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”
So we haven’t posted anything super hardcore in a while. I’m talking about the type of stuff that makes you feel like you just got punched in the face by pure awesome. The kind of music that makes you run faster and jump higher. The stuff that was made by the business end of a kick-ass stick. Well guess what? You’ve just been served. 10 Years has that kick-ass stick.
Figure 1.1
Their new release Feeding the Wolves not only has a manly name, but a manly album cover (see Figure 1.1). Historically I’ve found that if an album has an awesome cover, an awesome name and an awesome artist behind it, you are destined to have something worth its weight in gold. Don’t believe me? Tell that to Michael Jackson’s Thriller or Guns N Roses’ Appetite for Destruction. Yeah, I didn’t think so.
The entire album is a hard-hitting mix of heavy guitar and steel-laden vocals to match. The tracks rarely miss a beat, taking breaks only to show their softer side with powerful ballads (that are not-so-much ballads, I just can’t think of another word to describe them.)
10 Years is currently on the tail-end of the Carnival of Madness tour with the likes of Shinedown, Chevelle, Sevendust, and Puddle of Mudd. But not to worry, they will be headed back out on the road with numerous upcoming tour dates to support the release of their new album.
Buy Feed the Wolves:
I find it hard to remember to wash my laundry once a week. In 2008, New York singer-songwriter Ari Hest took on the daunting task of releasing a new song each week for 52 weeks straight. The year ended for him with an amazing new album and an abundance of great music. The year ended for me with a lot of not-so-amazing dirty laundry and a lack of people wanting to stand next to me. Ari Hest may have won this battle but at least my falsetto is higher than his. Oh wait, he’s got me there too.
Ari Hest
I had the pleasure of first meeting Hest back in early 2002 when he was heavily touring clubs and colleges in support of his album Come Home. Over the years I have made it a point to see him live every time he passed through the area. Hest is one of those special performers that you invest in. You dedicate your time, money and energy into his work because the music that is produced seems like it was crafted just for you. His song writing is reflective and emotive. His vocals are warm and distinctive. And make sure you hang on to your lid because he controls his vocal range like only a few can. One minute you are following his deep voice as if he were the pied piper. The next minute he is blasting you through the rafters with a falsetto that would make even the hardest thug shed a tear. Simply put, Hest is a dynamic musician that continues to hone his craft year after year.
A few years ago a life long dream of signing with a major record label came true for Hest. A lot of good came out of that partnership but what it really did was emphasize for Hest how important it is to have complete control over your music. A peaceful divorce from his label gave way to a artistic project that had people raising their eyebrows. The task was straight forward. Release a new song each week for a year for fans to enjoy. Do this for a year and at the end there would be a collection of 52 songs. The journey no doubt had it ups and downs but a loyal fan base (yours truly included) went along for the ride. The musical experiment allowed fans to provide immediate feedback, suggest titles for songs and offer their two cents. The end of the journey became the start of a new one with the creation of Twelve Mondays as an independent release. Hest took fan feedback and narrowed down the 52 tracks to the 12 that you see on the album.
Twelve Mondays is a great representation of Ari Hest’s artistry. I personally recommend you lend an ear to “One Two”, “Binoculars”, “I’ll Be There”, and “Dead End Driving”. Check out Hest’s web site to explore his music catalogue and find out when you can catch him live.
Ari Hest’s video for “Dead End Driving”
Below Ari Hest describes his “52″ project
Amazon
iTunes
Like Ari Hest? Check out Ray LaMontagne!
As a kid, if someone brought up “girl talk” in a conversation, I’d immediately teleport back to my youth–to thoughts of sleepovers and pillow fights and lovely young ladies chatting about how cute I am. Okay, so I still have those thoughts as an adult, but now Girl Talk has taken on so much more thanks to creative musical juggernaut Gregg Gillis.
I am going to share something personal with you. I struggle at times with my attention span. I often spin through the radio dial listening to songs one verse at a time before switching to something else. While working on a project if a light shines across my desk I drift off and
Girl Talk’s Feed the Animals is perfect if you are in the mood for over 300 songs mashed up in a giant musical blender. You like your Jay-Z sprinkled with some Sinead O’Connor? Enjoy a little Avril Lavigne accompanied by a side of the Wu-Tang Clan? Have a hankerin’ for a Radiohead-Michael Jackson-Roy Orbison-Justin Timberlake-Megadeth-AC/DC-Kelly Clarkson-flavored Musical smoothie? Then Feed the Animals. It’s really okay.
If you are a person that gets grossed out at the thought of mixing your peas with your mashed potatoes, I feel your pain. However, if you’re looking to get pumped for a night out on the town or want a party mix at your next shindig you can’t go wrong with the mad genius of Girl Talk. Hip-Hop serves as a backbone through all of the tracks, which means the naughty words flow like an eternal spring. With that in mind I would discourage breaking the album out at your next church lock-in. But that depends on the awesomeness of the church.
Feed the Animals is the forth album from Girl Talk, so there is plenty to check out when you find yourself wanting more. Go forth and rock this album. Cruise around town with your windows down, all the while blowing out your factory speakers.
More of a visual person? Check out a video collage of Girl Talk’s “In Step.”
If you want to party like a rock star, check out the album below…if you can handle it. You probably can’t handle it though.
Amazon Music
lala Music
