Emily's Albums A to Z

Listened: Wednesday June 30

The top of my head was blown off when I first heard Girl Talk. Firstly, there is the shortest-attention-span-ever samples (an exhaustive catalog of all the samples is here) constantly challenging you to identify all the sounds you’re hearing (as a music nerd I can recognize most, if they’re longer than 1 second). Then there are the vulgar rap samples laid over the top, which beg you to sing along even though you can’t believe what you’re singing.

This album convinced me even more that normal rap production blows. I can’t get into too many rap artists because what they’re rapping over is such crap or distracts too much from the lyrics. Much of the lyrics here are the usual boasts, but I was able to appreciate the poetry some of it because I could actually understand it.

Girl Talk is great live. I saw him at the Treasure Island fest, and his live mixed music is the epitome of giving the audience what they want; everyone screams when they recognize a new sample, and especially when it’s mashed up with something unexpected, which is most of the time. I wouldn’t mind seeing him again for a longer set.