Certain things should never be combined: Oil and water over a hot pan, a shot of tequila followed by another shot of tequila, Mel Gibson and … well, a shot of tequila. These are of some of many potentially lethal combinations that this world has to offer.

One to add to the list: Nickelback and Soulja Boy Tell 'Em. I recently heard an ill-executed mash-up of Nickelback's "This Is How You Remind Me" and Soulja Boy's "Kiss Me Through the Phone." It was an ear grenade (and I'm being merciful).

But not all mash-ups are concocted by amateurs. Sitting on the coveted throne as king of mash-ups is Gregg Gillis, better known as Girl Talk. He is capable of combining such eclectic songs as Unk's "Walk it Out" with Pete Townshend's "Let My Love Open the Door" and creating an ethereal-almost surreal-sound.

Unfortunately, record companies have declared an "intellectual property" war on Girl Talk, claiming that he has no artistic rights to the music he is ripping. What they fail to understand is that mash-ups reflect a basic creative process called artistic evolution. This is what has taken the music world from jazz to blues to rock to rap. And it has lead us here, whether we're prepared for it or not, to Girl Talk.

Nothing is new under the sun. I borrowed that from the Bible's Book of Ecclesiastes (perhaps I should say "ripped" because I do not have artistic claim over the Holy Book). In fact, the only example I can think of someone creating anything new from nothing at all is in the Bible. God created the world in seven days. He said, "Let there be light," and suddenly all was illuminated.

The rest of us mortals can only create from what has already been established. No inspiration comes out of thin air or from a vacuum. This is the driving notion in the artistic evolution theory: Art is constantly evolving because we take what we already know and mold it into something new.

Sculptors of the Renaissance borrowed aesthetics and subjects from classical times. Marcel Duchamp (of the Dada movement) borrowed the image of Da Vinci's "Mona Lisa," added a mustache and made something fresh with a different purpose.

Girl Talk borrows hooks from artists across the spectrum, and he unleashes a sound new to the music industry. He, unlike any artist before him, isn't coy about artistic evolution. Instead of being slightly inspired by music made before his, he acts as a musical magpie-taking various songs from place to place and building something original from them. He may not be using melodies and lyrics of his own but, some how, he's one of the most creative artists out there.

It isn't shocking that record labels are declaring music like Gillis' an infraction on intellectual property laws. This is a world where the song "Happy Birthday" can't even be sung on television without the program being fined for copyright infringement. Time Warner owns the rights to the song until the year 2030. By that time, I'll be 41 and in no mood to hear that song remind me of my age.

It's a shame that Girl Talk's music and the music of other mash-up artists is being tangled in this bottomless conflict of illegal downloading and intellectual property. Thwarting this music is thwarting the creative process (one that requires borrowing) entirely.

Perhaps these records labels should just take a shot of tequila, listen to some Girl Talk and relax.