Music like Girl Talk or Kanye, but less sweary?
January 4, 2011 3:42 PM Subscribe
Music like Girl Talk, but not sweary?
My preschool-age daughter some Girl Talk and was immediately drawn in, but oh my goodness those lyrics are not child-appropriate. I think she liked the layered samples and the danceability, and I like the humor. Any suggestions for similar musicians we might like, but without all the sexist terms and racial epithets?
I know nothing about what you young people are listening to today, so there's no need for the music to be obscure; presume I've been living in an underground bunker for the last five years.
My preschool-age daughter some Girl Talk and was immediately drawn in, but oh my goodness those lyrics are not child-appropriate. I think she liked the layered samples and the danceability, and I like the humor. Any suggestions for similar musicians we might like, but without all the sexist terms and racial epithets?
I know nothing about what you young people are listening to today, so there's no need for the music to be obscure; presume I've been living in an underground bunker for the last five years.
Bootie Mashups might have some suitable stuff, but you'd probably have to listen to the individual tracks to be sure.
(Scroll down for previous years).
Bonus: they're free to download.
posted by dolface at 3:47 PM on January 4, 2011
(Scroll down for previous years).
Bonus: they're free to download.
posted by dolface at 3:47 PM on January 4, 2011
Not many lyrics, but I love 2 Many DJs' 420 Intros in 60 Minutes.
posted by lukemeister at 4:00 PM on January 4, 2011
posted by lukemeister at 4:00 PM on January 4, 2011
Best answer: The Bran Flakes, more quirky than Girl Talk, but not cloying. Also, some of their old material is free, and they've posted videos on YouTube.
posted by filthy light thief at 4:04 PM on January 4, 2011
posted by filthy light thief at 4:04 PM on January 4, 2011
A-Trak is pretty similar. Not sure whether it is more child friendly, however.
posted by prunes at 4:11 PM on January 4, 2011
posted by prunes at 4:11 PM on January 4, 2011
DJ Z-Trip's mixes are great. From the downloads available on his website, I recommend Uneasy Listening Vol. 1.
posted by carsonb at 4:13 PM on January 4, 2011
posted by carsonb at 4:13 PM on January 4, 2011
In my mind, E-603 is slightly more preschool friendly, but also not perfect. Several tracks on Something For Everyone are mostly sex and swear free though, I think.
posted by traversionischaracter at 4:36 PM on January 4, 2011
posted by traversionischaracter at 4:36 PM on January 4, 2011
(hence the name, I suppose.)
posted by traversionischaracter at 4:42 PM on January 4, 2011
posted by traversionischaracter at 4:42 PM on January 4, 2011
don't know enough about the genre to have a specific recommendation, but while there's a lot not to love about Christian Contemporary, there is this to be said for it - there's a derivative form of it for every form of popular music from hip-hop to folk-rock.
As a musician (even though I'm Christian), this drives me crazy, but it does make it easy to find something for your kiddo to listen to. If you object to the Christian messages, carry on then, but it's a thought.
posted by randomkeystrike at 5:09 PM on January 4, 2011
As a musician (even though I'm Christian), this drives me crazy, but it does make it easy to find something for your kiddo to listen to. If you object to the Christian messages, carry on then, but it's a thought.
posted by randomkeystrike at 5:09 PM on January 4, 2011
Saying 'every form of popular music' leaves the door open for some no-true-Scotsman stuff, but, that said, if there's a contemporary-Christian Girl Talk I would be interested to hear them.
posted by box at 6:03 PM on January 4, 2011
posted by box at 6:03 PM on January 4, 2011
Plus-Tech Squeezebox has nothing sweary that I'm aware of - sometimes I can't even tell what language is being used. Not entirely samples-driven the way Girl Talk is, but definitely has the same anarchic spirit.
Product Placement (sorry for annoyingly long intro) and Brain Freeze by DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist. Each of them have recordings with more, um, diverse language, but these two are comprised entirely from old '45s (R&B, kids' records, industrial promotionals), and I don't recall anything naughty in 'em. Nearest in form to Girl Talk - of my suggestions anyway - but since the source material is a few decades older it's got a different feel to it.
The Spat by Cut Chemist. I don't know if little kids will get it, but at least the cartoon is cute.
(In a similar spirit, Fender Bender by Kid Koala)
A few tracks from Sounds for the Sun-Set by RIAA. Unfortunately not all of them, but the source list for each track ought to help with prescreening. (Other albums by RIAA/MR FAB might qualify too, but I haven't heard 'em yet. Unlike my other suggestions, these are free to download.)
posted by ardgedee at 6:19 PM on January 4, 2011
Product Placement (sorry for annoyingly long intro) and Brain Freeze by DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist. Each of them have recordings with more, um, diverse language, but these two are comprised entirely from old '45s (R&B, kids' records, industrial promotionals), and I don't recall anything naughty in 'em. Nearest in form to Girl Talk - of my suggestions anyway - but since the source material is a few decades older it's got a different feel to it.
