Greg Gillis, a.k.a. mashup maestro Girl Talk, has tapped into pop culture's celebration of itself with his new album, a free download released on his website two weeks ago. With 372 mixed-and-matched samples of other people's music, All Day is rekindling the debate about whether a sonic snippet can be considered an instrument. If the answer is yes, Gillis has assembled a postmodern symphony of familiar scraps, ranging from bits of Fugazi's "Waiting Room" to hints of Master P's "Rock It."
The 12-track album begins with 2Pac's "How Do U Want It" bumping and grinding with Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" and Jay-Z's "99 Problems." Over the next 70 minutes, Peter Gabriel tangos with Foxy Brown, Ol' Dirty Bastard razzes Radiohead and N.E.R.D. turns Bruce Springsteen into an up-and-coming, albeit fake, club artist. Turn off the urge to name the ingredients and consume this treat in one gulp to achieve the ultimate nostalgic sugar high.
