The 11 Best Punk Songs By The Beastie Boys

This week Miley Cyrus did the ballsy thing and took her teen pop shtick and layered it all over Nirvana's classic "Smells Like Teen Spirit."  This prompted Rolling Stone to do a list of the worst/interesting covers of the 90s anthem.  Tori Amos succeeds only because she re-invents the song.  Bruno Mars does a decent job, but he only succeeds by mashing it with Michael Jackson.  And Kathleen Hanna's version isn't bad, considering she was the inspiration for the song...also her story that goes with the song is priceless.  This got me thinking how iconic songs are impossible to cover.  SLTS wasn't just a well-written song, that is definitely part of its appeal, but there's more to it.  The song was huge because of its delivery.  Cobain's performance of the song is as iconic as piece of its songwriting.  There are good songs and there are good performances.  Good songs can be covered.  Good performances are untouchable.

You will never hear a good cover of the Beastie Boys.  There is no other group on the planet that could do reasonable justice to any of their tunes.  The Beastie Boys themselves are iconic.  And though their songs are a memorable part of our society, it's their unique delivery and performance that makes them unlike any other group...rock, rap, punk...or whatever.  They are their own genre.

Here are the 11 Best Punk Songs By The Beastie Boys:

1.  Time For Living (Check Your Head)
2.  Mullet Head (Ill Communications Japanese Edition)
3.  Heart Attack Man (Ill Communications)
4.  Tough Guy (Ill Communications)
5.  I Want Some (Aglio E Olio)
6.  Egg Raid on Mojo (Polly Wog Stew)
7.  Nothing To Say (Music For Our Mother Ocean 3)
8.  Transit Cop (Polly Wog Stew)
9.  Jimi (Polly Wog Stew)
10.  Square Wave In Unison (Aglio E Olio)
11.  I Can't Think Straight (Aglio E Olio)

Buy the Beastie Boys' new album, Hot Sauce Committee Part Two...now!!

The 11 Best Beastie Boys Songs of the 90s

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!!

The 11 Best Beastie Boys Songs

Fraternities have a way of destroying everything. Not that I have anything against the fraternal order (some of the best college parties I ever attended were frat parties), but frat boys have a way of infesting something cool (like a good song or a girl's virginity) and ultimately annihilating it. When I was in college, you couldn't go to a frat party without the DJ spinning the Beastie Boys' "Brass Monkey." I can't tell you how many times I heard 200 drunk assholes sing along with "Yo baby, was up?" Worst of all...the song was about 8-years-old at the time. It wasn't even current. Sadly, those drunk assholes are more than likely controlling the world as we speak, destroying more of what we consider cool.

Go buy the Beastie Boys stellar new instrumental CD: The Mix-Up. If enough people buy the new album, I'll post the infamous Beastie Boys country album. And I'll be checking to make sure you bought the album...so no fibbing.

Here are the 11 Best Beastie Boys songs:

1. Shadrach (Paul's Boutique)
2. Get It Together (Ill Communications)
3. The Sound of Science (Paul's Boutique)
4. The Negotiation Limerick File (Hello Nasty)
5. B-Boy Bouillabaisse (Paul's Boutique)
6. Time To Get Ill (Licensed To Ill)
7. Flute Loop (Ill Communications)
8. Intergalactic (Hello Nasty)
9. Hey Ladies (Paul's Boutique)
10. Sabatoge (Ill Communications)
11. Pass The Mic (Check Yo Head)