Unstoppable | |||||||
Studio album by Girl Talk | |||||||
Released | December 28, 2003 | ||||||
Genre | Mashup, electronic, dance | ||||||
Length | 37:59 | ||||||
Label | Illegal Art | ||||||
Format | CD, digital download | ||||||
Producer | Girl Talk | ||||||
Girl Talk chronology | |||||||
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Unstoppable is the second studio album by American mashup artist Girl Talk, released on December 28, 2003.[1] The album is heavily sample-based; however, it notably contains significantly less glitch music influences than its preceding album, Secret Diary (2002). It has been described as the link between the glitch music styles of Secret Diary and the more sequenced sampling of Night Ripper (2006) and subsequent releases.
Background[]
Girl Talk has stated of the album: "With Unstoppable, the idea was to make more original sounding hip hop type music and pop music out of samples and having some blatant samples. It was obviously more party oriented, something you could jam out to. By the time that was released, I was already doing live shows and Night Ripper was a product of my live set. There was a clear development as the demand rose for party music."[2]
Release[]
Unstoppable was released in CD format on December 28, 2003 by Illegal Art in the United States, and by plunderphonics-specializing record label Spasticated Records in Australia.[1] The CD issue contains an enhanced music video for the track "Touch 2 Feel".[1][3] In late 2009, Illegal Art made the album available for purchase on their website using a "pay what you want" pricing system.[4] For a time, it was Girl Talk's only remaining album available for purchase on the iTunes Store, with Secret Diary and Night Ripper having been removed due to copyright concerns.[5]
Critical reception[]
Critical reaction to Unstoppable was positive, an improvement over the mixed reviews received by Secret Diary. Stewart Mason of AllMusic graded Unstoppable with 3.5 stars out of 5, describing the album as "an album-length mash-up as created by a well-stocked DJ with both ADHD and a wicked sense of humor".[6] He added: "The samples on Unstoppable are nose-thumbingly blatant in the manner of the classic early KLF singles, but they're far more expertly mixed... But what's most remarkable about Unstoppable is how the samples are never the whole point of the album... Great fun for trainspotters, sure, but the true delight of songs like 'Cleveland, Shake' and 'Touch 2 Feel' is that they're exhilarating dance music.[6] Adam Strohm of Dusted was also positive, writing that Girl Talk's "manic experiments bring life to inanimate rhythms, and swap the personalities of unwitting samples in harebrained schemes to make bottoms shake and fists pump."[7]
Rating Unstoppable 4.5 out of 5, reviewer Tamec of Tiny Mix Tapes wrote: "[Girl Talk] strikes right at the heart of the party, combining 'Cry Me a River,' 'Pull Over (That Ass Is Too Fat),' Khia's 'My Neck, My Back,' and Bone Thug's 'Shake That Ass' [sic]... If this sounds like a tough task, you'll be surprised at how well it works."[8] A Sputnikmusic staff review by Daveyboy was negative; he graded the album 2.0/5 and wrote: "Despite hints of talent and less glitch than his debut, Unstoppable contains too much filler and includes many ineffective tracks that are low on replay value."[9] In an interview with Girl Talk, Mark Richardson of Pitchfork retrospectively described Secret Diary and Unstoppable as "far noisier and much more abstract" than his later releases.[10]
