Girl Talk Can Throw A Party

     This Monday, we took a trip to Baltimore to check out electro artist Girl Talk at Rams Head Live, which is a terrific venue just blocks away from the inner harbor. Girl Talk is one of the most innovative and controversial artist in music today. On first listen, its not hard to see why.
     Girl Talk, aka Gregg Gillis, uses samples from popular songs of the last 50 years to create party anthems that present some of your favorite songs in a new context. On his albums, it may be Lil Mama rapping over Metallica riffs. On stage, however, he drops samples from left field to constantly keep the audience guessing, like Wu-Tang Clan over Radiohead's "Creep."
     The controversial part, for sure, is the flagrant disregard of copyright law. Of course, he is not the first artist to sample. Sampling started over 30 years ago, when early rappers began looping disco beats and dropping rhymes. Several years ago, DJ Danger Mouse lifted vocals from Jay-Z's Black Album, and put them over melodies from the Beatles White Album to create The Grey Album. It was generally greeted with critical acclaim, and Jay-Z has even given the album his blessing, despite not receiving any royalties. Girl Talk says that he is using an exception under the fair use doctrine of copyright law, which, conveniently, is one of the most confusing and ill-defined areas of law. What is really going on, though, could be that Gillis samples songs that everybody knows, and artist that are more successful than he.
     For a better understanding of his position, and the problems with copyright law in the 21st century, there is the documentary film Good Copy Bad Copy.
     The concert was fun for all. If you like classic rock, you were immediately satisfied, as the intro to the first song was from "War Pigs" by Black Sabbath. He sampled 60's soul, and 90's alternative, and even used Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone." It has been some time since Girl Talk first played Baltimore, and his shows have gotten bigger and better. Balloons, confetti and a giant video screen added to the sense of chaos and pandemonium. Girl Talk is highly recommended for anyone who likes dance music, and probably most that don't. Hearing unexpected clips of old favs juxtaposed against different genres will give you a new appreciation for those songs, and probably others you didn't know you liked.
     Lastly, we would be remiss not to mention the opening band. Penguin Prison are a NYC based electro band, combining 80's style new wave and more contemporary indie funk. The result was a pleasant surprise, and got the whole crowd ready to dance. Penguin Prison are a new band, but one with a huge potential upside. Opening for Girl Talk will certainly provide them with a ton of new fans.
     So, if you ever have a chance to see Girl Talk, go for it. Keep an eye on Penguin Prison. And find any reason to visit Baltimore's Inner Harbor and see a great band at Rams Head!