Spring Weekend Review: Girl Talk/M.I.A.

Girl Talk and M.I.A. are both innovators, and as such their Spring Weekend performances were showcases for the quirkiness that helped make them successful artists. However, only one of their performances was actually successful. Girl Talk is a mashup artist, and as such he taps into the simple pleasures of hearing familiar music tweaked to make it as hedonistically danceable as possible. Girl Talk’s show is far more about the music than about the spectacle—unless you’re incredibly enthralled by a dude holding up an iPod with a bunch of people dancing next to him, that is—and he certainly delivers. While it could be difficult to recognize where the specific beats that Girl Talk used came from, his vocals and melodies were far more identifiable and provided a massive amount of fun. Drawing primarily from pop and hip-hop, notable vocal hits included samples from Lil’ Mama’s “Lip Gloss” and Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer.”

Even when neither the beat nor the melody was recognizable, Girl Talk matched his samples perfectly and kept the energy level high. The man otherwise known as Gregg Gillis only spoke a few times, most notably to deliver a hilarious monologue on how awesome his live sound check was. While he played versions of album tracks like “Bounce That” from Night Ripper, they were altered like everything else about Girl Talk’s music, keeping the show fresh for both die-hard fans and newcomers. He also played some new work featuring vocal samples from current hip-hop hits like Flo Rida’s “Low.” Overall, Girl Talk was able to satisfy dance freaks, Top 40 fans, and everyone in between.

Girl Talk’s show was all about pleasing the crowd, but it was hard to tell who exactly M.I.A. was attempting to please with her performance. For some unidentifiable reason, her entire set was punctuated with sirens, the sounds of bombs dropping, and ear-splitting gunshots. The first five were cool. The next five were tolerable. The other five hundred were completely uncalled for. If they had any sort of point beyond being obnoxious and attention-getting, it was lost. A brief open letter to Ms. Maya Arulpragasam: You like gunshots. We get it. Sincerely, Brown University.

It’s true that M.I.A. is a massively talented artist with brilliant, catchy melodies and lyrics. However, she ruined much of her appeal by stretching intros out to interminable lengths and simply wasting time between songs. When songs are extended or delayed, there’s a fine line between creating suspense and frustrating the audience, and M.I.A. repeatedly crossed this line. The show incorporated a certain amount of what was meant to be provocative political rhetoric, but muddy acoustics and unclear messages made it difficult to pinpoint exactly what she was saying. For example, when one of her dancers led the crowd in a largely context-free chant of “Where were you in ’92?” most of the young crowd was probably thinking “Preschool?”

While M.I.A.’s set was often aggravating, there were some bright spots. The on-stage videos that accompanied every song were truly artistic, eye-catching and appealing, and the set featured some excellent dancing and dynamic performances from M.I.A. and her backup. The portions of songs that most closely resembled the album tracks were unimpeachable, especially big hits like “Galang,” “Boyz,” and the rapturous encore of “Paper Planes.” Unfortunately, while M.I.A. is a great artist, she hasn’t yet learned how to be a great performer. While musicians rely on creativity, M.I.A.’s show performance proved that there’s something to be said for restraint.

Spring Weekend Review: Vampire Weekend/Lupe Fiasco

In theory, Vampire Weekend and Lupe Fiasco didn’t seem like the most logical bill. Apart from the intellectual vibe given off by Vampire Weekend’s Columbia educations and Lupe’s thoughtful lyrics, there wasn’t much common ground between the laid-back, poppy rock and serious, energetic hip-hop on their respective albums. However, Vampire Weekend ended up being the perfect warm-up for Lupe: they certainly didn’t upstage him, but they held their own. The band had sound and energy that no one who’s heard their catchy but anemic self-titled debut would expect. Drummer Chris Tomson was loud, driving, and everything a good drummer should be. “A-Punk” sounded like it might actually have some punk in it, while “I Stand Corrected” was transformed from a nice ballad into a power anthem.

