Girl Talk: All Day

Girl Talk’s music is double-sided. First, it jams. But there’s an academic aspect to Gregg Gillis’ albums. The way he distills each of the hundreds of songs he samples down to elemental form and pairs it, like a sommelier, with a perfect counterpart is nothing short of remarkable. Anyone can make mash-ups; very few can make them work this well. Like Girl Talk’s previous records, All Day is a music nerd’s wet dream, an hour-long Where’s Waldo in audio form (finding Gaga is easy, but can you spot the Aphex Twin sample?). And at points, it hits as hard as Night Ripper (huge grin over here at the Big Boi/Portishead bit). But for the first time, Gillis’ cerebral side seems to have overtaken his desire to just bump some crazy shit. All Day might not play as well in the club, but it should quiet those who accuse Gillis of plagiarism. This is his own beast, finally. (4 out of 5 stars)