Deciphering every sample in a Girl Talk mash-up can be like trying to find your lost contact lens in the middle of a dance party. Dozens of lists exist online that pinpoint each snippet he lays down, but in a recent chat with the Pittsburgh native, we found ourselves more interested in quality than quantity. Girl Talk gives Page Two insight into the reasons for some of his song choices:

“Windowlicker” (Aphex Twin): “To me, Aphex Twin and Squarepusher are heroes of doing laptop music or electronic music. Even though my stuff sounds drastically different than what they do, they're a huge influence.”

“Pretty Woman” (Roy Orbison): “It was part of a big case for copyright issues. 2 Live Crew was sued for sampling 'Pretty Woman,' so that was like a weird, nerdy reference to that case.”

“Possum Kingdom” (Toadies): “It's a song that I love, but it has an unconventional time signature. Somehow it became a party staple. It's very sing-along.”

“Ah! Leah!” (Donny Iris): “I've always tried to incorporate Donny Iris. He's kind of like Pittsburgh's version of Bruce Springsteen.”

Pretty much anything by Hall & Oates: “I know my parents get pumped because I put Hall & Oates on my records because of them. When I know they're coming out to a show, I'll try to incorporate some Hall & Oates specifically for them. But I think on the new album there is no Hall & Oates, and I think they've been a little disappointed in that.”

Girl Talk performs at 8 p.m. on Mon., March 21, and Sat., March 26, at the Hollywood Palladium.

Girl Talk: Head band on the run

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.