So Much More Than Dance Floor Chatter

If you pit the Pharcyde, Elton John, Chicago, and Biggie Smalls (R.I.P) against each other in a game of musical Twister, you would come up with maybe 20 seconds of a Girl Talk song. But we know this. Mash-up overlord Greg Gillis has been topping music critic’s sweetheart lists since...

By Jamie Laughlin

January 31, 2008

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If you pit the Pharcyde, Elton John, Chicago, and Biggie Smalls (R.I.P) against each other in a game of musical Twister, you would come up with maybe 20 seconds of a Girl Talk song. But we know this. Mash-up overlord Greg Gillis has been topping music critic’s sweetheart lists since his first album release in 2006, Night Slayer. Gillis creates his danceable Frankenstein sets out of loops, hooks, samples, and beats from hundreds of artists and nearly as many sub-genres; these “borrowed sounds” are then lovingly knitted together to create a whole new dance floor beast. And that beast is catchy. Fun. Addictive. If you put any Girl Talk album in your CD player it might not come out for weeks because in addition to being great music, it forces you to pinpoint every cowbell, wail, and jangly rattle: it’s a sonic Where’s Waldo?

But even more astounding than a Girl Talk album is a Girl Talk live show (which, coincidentally, is happening tonight at Studio A, 60 NE 11th St., Miami); people simply go apeshit when Gillin performs. While mixing together his schizophrenic stew, he also dances and strips. You’ll be as amazed at his mash up skills as you are at his coordination. Doors open at 9 p.m. for supporting acts Grand Buffet and Skymall. This show is 18 and up, tickets cost $17 in advance (www.ticketweb.com), or $20 at the door. Check out details at www.studioamiami.com.
Sat., Feb. 2, 2008

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