Last weekend’s New York Times Magazine contained an article about Girl Talk entitled, “The 373-Hit Wonder.” In it, there is a brief history of the Mash-Up, starting with a 1906 entry of Charles Ives progressing through the Beatles‘ 1968 “Revolution 9”; K-Tel Records; Lee Scratch Perry‘s production of Blackboard Jungle Dub; Stars on 45; the 1989 Plunderphonic by John Oswald; 1996’s Endtroducing…, by DJ Shadow; the Avalanches‘ Since I Left You; The Grey Album, by Danger Mouse in 2004… and then craziness ensues with samples going wild.
The article states that Girl Talk’s “sound collages are radically different from their sources, far more than the sum of their parts,” but notes the potential for a “gold mine” of lawsuits that could ensue from gaining permission to use the samples. Gregg Gillis, aka Girl Talk, reported that he has never been sued or asked to desist, and that “one of the acts he samples…proudly put a link to Girl Talk on their home page.”
I have the last two Girl Talk “compositions” and I thoroughly enjoy them…at times and for certain purposes. It’s great fun trying to identify the samples, many of which are from Classic Rock (I’m hopeless at the Hip-Hop/Rap ones). The juxtaposition of some of the music and the lyrics can be very funny or ironic. Or it can just be good listening. I find that Girl Talk can be very good to listen to, especially on long stretches of freeway when I’m not necessarily actively listening but just driving to the rhythm. However, I don’t know if these “albums” will stand the test of time and be dusted off in another decade.
