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| Gregg Michael Gillis (Girl Talk) |
Gregg Michael Gillis, better known by his stage name Girl
Talk, is a sample Disc Jockey (DJ) from Pittsburgh, PA, that specializes in mashups. A mashup, if
you are unfamiliar with the term, is the seamless blending of two or more
pre-recorded songs to create a new song. The first song I had the pleasure of
hearing that was architected by Girl Talk included a mix of Elton John’s Tiny Dancer and The Notorious B.I.G.’s Juicy. I was immediately hooked.
Girl Talk samples songs of artists from many musical genres.
However, I find the most successful of his aural experiments to contain a hard beat,
a rock and roll instrumental, and hip hop lyrics. My favorite of his albums is
his most recent, All
Day. The album opens with Black Sabbath’s distinctive early metal guitar
riff from War Pigs
when, suddenly, Ludacris’ booming voice is briefly heard reciting lyrics from
his song, Move
Bitch (Get Out the Way). Ozzy Osborne’s angelic vocals are soon interwoven
with Ludacris' and the two songs become one. Girl Talk virgins will be confused
at this point, in the same fashion as taking a big swig of milk but expecting to taste
soda. There is that brief moment when you taste nothing because your tongue is
giving your brain information different than what it expects and there is a
synaptic misfire. The same happens when listing to Girl Talk, except it is
one’s sense of hearing, instead of taste, that is baffled. Once your brain
catches up and figures out what is going on, you realize that the songs Girl
Talk has chosen to mashup are just right and it makes total sense.
Girl Talk has never paid for a sample. I’m not sure how he
gets away with such copyright infringement, and I’m not sure he does either.
However, it might be because he does not charge for his music. You can go to his
record label’s website right now and download his complete discography in MP3 format
for free, and I recommend that you do just that. Welcome to a new way to listen
to all of your old favorites.
Listen to Girl Talk's full album, All Day, on YouTube by clicking above. The album begins with the mashup of Black Sabbath and Ludacris.
Want a look into the mad mind of Gregg Gillis? Follow him on Twitter!
Visit Girl Talk's website for links to his Facebook and MySpace pages, to buy merchandise, for tour dates and public relations information, to download music, and to learn more about an amazing artist.