Track listing[]
- "All Eyes on Me" – 5:08
- "Non-Stop Party Now" – 4:03
- "Touch 2 Feel" – 3:38
- "Pump It Up" – 0:47
- "Bang This in the Club" – 3:06
- "Bodies Hit the Floor" – 3:27
- "The Feeling" – 0:48
- "Happen" (featuring Chris Glover) – 2:58
- "Cleveland, Shake" – 4:21
- "Keeping the Beat" – 1:58
- "Step to It" – 1:04
- "Can't Stop" – 4:12
Samples[]
"All Eyes on Me"[]
- 0:29 ‒ 4:19 — Outkast – "B.O.B"
- 1:20 ‒ 2:52 — Ginuwine – "Pony"
- 1:31 ‒ 2:06 — Jay-Z featuring Memphis Bleek and Amil – "Hey Papi"
- 2:09 – 2:09 — Aphex Twin – "54 Cymru Beats"
- 2:18 ‒ 2:41 — TLC – "Silly Ho"
- 2:41 ‒ 4:44 — Duice – "Dazzey Duks"
- 3:28 ‒ 3:44 — Trina – "Pull Over"
- 3:57 ‒ 4:19 — Tweet featuring Missy Elliott – "Oops (Oh My)"
- 4:46 ‒ 4:58 — Junior M.A.F.I.A. – "Player's Anthem"
"Non-Stop Party Now"[]
- 0:00 ‒ 3:59 — Khia – "My Neck, My Back (Lick It)"
- 0:00 ‒ 0:34 — Richard Marx – "Right Here Waiting"
- 1:07 ‒ 3:59 — Busta Rhymes – "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See"
"Touch 2 Feel"[]
- 0:00 ‒ 3:33 — The Creation – "Making Time"
- 0:07 ‒ 3:32 — The Amps – "Tipp City"
- 0:07 ‒ 3:33 — The Human League – "Don't You Want Me"
- 0:11 ‒ 3:31 — CeCe Peniston – "Finally"
- 0:53 ‒ 3:33 — Sean Paul – "Get Busy"
- 1:01 ‒ 3:26 — Def Leppard – "Pour Some Sugar on Me"
- 1:24 ‒ 1:38 — AC/DC – "Moneytalks"
- 1:39 ‒ 3:32 — Michael Jackson – "Billie Jean"
- 1:39 ‒ 3:28 — t.A.T.u. – "All the Things She Said"
- 1:47 ‒ 3:34 — Justin Timberlake – "Rock Your Body"
"Pump It Up"[]
- 0:00 ‒ 0:37 — Joe Budden – "Pump It Up"
- 0:02 ‒ 0:35 — Coldplay – "Clocks"
- 0:05 ‒ 0:05 — Wayne Wonder – "No Letting Go"
- 0:06 ‒ 0:08 — Chingy – "Right Thurr"
- 0:07 ‒ 0:07 — Toploader – "Dancing in the Moonlight"
- 0:18 ‒ 0:38 — Jay-Z – "La-La-La (Excuse Me Miss Again)"
- 0:21 ‒ 0:40 — David Banner featuring Lil' Flip – "Like a Pimp"
- 0:23 ‒ 0:44 — Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z – "Crazy in Love"
"Bang This in the Club"[]
- 0:00 ‒ 3:04 — Dr. Dre featuring Snoop Dogg – "The Next Episode"
- 1:44 ‒ 2:02 — Ludacris featuring Sleepy Brown – "Saturday (Oooh! Ooooh!)"
- 2:02 ‒ 2:19 — P. Diddy, Black Rob, and Mark Curry – "Bad Boy for Life"
"Bodies Hit the Floor"[]
- 0:00 ‒ 0:29 — Ludacris featuring Mystikal and I-20 – "Move Bitch"
- 0:09 ‒ 2:02 — Drowning Pool – "Bodies"
- 0:11 ‒ 2:07 — Kelly Osbourne – "Shut Up"
- 0:21 ‒ 3:12 — Foo Fighters – "My Hero"
- 0:29 ‒ 0:32 — Bernard Herrmann – "Prelude"
- 0:43 ‒ 1:25 — Real McCoy – "Another Night"
- 0:53 ‒ 3:11 — Justin Timberlake – "Cry Me a River"
- 1:04 ‒ 1:32 — Reel 2 Real featuring The Mad Stuntman – "I Like to Move It"
- 1:25 ‒ 2:07 — Lisa Loeb and Nine Stories – "Stay (I Missed You)"
- 1:46 ‒ 3:11 — Bone Thugs-n-Harmony – "Days of Our Livez"
"The Feeling"[]
- 0:01 ‒ 0:01 — Electric Light Orchestra – "Mr. Blue Sky"
- 0:06 ‒ 0:40 — Bon Jovi – "Livin' on a Prayer"
- 0:11 ‒ 0:11 — Good Charlotte – "Girls & Boys"
- 0:13 ‒ 0:25 — Superdrag – "Sucked Out"
"Happen"[]
- 0:05 ‒ 0:36 — Pras featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard and Mýa – "Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)"
- 0:07 ‒ 2:50 — Digital Underground – "The Humpty Dance"
"Cleveland, Shake"[]
- 0:00 ‒ 0:35 — Zhané – "Hey Mr. D.J."
