[Animal Boything]

Well-put... two things to add. First, the beauty of this "attention deficit style" is that while the typical mash-up gets old as soon as you figure out what's going on, Girl Talk barely gives you TIME to figure out what's going on. He comes up with these amazing juxtapositions, but he only lets them last long enough to get the point across, then he mercilessly switches it up on you. People sometimes complain that he doesn't play enough of each song, but he's not mr. DJ here to play records for you, he's making his own music. Artists like The Avalanches and DJ Shadow are doing pretty much the same thing, you just don't normally catch as many of the references. Using immediately recognizable samples that recall whole songs is just part of his game, and it brings me to my other point.

In time, like anything of this nature, you get over the novelty of it, but that's when you realize that as music taken on its own terms, this album WORKS. At first hearing Biggie over Elton John is funny, even a little jarring, but after a few listens you're just in the groove, and that's when the real genius of Girl Talk hits. This music is "crazy" in concept, but in execution, all it is is flawless. He actually manages to keep the beat pumping for 40 minutes doing this shit. I dare any DJ to attempt it.

Dubman: Thanks for reading Dave's stuff. He has been very successful lately... he has a book deal based on his ongoing "Fashion SWAT" articles co-written with the wonderful Zack Parsons, and one of his "Your Band Sucks" articles was selected for inclusion in a reputable journal of the year's best music writing, apparently beating out such luminaries as Simon Reynolds.
And no, he actually digs Underworld almost as much as I do, that was just some harmless ribbing.

Also: Where's Tom? I think he'd like this album too.
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