Beings Entering Anarchistic States Towards Internal Excellence

The title of this entry is what the name B.E.A.S.T.I.E. stands for. In all of the years that I've followed and been a fan of the Beastie Boys I just discovered that meaning within the last few years. According to Wikipedia the name was created by a former guitarist when they used to be a hardcore punk band. Yes believe it or not, the band used to play punk rock only in their early days from '82-'85. Then this masterpiece came about in 1986.



I still recall receiving my first copy of Licenced to Ill. A girl at this grocery store I worked at in high school exchanged Christmas gifts with me as we both loved music. I bought her Bon Jovi's 7800 Fahrenheit as I couldn't find a copy of Slippery When Wet anywhere so I thought it was an adequate substitute since it was the same group. She bought me the Beastie Boys major label debut.

By the way, both her Bon Jovi and my Beastie Boys were on the awesome cassette tape (!) format since compact discs had just come out the previous year and digital music was just a dream :) I laughed out loud when I recently told my brother-in-law that I rocked the cassette with my first copy of ILL. I still have that cassette in my basement along with hundreds of other cassettes slowly deteriorating. 1, 2, 3...Hot Tub Time Machine!

Now back to the future: Michael "Mike D" Diamond, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz and Adam "MCA" just released their latest awesome creation entitled Hot Sauce Committee, Part 2 on 3 May 2011. There was a delay in its release as MCA was diagnosed with throat cancer last year. Hot Sauce Committee, Part 1 was scrapped and the tracks were updated and added to Part 2.

Of course I received my copy (compact disc!) from the fan club the day it was released and listened to it non-stop in my car. It's hard to believe the Beastie Boys have now been recording over 25 years (28 if you count their minor label releases). Boy that makes me feel extremely old as I've been following them non-stop since Licensed to ILL came out in '86.

To get even more Back to the Future-esque, MCA directed a 30 minute video for "Fight For Your Right Revisited" which includes a stellar who's who among the Hollywood industry (and a DeLorean naturally). The premise of the story is picking up where the original "Fight For Your Right (to Party)" video left off in the '80s after the party ended. The difference now is MCA is played by Danny McBride (Eastbound and Down), Ad-Rock is Elijah Wood (Lord of the Rings) and Mike D is Seth Rogen (Pineapple Express, Knocked Up). When I first heard the casting I thought "how odd are those guys going to be?" But it works very well, the guys have their mannerisms and image down to a T. Also included in the short film are actors like Rashida Jones, Orlando Bloom, Stanley Tucci, Susan Sarandon, Ted Danson, Kirsten Dunst, Jack Black and Will Ferrell just to name a few. I've watched it several times to try and identify everyone involved in the process. It's an amazing piece of work, extremely funny and crazy as expected, I wouldn't expect any less from these guys. "Make Some Noise", "Say It" and "Too Many Rappers" from the new album are the songs featured in the short. Here's a link to check it out as it's a must watch. Hopefully the link stays valid for awhile.

Fight For Your Right Revisited

Obviously the Beastie Boys have and will continue to be one of my favorite bands. With MCA's bout with cancer I'm not sure how long they'll continue recording but I'll continue to buy new music the first day it's available. When I started listening to them in the '80s I was a huge fan of rap music. In fact I listened to a ton of different groups then. Looking back I can list my Mount Rushmore when it comes to rap artists. Here's the list in no particular order:

1. Beastie Boys (of course)
2. Run-DMC (huge influence on the Beasties, true pioneers)
3. LL Cool J (awesome lyricist, great rhymes)

Run-DMC in particular were one of my favorites since they started in 1983. I recall their album Raising Hell came out in 1986 along with Licensed to ILL. Between both artists, I never went to a party or rode in someone's car without hearing either of those albums. In fact "Slow and Low" from ILL was a track thrown away by Run-DMC I read later. The B-Boys changed a few lyrics and made it their own. To this day it remains one of my favorite early Beastie Boys songs, particularly enhanced by the fact that technically it's a Run-DMC cut. I was particularly dismayed when Jam Master Jay was shot and killed in 2000, but glad Run-DMC made it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as it was an honor well-deserved.

"Fight For Your Right Revisited" ends with the following words "To Be Continued, Check Back in 25 Years". As long as they keep recording, I'll keep buying. And whenever they stop recording I'll enjoy the time I had with the band.

The Intergalactic Body Movin' B-Boys Makin' With the Freak Freak continuing the Rhymin' and Stealin' til it's Time to Get Ill. So Whatcha Want?