Thursday 10 September 2009

Desegregation of Music

If you've read my blogs on music, you know I don't like things along the lines of hip hop or rap. I grew up with music of a very different sort, and for a long time didn't even consider it "music", let alone music of quality.

Which is why when I first decided to give the artist Girl Talk a try, I immediately rejected it. All I heard, at first, was rap, or hip hop, or whatever kind of music other people listen to on popular radio. This was a big turn off, and I gave up on it.

Upon arriving at SUNY Albany, we learned that this fall's musical guests are Reel Big Fish (!!!) and Girl Talk. Of course, I had to give them another try. My music tastes have changed quite a bit in the last few months as well, as I've been listening to a lot of electronica (justice!) and even some techno (basshunter).

I made a horrible mistake when casting Girl Talk aside. Girl Talk is not a girl rock band (which would have been badass) but one guy, mixing up different songs he did not create himself. The result is mashing old and new, different styles together, to make unlikely but pleasant combinations. The song, "Set It Off" for example, consists of, among others:
  • Rihanna feat. Jay-Z's "Umbrella"
  • Radiohead's "Paranoid android"
  • Mary J. Blige's "Real Love"
  • The Guess Who's "These Eyes"
  • Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotion"
  • DJ Kool's "Let Me Clear My Throat"
  • The Spinner's "The Rubberband Man"
  • Dexy's Midnight Runner's "Come On Eileen"
  • Bubba Sparxxx's "Heat it Up"
  • Rare Earth "I just want to Celebrate"
Mixing up things I would normally despise with songs I love (Come on Eileen!) make genres I don't care for much easier to swallow. Girl Talk creates an excitement in listening to his music; you can't wait to hear what comes next, and when it's something you like, it's like getting something you wanted but didn't ask for on Christmas morning.

A few weeks ago I was at a Weezer concert and out of the blue, heard MGMT's "Kids", one of my favorites, go into "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga - a song I normally don't care for. Strangely enough, the two songs fit together so well, you would have thought they were one. Indie rock and mainstream pop came together and it was unexpectedly amazing. Girl Talk stands for an incredible appreciation for music as a whole, not favoring one genre over another. No need to discriminate, because when you're listening to Girl Talk, Metallica, The Carpenters, and Souljaboy are all the same anyway.

Check out Girl Talk over there!! <----

2 comments:

Joe Mignano said...

Molly, honestly, I'm down like the economy.

Molly Kate said...

joe... what are you saying. haha