Beastie Boys

[Electrophile]

I didn't see a dedicated thread to them during a quick search of this part of the board, and I thought I'd start one in case there were any other fans of them out there. Admittedly I'm not the biggest fan of rap music, but I really, really like their stuff. I didn't think I would. I think it's because they started out as a punk band, so there's a base of musicianship there, which they have utilized quite a bit on several albums. One of my favorite albums of theirs is ironically, one with no lyrics:

They are damn good instrumentalists. The video for the song Off The Grid demonstrates that -- I think a lot of people don't know that about them, actually.

[Strider]

Love the Beasties. Just got their new CD "Hot Sauce Committee Part Two" last week. Still in the process of digesting it; my first impression is that like other recent albums, it's uneven.

IMO, "Hello Nasty!" was their last great album. You should at least have their first 5 albums: License to Ill; Paul's Boutique; Check Your Head; Ill Communication; and Hello Nasty!. Especially now that they've been released in remastered special editions with B-sides and instrumental jams.

I first heard of the Beach Boys when I saw them open for Madonna on her Like a Virgin tour, April 1985 at the Universal Amphitheatre. Believe me, I took a lot of ribbing from friends about liking Madonna. In fact, the Madonna shows were shortly after the run of Iron Maiden shows at Long Beach Arena that were recorded for Live After Death...SCREAM FOR ME LONG BEACH!

So I caught hell from Maiden fans when I said I was going to the Madonna concert. Didn't know anything about the Beastie Boys...don't even think I knew they were opening. I was purely going for Madonna...well, and because my GF wanted to go, too.

The Beasties were rough, rowdy, and showed some promise but a lot of it was silly nonsense. Surely nothing that would suggest they would soon release rap's first #1 album. I can't even remember what their setlist was...I do remember my GF hated them and just wanted Madonna to come on.

Next thing I know, it's 1986 and Fight for your Right to Party is ALL OVER MTV. I immediately go out and buy License to Ill and from the very first sampled John Bonham beats from When the Levee Breaks, I am hooked. I especially perk up when I recognize the Ocean riffs in She's Crafty. Wow, these guys dig Zeppelin/hard rock and are repurposing it in interesting ways.

Around the same time I got hooked on the album, Run-DMC's Raising Hell tour was coming to LA, and the Beasties were one of the opening acts. The show ended up being crazy with fights breaking out between gang members, but I recall being enthused by the Beastie Boys set.

Their own headlining tour for License to Hill in 1987 is legendary: girls dancing in cages, inflatable cock on loan from the Rolling Stones, and beer, beer, BEER EVERYWHERE! It got to the point where the boys could barely stay upright, the stage was so slippery from beer. It was a CONCERT PARTY of epic proportions.

And just in time, too, since the previous party band supreme, Van Halen, had now, with the departure of David Lee Roth, become Van Hagar, boring boomer dad-rock.

What really sealed the deal in making me a life-long Beastie fan was 1989's Paul's Boutique, a textural, kaleidoscope of sound...a masterpiece that no record collection should be without. And it's not just the sampling prowess that made the Beasties great, it was their voices and the way they bounced off each other...ping-ponging rapidly between singing solo to singing in tandem or all three together. It helped that all 3 (MCA, Adrock, Mike D) had distinct voices so you could tell who was singing what.

I was an MCA fan myself...he was my fave Beastie Boy. I think it was his raspy voice.

But where the Beastie Boys truly separated themselves from the rap pack was in their live shows. Most rap concerts of the time were disappointments, with the headliner doing a few lines and then letting his backups or the crowd fill in the blanks. And you often never got a full song; instead you got the dreaded rap-medley. Then there's the hoary cliché of the chant "put your hands in the air and wave 'em like you just don't care". With a couple exceptions, like RUN-DMC and Public Enemy, most rap groups were lazy and their shows were lame and amateurish.

The Beasties concerts were different; for one thing they approached it like a rock concert. So you got a full show, with full song performances. Later, in the 90's, they would switch up between using a DJ and playing their own instruments, with the addition of Money Mark on the organ.

In short, they raised the bar for rap concerts, and forced rappers to step up their game or fade to oblivion.

[Electrophile]

Hello Nasty is a great album. Intergalactic is one of those songs that you could put on at any party, and everyone will like it, even if they're not fans of rap music. Same with a lot of their other songs, to be honest. They have the ability to appeal to a wide demographic of people. Which is great for career longevity, which we've seen.

I just think it's really, really awesome that they have the ability to go from rap/hip-hop to instrumental rock and roll, like the album The Mix Up. They're awesome. I'd love to see them live if they go back on the road once MCA's health allows for it.

[Jahfin]

They're one of those bands I've developed an appreciation of over years yet I've never really been a fan of their music. I know that when I used to hear "Fight for Your Right (To Party)" ad nauseum back in the 80s I never figured they'd be in it for the long haul. My nephew played me Paul's Boutique back when it first came out. Even though it wasn't my cup of tea I could appreciate the way they crafted all those samples into some very cool sound collages. It showed you could use samples but still be original.

