Inexplicable Music Review: Girl Talk and the human response.

I have a deep, deep problem - A crippling addiction to Girl Talk. By that, I don't mean I love chatting with women about their day and what not. (I mean, that can be OK from time to time; I'm not some Neanderthal.) Rather, I mean the musical artist, a "band" that consists of one guy remixing and mashing-up songs.

My latest find was the above video on YouTube, which painstakingly culls music video and live performance clips from the dozens of bands that make up a single track. It must have taken the creator hours to do - he only did four of the tracks as a result. The end of this track, with Metallica mixed with Lil Mama, is especially good. The quick cuts between the ridiculous heavy guitar music and the rapping is incredible, as are the transitions at the start and the end of the sequence. There are some other people doing the same thing on YouTube, although I find the other efforts to not be as well done.

My problem with Girl Talk is the same one I have with ice cream cakes - It's so much of a good thing that it is hard to transition back to "normal" music. Once you hear Metallica with Lil Mama, you think to yourself, "Well Ride The Lightening is good, but it sure would be better with some crappy rapping mixed in. Imma go listen to Girl Talk instead..."

The issue works in opposite as well. Because he uses so many unusual samples (and by unusual, I mean bad pop music), I find myself humming along to some horrible music now. The best example on Feed The Animals is probably "Girlfriend" by Avril, which is used to great effect on a track. But now, whenever it comes on, I must say that I'm supremely interested in it. Sigh. Damn you, Girl Talk!

Inexplicable Music Review: The Ting Tings, perfect for summer consumption.

I've previously established that I don't have much musical taste, between what I consider "cool" music and because I'm a 26-year-old guy that likes Ke$ha. (So sue me! There is just something so raw and filthy about her that somehow also makes her attractive. I can't properly explain it.)

Anyway, one band I'm into that is perfect for summer consumption remains The Ting Tings. You've probably heard a lot of them recently - The above music video for "Great DJ" is used in at least one commercial, for some Garner Fruitis shampoo, and it is frequently used as bumper music for shows. (You can thank me later for finally identifying it for you.)

Basically, I'm very much into accessible, listenable techno, and The Ting Tings seem to be the latest permutation of it. This genre started with some of the 1980s hip-hop beats, and gave way to early to late 1990s "big beat" techno like The Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim. The audience for both bands eventually decayed, but acts like Daft Punk still remain pretty popular. Now, I think you can clearly hear that techno kind of influence in the drums of The Ting Tings and the production value of most Kanye songs.

There are a couple other factors that certainly help The Ting Tings' success:

- The female vocalist, Katie White, is cute as heck. She's clearly hot, but she is jussttt a bit thick and chesty, which makes her seem more "normal" than most pop sensations like Katy Perry. Sure, she styles her hair over her eyes like she is a bit emo, but her hair is gorgeous and in general, she looks pouty and dreamy. I've joked in the past that I'd like to marry her, since she's roughly my age, and I'm only half kidding. (Watch, someone will produce a picture of her smoking, like they did with Piper Perabo, and totally kill my dreams.)

- All of their music videos are pretty solid. As my friend Michael noted about the one up there, it probably cost about $100 to make. It's just them making the same dance move throughout the video as the colors throb behind them. However, because it's so simple, and because the music and lyrics seems to sync with the video, I'm a big fan. There isn't a lot of innovation going on in music videos today, as most bands are content to just be filmed singing, so I like anything off the beaten path.

Similarly, the band's other videos are examples of this minimalist but neat, eye-catching style:


- I don't think The Ting Tings take themselves too seriously, which is important in my book. Like the DJ behind Girl Talk, they just seem content to make some good, catchy music. They're also fine doing goofy stuff, like singing the "Happy Birthday" song on Yo Gabba Gabba. This adds to my impression that Katie White is a sweet girl I can take home, as opposed to a nasty sex freak. (That's what Ke$ha is there for, anyway.)

- This final reason is kind of silly, but I like that the male lead of The Ting Tings, Jules De Martino, looks like one of my favorite wrestlers, Christian Cage. Good for them both! I also have no idea if Jules is straight or gay, but hey, whatever makes him happy and producing hit records make me happy.