Building Steam With a Grain of Salt
Endtroducing….., DJ Shadow’s legendary debut record, shows two dudes browsing a record store on its cover. While it does serve as a hint of what to expect from the actual record, it’s more of an understatement than anything. The crate digging that must have gone down in preparation for this record is simply mind-boggling. 99% of this hour-long album is composed of obscure samples, not one of which I was successful in naming. While some vocals were recorded in a studio, it’s simply amazing when you think of everything that went into this record.
Haters call this type of hip-hop lazy and uninventive—if DJ Shadow didn’t create any of the samples used, he’s just taking credit for the work of others. This is also the type of person who goes to Nickelback concerts, so it’s probably best to just ignore them. It takes some serious skill to do what DJ Shadow does over and over again on this album—the man brings music of all different genres, as well as some spoken-word stuff, together to form some trippy, dreamy, beautiful soundscapes.
To this 2011 listener, it’s impossible not to think of the work of Girl Talk when listening to this record. Yeah, the albums have their differences (in addition to sounding nothing alike), but it’s just where I immediately go when I hear an album composed almost entirely of samples. And when I write that the two artists sound nothing alike, I mean they sound nothing alike. The goal of a Girl Talk record is to pump up and invigorate the listener through really catchy, ever-changing samples, where half of the joy comes from being able to shout “OMG GUIZE I KNOW THAT SONG” 30 times a minute. Entroducing….., on the other hand, puts you in the polar-opposite mindset of chiiiiiiiled ouuuuuuut, and half of that relaxed joy comes from constantly saying “where the hell did he find that one?”
Swole Ear 
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