Mark Hosler of Negativland

"I look at the whole system of politics and power and law in our country and I see it as being so completely screwed up. It's unfixable. It doesn't work."

-- Negativland's Mark Hosler

Gregg Gillis has made a name for himself as the popular mash-up artist Girl Talk.

He used more than 200 unauthorized samples on his Feed the Animals album, which the New York Times Magazine, in July, labeled "a lawsuit waiting to happen."

Rewind almost 30 years.

California's Negativland formed in 1979 as an experimental music and sound group, coining the term "culture jamming."

"Negativland was at the cutting-edge with our type of work," says Mark Hosler, a founding member of the band.

Since 1980, Negativland has used unauthorized samples from music, noise, film, talk radio, TV shows, children's records and even telephone calls to make "audio collages" into albums.

One result: highly-unusual, compelling, creative and toe-tapping tracks.

Another result: two lawsuits for copyright infringement, including one by major-label Island Records for sampling U2's music and using the band's logo.

"We don't ask for permission to use the bits and pieces of things that we recombine in our work," says Hosler, who was also invited by the Digital Freedom Campaign to be a citizen lobbyist in Washington, D.C.

"We don't think we should be getting in trouble for it. We think that our approach to this is a totally legitimate, creative, aesthetic artistic practice."

Negativland's penchant for stirring the pot goes deeper than music.

With more than a dozen albums, three DVDs and various CDs from their weekly live radio show, Hosler and crew are coming to Boulder on Tuesday and Wednesday for a two-hour-long theological "It's All in Your Head FM" show.

The performance, which Hosler calls a "documentary collage," is performed as a live on-stage radio show, examining the idea of God, monotheism and fundamentalism.

"It's timely and timeless," Hosler says. "We all wonder about our place in the universe and what we think and what happens after we die."

'All in Your Head'

Hosler says in post-9/11 America, Negativland wanted to pursue a show that addresses issues relevant to the present day.

An influence for the "It's All in Your Head FM" show is his concern with the resurgence of fundamentalism in religion and how it is playing a role in politics and war.

"We've had a president for the last eight years who thinks that God tells him what to do and he's fighting against terrorists who think God tells them what to do -- and that's kind of problematic. To put it mildly," he says, laughing.

Hosler says the show will strike a chord with open-minded people.

Be careful, though. It may push your buttons. It may be emotional. Strong reactions to the show are likely. But it will be thought provoking. And it will be funny.

He says first and foremost, the group wanted to do a show that pushed them past their own comfort zones.

Now, they'll push yours.

"Can we do a show that is actually challenging to that person?" he says. "Can we do a show that when the night is over, hopefully you really enjoyed it, but you are also left with a lot to think about, to discuss or debate with people?"

But he's not worried about the Boulder audience.

"I really thought Boulder is a great place to do this show," he says. "Boulder definitely has many people who are interested in alternative types of spirituality and different belief systems. I also think it's a place that is filled with a lot of people who are pretty left-of-center and intelligent."

Nat Kramer, former host of Radio 1190's Rude Awakening morning show, is a self-proclaimed big fan of Negativland.

As a co-founder of CU's Media Production Consortium -- which is bringing the act to campus, thanks to student funding -- Kramer says he is excited to bring something different to Boulder.

"We have decided to bring some really challenging, interesting, experimental music to campus," says Kramer, who is a broadcast production and journalism senior. "A lot of the stuff that goes on in town is really commercial."

Kramer says some of the venues around town not only charge $20-$50 a show, but they bring in acts that aren't "designed for artistic appreciation."

With Negativland, he says, you'll get artistic appreciation.

"I really hope that people who are just interested in what the show is about come check it out, because you don't have to know anything about Negativland," Hosler says. "It's definitely an experimental and unusual approach to the subject matter and performance.

"But it's also really accessible, too."