The Spat by Cut Chemist. I don't know if little kids will get it, but at least the cartoon is cute.
(In a similar spirit, Fender Bender by Kid Koala)
A few tracks from Sounds for the Sun-Set by RIAA. Unfortunately not all of them, but the source list for each track ought to help with prescreening. (Other albums by RIAA/MR FAB might qualify too, but I haven't heard 'em yet. Unlike my other suggestions, these are free to download.)
posted by ardgedee at 6:19 PM on January 4, 2011
I've been enjoying Daft Punk's "Alive 2007" album lately, which is a bit like Girl Talk only they're mashing up their own stuff. Maybe not as layered and not too much humor, but it does have a wonderful positive energy and nearly every track is danceable.
posted by A dead Quaker at 6:19 PM on January 4, 2011
posted by A dead Quaker at 6:19 PM on January 4, 2011
Oh man, how could I forget Pogo? Great, great stuff. Might be a little too sliced-and-spliced, though.
And there's also Kutiman, who did the epic Thru-You series and has continued producing edit-based music.
posted by ardgedee at 6:29 PM on January 4, 2011 [2 favorites]
And there's also Kutiman, who did the epic Thru-You series and has continued producing edit-based music.
posted by ardgedee at 6:29 PM on January 4, 2011 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Party Ben does pretty simple mashups. He names all components of the mashup so you know what to expect. Pretty lightweight but fun stuff for the most part.
posted by newpotato at 6:39 PM on January 4, 2011
posted by newpotato at 6:39 PM on January 4, 2011
I know that this is not recent music at all, but after a friend introduced me to Girl Talk, my immediate first reaction was that it was just a modern adaptation of Jive Bunny and the Master Mixers. Done with older tunes, that are more kid friendly, it still maintains that mash-up layered aesthetic that your daughter might find appealing. Give it a try. I might be able to rifle through my dad's old cassette collection to find it...
posted by swimbikerun at 9:08 PM on January 4, 2011
posted by swimbikerun at 9:08 PM on January 4, 2011
Well, I just got home and popped Uneasy Listening Vol. 1 in for a trip down memory lane.... and the intro drops an s-bomb in the first 20 seconds. But I honestly believe that's the extent of it (at least until the end of the mix when that dumb voice comes back to outro) and the rest of the mix is harmless stuff anyone who loved 80's pop radio hits would know and enjoy.
posted by carsonb at 9:13 PM on January 4, 2011
posted by carsonb at 9:13 PM on January 4, 2011
Your mention jogs my memory--check out Coldcut, Double D and Steinski, and maybe Buchanan and Goodman.
posted by box at 9:17 PM on January 4, 2011
posted by box at 9:17 PM on January 4, 2011
Seconding Product Placement & Brain Freeze. Awesome albums. And anything by Party Ben. P.B. has about 100 "Sixx Mixxes" floating around. Each one is about 40 minutes and there must be enough that would live up to a no-cuss standard if you sifted them ahead of time.
posted by clango at 7:17 AM on January 5, 2011
posted by clango at 7:17 AM on January 5, 2011
> check out Coldcut, Double D and Steinski
"The Lessons" by Double D and Steinski are good - they're mostly assembled from radio-safe funk and hip-hop. Be careful of Steinski's solo work, which frequently deals with dark or adult themes, even when the vocabulary is safe for family hour.
A lot of Coldcut's work is politically charged, which might be neither here nor there for you, but worth noting. Also, they remix a lot and get remixed a lot, so you can't tell just by looking whether a given version of a kid-safe track will or won't be kid-safe.
posted by ardgedee at 7:47 AM on January 5, 2011
"The Lessons" by Double D and Steinski are good - they're mostly assembled from radio-safe funk and hip-hop. Be careful of Steinski's solo work, which frequently deals with dark or adult themes, even when the vocabulary is safe for family hour.
A lot of Coldcut's work is politically charged, which might be neither here nor there for you, but worth noting. Also, they remix a lot and get remixed a lot, so you can't tell just by looking whether a given version of a kid-safe track will or won't be kid-safe.
posted by ardgedee at 7:47 AM on January 5, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks for the suggestions. I'll be slowly going through these and vetting them. Best answers to come...
posted by The corpse in the library at 9:21 AM on January 5, 2011
posted by The corpse in the library at 9:21 AM on January 5, 2011
newpotato, Party Ben is also involved with Bootie Mashups FWIW.
posted by dolface at 9:31 AM on January 5, 2011
posted by dolface at 9:31 AM on January 5, 2011
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posted by The corpse in the library at 3:43 PM on January 4, 2011