Girl Talk: Night Ripper (2006)

::: Take every pop, rap, rock, and dance song you've heard in the last 20-30 years, mash them together, and what do you get? Obviously, Night Ripper by Pittsburgh, PA native Girl Talk. This is one of the best party CDs that I have heard in a long time. The album is a chaotic and glitchy hodgepodge of popular music from decades past, along with club rap tunes of more recent years. It is unbelievable to me how flawlessly Girl Talk combines all of the genres into something that actually works. For example, he successfully adapts a verse from "Juicy" by Notorious B.I.G. to the renowned piano of Elton John's "Tiny Dancer." The album is so full of these clever and perfect mishmashes that it would take forever for me to try to recount all of them. But I can almost guarantee that anyone who hears Night Ripper will undoubtedly be impressed by his skill and choice in songs. It is pop/dance/rock/rap/crunk at its finest.

edIT: Crying Over Pros For No Reason (2004)

::: In one of my previous posts, for Tipper's album, I mentioned that the only person on his level as far as mashing tracks was an artist by the name of edIT. However, to clarify, I'd have to say that edIT is THE master of the mash-up/glitch-hop genre. Alot of the music that he releases is upbeat and chaotic, leaning toward "get the f**k up" party music. I really enjoy the high energy releases, but personally I prefer his 2004 album entitled Crying Over Pros For No Reason. In fact, it is definitely one of the best glitch based albums ever, yes ever, and is probably my favorite within that genre. Crying Over Pros For No Reason is different than his newer releases and mixes in that it is primarily downtempo and melodic. The entire album is heavily influenced by electronica and synthesized instrumentation, but you can sense the underlying hip hop mechanism that drives the sound. Each track is unique, with some sounding ambient and others more dark and foreboding. Amid these canorous harmonies are interspersed blips, glitches, and unique cadences that do not distract the listener, but enhance the auditory experience. edIT is a master at combining these elements, to the extent that the music has such fluidity that it almost feels liquidous. As each new sound is forced upon the listener like an explosion, it quickly fades away as if sucked back into the aqueous sonance. edIT manages to take the erratic, unpredictable nature of glitch infused music and turn it into something both alluring and progressive. If you haven't heard this album, or edIT in general, do yourself a favor and get Crying Over Pros For No Reason. It is truly one of my favorite albums.

1 Ashtray (4:15)
2 Ants (4:03)
3 Laundry (5:45)
4 Situps Pullups (5:16)
5 Dex (4:28)
6 Twenty Minutes (4:42)
7 Screening Phone Calls (2:48)
8 Mop Head (3:23)
9 Ltlp (3:15)
10 Mildew (1:03)

Tipper: Tip Hop (2005)

::: To start, it's hard for me to put into words how dope this album is. Since Prefuse 73 blew up and has gotten a lot of exposure, it's more and more common to see new "glitch-hop" artists coming out of the woodwork. It seems to me that most of these artists are coming from a more hip hop oriented background, and use influences of electronic music to enhance their sound. In the case of Tipper, it appears to be the opposite. Tipper's releases prior to Tip Hop (go to the music section to listen) were more along the lines of ambient, breakbeat and IDM, where in this album he created his own version of electronic-based hip hop (hence Tip Hop). Not only did he produce all of the music himself, but he also does his own scratching. And this is not just some half-assed attempt at scratching and mixing... Tipper is a pro. The scratching is so flawless and fast that I've had a person tell me he thinks it was done on turntables then pieced together on a computer, because it's just that good. Along with the amazing scratching, there is a constant barrage of glitched-out synth instrumentation that I can only describe as organized chaos. The only person that is on Tipper's level as far as impeccably mixing and mashing is edIT, who I will mention in a later post. Tip Hop has a few guest appearances from rapper Epcot, whose flows fit perfectly with Tipper's volatile style. To try to get more specific with how this album sounds would just be a disservice to Tipper. So please, go buy this album. You will not regret it. If you like it, give his other albums a spin as well.

01		Tepid Bile
02		Ruck ft. Epcot
03		Tip Hop2
04		Crimp
05		Paperthinreality
06		Learning Is Remembering ft. Epcot
07		Run4Cover
08		Gong Show
09		As Thick As You Can Quink
10		Dead Pixels ft. Epcot
11		Pins & Needles
12		Grubby Weasel
13		Flitch
14		Fleas And Itches
15		Primordial Soup
16		Ton Of Brix
17		CycleswithinCycleswithin
18		Ruck (unmixed) ft. Epcot
19		Learning Is Remembering (unmixed) ft. Epcot
20		Dead Pixels (unmixed) ft. Epcot

P.S. "Ruck" featuring Epcot is insane.