Girl Talk's 2008 album "Feed the Animals"

I’m excluding Girl Talk from this because he is clearly number one, and the reason most of these artists even exist. When his third album “Night Ripper” was released in 2006, it set the standard for mash-ups and inspired a million imitators. At the time it was released, it was groundbreaking to say the least. Mash-ups weren’t new, however they were never done like this before. One look at the wiki page for the album which painstakingly chronicles the samples used in every song, its clear mash-ups had never been done on this grand, a.d.d riddled fashion before. Music nerds love it because they love nitpicking the samples, and kids love it cause you can dance your ass off to it. And his last album Feed the Animals expanded on the formula and improved on it to the point where even mags like Rolling Stone couldn’t ignore what he was doing as anything other than genius. You can download both of his albums as a “pay what you want” deal here. Now onto artists that have benefited from GT’s genius and success and have done their own creative spin on it.

8. Legion of Doom http://www.myspace.com/tlod

Legion of Doom are slightly different than most of the list in the sense that they don’t have the same spastic style as Girl Talk and have a more traditional “this mixed with this” format. What sets them apart from the pack though is their source material. They normally mash-up one rock song with another rock song, usually in the emo/screamo/punk/indie hip hop genre. I’m not really a fan of those genre’s, but what they do with the songs is mindbending and makes normally unlistenable songs spectacular. Their album “Incorporated” is nothing sort of awesome. Stand out tracks are “Hands Down Ghandi” which mashes up hip hopper Sage Francis with emo darlings Dashboard Confessional and “Destroy All Vampires” which takes from A Static Lullaby and My Chemical Romance whilst adding in a new element in the form of rapper Triune, whom they collaborated with on their newest, “Vs. Triune”. Here’s a link to download “Incorporated” Best Moment Hand’s Down Ghandi. Somehow it works perfectly and Sage’s political rapping and Dashboard’s melodic style just fit.

7. Ludachrist http://www.myspace.com/worshipludachrist

Ludachrist is an odd duck to put it mildly. He definitely comes from the old school of more traditional mash-ups, but has seemed to adapt to the times by making a more spastic, stream of conscious album with his latest “Bangfest”. It’s unique in the sense that he takes less obvious samples(Ghostbusters theme, movie quotes, Snoop Dogg’s DEEZ NUUUUTZ skit), unlike most Girl Talk imitators. It isn’t for everyone, but anyone that’s a fan of the craft will very much appreciate his creativity. Bangfest mega mix link Best Moment From the 3:00 minute mark to about the 5:20 mark. Makes you wanna fight someone.

6. Easter Egg http://www.myspace.com/eastereggmusic

As the newest artist on this list, Easter Egg has made a very good first impression. His debut “Jackin’ for Beats” has its faults, but they are few are far in between. For the most part, his mash-ups work and the thing I like the most about his album, is that he doesn’t seem to be blatantly ripping off Girl Talk. He definitely took his style, however he takes samples that Girl Talk hasn’t used(yet), which is something I can’t say for some of the other artists on this list. Also as the newest artist, he has the benefit of having the freshest/newest songs, which is good, because I can only listen to the same Cassidy “Drink and My Two Step” sample so many times before I would like these guys to do something, well, more original. Jackin’ for Beats link Best Moment You Don’t Know, particularly the moment where Deltron is mashed up with Clipse’s Grinding beat.

5. The Hood Internet http://www.myspace.com/therealhoodinternet

The Hood Internet are fucking dope. They have something for everyone, and they put out albums very regularly. They, much like Legion of Doom, are more traditional in their mash-up styles. Their albums usually follow a theme, for example their “Vs. Chicago” album takes rock/indie bands and mashes them up with chicago MCs. I’m a huge fan of their first mixtape(link to dl here). Their blend of Rick Ross’s “Push it to the Limit” and CSS’s “Alala” is catchy, thumping, and infectious. Best Moment Push it to the Alalalimit

4. TRVSDJAM http://www.myspace.com/trvsdjam

No mash-up list would be complete without mentioning the late DJ AM and Travis Barkers foray into the world of mash-ups. Their “Fix Yo Face vol 1″ album is good, but pales in comparison to their Coachella setlist “Vol 2″ which takes elements from their first album and adds onto it. It’s really a shame we will never get another one of these due to AM’s untimely death, but Travis Barker I’m sure will continue to remix hip hop songs into shit I can stomach(ie. Flo Rida’s Low). I highly recommend downloading both of these, but if you only download one, have it be Vol 2 from Coachella. Both albums are in their download section on their site Best Moment actually comes from their first album “Fix Yo Face Vol. 1″. Track one, there’s this badass breakdown that mashes up “Grinding” with “Ring of Fire”. They actually have a performance on Youtube of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPYBpgC9Zts

3. Super Mash Bros. http://www.myspace.com/sprmshbros

These guys are very good at what they do, and that is make danceable mash-ups, but their influence is clear. Their second release “All About the Scrillions” isn’t a classic like “Feed the Animals”, but there are some very cool moments on this record. “@LaurenConrad Get Us on The Hills”(Goofy title I know. Their album is full of them.) the opening mix is Jimmy Eats World and “Sexy Can I”, and they make it work. Later on in the same track they mash up “Down with the Sickness” with Missy Elliott’s “Get UR Freak On”. Missy has never wanted me to throw down before this. Heres a link to dl “All About the Scrillions”. Best Moment “This is Defiantly Not the 405″. The first minute and a half will have you rewinding over and over again to jam out to “Pour Some Sugar on Me” with “Right Thurr” and Pharoahe Monch’s “Get the Fuck Up”.

2. E-603 http://www.myspace.com/e603
He isn’t the most original artist on the list. Actually he probably is the most blatant Girl Talk rip-off. Even his album art looks strikingly similar to “Night Ripper”. That said, the man knows his way around Adobe Audition. I love his “Torn Up” album. It’s hard hitting, has some pretty creative mashes(Pharcyde’s “Ya Momma” with Beck’s “Loser” is a stroke of genius) and has the amount of re-playability that’s rare nowadays. I’m still catching samples I missed before, and that’s half the fun. And just like Girl Talk, his album is pay what you want, so here’s a link to it. Best Moment Besides the aforementioned mix, “Dirtbag Baby” takes elements from Wheatus’s “Teenage Dirtbag” and a very silly rap song called “Wipe a Pimp Down”. It rocks.

1. Speaky http://www.myspace.com/speakymusic
Ahhh Speaky. Speaky is the first to admit he was 100% inspired by “Night Ripper”. Infact when his “Mashcore Vol 2″ album was being passed around by his friends, they renamed it Girl Talk as a joke. Well, file sharing sites eventually got it and it was being spread AS Girl Talk. GT caught wind of this, squashed the rumor that it was his, and released “Feed the Animals” a couple months later. I will say this, his first two albums aren’t really anything worth talking about too much. They have their moments, but the main reason he is number one is because of his most recently released mash-up masterpiece entitled “Greatest Spits”. It is very good. Like, I almost hold it on the same regard as Feed the Animals. It’s a must for any music fan. Infectious, original, banging, and will get the girls to drop it low. Too many good moments for me to even pick a best one. Download this bad boy NOW