I hate to jump on the bandwagon because I personally could never get into the Beastie Boys’ material, namely…all of it. And please, don’t waste any electrons on trying to convince me I need to give Paul’s Boutique a chance. I don’t hear any “genius” in a giant cut and paste record, sorry, sampling extravaganza.
However, 25 years ago, Adam was one third of the biggest thing on Earth when I was a freshman at Marquette. Thanks to his band and Aerosmith, Rap music (the original name for Hip Hop) was now safe for White kids in the ‘burbs. The Beastie Boys managed to be the headliners for a huge show in Milwaukee of all places. You know you’ve arrived when you can practically sell out an arena in a large Midwestern city which has a reputation for being the land where John Bonham never died and Led Zeppelin still rules the airwaves. Translation? If it wasn’t Classic Rock (Van Halen) or Flavor of the Month (NKTOB), keep on driving to Minneapolis after you’ve played Chicago.
There was a guy on my floor who went to see them at the MECCA. The show he described sounded amusing, namely the onstage antics and the opener being Fishbone.
By the time the Beastie Boys came to Milwaukee (Spring of 1987), their novelty had worn off for me. License to Ill was funny, slightly dirty (pretty tame compared to now) and infectious. After hearing “Fight for Your Right” continuously during Christmas Break ’86, I was tired of them. I gave my vinyl copy away figuring they would be remembered as a Rap version of Weird Al or worse…Buckner & Garcia!
When they released their third album Check Your Head, I was impressed to hear the Beastie Boys playing instruments instead of sampling. I was aware of their previous Punk incarnation but few Punk acts could actually play when they started out (Sex Pistols anyone?). Their hybridization of Rap/Hip Hop with traditional Rock gear laid down the foundations for others to follow: Beck, 311 and Linkin Park. I didn’t say good bands necessarily arose from the Beasties’ example. This did get them out of the novelty-act category and on to becoming a staple of the Nineties and Aughts.
I do applaud Adam for several things other than his music. The most superficial one being an appearance on Futurama. His likeness is present but as per the commentary, he couldn’t make it for the recording so you’ll hear Mike or the other Adam (Ad Rock) do his speaking parts. The band had a sense of humor about how small their body of work was; this was due to litigation not by choice. They also used MTV very well when the network used to show music videos. You may not have liked the tune yet they had a great visual sense. “Sabotage” was at the forefront of the Seventies Retro movement with their parody/homage to gritty cop shows. Finally, Adam helped form a record label (Grand Royal) which brought another band to my attention, Luscious Jackson. The Beastie Boys’ influence was very apparent in Jackson’s DNA through hits such as “Naked Eye,” “Mood Swings” and “Nervous Breakthrough.”
It’s a shame to see a person his age die. However, Adam was a Buddhist (what Marc Maron jokingly calls a Jubu) so he must’ve known peace through this religion’s tenets of detachment before he passed. If not that, I hope Adam took comfort in how many millions of people he affected with his talents, including me.