As of June 19, another musician joined the pay-what-you-will, or rather free-for-all, reputation Radiohead glamorized with their latest album, In Rainbows. Gregg Gillis, also known as Girl Talk, claimed in an interview with MetroWize (based out of San Francisco) that he released the album, Feed the Animals, to give people a better chance at reaching out to music. Gillis also said that he is simply acknowledging the fact that it will leak, and people will somehow get it for free anyway.
The album can be found on a website, provided through the sampling label Illegal Art, that simply states, “name your price” with a blank box below it. I named my price at $0.00, pushed the button titled “Feed the Animals” and on the following page clicked my reason as “I can’t afford to pay.” Case and point, music should be heard, and Gillis has made it easy for us to hear it.
Following in succession from Gillis’ 2006 album, Night Ripper, Feed the Animals is even more of a dance-pop album from track to track. After reading his explanation on how he makes his music through extensive mixing, matching and cutting, the album can be easily seen as a completed instrumental puzzle where the pieces fit perfectly together.
Still, Gillis’ puzzle took two years to complete. His artistic ability and quality of performance will be put to test for Champaign-Urbana this November when he visits Canopy Club. Tickets are already on sale, and this is my friendly reminder that they may sell out by the time we reach November.