Volume 19, Track 14
Posted on | August 19, 2010 | No Comments
“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 “Transitions.” I would have stuck “Transitions” elsewhere or left it on the floor entirely.[1] “Shambala” starts with a slow fade intro of a Tibetan monk chant (Shambala is a mythical kingdom in the Buddhist religion) before shifting into a kind of funky instrumental of the sort that would fit comfortably in a ’70′s movie soundtrack that required a funk presence.[2] “Shambala” has the perfect amount of funk, slinky-ness, and atmosphere. The bridge to “Bodhisattva Vow” is made up of the same Tibetan chants but “Vow” leaves behind the funk and goes straight into a more fundamental hip hop sound, comprised of pitch-perfect bass lines, record scratches, and horn samples before the chants end that song as well. Individually, these two songs are pretty strong, but combined they make one of the best back-to-back punches in the Beastie Boys catalog.
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[1] Please don’t misinterpret this as being that I don’t like “Transitions.” I do. I just don’t think it fits very well within the whole of Ill Communication.
[2] “Shambala” was also used to great effect in the season 3 finale of Breaking Bad in a scene that incorporated humor, tension, and violence so perfectly that I wouldn’t be surprised if Quentin Tarantino started flogging himself for not thinking of it first. (Non-music-related side note: rent Breaking Bad immediately if you have not seen it yet. It is hands down the best show on television right now, and it is probably the greatest television show of all time that deals so bluntly with morality.)
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