Girl Talk

In 2008, Girl Talk, a.k.a. mashup DJ Gregg Gillis, caused a stir when he released his fourth album, Feed the Animals, on a “pay what you want” basis. On Monday, Gillis stayed true to form and released his new LP, All Day, as a free download on his website and label, Illegal Art.

All Day, a genre-bending 70-minute aural collage, has no bounds in the variety of music that is sampled. One of the album’s songs, “Jump on Stage,” features Iggy Pop’s “Lust for Life” instrumentals as the backdrop for the lyrics of Lady Gaga’s “LoveGame” and the Beastie Boys’ “Hey Ladies.” Girl Talk’s criteria for song-sampling still remain the same: an infectious beat, a catchy hook or a generation-defining anthem will garner inclusion into his compilations. Admittedly, most of the songs fall into the hip-hop or rap category, but overlapping Young MC’s rhythmic “Bust a Move” over Kylie Minogue’s sugary “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” is no easy feat. Girl Talk still manages to deftly weave in icons from grunge, indie-pop and punk to create a “Best-Of” infusion that remains current and danceable.

For a mashup DJ, creative growth may seem difficult to attain, but All Day defines Gillis as more of an artist than a DJ. Girl Talk’s repertoire has evolved from the choppy mixing of a laptop disc jockey to more hit-worthy jams that can easily be played in clubs. Overall, Gillis’ latest effort is an easy substitute for any playlist your roommate might come up with, creating a beat-heavy party atmosphere while taking the listener on a roller coaster ride of nostalgic hits and Top-40 fare. Just get to it before the copyright lawyers do.