With my fondness for a good mash-up already documented, I’m not sure how Girl Talk didn’t cross my radar until recently.

Girl Talk is the studio name of one guy, Gregg Gillis, who has taken the established form—vocals from one song laid atop the instrumental track of another—and turned it on its head. Taking tiny bits of well-known pop and rock songs (snare drum, vocal shout, guitar line), the Pittsburgh, PA-based Gillis creatively arranges the disparate pieces to form something entirely fresh and completely original.

In the span of one Girl Talk track, listeners might spot samples of Dr. Dre, Janet Jackson, Jane Child, Britney Spears, Carole King, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Snap!, Prince—yeesh, the list really does go on. And that’s just “Give Me A Beat” from Girl Talk’s fourth release, Feed The Animals.

As you may have guessed, Feed The Animals isn’t available in stores (for those of you still shopping for music). That would be asking for mucho troubles, since none of the nicked samples are cleared by the artists or labels and Gillis is already playing in a legal gray area as it is. Instead, Girl Talk goes the “pay what you wish” route (a la Radiohead). Pay nothing and get high-quality MP3s, or pay a little bit more and get a seamless mix (and an even better quality download).

For a taste of what you can expect, check out “Hands In The Air.” Hear here:

Greg Kot, the Chicago Tribune music critic, wrote a great article about Girl Talk in this past Sunday’s paper. In it, Kot offers a spot-on assessment of “Hands In The Air.”

Head over to Gillis’ label, the aptly named Illegal Art, to grab the Feed The Animals download while you can. With Girl Talk grabbing mainstream press coverage, who knows how long these animals will be allowed to roam free.