I wasn't older than ten. My family had taken me out to Universal City Walk and we were in the food court overlooking the plaza below. On the screen they were playing random music videos. However, there was one that forever became ingrained as the first that I remember. It started with these nerds with taped up glasses discussing the chance of going to a party. I didn't get the humor, but I could hear people around me laughing. Then sure enough, those words came up:
"KICK IT!"
The guitar riff started and if anything, this would be the first time that I was aware of the Beastie Boys with the track "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party)." There was something amateurish and grasping about it for me. This was the first time that I was aware of what a music video was. I would go on to see thousands of videos on MTV, VH1, and the internet, but that will always be my first. I remember being baffled by the sheer idea of this party going out of control and people getting pies in the face. It was amazing.
This is metaphorically what the Beastie Boys were to me. They broke a lot of barriers for my tastes. They were also in charge of my first ever purchase of a rap album. I have listened to a lot of rap in my time, but I am very picky on which I actually lay money down for. I remember walking to Target and staring a very cheap copy of "License to Ill" in the face. It had been haunting me for years every time I went into the store or turned on KROQ and heard those songs. It was something that I wanted to have.
So in 2004, I owned my first rap album ever. I remember popping it on right away and hearing those Led Zeppelin drum loops playing and just nodding. For some reason music in 2008 felt better because I had to walk everywhere. I had time to indulge in the Rick Rubin production and the general content that I had held as mysterious based on Rolling Stone "Best Albums of All Time" lists. I loved the album almost immediately. I even learned how to play "Girls" on piano.
It only evolved from there. I bought "Paul's Boutique" months later and I was a cliche listener. The first listen wasn't that great. A few months down the line, I might as well deny former rumors of sitting in a Carl's Jr. and playing that album with boredom. To this date I often consider it one of my all time favorites and the one classic 80's album that I am older than by 20 days.That album introduced me to the prospect that you could sample music and make something authentic. It introduced me to the Dust Brothers as well, who would go on to make good music with Beck and Fight Club.
Despite all of this, I had trouble telling everyone apart. Why I loved the Beastie Boys was because it took forever for me to put a name to a voice, and later a name to the face. There was a challenge only topped by the Wu Tang Clan. It seemed gratifying that there were white rappers who pushed the medium forward in artist ways. They may have sampled a lot of classic material, but they also were keen on adding their own wit to the subject.
I really think that the Beastie Boys may be one of the best acts because they were an inspiration, even outside of rap. If you go down their achievements, they included making a brilliant homage album for New York after 9-11 ("To the 5 Burroughs"), playing rap rock (as in literally making rap music while playing their own instruments) on "Check Your Head," creating music videos that would become iconic in artistic merit and skyrocket Spike Jonze ("Sabotage" is a must see), and most of all beating the odds of being a relevant rap act after a gimmicky debut over 20 years later. They're even in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. This band is significant.
In an age where rap can be so faceless, I have come to admire the Beastie Boys on the sheer fact that their music had the personality. They had a gift of gab and mixed pop culture references, humor, and later on political commentary. They were having fun and exploring the possibilities of what music can be. If anything, their artwork was interesting and challenging, including this awesome Spin Magazine cover that caused me to subscribe. They even released audio commentary for "Paul's Boutique," which kind of is interesting for the effort.
Of course, what kept them relevant includes everything that they have done in recent years. So what if "the Hot Sauce Committee Part 2" isn't as marvelous as their old stuff? It has a very old school feel to it and reflects the elder statesmen for who they are. They're still having fun and making great music with the likes of Nas and Santigold guest starring here and there.
That was the band's contribution to my life. The rest is a more personal look at Adam Yauch aka MCA aka Nathaniel Hornblower. Without him, a lot of my perception of the band would be way different. I didn't even know it at the time, but he was crucial to the band becoming a reason that I was a passionate fan of more obscure media and techniques.
The most notable introduction came from Awesome: I Fucking Shot That, which regardless of quality, I consider to be revolutionary. I saw the cut originally on Fuse one afternoon and was impressed with the concept of giving dozens of fans cameras to film their experience at a show. You knew what backstage, the lobby, even the bathroom looked like. I still pop it on because it is like no other concert I have seen. And it's all because Yauch had the brilliant idea to get the fans involved. If anything, it helps to establish the voice of the fans in their work.
Yauch also shot a short film called Fight for Your Right Revisited which told the story of the Beastie Boys immediately following the events of "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party)." That's reason enough to be on board. Add about 40 comedians that I love, and it made for one interesting short that not only promoted their upcoming album, but managed to just be an entertaining piece of nostalgic love.
So of course I was on their mailing list. I followed the recording history of "Hot Sauce Committee" back when it was Part 1. I looked forward to small clues that they were releasing new goodies or making cameos on talk shows. Then, the news dropped about Yauch with this little video:
He had cancer and was suspending their upcoming tour. It bummed me out, but I remained optimistic throughout the entire ordeal. I even saw fans give their support as the months rolled on. At one point I even believed that things were going to get better. I even went about calling Yauch too awesome for cancer, which only made his death more of a surprise.
The last act is one that's fairly more recent, but makes me forever pay respect to Yauch outside of the Beastie Boys. True, the music is now iconic and I cannot go a week without humming "the Sound of Science," but he was also in the early stages of being a movie auteur. He didn't create a gimmicky label either. Oscilloscope Laboratories is something, if not amazing.
In the past few years, it seems like at least one release by them has made my top 10 every year. The name alone is slowly moving up towards a name recognition trust of quality. I feel that their work features some of the bravest, most original type of independent cinema in recent years. True, it doesn't get quite as much distribution as Magent or Miramax, but their work is on par in smaller numbers.
What does their work include? How about Oscar nominated films like the Messenger, I Knew it Was You, and a few others that are paving the way for the upcoming big names of cinema. From their brief catalog, some of my favorite films include Bellflower, We Need to Talk About Kevin, and Exit Through the Gift Shop; a movie that is so good that I recommend it to all of my friends if they haven't seen it.
The reason that I respect Yauch the individual as opposed to the musician is because he was an artist at heart. Not only did he make music that pushed the limits of what rap can do, he also moved everything forward. No one can deny the impact that "Sabotage" and "Sure Shot" had on the modern music video. Regardless of all of the copyright infringements, they were the one band that I felt deserved to get away with it because they made it their own. Most of all, they did it with respect. They were nerds at heart and the references in their music reflected that.
So while I will bump "Paul's Boutique" in his memory, I will also remember everything that he's done to make the world safer for artists to try new things. Even the prospect of playing your own instruments on a rap album seems like a breakthrough. Like George Carlin, I will always live with regret that I never got to see them perform live, with exception to a video stream off of KROQ's website, which really doesn't count anyways. Every time their music comes on, I feel it and sing along, feeling more enthusiastic than any other pop artist.. I've come a long way since hearing them scream "KICK IT!" and that was one kick I needed to become the free thinker media geek that I am today.
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