When I first heard the Beastie Boys' "Check Your Head," I was shocked. This was the Beastie Boys? I was a big Paul's Boutique fan but this sounded nothing like PB or License. It took a few listens, but by the end of the weekend, I was hooked. This was the Beastie Boys!
They had re-invented themselves at a time when everyone had assumed they were down for the count. Like Weezer's Pinkerton, when Paul's Boutique came out, no one liked it. Critics hated it. Radio refused to play it. MTV barely touched it. The Beasties looked to be a one-album wonder.
But with Check Your Head, they proved everyone wrong. Not only did it redefine themselves and shed the one-time party-rap group stereotype, they delivered one of the most important albums of the decade. They did it by looking past the confines of hip-hop and dove into ska, instrumentals, punk, and even country. (check out GBU's 2007 post)
The Beasties have slowed down...but they have never quit. With the new album, they decided to top their already unique music video style, by released a 30-minute mini-movie that would make It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World proud. (look it up)
One of the best things about being a Beastie Boys fan is that you never know what's coming next. But you don't care, because they always deliver quality And, you're always looking forward to it.
Here are the 11 Best Beastie Boys Songs of the 90s:
1. Sabatoge (Ill Communications)
2. Intergalactic (Hello Nasty)
3. Get It Together (Ill Communications)
4. Body Movin' (Hello Nasty)
5. Sure Shot (Ill Communications)
6. Jimmy James (Check Your Head)
7. So What'Cha Want (Check Your Head)
8. The Negotiation Limerick File (Hello Nasty)
9. Flute Loop (Ill Communications)
10. Pass the Mic (Check Your Head)
11. Super Disco Breakin' (Hello Nasty)
Buy The Beastie Boys' new album, Hot Sauce Committee Part 2...now!!
I think I was too young to have any outrage over the change. I used to jump on my bed with my sister screaming out the words to fight for your right when I was 4, but I dont even think I made a real connection to the two being the same or even it mattering I know the first time I heard Maestro I quickly fell in love with this album. Also, The Beastie Boys were the only rap group that I was okay with listening to during my years of hating or disliking rap.
ReplyDeleteThe Top 2 are my picks as well, but I have to admit I lost track of them a bit in the mid-90's!
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