Everyone has that one band when they are growing up. The one they always listen to. The one that they know will always have that special place in their collection. Me, I had about five different bands that periodically moved up and down on my self proclaimed "charts." The Beastie Boys were always on or close to the top. It was "Licensed to Ill" and a song called "No Sleep till Brooklyn" and I was hooked. Sadly neo nazi type religion forced me to listen to them underground which inevitably made them all that better. Next came Pauls Boutique and I secretly was obsessed with the new sound. Paul's Boutique was like nothing I've ever heard before.
Then in 1993 along came mountain biking, and I had "Check Your Head" on the headphones to help get me pumped for this new found obsession. "so Whatcha Want" and "Pass the Mic" were new found anthems to help with the awkwardness of growing up (it didn't really help me). Later came out "Ill communication" and my love of mountain biking had grown to a new found obsession. I had a car painted up the same colour of my Rocky Mountain Altitude complete with texas longhorns on the hood and the Beastie Boys playing loud and proud on weekend after weekend trips to Jasper...
Whats great about the Beastie Boys is their versatility. All the Albums and Ep's I own show such a diverse and wide range of music, from hardcore punk to rap to funk to bluesy jazz.... And they make it all sound pretty flippin sweet!
With Adam Yauch's passing last Friday it's hard to say what Adam Horowitz (Ad Rock) and Michael Diamond (Mike D) will end up doing now. If they continue it won't be the same. Adam Yauch was the main player in the Beastie Boys. They all are main players so losing one could only mean one thing...
This one hit me hard, I was shocked reading the news at work. Forty Seven is way too young to go, things will be different now when I listen to them. Fuck cancer.
