I would consider myself to be a fan of the “mashup” genre that has emerged over the past few years. When the new Girl Talk album came out a few days ago, I absolutely devoured it. I’ve loved Girl Talk ever since one of my advisors first turned me onto Night Ripper back in my freshman year of high school. 

First, some context as to why I suddendly felt a need to write this. Upon expressing my satisfaction and enjoyment of the new Girl Talk album via the magical webiste called Facebook, one of my friends posted this comment:

“I’m mostly just curious and want to hear people who really like girl talk and the concept of the mashup (or in this case, songs with handfuls of separate samples) defend it, because I’m finding it difficult as a writer to try and critique it past the level of it just being a parade of old songs presented in new ways”

So, good sir, allow me to use this outlet to express why the mashup is a legitimate genre, and can be critiqued as such. 

Let me start by partly agreeing with you: yes, mashups essentially are using handfuls of samples and they are designed to present old songs in new and interesting ways. Now, the mashup genre has had the unfortunate luck in that it is on a similar trajectory of what happened/is happeneing with Drum N’ Bass, Chillwave and Dubstep: People really dig a new sound; a few artists act as indicators, rather, heroes if you will, of the genre (think Burial, Washed Out, etc.); they make said genres indie famous; countless copycats emerge; and eventually the genre gets absolutely flooded with so many artists that it’s near impossible to find anything that’s as good as when the sound first emerged. Seriously, have you seen youtube? There are so many friggin’ amateur mashups out there its borderline crazy to sift through everything in order to find a quality track, unless you know exactly (and I mean EXACTLY) what you’re looking for. Because of this, many outsiders simply dismiss most, if not all, of the music that’s categorized as a “mashup”. I personally am guilty of this with dubstep; I rarely go out of my way to listen to most dubstep, simply because all I expect is a lot of WOMP WOMP WOMP and WUB WUB WUB. But then a band like Mount Kimbie comes along, changes my expectations, and next thing I know I suddenly find myself trying in vain to find more subdued dubstep. But I digress…

Within the mashup genre, there are artists who stand out amongst the amateurs; for example, there’s The Hood Internet, E-603, and White Panda are just a few examples (I know I didn’t mention Girl Talk, but don’t worry, I’ll get to him in just a minute). Overall, these guys create some pretty solid stuff. Every now and again they’ll create some track that goes above and beyond, but usually they’re catalog is filled with stuff that’s good, but not fantastic, and it certainly won’t convert any new followers. I would agree with my friend in that the majority of these songs are created simply to present old songs in a new context, and hell, maybe even throw a party and have a good time doing it. That’s all that these guys are trying to accomplish: go out, sing along with some songs you recognize, and have a good time. Frankly, I see nothing wrong with this. Unfortunately, this doesn’t quite address my friend’s intial inquiry. As such, I would like to present to you the Michael Phelps of mashups, the one and only Girl Talk. 

The man, the myth, the legend. 

Now, Girl Talk is in a league all his own. He’s proved this with his past few albums, All Day, Feed The Animals and Night Ripper. Where most artists simply throw together 2 songs to create a new one, Girl Talk crams countless samples and recognizable snippets into one song. Where other artists create tracks that are simply attention stunts by using that new song that just came out so they can cash in on it’s novelty, Girl Talk unabashedly and shamelessly creates a full album filled with nothing put pure pop bliss designed to be enjoyed like Pixie Sticks: Tear it open, pour the entire thing in your mouth, and ride the sugar high until you crash. Furthermore, the amount of attention, detail and effort Girl Talk puts into each of his albums is absolutely absurd. Take, for example, his most recent album All Day. First, for those of you who haven’t listed to it yet, I am about to divulge massive spoilers. You have been warned. Now, there are countless examples of how meticulous Mr. Greg Gillis is. To start, take Beyonce’s “Single Ladies”, where she sings about putting a ring on it, then cutting to M.O.P.’s track “Ante Up”, which is telling you to take off all your rings and jewlery. Or, as another example, Skee-Lo rapping about how he can get with his dream girl Leoshi, over the backing track of “Heart and Soul” by T’Pau, which is also about getting shut out of a relationship. Still not impressed? What about Young MC rapping about getting ladies attention with “Bust A Move” with none other than Kylie Minogue singing “Can’t Get You Out Of My Mind”? Or maybe Ludacris shouting “How Low” while being complimented by an excerpt from the Phoenix cut “1901” where Thomas Mars is singing out “falling!” repeatedly? I think you get the idea. 

However, more than anything else, Girl Talk is in tune to something greater than simply finding songs that complement each other shockingly well: emotions. 

If I may cite the Pitchfork review of Girl Talk’s Feed The Animals, Gillis says that “The whole basis of the music is that people have these emotional attachments to these songs,” and that “Being able to manipulate that is a really easy way to connect with people.” This emotional attachment is crucial to realizing that the mashup genre can be more than simply recontextualizing and juxtaposing different songs. Think back to the first time that you heard Simon and Garfunkel’s song “Cecilia”. Remember all those good, clean and pleasant times you’ve had with your family while listening to that? Now, think about Lil’ John’s hit track “Get Low”. Remember all those sweaty parties that you were at and all those salacious things that happened? Now put both of those feelings together. Conflicted? Liberated? Hilarious? Holding back unbridled joy? Confusing? Oddly enjoyable? All of the above? Well, if you felt any sort of emotion, then you have basically understood the essence and purpose of Girl Talk. The point here is that Girl Talk utilizes this nostalgia attached to each song, and by putting the two (or three, or more) songs together, he creates a completely new emotional experience. 

So for those of you who are impatient and didn’t feel like sifting through that massive wall of text, here’s a nice summary: Yes, mashups are essentially hadnfulls of samples that are designed to present old songs in a new light. However, there is a noticable difference in quality with songs and artists within the mashup genre. There are those who simply create mashups for the novelty factor, those who create party music, those who create mashups as soon as a song is realased as an attention grab, and finally those who put more effort into the creative process. But the saving grace for mashups can more or less be summed up in one word: nostalgia. The power of emotions attached with particular songs can be very powerful, and only the best of the best mashup artists know how to make use of and capitalize on this. So while on the surface mashups may seem to be only reworking and recontextualizing old songs, it’s this emotional connection that differentiates between an lame, attention whoreing mashup and a mashup that is a work of art.