CMJ Day 2: The Dance Party

After a relatively ho-hum first night of the CMJ Music Marathon, Jaded Insider sprung back to life thanks to a rousing set from Girl Talk, the brainchild of DJ Gregg Gillis. Taking the DJ Z-Trip mash-up aesthetic to even more of an ADD level, Gillis inspired a sweat-soaked dance party at Mercury Lounge that didn't wind down until well after 2 a.m. By the end, there were 50 people in various states of undress gyrating on the tiny stage, including Rivers Cuomo-lookalike Gillis, who also periodically jumped into the audience to bust a move.

We've found Girl Talk's recordings more annoying than entertaining, what with at times a dozen (unlicensed) samples being crammed together into one track. But live, it's a whole different story. Likewise, the usual tiresome game of "spot the sample" during DJ sets wasn't an issue on this night, simply because Gillis was playing such good, instantly recognizable music.

A sample of what he threw together: Beyonce's "Ring the Alarm" into Biggie's "Juicy," the guitar riff from the Pixies' "Where Is My Mind?," a key verse from Wu-Tang's "C.R.E.A.M.," that elastic bass line from "The Humpty Dance," the melody from Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love," Snap's "The Power!," INXS' "Need You Tonight," the opening salvo from AC/DC's immortal "Thunderstruck," the bizarre juxtaposition of 2 Live Crew's "Hey, We Want Some P*sssy!" and Wings' "Silly Love Songs," Kansas' "Carry On My Wayward Son," Rick Ross' "Hustlin'," Three 6 Mafia's "Stay Fly" and even Nirvana's "Scentless Apprentice."

But the true genius, we think, was closing with Paula Cole's adult pop staple "I Don't Want To Wait." Wait for what? Who cares when it's this much fun?