Five from Beastie Boys
Picks from Paul's Boutique, To the 5 Boroughs, and Hello Nasty (Blast from the Past Tuesday)
About a week ago, I finished listening to The Beastie Boys (audio)Book. Since then, I’ve taken it upon myself to listen to their whole discography. Although I’m not quite done yet (halfway through The Mix-Up), I figured I’d take today to highlight a couple of the tracks this listen-through has really made me love.
“The Sounds of Science” - Paul’s Boutique
I’m pretty sure I first understood the concept of samples through a Beastie Boys song. I remember having heard Sweet’s “Ballroom Blitz” and being totally shocked when “she thinks she’s the passionate one” interjected right in the middle of “Hey Ladies”! Since then, I always feel a sense of pride when I can pick a sample out by ear. (If you’re wondering, the find that makes me most proud is catching the “ha ha ha ha” in Tribe Called Quest’s “Description of a Fool”, ripped right from Sly & The Family Stone’s “Runnin’ Away”. I digress.) You can imagine how happy I was when going through Paul’s Boutique and immediately picking out the “When I’m Sixty-Four” bass, followed by the “Sgt. Pepper” crowd noise and drums from “The End”! “The Sounds of Science” is a great song not only for the terrific collection of samples, but it’s also just a lot of fun. You start off with a dorky popcorn story-time flow that goes great with the bass-line, then end up with them passing the verse and injecting crazy energy in seconds. Thank god for the rewind button so I can hear the breakdown again and again!
“Oh Word?” - To the 5 Boroughs
It is a HUGE shame that there was no music video for “Oh Word?”. I can see it in my mind — 8-bit background, visual effects fading them in and out as that robotic voice introduces the next Beastie. It’s fun and weird and I think it’s pretty cool how it sits in the middle of what otherwise is a relatively serious album.
“Three MC’s and One DJ” (Live Video Version)
Alright, I lied. I’d heard this one before. But all my other picks have no music videos, and so I figured I had to feature my favorite one! The video version of this song is the absolute best — every time I hear it I can visualize that crazy pose the three of them have, from Ad-Rock’s shifting eyes at the buzz of the door to MCA’s lunge to Mike D’s unblinking stare down of the camera. When Mix Master Mike finally gets to the table, it’s more than worth it. It’s insane what one person can do with their own two hands. “Nobody can do it like Mix Master can” rings real true when you see this one. I like this one a lot because it’s repetitive enough to be reliable but not so simple that you get bored. You literally can’t — every verse is better than the last. And man, when they tell him to “cut faster” it’s just crazy to watch. Beastie Boys did a lot of involved music videos, but this one this warmly funny kind of feel to it that just makes it my favorite of all time.
“Song For The Man” - Hello Nasty
Before hearing Hello Nasty, I was sure Ill Communication was going to be my favorite. But a few particular songs tipped the scales and gave Hello Nasty the lead. “Song for the Man” is certainly one of them. When you start with a dramatic chord fit for Dracula, it can be expected that this is gonna be some kind of undercover-type song. But then you go right to underwater-style vocals accompanied by floating harmonies, and it blew my mind. Think about it. I listened to Aglio e Olio directly before Hello Nasty — terrific album, and while it really thrilled me with the true punk of it all, I was not expecting the mellow watercolor feel of “Song for the Man”. Just shows how much range they really had!
“I Don’t Know” - Hello Nasty
Certain songs just feel like they’re meant to enter your life exactly when they do. I had never heard one second of “I Don’t Know” until I was walking back from CVS doing my listen-through of Hello Nasty. It felt like I was the luckiest girl in the world right then, that I had discovered buried treasure more precious than anything. “I Don’t Know” is one of those tracks that makes your heart ache, the type that lets you think along with it. I really appreciate hearing lyrics that aren’t sure of themselves. A lot of times songs give advice; how to get the girl, how to be successful, how to stay up. It’s rare and really something special when someone is honest enough to write a song about uncertainty, one that doesn’t lull you into a false sense of security, but instead sits right alongside you and admits it feels the same way.
Got something you think I should hear? Let me know here!
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