ARTiST: Girl Talk
TiTLE: Night Ripper
LABEL: Gronland Records
GENRE: Electronic
TiME: 42:06 min
SiZE: 55,10 MB
BiTRATE: VBRkbps
RiP DATE: Aug-05-2007
RELEASE DATE: Aug-06-2007
WEBSiTE: n/a
Track List:
01. Once Again 02:40
02. That's My DJ 02:08
03. Hold Up 02:51
04. Too Deep 02:29
05. Smash Your Head 03:01
06. Minute By Minute 03:13
07. Ask About Me 02:26
08. Summer Smoke 02:17
09. Friday Night 03:12
10. Hand Clap 01:54
11. Give And Go 02:53
12. Bounce That 03:23
13. Warm It Up 02:16
14. Double Pump 01:46
15. Overtime 02:16
16. Peak Out 03:21
Release Notes:
Gregg Gillis has been cutting up and gluing bits and
pieces of songs together as a DJ in Pittsburgh since
his 2002 debut, Secret Diary, an album that, though
a lot of easily identifiable samples (the Price Is
Right theme, for example) were used, was so delayed
and skipped and glitched that it was too obfuscated
to do much in the mainstream. Such is not the case
with Night Ripper, however, which, thanks to
Gillis's ability to draw from a myriad of musical
sources (the names of the artists used, though not
their songs, are listed in alphabetical order inside
the liner notes, and in fact make up the entirety of
the liner notes), can appeal to anyone who's heard
the radio (particularly rap radio) in the past few
years. Because of the recognizability of the pieces
used, Night Ripper is a good tool for showing
listeners unfamiliar with the art of sampling what a
talented DJ can actually do; Gillis' favorite trick
on the album is to play a long vocal track,
preferably something from the Ying Yang Twins or
Ludacris, over rock (be it classic, indie, or
grunge) beats, which he speeds up or slows down as
necessary. It's pretty impressive, and at first
listen, it's pretty fun. On the opener, "Once
Again," Luda's "Pimpin' All Over the World" moves
into the Twins' "Wait (The Whisper Song)" over the
Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony," which then turns
into Slim Thug's "I Ain't Heard of That" plus the
acoustic guitar of Oasis's "Wonderwall," all of
which ends with the Five Stairsteps' oft-sampled
"O-o-h Child." Actually, "ends" is not really the
right term, as the whole album works as one piece,
the track titles only serving to help those more
song-inclined not feel as if they are in foreign
electronica territory, with its 50-minute sides and
incomprehensible blips and bleeps. The thing is,
this openness to pop culture, while it may increase
and amuse his audience, also serves to make the
album a fleeting affair. How many times do you
really want to hear Fleetwood Mac's "Little Lies"
trade off with the 69 Boyz's "Tootsie Roll?" Or
Sophie B. Hawkins mix with Panjabi MC and Better
Than Ezra while the Game's vocals from "Hate It or
Love It" play over? The very thing that makes Night
Ripper entertaining, its basis on current hits and
long pop-song breaks, is also the thing that kills
it, that makes it lose its appeal after a few spins;
good for one party, one car trip, one afternoon at
the beach, and that's all. Which isn't to say,
however, that that one hour can't be a whole lot of
fun.