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| Wednesday, August 01, 2007 |
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Word Players: The Beastie Boys
By Image Mag Staff @ 3:15 PM :: 323 Views ::
0 Comments :: Music: Reviews
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wordplay: Samantha Donen
images: Jennifer Hall & Vanya Edwards
There are few bands that have spanned my lifetime, from teenager to adult, and continued to hold my interest. The Beastie Boys have that longevity, entering my headphones at a ripe young age with Licensed To Ill and yet again, in the here and now, with their recent release The Mix Up. When I was a kid growing up in Manhattan, the Beastie Boys fascinated all my peers. This sudden explosion of punk, humor, rap and insatiable beats crossed every music genre. The appeal was endless, from their defiance of authority to the dope music combinations that put hi-fi on the radar. Suddenly, everyone from the punks, skaters, and homeboys to the jazz enthusiasts, jocks and stoner were tuning in. You Denverites know the Beastie Boys were having just as much of an impact here on the suburbs, with the release of Check Your Head, their music became universal house party material. And even young musicians were being influenced. My neighbors had a rock group that would practice the Beastie Boys “You Gotta Fight For Your Right To Party” every day after school (for like four years!). Eventually, they performed this song at our high school talent show and won best performance for that song. Thus, the Beastie Boys had already, in a short amount of time, become just as influential of a group to explore musically as any other established act.
But it is not just memories, like these and more, that have kept me listening to the Beastie Boys, from tape to vinyl to CD back to vinyl and now thru my iPod. As their music evolves, so do their albums, exploring a new realm of Beastie Boy logic and rhythm that continues to be cutting edge. The Mix Up is an all-instrumental album, a music evolution that will makes fans turn their heads. Gone are the samples, words, and scratches the Beastie Boys are probably most famous for. In steps a 12-track album of fluid down tempo jazz licks with a spacey vibe that is a heady experience. The album also hosts chill 70’s analog sounds that remind me of something Quentin Tarantino would score a flick like “Jackie Brown” with. Fans of the cult fave “In Sounds from Way Out!”, a compilation of the instrumental tracks from Ill Communication and Check Your Head, will enjoy The Mix Up. From in your face to cerebral, the Beastie Boys continue to remain one step ahead of the rat race.
August 16th @ Red Rocks
BeastieBoys.com |
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