[Electrophile]

Love the Beasties. Just got their new CD "Hot Sauce Committee Part Two" last week. Still in the process of digesting it; my first impression is that like other recent albums, it's uneven.

IMO, "Hello Nasty!" was their last great album. You should at least have their first 5 albums: License to Ill; Paul's Boutique; Check Your Head; Ill Communication; and Hello Nasty!. Especially now that they've been released in remastered special editions with B-sides and instrumental jams.

I first heard of the Beach Boys when I saw them open for Madonna on her Like a Virgin tour, April 1985 at the Universal Amphitheatre. Believe me, I took a lot of ribbing from friends about liking Madonna. In fact, the Madonna shows were shortly after the run of Iron Maiden shows at Long Beach Arena that were recorded for Live After Death...SCREAM FOR ME LONG BEACH!

So I caught hell from Maiden fans when I said I was going to the Madonna concert. Didn't know anything about the Beastie Boys...don't even think I knew they were opening. I was purely going for Madonna...well, and because my GF wanted to go, too.

The Beasties were rough, rowdy, and showed some promise but a lot of it was silly nonsense. Surely nothing that would suggest they would soon release rap's first #1 album. I can't even remember what their setlist was...I do remember my GF hated them and just wanted Madonna to come on.

Next thing I know, it's 1986 and Fight for your Right to Party is ALL OVER MTV. I immediately go out and buy License to Ill and from the very first sampled John Bonham beats from When the Levee Breaks, I am hooked. I especially perk up when I recognize the Ocean riffs in She's Crafty. Wow, these guys dig Zeppelin/hard rock and are repurposing it in interesting ways.

Around the same time I got hooked on the album, Run-DMC's Raising Hell tour was coming to LA, and the Beasties were one of the opening acts. The show ended up being crazy with fights breaking out between gang members, but I recall being enthused by the Beastie Boys set.

Their own headlining tour for License to Hill in 1987 is legendary: girls dancing in cages, inflatable cock on loan from the Rolling Stones, and beer, beer, BEER EVERYWHERE! It got to the point where the boys could barely stay upright, the stage was so slippery from beer. It was a CONCERT PARTY of epic proportions.

And just in time, too, since the previous party band supreme, Van Halen, had now, with the departure of David Lee Roth, become Van Hagar, boring boomer dad-rock.

What really sealed the deal in making me a life-long Beastie fan was 1989's Paul's Boutique, a textural, kaleidoscope of sound...a masterpiece that no record collection should be without. And it's not just the sampling prowess that made the Beasties great, it was their voices and the way they bounced off each other...ping-ponging rapidly between singing solo to singing in tandem or all three together. It helped that all 3 (MCA, Adrock, Mike D) had distinct voices so you could tell who was singing what.

I was an MCA fan myself...he was my fave Beastie Boy. I think it was his raspy voice.

But where the Beastie Boys truly separated themselves from the rap pack was in their live shows. Most rap concerts of the time were disappointments, with the headliner doing a few lines and then letting his backups or the crowd fill in the blanks. And you often never got a full song; instead you got the dreaded rap-medley. Then there's the hoary cliché of the chant "put your hands in the air and wave 'em like you just don't care". With a couple exceptions, like RUN-DMC and Public Enemy, most rap groups were lazy and their shows were lame and amateurish.

The Beasties concerts were different; for one thing they approached it like a rock concert. So you got a full show, with full song performances. Later, in the 90's, they would switch up between using a DJ and playing their own instruments, with the addition of Money Mark on the organ.

In short, they raised the bar for rap concerts, and forced rappers to step up their game or fade to oblivion.

Paul's Boutique is awesome (and not just because they sampled Pink Floyd ) because it was really sh!t on when it came out, and was never really appreciated completely unti decades later.

My fave B-Boy is Ad-Rock. He's one hell of a guitarist, too.

[SuperDave]

To me, Paul's Boutique is definitely their best. Not their most commercially successful album, but I think creatively it's tops.

[Strider]

Paul's Boutique is the Beastie's Led Zep III.

Just as Zeppelin knew regurgitating Whole Lotta Love was a creative dead end, so too did the Beastie Boys sense they couldn't just redo License to Ill if they wanted to be thought of as more than a novelty. They needed a game-changer. Paul's Boutique certainly changed the game...thanks in no small way to the contributions of the Dust Brothers.

LZ III didn't sell well but set the stage for their creative explosion and cultural and commercial longevity. The same could be said for Paul's Boutique...the frat jocks who loved Licensed to Ill may not have liked it, but it became beloved by the indie/underground creative scene, so that by the time Check Your Head came out, the Beasties were cultural avatars.

It's just a shame that they never toured Paul's Boutique.

[beatbo]

Love the Beasties. Just got their new CD "Hot Sauce Committee Part Two" last week. Still in the process of digesting it; my first impression is that like other recent albums, it's uneven.

