(I couldn't find pictures of Girl Talk or Super Mash Bros at Vanderbilt, so google images sufficed)
Girl Talk never ceases to amaze me. His unbelievable CDs and full length tracks seem to be forever surviving over the years, so think about that as I declare that his CDs fall short of his live performances. His live performances are just unreal. He played very little of his mixes from Night Ripper or Feed the Animals; when he did play one of the mixes, they were not only his best ones (Tiny Dancer vs. Juicy), but they were mashed differently. Different speeds, different repetitions, different additions, everything about Girl Talk's live mixes is different. He addresses the crowd with emotion and ecstasy (the crowd probably had both the drug and the emotion), and he gets the crowd involved. Often, but not often enough to be played out, he would drop all instrumentals from his mash so the crowd could be heard singing just as loud as the bare vocals. As usual, mayhem ensued on stage, with everyone sweating and dancing harder than they ever had before. We managed to snag a few on stage passes, but not enough for our group, so we were spectators from the crowd this time. But it didn't matter. Not only did Girl Talk play those old school beats and songs we love so much, but he kept things fresh as well, playing the most recent songs mashed with something that turned a normally lackluster cliche song (Ice Cream Paint Job) into a crazy sing a long that rocked harder than the original. Greg Gillis's creates as much excitement as any live band would, and it's easily my favorite live performer and favorite atmosphere to be part of.
The Super Mash Bros show was the night after Girl Talk. They had a lot to live up to if they wanted to come anywhere close to Girl Talk's performance. Their mixtapes have come pretty close to Girl Talk's level, if not on the same level, so I was expecting big things. It's probably these high expectations that led me to a huge let down. In Super Mash Bros' defense, they were performing at a fraternity. Girl Talk had performed through a school function, in a gymnasium type deal, lots of space and lots of quality sound. Playing a fraternity wouldn't be a huge deal if the fraternity knew how to handle a crowd and more importantly, a sound system. Performing on what seemed to be two speakers (probably suitable for indoor party of 100 people at most) and a sub, it probably could've have been foreseen that blown speakers and shitty sound quality would affect the performance. I'm hesitant to use the word performance when talking about the Super Mash Bros. show. We've actually all put on a Super Mash Bros show on our own. It's easy. You just push play on your iTunes and listen to their mixtapes. Bringing nothing new to the table, the two bros quite literally played their mixtapes straight through, occasionally switching the order of their tracks. The only live part of their beginning performance was the two mixing one of their own tracks into the other, so there wouldn't be as much of a stop. After they played their mixtapes through (abruptly stopped midway, more than once, due to sound problems), they stayed and played a hit-or-miss live DJ set, filled with some pretty awesome mixes, but for the most part, pretty bad transitions. I do applaud them on their music choice for their live set, but there's more than just music choice during a live set. Regardless of all these things, we still had a pretty good time at Super Mash, it was a good time for sure. I still have mad respect for the work Super Mash Bros put into their mixtapes and I don't hesitate to call those mixtapes near Girl Talk's level. But as far as live performances go? Psh.
Props to Marissa and Rachel for hooking up me and my friends all weekend with a great time.
Anyway, you're bored from reading now (cause you totally just read all that), and you want some music. Let's do it.
The Outfield - Your Love (Discotech Remix)
Played this at my gig here, the place went apeshit, this remix makes an already-fun song even more dancy.
Phoenix Jukebox - Mitas Touch
Remember these guys? Just started getting them back on my iTunes rotation recently. Girl Talk, Super Mash, Phoenix Jukebox, I don't know anyone else on that level as far as creating CDs/mixtapes go. Get their CD, Grand Circus.
Blänk - My Own Two Feet
Blänk - Juicy (Notorious B.I.G. cover)
Yup, the guys who brought you the perennial favorite "Shirt Off." You may not like the Juicy cover, but think about it like this. These guys are from Sweden, and this song has reached them and affected them that they recreated it, putting their own twist on it. They're well established in America now, but it's cool to think about.
My drop box is acting funny, so instead of linking them individually, I have to link the media homepage of my drop box. So grab those tracks here.
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