New Girl Talk Album!!

This is going to be the most excited I get about a new album pretty much ever at this point, so bear with me -- this post is kind of crazy (not to mention the obsessive collage element on the left -- you know when something seems like a good idea, and then once you realize it's not you've already spent too long on it to stop?).

Anyway. So, what is it with me and guys who like to strip down to their undies and dance around? No, seriously, stop what you're doing and go get this album right now. Yes. Girl Talk. Album number dos. You know I loved the first album, and trust me, the second is just as good. [Note: So this totally is like, album number quatro or something like that. What can I say? If you've ever read this before, you know I'm intensely out of touch with new music -- if it was made after 1995 or so, I'm gonna be shaky, and if it was made after 2000, forget it. Anyway good news for me really, more to listen to.] If this kind of pastiche is what postmodernism is all about, I'm all for it. Give me some Girl Talk, some Takashi Murakami, some Frederic Jameson, and I'm good to go.

So I was going to blog my first listen to the new Girl Talk album. However, I quickly became totally overexcited and overstimulated and couldn't fathom typing while taking it all in for the first time. Now, however, I am going to take it all in for the second time -- and blog my reactions to it as I go. Get ready for a lot of "omg" people!

Track 1 - "Play Your Part (Part 1)" To warn you now: I'm really good at recognizing everything but recent hip-hop, so bear with me. So the album kicks off with the backing from "Gimme Some Lovin,'" which is completely genius -- really intense buildup... eventually transitioning into the keyboard from Pete Townhsend's "Let My Love Open the Door" which gets combined with that "Walk It Out" song. It's a little slow but totally pretty. Ahhhh! And little bits of "I Want Candy" (the Bow Wow Wow version) seem to keep almost sneaking in -- though that drum could also be "We're Not Gonna Take It." OMG! It is! Twisted Sister!!!! Finally, someone has recognized how obviously great the drumming at the beginning of that song is.

Now he's mixing "What's Your Fantasy" with "Hunger Strike" (yes, Temple of the Dog) and something by Baby from Cash Money. I'm gonna start freaking out completely soon. On my first listen, I thought the first track was kind of weak -- what was I thinking? Now it's "Nothing Compares 2 U" with some guy rapping about being a crack addict (that "what you know about that" song -- these are totally all songs I've heard in other people's cars).

Track 2 - "Shut the Club Down" Rap I don't recognize plus Avril Lavigne ("Girlfriend"), cut and chopped enough to be almost unrecognizable at first -- plus what sounds like a hint of "Mickey." Now it's "Throw Some D's" (the original one, not the Kanye) with I want to say Moby -- it's an album I know I owned in college. Ahhh!! It's that Jagged Edge song... "Where the Party At." That was such an annoying summer song. AHHHH!!! It's "Young Turks" by Rod Stewart mixed with "Maniac" by Michael Sembello!!!!! "Young Turks" is truly a stroke of genius -- it's mostly the keyboards and "oooh-oooh." He also seems to be doing more with distortion on this album -- the occasional reallllly recognizable thing but almost skrewed.

Track 3 - "Still Here" So it seems that like my mom, Girl Talk really likes the soundtrack from The Big Chill, since this track has a heaping helping of "A Whiter Shade of Pale," which is an amusing contrast with some really aggressive rap. Ahhh! "No Diggity!" That was actually a great song -- and it almost works with "Flashing Lights" -- but not quite, I'd say. Whoa -- more Big Chill -- a totally weird, Alvin and the Chipmunks-sounding chunk of "The Weight" by The Band studded with "Jump Around." This is actually probably one of my least favorite tracks on the album -- it's a bit draggier than the rest. Though the Ace of Base ("All That She Wants") really works as a beat, which is kind of strange. I will say though it gets best at the end -- "London Bridge" and "Footloose" (we all know how I feel about Kenny Loggins), a smidgin of Salt N Pepa ("Whatta Man"), then "So Whatcha Want" and that oddly infectious "I Get Money" song.

Track 4 - "What It's All About" "London Bridge" again, with more "So Whatcha Want" (I will say, this is making me want this song again) then -- completely brilliant sample alert -- just the drum part everyone knows from Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight" (we all know how I feel about Miami Vice). Then this track gets a little bla -- a long mashup of Busta Rhymes with a slightly sped up "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic." I will say though, I love putting Ini Kamoze ("Hotstepper" -- don't pretend you don't remember it) right next to the original "Land of 1,000 Dances" even if "Whoo-Ha! (I Got You All In Check)" doesn't really fit.

