The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
    Prophet's picture

    Top Ten Albums of '08 - Number 7

    7. Girl Talk - Feed the Animals

    A relative of mine admitted recently that even though he loved the new Girl Talk album, he couldn't help but think of it as cheating.

    You see, what Gregg Gillis A.K.A. Girl Talk does is take all those wonderful beats, hooks and raps from popular music (that we all know or don't yet realize that we know) and mashes them together; you've never really heard Paranoid Andriod until you've heard Jay Z rapping over it. 

    At first, I admit, I had the same thought.  But, soon thereafter, I was no longer listening for the purpose of testing myself to see how many of the samples I could pick out - from Huey Lewis to Jay Z to Yael Naim to Radiohead - but rather because the music that emerged was something wholly new and exciting.

    Notable Songs - Play Your Part pt.1, Set it Off

    Shut the Club Down

    Still Here

     

    Comments

    It's interesting and listenable, but what merits pride of place in your top ten for '08?


    So, I tried really hard to keep an open mind listening to both songs because I feel like I've been awfully contrary when it comes to your choices. I'm not a fan of hip hop so I wouldn't recognize the first song as being superior in that genre. The second was interesting, like you say, for picking out the pieces of the familiar. It was definitely fun. But for musical fusion, I prefer when the artists are actual making the music, instead of repackaging music that someone else has already made, no matter how creatively. My favorite example of this is a Scottish salsa band (yes, Scottish salsa) called Salsa Celtica. They combine latin rhythms with traditional Scottish folk. I discovered the band while I was watching this great little English film called Driving Lessons. The band is playing in the background in a bar scene. I went back and played it over and over to make sure I was hearing what I thought I was hearing. It's original and it works. I love it.


    Dude. These old people commenting here are lame. They seem to want, like, the ORIGINAL Huey Lewis. AND the News. They accept no replacements.

    Girl Talk TOTALLY cheered my year. When you get Roy Orbison and the Beach Boys and Nirvana grinding up against 80's pop hits and rap? It's Girl Talk and Chew Fu, neck & neck, baby.

    Winnas - "In Step" and "Hands In The Air" - toe.toe.lee.

    I mean... how OLD are your other readers? Eh? Like 106? Time to give 'em some Top Ten like... some Peaches & Herb.