Avril Lavigne, Rod Stewart and the Butthole Surfers? Radiohead, Michael Jackson and Cat Stevens? These aren’t artists you’re supposed to see listed on a triple bill, let alone a pop song. But Girl Talk, aka Gregg Gillis, knows no boundaries. In fact, he’s made it his business to break down boundaries, cutting and splicing everything from indie-rock to electronic and Top 40 hits from the ‘80s and ‘90s together into surreal pop pastiches.



And while he’s received rave reviews for his work—and most especially for his live shows, where he strips down to his underwear over the course of a frenetic DJ session (you definitely get your moneys worth for Girl Talk tickets)—he’s not the first to try this. In fact, there have been several artists over the past decade that have made a name for themselves by cutting together other music.

Here’s a few of the bands you should check out if you love Girl Talk.

John Oswald. Recommended listening: Plunderphonics 69/96, 2001

Coining the term “plunderphonics” to explain his sound collaging technique, John Oswald attracted attention in the ‘80s and early ‘90s for his bizarre, artsy reworking of pop songs (like his version of Michael Jackson’s “Bad,” retitled “dab.” That one got him sued). Though far more experimental than Girl Talk’s work, John Oswald played an important early role in developing glitchy mash-up music—and laid the ground for the next entry in this list.

Negativland. Recommended listening: Escape from Noise, 1987

Exploring their own sonic permutations, Negativland had a decidedly more conventional bent than John Oswald. The band’s music was cheeky, sarcastic and brilliant, slicing and dicing samples of speeches, PSAs and pop music, giving them a new context and meaning. Taking “Favorite Things,” for example, the lyrics are cut up into a bizarre nonsense language. The band was infamously sued by U2 for a sample in one of their songs.

The Avalanches. Recommended listening: Since I Left You, 2000

Releasing one tantalizing masterpiece and then vanishing forever is not a kind way to treat your fans. Lovers of glitch and sample-heavy electronica swooned when The Avalanches hit the international stage with their 2000 debut, containing everything from AM pop to French rap and heavy synth-driven techno. The band is rumored to have compiled the record from an unprecedented 3,500 vinyl samples. Since debuting, there’s been much talk of a follow-up, but fans are still (tragically) waiting.

2 Many DJS. Recommended listening: As Heard on Radio Soulwax, Part 2, 2002

The closest to Girl Talk’s brand of dancefloor-ready hit-splicing, 2 Many DJs was a duo that became a hit on Belgian radio by mashing-up pop songs, usually no more than two at a time. The often hilarious combinations (“Push It Like a Dog,” blending Salt-N-Pepa’s “Push It” with the Stooges’ “I Wanna Be Your Dog”) made their music a hit.

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