Results tagged “feedtheanimals”

Yup, here it is, the inevitable "Best of 2008" music list (a later post centering on the top local offerings is forthcoming). In order to spare our readers the pain of reading through yet another list that tries too hard to impress with obscure releases or toe the party line on Stereogum / Pitchfork approved artists, we continue our personal decade-plus tradition of merely listing what we actually liked in 2008. That means that the albums below are the one we kept finding ourselves turning to when we wanted to kick back and enjoy some tunes. Sure, there was more artistically challenging stuff released this year than some of the selections below -- and we certainly do appreciate that sort of thing -- but our year end list reflects which music ultimately did for us what we think rock and/or roll is ultimately meant to do to any listener: it grabbed us by the heart and/or crotch and wouldn't let go.

Radiohead Shmaediohead. If there’s one act we’re pumped to see at Lollapalooza this year, it’s the sweatfest dance party stylings of Pittsburgh mash-up artist Gregg “Girl Talk” Gillis. Riding high on the recent release of Feed the Animals, Girl Talk takes the stage in Grant Park on Sunday for a live sample-based set certain to spark a raucous party and rip the festival a new one. Unlike the Debbie Downers crying copyright lawsuit, we see a bright future for this mash-up maven, who has single-handedly elevated our standards of what it means to have a good time at a show. In anticipation of the Lolla madness, we rapped a little with Gillis over email to get some insight into what it’s like to be the ringmaster at the center of the Girl Talk circus.

How appropriate, the day that Chicago's supreme mash-up duo has a record release party is the same day Gregg Gillis decided to drop the new Girl Talk album, Feed The Animals. For free. (Or pay what you can.) It's largely the same set of tunes he used to whip the crowd into a frenzy at last year's Pitchfork Music Festival, so there are no real surprises, but it is a supremely solid piece of work. Our personal favorite "what the heck?!" sample moment occurs early on when Aphex Twin pops up in "Shut The Club Down."