There are those who would say that the mashup (or “bastard pop” as it was originally known) had been done to death by 2007. That the best artists had moved on, that everything had been done, that the genre itself had been a gimmick whose novelty had worn off.
And then there’s Gregg Gillis. Gillis, who performs under the name “Girl Talk,” gained prominence with his contribution to the 2003 compilation “Ministry of Shit: The 2003 Anus.” His contribution “Let’s Run This” was a mixture of glitchpop, noise, and hooks stolen from other songs. Even his greatest admirers would admit that this track was rather hamfisted and difficult to listen to, overshadowed by the more exciting mixes of Toecutter, DSP Wanker, and Dsico That No-Talent Hack.
However, this didn’t stop Gillis; he spent the next three years refining his sound over the course of albums “Unstoppable” and “Stop Cleveland Hate,” moving further and further away from his avant-garde roots and closer and closer towards effortless, thought-free party rock. By the time “Night Ripper” was released in 2006, almost all of the quick cutting and Max Tundra-style glitch-noise had been removed in favor of the formula perfected by 2 Many DJs: All tracks were laid down at the same BPM, and consisted of either
A) A pop singer’s vocals over a dance song from the 1980s, or
B) A rapper’s vocals over an “incongruous” artist’s music (e.g. Bob Denver, Herb Alpert, the Sesame Street theme)
This album caught the youth’s attention at exactly the right moment: the serious artists had all moved on from mashups because they’d grown bored with it, meaning that the stage was set for mainstream listeners to move in and take over the asylum. And take over the asylum they did. Girl Talk quickly shot to #1 on various messageboard “best of” lists, and was invited to perform at small colleges around the nation.
Four years (and two albums) later, and Gillis is still milking that same pale teat. Sixty-some years of stereo recordings, combined with the fact that new pop and rap songs are being released all the time, as well as his switch from CoolEdit Pro to Ableton Live (which pretty much has a built-in “mashup” feature), have allowed Girl Talk a virtually limitless pool in which to swim. And yet this album feels like he’s treading water.
All Day, which was released for free the day after its completion, continues in the same groove as Night Ripper and Feed the Animals. However, one man’s groove is another man’s rut, and Gillis certainly seems to be in a creative rut with this album. Once again, the album consists of not-overly-clever “improved pop” or “incongruous rap” layerings; once again each track runs at the same speed (once again there is a single, almost painfully-strained tempo change around the middle of the album); once again the tracks are heavy on booming bass and light on the wit that made him so popular in college.
The cleverness found in tracks like “I Want You Back” and “What If…” has apparently been left behind forever in favor of generic party beats that–if I’m honest–don’t measure up to the tracks being released on a daily basis by any Boys Noize group. In fact, thanks to a recent paradigm shift in pop production, almost every song you’ll hear on WNCI scans like a mashup of “pop singer over 1980s dance music.” Girl Talk is now being beaten at his own game by the very mainstream to which he was supposed to be an alternative.
So what is the average listener to make of this newest album? Well frankly, that Gregg Gillis should have kept his dayjob. Four years ago, he and webcomics artist/musician Drew were similar in that they were both enjoyed by the underground, and both made art on the side while working a dayjob in engineering. Now, Girl Talk is playing Bonnaroo, and no longer has a job. (Drew’s viral music videos, however, have become more popular than ever.)
I’ve met Gregg Gillis, and he seems like a pretty nice guy. My sister-in-law went to college with him, and although he supposedly beat up the school paper’s music reviewer (watch out, [email protected]!), she didn’t remember him as being overly unlikeable. However, his newest album is as musically momentous as C&C Music Factory’s “Anything Goes!”, and he’s very much in danger of becoming the subject of a 2020-era “Where Are They Now?” episode. He wasn’t even included on Buzzfeed’s list of top 10 mashups of 2010 (losing out to a track featuring the theme song from The Office).
All Day is a free download, so it’s hard not to recommend that someone download it if they enjoyed his previous two collections. But if you’re looking for something fresh and original, you’d be better served checking out the new albums by Das Racist or Sleigh Bells.
4/10
The Bottom Line: “Short on substance and low on flavor, but free.”
Girl Talk will be playing at The LC on Thursday, January 6th at 7pm. Tickets are sold out.
