Okay, so maybe it was my fault for not researching the Junior Boys more before going to go see them (May 5th @ the Black Cat), but I was seriously surprised when I saw them walk out on stage. The singer looks like a lumberjack. He definitely did not match my mental image that I had of him! The other “boy” was stoic, never cracking a smile the entire time while focused on his synth board. And I can imagine why! Once you hear them live, you can never, ever go back. The songs I heard live made me want to dance and sing out loud as the beats resounded in my body (yes, I was in the second row!). Going back to their albums now make them seem colder, emptier, and not as complex. Junior Boys need to come out with a live album, and thats final! I’m seriously considering contacting the band, but then I think: “Would they take this as a compliment or an insult?”. Lets stay hopeful.

More pictures and free tunes under the cut.

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GIRL TALK “FEED THE ANIMALS”
Illegal Art, 2008

So, I kinda love and kinda like “Girl Talk” (aka Gregg Gillis). All of the tracks are complied of seamless splices of timeless yet nostalgic songs. In one song, it would be Jay-Z mixed with Ace of Base and Hoku with maybe some Micheal Jackson, Coldplay, Radiohead, MIA, and nameless past Top 40 one-hit wonders. He writes albums to be albums, not individual tracks, so the whole album flows together, and you could leave an album or two on instead of a dance mix one night. It’s energizing and somehow makes me remember my childhood, and recent dancing days at the same time. Some people might not the music he splices with (some classic 80’s and 90’s with recent pop/rap) or find it too repetitive, but it works for me. It was actually recommended to me for workout music, and I second that!

From Pitchfork Media:

Unlike mash-up makers in it to figure out the lamest way to combine two song titles, justify their existence with cheap mp3 blog Diggs, or wind up in a Cobrasnake shot with some Olsen twin look-a-like, Gillis just really likes stuffing tons of his favorite FM moments into bursts of Top 40 overload. “I’m a pop music enthusiast,” [...]

Unsurprisingly, his new record, Feed the Animals, comes off like the ultimate July 4th rooftop soundtrack. [...]

Feed the Animals offers a new round of associative concoctions ready to blow out clubs this summer and beyond. Perhaps in an effort to work his crowd up quicker and more efficiently, Gillis spikes his signature mix of current smashes, hip-hop, 1980s pop, 90s alternative, and classic rock with a slew of wedding-ready staples.

You can go to his site and pay ANY price for his new album, “Feed the Animals” here.

The label, “Illegal Art”, has a few sample tracks for download off of his other albums too.
Recommended tracks: “Still Here”, “Set It Off”, “No Pause”

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