More on Girl Talk – does it matter who is speaking?
Sampling other people’s work, with intention to create new, doesn’t that sounds like something we are all doing? Whether it is writing, reading, talking, or even eating and styling, what we constantly do is to make our own versions of what we have seen from elsewhere. So does the source matter?
Yes it does. listening to Girl Talk without previous knowledge of its referenced songs, I might not praise their talent. I mean, it is just another song with beats… But knowing the fact that it is a mash-up, which sounds just like any other non-mash-up songs, makes me say “wow, interesting”. But Whether I would evaluate their work the same way as something composed from scratch is another discussion.
Girl Talk does mix and match lyrics to highlight words and part of songs that might go unnoticed otherwise, so if their intention is to make new connections, emphasize, and re-contextualize, then it certainly does matter who is speaking, or spoke, because how can one get their points without knowing its original sources and contexts. In this case, it does matter. And if we think about whether people need to be credited for their work being used, then it matters even more who is speaking. Although the finished mash-ups have become their own entities, the songs are still only “matched” together using previous works, with no original lyrics or beats of its own.
On the other hand, if the result is what counts, then maybe it dosn’t matter who is speaking. Because when appreciating or disliking any piece of music, how much do we consider its process of making or the amount of effort put into it?
