The alias of Pittsburgh native Gregg Gillis, known as Girl Talk, is redefining the value and meaning of music as one of the world's best-known mashup artists. Each Girl Talk track is painstakingly constructed out of dozens of pieces of other songs, ranging from Motown classics to modern rock and hip-hop. The result is exuberant experimental dance music that blends and juxtaposes disparate genres, styles, and artists. Gillis uses bits of up to twenty individual songs to form a single Girl Talk song, claiming that each minute of music takes him about a day to create. Armed with his laptop, he makes each live show a non-stop party, with fans often joining him on stage.

Girl Talk is by far the biggest act on Illegal Art, a label dedicated to sampling artists. While some consider Girl Talk to be a legal powder keg, since Gillis doesn't solicit permission from copyright owners, he claims that by only incorporating short, fleeting fragments of songs, he's protected by the fair use doctrine. His 2008 album Feed the Animals, which was released under a pay-what-you-want system, was named by Rolling Stone, Blender, and Time to be one of their top picks for the year.

Call it art, or call it theft. Call it whatever you want, but whatever you do, don't call Gillis "just a DJ." As he told the New York Times, "I want to be a musician and not just a party DJ. And like any musician I want to put out a classic album." ALLISON FORD