Volume 20 Introduction
Volume 20, like Volume 10 before it, will focus on women in music. In fact, women being under the spotlight every 10 Volumes will be a tradition on this site going forward. That said, this introduction will be relatively short. (The Vol. 10 introduction, I think, is pretty encompassing and there isn’t a whole lot [...]
Volume 19, Track 14
“Shambala” & “Bodhisattva Vow” by Beastie Boys (1994) My biggest complaint about Ill Communication (and granted it isn’t a very big one in the overall scheme of things) is that the combo of “Shambala” and “Bodhisattva Vow” should have ended the album, rather than being the bridge that leads to the final track, the instrumental [...]
Volume 19, Track 13
“Dr. Lee, PhD” by Beastie Boys (1998) The Lee referred to in the title of the song is Lee “Scratch” Perry, a musician who was very instrumental in getting reggae and dub music to be welcomed globally. Perry is generally credited with being one of the first people to produce a song that included a [...]
Volume 19, Track 12
“Time For Livin’” by Beastie Boys (1992) There is a moment—right at the 1:01 mark, to be precise—during “Anarchy In The U.K.” by The Sex Pistols where the background vocals of the word “be” are sung/shouted so perfectly that the overall texture of the song is kicked up a notch and the song goes from [...]
Volume 19, Track 11
“I Don’t Know” by Beastie Boys (1998) If I didn’t include a picture of the Hello Nasty album cover or didn’t explicitly reference the title of this song and the artist name, you would probably never know that “I Don’t Know” is a Beastie Boys song. Even if I gave you 50 guesses you probably [...]
Volume 19, Track 10
“Egg Man” by Beastie Boys (1989) In the wrong hands, using Curtis Mayfield’s “Superfly” as a sampled beat could fall into the realm of blasphemy. But by choosing to use this sample minus the horns (but still keeping a solid, funky beat while also including lyrics about hitting bigots and racists with eggs) the Beastie [...]
Volume 19, Track 9
“Unite” by Beastie Boys (1998) What a loose and fun song.[1] Hello Nasty has a few terrific gems[2] and “Unite” may very well be the crown jewel of the album in terms of instant accessibility. This song is a treat to listen to in every sense of the word. I would write more about it, [...]
Volume 19, Track 8
“Professor Booty” by Beastie Boys (1992) By starting the song with sampled dialog from the movie Wild Style[1] and then following it up with a conversation (with exaggerated voices, no less) that goes like, “Professor, what’s another word for pirate treasure? Well, I think it’s ‘booty’” “Professor Booty” goes out of its way to show [...]
Volume 19, Track 7
“Get It Together” by Beastie Boys (1994) As I’ve mentioned before, if Q-Tip can be featured in one of your songs there is a really good chance that said song will be fantastic. There isn’t a whole lot to the beat of “Get It Together” but there’s enough inherent movement to it that separates it [...]
Volume 19, Track 6
“The Maestro” by Beastie Boys (1992) On Paul’s Boutique there’s a point in which an advertisement for the store Paul’s Boutique is played. The sound quality is average—it sounds like it was recorded with a handheld tape recorder near the TV speaker. “The Maestro” begins with someone leaving a voicemail directed at someone named Cory [...]
Volume 19, Track 5
“Shadrach” by Beastie Boys (1989) “Shadrach” is the penultimate song on Paul’s Boutique (it leads into the glorious, twelve minute opus “B-Boy Bouillabaisse”) and its strength lies in the Beasties’ ability to produce an addictive and fun song. Using eight samples to make up the track—most notably, the use of Cynthia Robinson’s vocals from Sly [...]
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