Girl Talk - Feed The Animals

Release Date: 06/19/08
Genre: Mashup, Dance

I don't like to dance and I don't like top 40 rap, but Night Ripper make me do both. But underneath it were many rock songs like "Say It Ain't So," "California," "1979," "Wonderwall," "Bitter Sweet Symphony" and it make shit radio listenable. Only downside was it was only 42 minutes so I've been eagerly anticipated this album for quite some time now.

Review: So you know how sometimes on Family Guy, it relies on obscured references that aren't funny, but dumb people think it's funny because it raises their nostalgic levels. That's not really the best way to describe Girl Talk, but half the fun in his work are recalling where those samples are taken from. I might not be able to name everything, but I recognize the most of it.

His technique is more refine on this album I feel. Even though this album is 1/3 longer than Night Ripper, I felt the hour went by really quick. That might be because this album is new and fresh, but I never got sick of Night Ripper, and this album supposedly has over 300 samples, I don't think I'll get tired of it either. Plus, the samples this time around aren't as quick and cut. Most of the stuff has time to develop and honestly, during my first listen, I though there was too much rap. But my second listen and onwards, I started to hear all the under layers of the tracks. So it's still a good mix of rap and rock and of course the classics 80s hits.

I don't want to go track by track because it's all up on wikipedia, but I have to say that the album really surprised me on many parts. Like there's a lot of other songs that I haven't though about in years that he samples. So it's pretty impressive. And it doesn't matter if a person who cuts and pastes music is classify as an artist or not, Girl Talk has skills. The timing and flow is always sync perfectly.

As for theme and lyrical content, it won't do good to read it on paper, but it's probably just the way rap music is today. It's a lot of recycle material so I just love the juxtaposition of the samples. No matter how angry, aggressive or vulgar the rapping can get, the art is how they get contrast with a upbeat, impossible to be upset melody. Earth Wind and Fire. Ace of Base. The Dawson's Creek theme song.

Other good examples, having some girl repeatedly say "fuck that shit" with Stardust and eventually Michael Jackson's "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" intersecting each other. Then there's "Lollipop" on top of RHCP's "Under The Bridge." Just a few days ago I was telling a friend how I hated Lil Wayne's vocals, but they just fit really well together, it doesn't matter how ridiculous he is. T-Pain on top of "Jessie's Girl "and once that ordeal is over, Three 6 Mafia comes in with "I love having sex but I'd rather get some head."

You know that song from the MacBook Air commercial? Eminem is rapping over it. I thought M.I.A. was overrated last year, but she sounds pretty good with The Cranberries' "Dreams" in the back. Good contrast. The Velvet Underground made Flo Rida's "Low" listenable. Jackson 5 + "Bohemian Rhapsody" blended really well. I should add that it also makes some artist fun to listen to again. I don't hate Missy Elliott so much anymore. And Kelly Clarkson and Nine Inch Nails is just kicks ass. "Since You Been Gone" is no longer overplayed for me. And I have no idea who Ahmad is, but he killed on track 2.

For the "hey, I recognize that song" parts, he samples both "Rebel, Rebel" and "Pump It Up" and the only reason I knew those songs were because Lifehouse covered them. And I always laugh when I hear the intro to "Never Gonna Give You Up" even if it lasts a seconds. I love the use of Carole King and Faith No More's "Epic." R. Kelly sounds smooth just knowing he was found not guilty a few days ago. Even Radiohead and Nirvana make an appearance. Kudos for having Of Montreal.

There's many more memorable moments on the album, but it's an album that no review can capture what Girl Talk sounds like. He does much more than "hey, listen to these two good songs playing at the same time." It's almost collage like. And like I said with Family Guy, maybe it's all me and noone else will 'get it' unless they too have already heard the songs beforehand. As long as you understand that the album is really one dance party for A.D.D. kids, you'll either love or hate it.

One last note: Journey's "Faithfully" is one hell of a way to end an album.

Summary: Whole album is unstoppable. He really is the best Mashup Artist. I didn't expect him to beat Night Ripper, so my expectations were low, but he did it. The songs aren't as quick jumping from song source to another so from the overall standpoint, it's evenly paced so there's no lumps of poop. And for what it's worth, I don't listen to radio and most of them are radio hits of the last 2 years. It sounds weird to give a mashup album a perfect score, but I really feel that it's flawless.

Key Tracks: What It's All About, Hands in the Air, Here's The Thing
Rating: 10/10