I feel like in this track it's all about the stuff that only appears for two seconds -- like that weird guitar twang from the beginning of the Fugees' version of "Killing Me Softly" which makes an oddly perfect transition into Faith No More's "Epic" (can I mention that's a great song? And I wish my hair had the body and shine of Mike Patton's?). Throwing in "I Don't Want to Wait" (yes the Paula Cole theme to Dawson's Creek) is also a ballsy move, but then the section with "C.R.E.A.M." kind of goes on for too long. There are those "I Want Candy" drums again, and "Ms. Jackson" -- but then it's a way too long sample of "ABC" backed with beatboxing I almost recognize and "Bohemian Rhapsody." I don't know, this track goes on way too long. I'm gonna say it's this track and the one before it that got me a little nervous on my first listen. But give it time, my friends.

Track 5 - "Set It Off" I don't recognize a lot at the beginning of this -- just Jay-Z. I'm also pretty sure there's a tiny bit of Hole in there, and then definitely Mary J. Blige ("Real Love"). I feel like an idiot that I'm not recognizing what it's mixed with. Now it's the track that gave this it's title with "The Message." Man, I've got nothing on this one -- now it's DJ Kool and Dexy's Midnight Runners, which is again, sort of weird for me. Then more Big Chill! "In the Midnight Hour."

Track 6 - "No Pause" Okay, "Work It" (Missy Elliot) and Faith Evans ("Love Like This") plus just a little bit of "Genius of Love" -- now we're talking. And it transitions into Nu Shooz "I Can't Wait" -- why doesn't every DJ on earth use that record? OMG. Then Public Enemy and Heart. Heart. "Rebel Without a Pause" and "Magic Man." And then that "Steal My Sunshine" song -- I'd be lying if I said I didn't kind of like that song (though I think it's mostly that I like the break in "More, More, More"). There's a transition it's killing me I don't get, and then "I Want You to Want Me." Then either "Take Me to the Mardi Gras" or "Peter Piper" -- and "Purple Haze." Do you see how pastiche = amazing? (Also important -- somehow pastiche = not infringing on copyright.)

Track 7 - "Like This" "Mama Said Knock You Out" and Soul II Soul -- ugh it kills me I can't figure out these snippets of synthesizer drums. And the song that comes next mixed with "Body Moving" -- frustrating yes, but in some ways almost better (since I do keep complaining when I feel like he slows down and sticks with one thing). The thing I like about this song is it just keeps adding -- everything keeps recurring and adding on, so you start getting "What It Is," "Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo," and all kinds of other stuff added in, but the Beastie Boys and "Back to Life" keep popping back in. Unfortunately then there is a really overlong bit of "Ghetto Superstar." But he redeems himself with that "Like This" song, "Tambourine," "Upside Down," and "Nasty." And then -- "Superstar" by the Carpenters! Who recommended this track to you last month? You're welcome.

And then -- this is the point on first listen where my mind got officially blown -- "Lip Gloss" with the solo from "One" by Metallica. This is amazing. It takes the best part of "One" -- the simulated machine guns of the solo -- and uses it to bring out what I would argue is the inherently menacing tone in "Lip Gloss." I could listen to just that thirty or so seconds all day long.

Track 8 - "Give Me a Beat" Then we get lots of distorted Styx ("Renegade"). The title comes from "Nasty" -- another great one-line sample. There's a lot I'm missing in this, because my brain is still stuck on Lil' Mama/Metallica. But not stuck enough to miss the sped-up "It's Too Late" (Carole King) in the background -- apparently many of the albums in my mom's car went into the making of this album. The first genius moment of this track comes with a tiny snippet of "Gimme More" mixed with "Sexy Boy" and I think some Ludacris and the beginnings of "Kiss Them for Me" and "Got To Be Real." But the high point is just the soaring vocals and guitar at the end of Tom Petty's "American Girl" mixed with some serious booty rap -- he's really good at excising the best part of a track, and almost completely inverting it, meaning-wise. Or creating a really intense contrast -- ahem, pomo! Anyway, we get just the little guitar flourish from Prince's "Kiss" before a big ol' chunk of Ice Cube's "Amerikkka's Most Wanted."

Track 9 - "Hands in the Air" It is amazing how well "In a Big Country" works with "Whoomp! There It Is." It makes the Tag Team sound almost inspirational -- and makes me not complain even though that goes on for basically a minute before transitioning into "Planet Rock" and "Love Fool." Man I love "Planet Rock" -- speaking of knowing how to take the best part of a song, it blows "Trans-Europe Express" out of the water. Ugh though can I mention how much I hate that stupid "Apple Bottom Jeans, boot with the fur" song? So much. There's a bunch of rap in this song I don't recognize, but I do think I hear Daft Punk -- and "The Way You Make Me Feel." There's a big chunk of an R&B song I don't recognize, then "Free Ride."