- 0:37 ‒ 4:15 — Hole – "Celebrity Skin"
- 0:47 ‒ 4:18 — Splack Pack – "Shake That Ass Bitch"
- 1:41 ‒ 4:04 — Quiet Riot – "Cum On Feel the Noize"
- 1:42 ‒ 2:15 — DJ Deeon – "Let Me Bang"
- 2:18 ‒ 2:26 — 50 Cent – "In da Club"
- 2:24 ‒ 3:21 — Busta Rhymes – "Break Ya Neck"
- 2:26 ‒ 4:15 — Bone Thugs-n-Harmony – "East 1999"
- 2:59 ‒ 3:20 — Fennesz – "Shisheido"
- 3:10 ‒ 3:20 — DJ Slugo – "Wouldn't You Like to Be a Hoe"
"Keeping the Beat"[]
- 0:00 ‒ 1:53 — The Jackson 5 – "ABC"
- 0:00 ‒ 1:53 — NSYNC – "Pop"
- 0:18 ‒ 1:55 — Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz – "Deja Vu (Uptown Baby)"
"Step to It"[]
- 0:00 ‒ 0:00 — Cold – "Stupid Girl"
- 0:00 ‒ 0:56 — Deee-Lite – "Groove Is in the Heart"
- 0:01 ‒ 0:59 — Alien Ant Farm – "Smooth Criminal"
- 0:18 ‒ 0:22 — Van Halen – "Panama"
"Can't Stop"[]
- 1:09 ‒ 1:27 — Bobby Brown – "Every Little Step"
Release history[]
Images | Release date | Format | Label | Catalog no. | Ref.(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
December 28, 2003 | Compact disc | Illegal Art | ILL109CD | [1][11] | |
Spasticated Records Australia | SPAS005 | ||||
January 1, 2004 | Digital download | Illegal Art | N/A | [5] | |
December 2009 | Digital download (reissue) | Illegal Art | N/A | [4] |
Personnel[]
- Gregg Gillis – music
- Andrew Strasser – artwork
- Frank Musarra – video
- Jon Schenke – mastering
- Maurice Rickard – additional tour photography
- Chris Glover – featured vocals
Chart performance[]
Unstoppable was Girl Talk's first album to place on a record chart, peaking at number 179 for the week ending May 17, 2004 and at number 18 for the week ending April 20, 2004 on the CMJ Top 200 and RPM Albums charts respectively.[12][13]
Chart (2004) | Peak position |
---|---|
US CMJ Top 200[12] | 179 |
US CMJ RPM Albums[13] | 18 |
Trivia[]
- The album's ninth track, "Cleveland, Shake", opens with a phone conversation between Girl Talk and an unnamed caller informing him that both he and American electronic musician Kid606 have sampled "Shake That Ass Bitch" by Splack Pack.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Girl Talk – Unstoppable (CD, Album). Discogs. Retrieved on 2014-01-25.
- ↑ Girl Talk Interview. MTV (2006-06). Retrieved on 2014-01-26.
- ↑ gumdr0p (2006-06-07). Girl Talk 'Touch 2 Feel'. YouTube. Retrieved on 2014-01-26.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Breihan, Tom (2009-12-07). Girl Talk Reissues: Benefit and Pay-What-You-Want. Pitchfork. Retrieved on 2014-01-25.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Unstoppable by Girl Talk. iTunes Store. Retrieved on 2014-01-25.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Mason, Stewart. Unstoppable – Girl Talk. AllMusic. Retrieved on 2014-01-25.
- ↑ Strohm, Adam (2004-04-06). Dusted Reviews: Girl Talk – Unstoppable. Dusted. Retrieved on 2014-01-25.
- ↑ Tamec. Girl Talk – Unstoppable. Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved on 2014-01-25.
- ↑ DaveyBoy (2009-07-12). Review: Girl Talk – Unstoppable. Sputnikmusic. Retrieved on 2014-01-25.
- ↑ Richardson, Mark (2008-10-06). Interviews: Girl Talk. Pitchfork. Retrieved on 2014-01-26.
- ↑ Girl Talk: Unstoppable (CD). Ughh. Retrieved on 2014-01-25.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 CMJ Top 200 (p. 12). CMJ New Music Report (2004-05-17). Retrieved on 2013-10-31.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 RPM – Period Ending 4/20/2004 (p. 62). CMJ New Music Monthly (2004-04-20). Retrieved on 2013-10-31.
External links[]
- Unstoppable on Wikipedia
- Unstoppable on Illegal Tracklist
- Unstoppable on the Illegal Art website
Girl Talk albums and singles Discography | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio albums | ||||
Secret Diary (2002) |
Unstoppable (2003) |
Night Ripper (2006) |
Feed the Animals (2008) |
All Day (2010) |
Extended plays | ||||
Stop Cleveland Hate (2004) |
Bone Hard Zaggin' (2006) |
Broken Ankles (2014) | ||
Singles | ||||
"Believe in Magic" (2011) |
"Tolerated" (2014) |
"Trouble in Paradise" (2018) |
"No Problem" (2019) |
"Toolie" (2020) |
"Santos Party House" (2020) |
"Fallin'" (2020) |