Girl Talk is coming to Georgetown. No, not female chatter, but the “mash-up” artist the University will host on November 17. Girl Talk intertwines syncopated hip-hop passages and indie-rock morsels like a DJ catering to five different audiences at once. In preparation for the show, I’ve taken stock of a few records that paved the way for his sample-happy patchworks.
Beastie Boys: Paul’s Boutique (1989)
This album never could be made today, when a single unapproved sample could send an artist hurtling into an abyss of lawsuit hell. Built around (uncleared) clips from 105 different songs, Paul’s Boutique didn’t invent sampling, but it indelibly transformed the art form’s role in hip-hop. Where previous artists merely looped samples to create background rhythm, the Beasties interacted with the sampled artists as if they were the group’s fourth member. They don’t merely quote Bob Dylan; they let a sample of “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues” speak for itself. They even trade verses with stalwart Public Enemy emcee Chuck D as if he were chillin’ on a couch in the recording studio.
DJ Shadow: Entroducing… (1996)
Turntablist Josh Davis, a.k.a. DJ Shadow, doesn’t pay much attention to public expectations for a hip-hop record. Expectation #1: Hip-hop must feature rapping. Entroducing… is the most fully realized “instrumental hip-hop” record of all-time, and almost completely eliminates the emcee from the equation. In traditional hip-hop tracks, the vocals add an extra rhythmic layer. Davis samples vocals—usually ghostly croons from dusty soul records—not to create more rhythm but to fill in the white space left by the drum’s pulse. Expectation #2: Hip-hop must be visceral. Excluding the martial rumble of “The Number Song,” Entroducing… is a spiritual affair that frequently hovers in the realm of ambient electronica.
Avalanches: Since I Left You (2001)
If any band sported a name perfectly suited to their sound, it’s the Avalanches. Like a snowy deluge, the Avalanches’ tracks appear gorgeous from afar, but move in a little closer and you’ll find a chaotic barrage of radio squeals, queasy vocal swirls and dancefloor-ready beats. The tunes on Since I Left You, assembled from approximately 3,500 vinyl samples, drift from euphoric tropical pop (“Since I Left You”) to charged-up party starters (“Live at Dominoes”) and cover all the sonic territory in between.
Sample-based music is risky business, but as these records demonstrate, the results can be astounding. Just make sure to ask David Bowie for permission before laying a finger on “Under Pressure.”
