A great philosopher once said, “You spin me right round, baby right round like a record, baby right round.” A Girl Talk record does just that, it spins me. We here at Fresh Scouts first shed light on Gregg Gillis (aka Girl Talk) back in April of 2009, when we featured his album Feed the Animals. Since then we have been slapping each other in the face with glow sticks while we thrash out to the musical connect-the-dots of a Girl Talk album.
If you have a short attention span and you don’t fear mixing Jay-Z and Flock of Seagulls together, well…this is SO going to be your thing. Girl Talk is back at it again with his winning formula of digital sampling and mashups. His newest creation, All Day, is jammed packed with hip hops finest and pop music gems. Imagine sitting at a red light and four cars pull up around you with windows down blaring their music. Buckle yourself in for 71 minutes of seamless sampling.
Can it get any better? Uh, fo sho. Get your greedy little paws on All Day for FREE! Yeah, that’s the price that speaks a universal language. Mosey on over to Illegal Art to get the whole album for $0.00. Thanks be to Girl Talk and to all of the samples. And yes, thanks be to glow sticks.
Check out this artsy fan created video for “Oh No”
“Happy Halloween” – The Blanks
We love The Blanks. We have known the guys for several years and we know them as straight up mad musical geniuses. If you need proof of their musicality and comedicality , you can check out our exclusive video interview with this band of merry men.
Their original homage to Halloween, through the aptly titled “Happy Halloween”, is hil-ari-ous. Pumpkins rule!
Buy “Happy Halloween”
“Monster” – Kanye West
Let’s keep the Halloween theme going with this track about monsters. Rick Ross, Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj, And Bon Iver join Kanye West on this ghoulish hard hitting track. I must admit, something about Nicki Minaj captivates me. She makes me laugh and freaks me out all at the same time. “Monster Mash” of 2010?
Buy “Monster”
“Dead Man’s Party” – Oingo Boingo
We go back to the 80′s to unearth this little gem. With Halloween this week it is only fitting we break out some New Wave music, right? Plus, the track was recently featured on NBC’s Chuck, so that totally reminded me of how awesome the song is. If you can’t get out to the Buy Mart, you can click below for the digital shopping equivalent.
Buy “Dead Man’s Party”
I first met Griffin House, back in 2003, when he was promoting his album Upland. When I arrived at the venue and I heard his name as the opening act, the nerd in me thought, “wait…the Gryffindor’s have a house band?” Forgive me for my nerdy Harry Potter reference, I am who I am. The uniqueness of his name quickly disappeared once he hit the stage. Griffin House’s voice cast a spell on me. Kinda like a Expecto Patronuses charm. Damn, I need to get out more.
Griffin House is a salt-of-the-earth kind of guy. His voice is warm, his lyrics are emotive, and his music is organic. For me, he is a modern day troubadour. He is the sort of guy I would want to go camping with, just so I would have music at the ready when it is time to sit around the campfire. If he wasn’t there I would just be singing kumbaya on repeat. When you listen to Griffin’s music, imagine a roaring campfire nearby. He delivers the vocal equivalent of a perfectly toasted marshmallow.
His latest release, The Learner, brings forth the same folk goodness that ran true through his previous works. Griffin House continues to balance on the edge of becoming a mainstream name. If and when that day comes, rest assured in knowing that as a listener, his music will still have the intimate feel of a campfire serenade.
KC’s Personal Picks: “River City Lights”, “If You Want To”, & “Feels So Right”
Check out Griffin House’s acoustic rendition of “River City Lights”
Buy The Learner
The Drive-By Truckers create solid music. You would be mistaken to take “solid” as a generic way to describe their music. When I say DBT creates solid music, I am saying that they are making some of the realist real music out there. Their sound is deeply rooted in the southern rock and alt-country genres. The sound is raw and the lyrics are honest. Basically, it is solid.
DBT
There are a lot of under appreciated bands out there, and Drive-By Truckers would be one of those. They have put out a lot of music since the mid 90′s, but it wasn’t until their recent release of The Big To-Do, that they finally got some mainstream media recognition. Appearances on David Letterman and Jimmy Fallon’s late night gigs shined the spotlight on a band that needs to be listened to. If you are looking for music that combines smart storytelling with gritty delivery, well, DBT is for you! Not looking for that sort of thing in music? Well, I would suggest putting a conch shell up to your ear.
KC’s Personal Picks: “This F@*!&%$ Job”, “Drag the Lake Charlie” and “Birthday Boy”
Not digging your current employment? “Working this Job” is for you!
Buy The Big To-Do
Take a look back through our FreshScouts archives and it should be fairly clear that we love blues music. Storytellers that dwell in the pain and joy of life have a way of speaking directly to us. We proudly add bluesman Sean Costello to our archives. Costello was an incredibly talented young blues artist with a passion that flowed through every single note.
Sean Costello
At the ripe young age of sixteen, Sean Costello released his first blues album, Call the Cops. He immediately impacted the industry with his masterful command over the blues guitar. Costello’s riffs can make even the toughest man shed a tear. Costello didn’t stop there, he also dominated stages with gritty vocals and brutally honest song writing. He is often referenced as a true triple-threat in the blues industry. In his short career he worked with B.B. King, Buddy Guy and Susan Tedeschi, just to name a few. Costello churned out an incredible collection of music from 1996 to 2008.
Costello’s last album, We Can Get Together, was the one that introduced me to his genius. He was masterful on the album. You know, it still stings having to use the word “was” in reference to Costello. We lost a great musician in Sean Costello when he passed away do to an accidental overdose. It was after Costello’s sudden death in April 2008, that his family publicly shared that he had been suffering from Bipolar disorder. Sean’s music lives on, and thanks to his family a great organization spreads much needed awareness on the topic of Bipolar disorder. We here at FreshScouts ask that you check out The Sean Costello Memorial Fund for Bipolar Research. An eye opening statistic from the site points out that “Bipolar disorder affects more than 2 million Americans - about 3 out of every 100 adults.” Enjoy Costello’s music and do what you can to educate yourself and those around you.
KC’s Personal Picks: “Hard Luck Woman”, “Told Me A Lie” and “Going Home”
Check out Costello’s 2007 live version of “Told Me A Lie”
We Can Get Together
