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The Friday Five: December 14, 2012

I promise I’m not being Scrooge-y (I even watched White Christmas last night!), but I have no Christmas tunes loaded up in the ol’ iTunes library here at work. Anyway, here’s a regular non-holiday shuffle from me. I’ll try to be ready next week.

Liona Boyd - “Spanish Romance” (Miniatures for Guitar, 2004)
Just to prove I’m not cheating, first up today was this Spanish flamenco-ish track that I downloaded years ago for… well… mood music, let’s say. I think that’s about all I’m willing to say about this one.

Beastie Boys - “The Biz vs. the Nuge” (Check Your Head, 1992)
Really, iTunes?! Nonsense filler track. ‘Nuff said.

Accept - “Fight It Back” (Balls to the Wall, 1984)
I don’t know why I keep forgetting how great this album is. Udo’s gravelly scream was such a perfect match for the music.

The Wildhearts - “It’s All Up to Me” (The Wildhearts Must Be Destroyed, 2003)
Great track off one of my favorite Wildhearts albums. Ginger is such a great songwriter.

The Jelly Jam - “Ten” (Shall We Descend, 2011)
Album closer from this side-project featuring King’s X’s Ty Tabor, Dream Theater bassist John Myung, and Dixie Dregs’ skin beater Rod Morgenstein. The track is 8:19 long, but if you’ve made it this far into the album, you’re no doubt more than willing ride this instrumental’s slow groove all the way through to the payoff from each of these exceptional musicians. Funny that The Jelly Jam features more of Myung’s bass work than his own band does.

MCA Sticks It To The Man One Final Time

According to DNAinfo.com, Adam “MCA” Yauch stipulated in his will which was filed Tuesday, August 7 in a Manhattan Surrogate Court that “his image, music and any art he created could not be used for advertising,” ensuring that even after his death, he would never become a corporate sellout.

Nice.

The Friday Five: May 18, 2012

Get your filthy hands off my Friday Five.

P.O.D. - “Bullet the Blue Sky” (The Fundamental Elements of Souththown, 1999)
Very respectable cover of this U2 number that has more of the energy of the Rattle and Hum version than the one from The Joshua Tree.

Beastie Boys - “So What’cha Want” (Check Your Head, 1992)
A couple of weeks late, but still a very fitting tribute to Adam “MCA” Yauch. As I mentioned recently on my blog, I had not previously delved very deeply into the Beasties’ catalog, so I have spent a bit of time getting acquainted with their newer material and reacquainted with some of their older stuff. Along the way I have gained a deeper appreciation for the guys’ musical abilities, on this album especially.

Jimmy Page & the Black Crowes - “You Shook Me” (Live at the Greek, 2000)
The Crowes do their best Led Zed impression with the man himself. Nice.

Pink Floyd - “Get Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert” (The Final Cut, 1983)
Political filler from what was essentially a Roger Waters solo album.

King’s X - “Danger Zone” (Black Like Sunday, 2003)
Black Like Sunday is a reworking and reimagining of old (some of it pre-King’s X) material, much of which previously had never seen the light of day outside live performances. Overall the album is very spotty, and while this is not one of my favorites, I can find very little to dislike or complain about when it comes to King’s X.
Played 20 times

Beastie Boys - “Pow” (Check Your Head)

Beastie Boys “Sabotage”/MCA Tribute by James Winters

These Are Very Fine Ties You Have On

Charlie Rose: A Conversation with the Beastie Boys

After Adam “MCA” Yauch’s passing last week—and when a friend of mine started posting Beastie Boys videos on his blog—I started a process of digging a little deeper into the Beastie Boys’ background and music catalog.

My introduction to the Beasties was (naturally) Licensed to Ill, funnily enough through one of my younger brother’s friends who wanted to listen to the album every day on the way to school. Of course I gravitated to the heavier (and less hip-hoppy) tracks “No Sleep Till Brooklyn” and “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party),” but I was also exposed to tracks like “She’s Crafty,” “Brass Monkey” (I still haven’t recovered from that one), and “Paul Revere” that I could appreciate from a creative standpoint. It’s not that I necessarily disliked the burgeoning rap scene, it’s just not where my head was at the time, and truthfully, it was a little uncool for metalheads to actually enjoy rap, right?! Remember, this was around the time Anthrax released their rap goof “I’m the Man” and well before their “Bring the Noise” collaboration with Public Enemy that was the final signal that it was now OK to like hip hop that we metal devotees had been waiting for.

With each successive Beastie Boys release, I was exposed to less and less of their material, hearing only the tracks mainstream media or friends latched onto. So with Paul’s Boutique it was “Shake Your Rump” and “Hey Ladies,” and until recent years I had only heard “So What’cha Want” from Check Your Head and Ill Communication’s “Sabatoge.” Little did I know that the Beastie Boys could actually play instruments and had started life as a hardcore punk band—which makes sense the further into their catalog you listen—nor did I realize that their music had become more removed from traditional hip hop.

In all my research, I ran into this long-ish—and often uncomfortable—interview the Beastie Boys did with Charlie Rose. It’s apparent that in the beginning the guys—especially Ad-Rock—fully expected to conduct the entire interview in character and pull their normal stunts, but Rose was having none of it, alternately giving it back to them or giving up and changing the subject. Once things settled down a bit, it turned into quite a good conversation about their career.

All in all, it’s a great interview, and despite the occasional weirdness, it appears that a good time was had by all.

Enjoy!

Coverville 867: Beastie Boys Cover Story and Adam Yauch Tribute

Brian Ibbott’s latest podcast over at Coverville is what he calls a “cover story”—cover versions of and by a particular artist. This time it’s the Beastie Boys, and it also serves as a tribute to Adam “MCA” Yauch. Very interesting Beastie covers by Barenaked Ladies, Coldplay, and Hello Tokyo, with the Beastie Boys covering the Jam thrown in for good measure.

Enjoy!

Adam “MCA” Yauch (August 5, 1964 – May 4, 2012) From the official Beastie Boys website: It is with great sadness that we confirm that musician, rapper, activist and director Adam “MCA” Yauch, founding member of Beastie Boys and also of the Milarepa Foundation that produced the Tibetan Freedom Concert benefits, and film production and distribution company Oscilloscope Laboratories, passed away in his native New York City this morning after a near-three-year battle with cancer. He was 47 years old. Click for high-res photo

Adam “MCA” Yauch (August 5, 1964 – May 4, 2012)

From the official Beastie Boys website:

It is with great sadness that we confirm that musician, rapper, activist and director Adam “MCA” Yauch, founding member of Beastie Boys and also of the Milarepa Foundation that produced the Tibetan Freedom Concert benefits, and film production and distribution company Oscilloscope Laboratories, passed away in his native New York City this morning after a near-three-year battle with cancer. He was 47 years old.