Lead singer and guitarist Ezra Koenig’s vocals were also significantly more energetic and unique than they are on Vampire Weekend, and his stage presence was as casual and friendly as the dorky sweaters sported by several band members. While Vampire Weekend has some great songs, with only one album out they’re forced to play some duds (for example, the only interesting part of “Blake’s Got a New Face” was the name), and these unmemorable songs fell flat. Still, for a nice-but-bland band like Vampire Weekend this Spring Weekend performance was a truly impressive showing.

While Vampire Weekend put on a solid show, Lupe Fiasco was definitively the real attraction of the night. With the help of one side man and a DJ, Lupe put on a straightforward show that was consistently enthralling and fun. The focus was squarely on Lupe’s clever rhymes, with the beats and hooks occasionally omitted. Hooks have never been Lupe’s strong point, especially when it comes to the mostly aggressively un-catchy choruses on his most recent album Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool, so not much was lost. Lupe is a true performer, executing skateboard jumps and tricky hand movements while looking like he’s having even more fun than the audience. Stage banter rarely overstayed its welcome and featured an apology for the materialism in “Gold Watch” and a short but fervent speech encouraging political consciousness and action.

Lupe’s flow is almost as good as his lyrics, whether it’s slow and sexy on “Paris, Tokyo” or hyperspeed on the aptly named “Go Go Gadget Flow.” He raced though a big, loser-free set of songs from both of his albums, sometimes switching up the beats like on “Sunshine” or lacing together shorter sections of songs. His breakout song “Kick, Push” sounds as fresh as new hits like the crowd favorite “Superstar.” The Grammy-winning “Daydreamin’” was a fantastic encore and ending to an enjoyable, professional performance.

Guilty Pleasures Week: A Techno Treatise

When I’m in my room with my headphones on, that can only mean one thing. Thanks to my tolerant roommate, I’m usually able to blast my music freely from my small but competent desktop speakers. However, there’s one pseudo-genre I love that’s just between me and my iTunes: cheesy techno. Techno isn’t really the right moniker for this music (it’s more a mix of house and Euro), so I prefer to think of it as the Gunther genre after everyone’s favorite bemulleted Swedish pleasure man. You know the sound: heavy on the synth hooks, possibly with some accented pop vocals for good measure. The more vapid the lyrics, the better—for example, there’s Toybox’s aptly named “Tarzan Song” and its chorus of “Tarzan is handsome, Tarzan is strong / He’s sweet and cute, and his hair is long,” not to mention Gunther’s own “Ohhhh…you touch my tra-la-la.”

It’s obvious why this kind of music is played at parties if you’ve ever seen a dance floor electrify when Cascada comes on, but you’d think that the Gunther genre wouldn’t have any purpose outside this sphere due to its complete lack of depth. That’s why I normally keep my love of this music away from the prying ears of my Keeney hallway. In fact, the dance hits just aren’t enough for me—I regularly scour the dance music forum puroeuro.com for even more. While I’m not an electronic expert, I do listen to a lot of the critically acclaimed (or just not critically mocked) examples of the genre, artists like, Daft Punk, Simian Mobile Disco, and The Knife. When I have great music like this to satisfy my cravings for bass and blips, why would I seek pleasure in soulless songs with lyrics like “Ding dong, it’s a Christmas song” and titles like “Phonesex”?

Frankly, I think it comes down to the basic human desire for instant gratification. Songs like these are all about delivering the maximum amount of ear candy. The best cheesy electronic songs are simply layers of both obvious and subtle hooks mixed with solid beats. Like McDonald’s French fries, they’re fast, crisp, and tasty. I don’t just listen to a great Gunther genre track like Danijay’s “Arcobaleno,” I’m addicted to it, salivating until my favorite parts and wishing I could hear them over and over. In contrast, a Daft Punk song utilizes some of these instant gratification techniques but functions more as a cohesive unit, a more difficult task that’s worthy of respect. Still, crafting musical crack requires undeniable skill and the ability to tap into our most primal aural needs. Maybe Gunther deserves a little more credit than we’re currently giving him. Anyways, it’s definitely time for me to shout my love from the rooftops: my name’s Eva, and I’m a cheesy techno addict.