Illegal Art released '' Night Ripper '' on May 9 , 2006 as a digital download on their website . Strong demand prompted the label to produce physical CD and LP copies of the album for shipping to select record stores , as well as make it available for purchase on several online retailers . Illegal Art did not clear any of the samples used on '' Night Ripper '' , leading to several problems in the album 's distribution and release . At least one CD manufacturing plant refused to press the album , and the head of another plant asked Gillis and his label to justify the use of two specifically chosen samples . Online music stores eMusic and iTunes both pulled '' Night Ripper '' from sale due to sample clearance concerns . Anticipating lawsuits , Illegal Art prepared a defense citing the fair use trademark law as a legal backbone for the album 's use of samples . The label also went over the possibility of a royalty system , but ultimately scrapped it when they decided that it would only weaken their fair use argument . When asked about the possibility of suing Gillis and Illegal Art , however , one major-label executive stated his belief that filing a lawsuit against a minor independent label – especially for an album which , at that point , had barely sold 10,000 copies – would only bring bad publicity . Ultimately , no lawsuits materialized in wake of the album 's success , which Gillis described as " liberating . " The album 's positive reception boosted Gillis ' popularity and reputation , and '' Night Ripper '' has been described as his breakthrough album . Following the album 's release , American musician Beck asked Gillis to open for him at a concert in London . '' Blender '' also invited him to perform at their MTV Video Music Awards after-party . Several artists commissioned Gillis to produce remixes of their tracks , including Beck , Good Charlotte , Grizzly Bear and Peter Bjorn and John . '' Night Ripper '' has sold over 20,000 copies in the United States , according to Nielsen SoundScan . Recalling in a 2016 interview , almost ten years after the release of the album , Gillis said , " '' Night Ripper '' was clearly the album that took off for me and definitely changed my life . " '' Night Ripper '' was generally well received by contemporary music critics . In a rave review , Cam Lindsay of '' Exclaim ! '' praised the album 's " extraordinary " cohesion and wrote : " Gillis is a rigorous craftsman , and his assembling skill is near perfect down to the second , introducing the next song at the most opportune moment . " '' Pitchfork '' s Sean Fennessey also responded favorably , commending the " pure precision " of Girl Talk 's sampling and naming the album the " soundtrack of the summer " for 2006 . Robert Christgau , in his " Consumer Guide " column for MSN Music , called '' Night Ripper '' " the best mash-up album since 2002 's '' The Best Bootlegs in the World Ever '' " and compared Girl Talk to prominent samplers DJ Shadow and The Avalanches , " only with obvious samples rather than obscure ones "
MTV Video Music Awards
2006 MTV Video Music Awards
Night Ripper