Track 10 - "In Step" A rap song I don't recognize, plus Roy Orbison ("You Got It") -- it is kind of weird how he only really does distortion on the older songs. Oh wait! That's "Push It"!! Plus Deee-Lite and Nirvana. "Groove Is In the Heart," "Lithium," and Salt N Pepa go together amazingly well for the record. This is also reminding me that Nevermind is a really good album. A tiny bit of I think the Gap Band ("You Dropped a Bomb On Me") goes into the truly despicable Ludacris rap from "Glamorous" mixed with "September" by Earth, Wind, and Fire. "Party on -- or take your broke ass home!" OMG -- and the heavy breathing? That's "Egypt Egypt"! Who told you to listen to that song a month ago? Exactly. Then "God Only Knows" -- which to be honest goes down kind of weird.

Track 11 - "Let Me See You" Yes! Here we go! "Bad Girls," "The Sweet Escape," "Word Up," and a whole bunch of other stuff in a giant pile-up that leads into "I'ma Flirt" and some awful 90s dance song that's on the tip of my tongue. A really quick "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" goes into a mix of two amazing songs -- "Gypsy" (Fleetwood Mac) and "Wild Thing" (Tone Loc) plus a Lil' Kim vocal. Can I mention here also the drum in "Wild Thing" is Van Halen's "Jamie's Cryin'"? One of my all-time favorite samples thus comes from one of my all-time favorite songs. Then Rick Ross' "Hustlin'" with "Rebel Rebel" (the latter again heavily distorted). This goes right into 2 Live Crew -- hmmm I definitely know at least one person who'll like this track -- mixed with M.I.A. (I think "Bamboo Banga" but I can't remember the titles on that album that well), which then becomes the vocal on... The Cranberries. Proving there is plenty of music from the 90s I have zero nostalgia for.

Track 12 - "Here's the Thing" Omg. It's "The Train." Rather, it's "Come On N Ride It (The Train)." Yes, the Quad City DJs. I should recognize the song it's with, but I can't quite get it -- I think it's Steely Dan though. Then something else I'm not sure on, and more Egyptian Lover! Yes! Mixed with "Since U Been Gone" and "March of the Pigs" -- wow, now I want to go listen to Nine Inch Nails. This is what hearing the best part of a zillion songs does to you. Ha! Yes! Now rap I don't recognize, but it's "Pump It Up" by Elvis Costello. If I ever made a teen movie, that song would be in it -- that's a decision I made when I was an actual teenager. Like a second of "Firestarter," loads of "Jessie's Girl," and a really filthy rap song -- but it works. "I wish that I had Jessie's girl / but I'd rather get some head."

Track 13 - "Don't Stop" The first thing I recognize in this is I think Orbital -- it's an album I had in college, for sure. And Megadeth!! Just a tiny bit of the bass from "Peace Sells" (aka the old "MTV News" music). I don't recognize much of the rap -- but it matters not when I'm listening to it layered over The Cure's "In-Between Days." Ughh... the inevitable Soulja Boy sample kills it for me a little bit. Though he tries so hard to redeem himself with Thin Lizzy's "Jailbreak" -- looping the soaring guitar and sirens is amazing.

Track 14 - "Play Your Part (Part 2)" Noes! Over already! But not before some more super-filthy rap with "Under the Bridge." OMG! And the guitar from "Thunderstruck" sped up almost beyond recognition. This whole album is so danceable, and I feel like the guitar and "whoa-oh-oh-oh" from "Faithfully" at the end is the perfect coda. It's total got-all-sweaty-at-the-concert-now-we're-making-out music. Love it!

[So speaking of heavily-anticipated follow-ups! Actually, it took me longer to read this than probably any other book in the series -- I really was not feeling the new characters until toward the end, when it picked up. I will say, I'd heard they were going to make them public schoolers, which seemed like a mistake (I'm sure I've said this before, but the whole private school milieu is one of the more well-drawn aspects of this series) and they didn't -- Constance Billard is back in session. So why such a hard read? For one, there are so many it's hard to keep them straight, since their main attributes (for all of them, male and female) are wealth, looks, and a general air of disaffection. But once I'd made it a ways through, I finally got it sorted out. Long story short: Baby = Serena, Avery = Blair, Owen = Nate, Rhys = Dan, Jack = the villain who they'll be BFFs with in a book or two, J.P. = Donald Trump, Jr., only good looking. Other long story short: No, I probably won't stop reading these. Even though I'm sort of spending my whole summer doing that, I somehow never seem to OD on YA, which is honestly more of a blessing than a curse given what I do. ]

Currently reading: Gossip Girl: The Carlyles ("created by Cecily von Ziegesar")