Urgent, anxious and angry, To The 5 Boroughs sounds like it needed to be made. Coming a few years after the events of 9/11, the Beastie Boys have crafted a leaner, more nostalgic punch that is both a homage to the rap of their youth as well as the city that turned them into the artists they became. Continue reading “Beastie Boys: To The 5 Boroughs (2004)”
There’s an art to compilations, and it’s not always the same art. Does that make sense? I don’t know – it’s currently 10:30 in the morning and I’ve already had a snort of whisky in my coffee. Anyway, compilations can be a generic overview, target a specific period in time, or – if they’re really ambitious – display an evolution of artistic exploration in such a way as to capture an essence, a distillation of what makes a band unique. So enter The Sounds of Science by the Beastie Boys. Continue reading “Beastie Boys: The Sounds of Science (1999)”
We’re back…with an album I intended to cover a few weeks ago, so I’m going off the few notes I scribbled down concerning Hello Nasty, the 1998 melange of styles brought to the table by the one, the only, Beastie Boys. Breaking out of the grungy soul/funk hybrids that made up Check Your Head and Ill Communication, things go a little more old school 80s with a lot more traditional sampling and scratching, but the imprint of what the band did is unmistakable. Continue reading “Beastie Boys: Hello Nasty (1998)”
Yes, this is the one with “Sabotage” and as gigantic as that song was (and still is), it’s almost a shame that it overshadows some of the finer moments of Ill Communication, the fourth album from the Beastie Boys. I’m not going to pretend “Sabotage” isn’t a great song, but coming back to the full album after so much time it feels a little like the grander, more polished version of Check Your Head. Which is great, but not enough to put this album over the top in my ranking of the B-Boys discography. Continue reading “Beastie Boys: Ill Communication (1994)”
It’s telling that the Beastie Boys are pictured with instruments on the cover of Check Your Head, their third album. Constantly searching and evolving, the group put more of an emphasis on using live instrumentation, bringing in much more of the punk, rock, and soul/funk roots that colored their childhood. If Paul’s Boutique is (arguably) the “best” Beastie Boys album, then Check Your Head is my favorite Beastie Boys album, the one that made me fall in love with the band. Continue reading “Beastie Boys: Check Your Head (1992)”
The sonic leap between License to Ill and Paul’s Boutique is – quite frankly – insane. Freed from the shackles of Def Jam, Rick Rubin, and expectations of the fun but juvenile hip-hop of their debut, Mike D., Ad Rock and MCA, aka the Beastie Boys were able to dive deep into their influences and craft one of the best albums of all time, regardless of genre. We can certainly argue this, but you’d be wrong. Continue reading “Beastie Boys: Paul’s Boutique (1989)”
Consuming the Tangible 