IMO, "Hello Nasty!" was their last great album. You should at least have their first 5 albums: License to Ill; Paul's Boutique; Check Your Head; Ill Communication; and Hello Nasty!. Especially now that they've been released in remastered special editions with B-sides and instrumental jams.

I first heard of the Beach Boys when I saw them open for Madonna on her Like a Virgin tour, April 1985 at the Universal Amphitheatre. Believe me, I took a lot of ribbing from friends about liking Madonna. In fact, the Madonna shows were shortly after the run of Iron Maiden shows at Long Beach Arena that were recorded for Live After Death...SCREAM FOR ME LONG BEACH!

So I caught hell from Maiden fans when I said I was going to the Madonna concert. Didn't know anything about the Beastie Boys...don't even think I knew they were opening. I was purely going for Madonna...well, and because my GF wanted to go, too.

The Beasties were rough, rowdy, and showed some promise but a lot of it was silly nonsense. Surely nothing that would suggest they would soon release rap's first #1 album. I can't even remember what their setlist was...I do remember my GF hated them and just wanted Madonna to come on.

Next thing I know, it's 1986 and Fight for your Right to Party is ALL OVER MTV. I immediately go out and buy License to Ill and from the very first sampled John Bonham beats from When the Levee Breaks, I am hooked. I especially perk up when I recognize the Ocean riffs in She's Crafty. Wow, these guys dig Zeppelin/hard rock and are repurposing it in interesting ways.

Around the same time I got hooked on the album, Run-DMC's Raising Hell tour was coming to LA, and the Beasties were one of the opening acts. The show ended up being crazy with fights breaking out between gang members, but I recall being enthused by the Beastie Boys set.

Their own headlining tour for License to Hill in 1987 is legendary: girls dancing in cages, inflatable cock on loan from the Rolling Stones, and beer, beer, BEER EVERYWHERE! It got to the point where the boys could barely stay upright, the stage was so slippery from beer. It was a CONCERT PARTY of epic proportions.

And just in time, too, since the previous party band supreme, Van Halen, had now, with the departure of David Lee Roth, become Van Hagar, boring boomer dad-rock.

What really sealed the deal in making me a life-long Beastie fan was 1989's Paul's Boutique, a textural, kaleidoscope of sound...a masterpiece that no record collection should be without. And it's not just the sampling prowess that made the Beasties great, it was their voices and the way they bounced off each other...ping-ponging rapidly between singing solo to singing in tandem or all three together. It helped that all 3 (MCA, Adrock, Mike D) had distinct voices so you could tell who was singing what.

I was an MCA fan myself...he was my fave Beastie Boy. I think it was his raspy voice.

But where the Beastie Boys truly separated themselves from the rap pack was in their live shows. Most rap concerts of the time were disappointments, with the headliner doing a few lines and then letting his backups or the crowd fill in the blanks. And you often never got a full song; instead you got the dreaded rap-medley. Then there's the hoary cliché of the chant "put your hands in the air and wave 'em like you just don't care". With a couple exceptions, like RUN-DMC and Public Enemy, most rap groups were lazy and their shows were lame and amateurish.

The Beasties concerts were different; for one thing they approached it like a rock concert. So you got a full show, with full song performances. Later, in the 90's, they would switch up between using a DJ and playing their own instruments, with the addition of Money Mark on the organ.

In short, they raised the bar for rap concerts, and forced rappers to step up their game or fade to oblivion.

excellent post. best thing i've ever read on the beastie boys here. i concur on just about all counts. 'pauls boutique' was a real peak i really haven't been dissappointed yet by any of their releases. got to see them several times, the last two being at the free tibet fest at alpine valley in wisconsin and hello nasty tour in the late 90's. killer live.

thanks for the write up. i enjoyed reading it...

[JohnnyBgoode]

I just really dig how gifted each of them are their respective instruments. Not too many people in their genre do that, so its just something really unique.

[Wolfman]

Loving the new album. Tracks 7 and 13 are amazing. Hope they tour!

[SuperDave]

Paul's Boutique is the Beastie's Led Zep III.

Just as Zeppelin knew regurgitating Whole Lotta Love was a creative dead end, so too did the Beastie Boys sense they couldn't just redo License to Ill if they wanted to be thought of as more than a novelty. They needed a game-changer. Paul's Boutique certainly changed the game...thanks in no small way to the contributions of the Dust Brothers.

LZ III didn't sell well but set the stage for their creative explosion and cultural and commercial longevity. The same could be said for Paul's Boutique...the frat jocks who loved Licensed to Ill may not have liked it, but it became beloved by the indie/underground creative scene, so that by the time Check Your Head came out, the Beasties were cultural avatars.

It's just a shame that they never toured Paul's Boutique.

Awesome post and a great analogy! Definitely agree.

[JPJ = the groovinator]

Love the Beasties!!

[SuperDave]

I was never a big fan of their music but over the years I have learned to appreciate their talents. If you think about it, the Beasties were probably the first band to make rap music popular with white kids.

Them and Run DMC.