gillis could be a definitive event in a new world in which copyright ambiguities regarding artistic expression are becoming increasingly disputed.
For the time being, with Greg Gillis free to terrorize the countryside with his musical conglomerations, we are subject to a particularly enjoyable live show. The word about Girl Talk reached the District, as his show at the Black Cat sold out at least a week in advance. The word about ridiculously sweaty bodies pressing on all sides of Greg Gillis and his laptop was apparently well circulated also, as the crowd was packed as tight as any crowd I've ever seen.
The crowd was quite responsive to openers White Williams and Dan Deacon. Dan Deacon provided an interesting concert experience by performing straight from the crowd with some synthesizer- and sampling-based music. Fortunately, his token light-up green skull, which had been stolen a few days earlier, was returned and fully functional.
Girl Talk's set started with the first track on his "Unstoppable" LP, which consists of samples of critics talking ambiguously about Girl Talk, pop music or just saying the words "girl" and "talk" along with a projector displaying the words "Girl Talk" in Daft Punk's signature drip font. The crowd absolutely exploded when Greg Gillis came onstage and started the first bars of what would become a ridiculous multiple-hour sample jam session.
Samples such as those heard on "Night Ripper" and other albums were included, but many new ones were used as well. Notable samples included Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone," Quad City DJ's' "C'mon 'N Ride It (The Train)" and Daft Punk's "Harder Better Faster Stronger." The crowd was literally in constant motion during the entire performance, and almost everyone appeared to have had an absolutely amazing time.
Be it from a legal, musical or performance standpoint, Girl Talk is a fascinating artist who has the potential be a revolutionary musical figure. His live show is absolutely essential and is fascinating from a technical perspective and intriguing due to its unpredictable nature.
