Doyle Demonstrates Mad Music Skillz
If lawmaking doesn’t pan out for Pennsylvania Democrat Mike Doyle, he could always take his act on the road. During a House Commerce Committee hearing on the future of radio, he told "a little story about a local guy done good."
That guy is Gregg Gillis, who works as a biomedical engineer by day and DJs at night under the name "Girl Talk." His music mash-ups have topped the charts of Rolling Stone and Spin magazines. The man can blend Elton John, Notorious B.I.G. and Destiny's Child all in the span of 30 seconds, Doyle said.
But Gillis' schtick relies on remixing copyrighted material so legitimate audio service eMusic.com took his content offline for possible infringement. Now he's flying all over the world opening concerts and remixing for artists like Beck, Doyle noted.
He said he hoped his fellow congressmen would "take a step back and ask themselves if mash-ups and mix tapes are really different, or if it's the same as Paul McCartney admitting he nicked a Chuck Berry bass riff and used it on the Beatles hit 'I Saw Her Standing There.'"
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., said Doyle's remarks were about as clear as mud. He joked that his colleague had given up drinking alcohol for Lent but might want to get back on the sauce because he used to make more sense.
Update: Doyle said later in the hearing that he did not give up alcohol for Lent. He gave up Brussels sprouts.
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