Today's review is brought to you by one of our guest writers, Evan St. John.
Band Members: vocals/drums: Mike D (Mike Diamond), vocals/bass/keys: MCA (Adam Yauch), vocals/guitar: Ad-Rock (Adam Horowitz), DJ: Mix Master Mike (Mike Schwartz)
Who they are: For those who have been living under a rock for the past two decades, the Beastie Boys are a NYC-native hip-hop group known for their party-boy attitudes and snotty voices almost as much as for their lyrical skills. They formed in 1981 (evolving out of punk band The Young Aborigines) and garnered attention with their release of 1986s Licensed to Ill, which was produced by an early-era Rick Rubin. They broke ground as a group who embraced the sex/drugs/stupidity scheme of the up-and-coming gangsta rap scene (possibly influenced by their punk origins) while remaining more lighthearted and absurd. In their almost thirty years of existence, they have had 4 albums reach the Billboard album charts, have been included on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, and were one of 9 nominees for the 2008 Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame.
Why we love them: They starred in a music video directed by Spike Jonze. They have a predilection for giant robots and inflatable penis stage-props. At the end of their first world tour at the Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool, they incited a riot which led to the arrest of Mix Master Mike –after playing for only ten minutes. Their first release was headlined in Rolling Stone as “Three Idiots Create a Masterpiece”. Fictional band histories aren’t this interesting. What makes the group itself a masterpiece, though, is its longevity and ability to stay current. While “Fight For Your Right to Party” could have been the group’s lasting legacy, the Beastie Boys instead continually reinvented themselves without losing sight of their rebellious mores. After the events of 9/11, they were able to release an album, To the Five Boroughs, in which the artists were able to be both political without being obnoxious, and obnoxious without being overly political. Perhaps most importantly, they combined rock and hip-hop without evoking images of Durstian goatees or Steven Tyler’s cavernous mouth, which is a feat few have mustered over the years. Despite being a collection of scrawny white Jewish boys, they have never lost their credibility in the hip-hop scene and continue to influence artists across the genre-spectrum, and continue to provide American boys with a soundtrack to their adolescence.
Albums/EPs:
- Licensed to Ill (1986)
- Paul’s Boutique (1989)
- Check Your Head (1992)
- Ill Communication (1994)
- Hello Nasty (1998)
- To the 5 Boroughs (2004)
- The Mix-Up (2007)
Favorite Lyric: “I'm the king of Boggle there is none higher/ I get 11 points off the word quagmire”.
Our recommendations: Stay away from “Brass Monkey” or “Fight For Your Right (To Party)”, unless you grew up with them. Instead, check out “3 MCs and One DJ”, “Get It Together” or “Sabotage”. These you can get free by tweeting us @Music_Is_Free.
Coming Up Next: They’re not going to be at ACL, but it’s a band we thought we just have to share with you.
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