Girl Talk

See, artists usually get better. Munchkins I deemed overhyped in '04, '05, 06: Antony, Hot Chip, Dizzee, Weezy, and sure, Conor Oberst. Grownups making my year in '08: Antony, Hot Chi--you get the idea. The trend continues; maybe because there's been so much hype with the mp3 blog explosion around the above years that I should've known they were onto something. But Greg Gillis? I didn't have anything to expect from a guy whose deal is something I once claimed to be able to do myself. I'll listen back to Night Ripper, but I'm secure this deepening one-trick pony has never made a record as good as Feed the Animals, which has a lovely title in an AC/DC you-want-blood-you-got-it way.

Same deal, new mash-ups. But these are less name-that-tune and more tune-that-rap, and the samples are more practical and melodic and they last a little longer, just enough this time to actually get your fill. Miracles include the best "Since U Been Gone" I've ever heard (braided with Nine Inch Nails), the best "Jessie's Girl" I've ever heard (Chipmunked: perfect), the only "Born Slippy" I've ever needed, M.I.A.'s toneless warble tuning itself to the Cranberries, and my favorite moment: "Whoomp! There It is" over the celebratory guitar break from "In a Big Country." Thanks for the emphasis on palm-muted 80s guitar, the previously unknown correlation between "Ghetto Supastar" and Yo La Tengo, and the funeral Pimp C deserves...over Journey.