I have been away from this blog over the past few days, so I have not really had the chance to convey just how sad I am over the death of Adam Yauch, aka MCA, of The Beastie Boys. I have been a fan of the Beasties since the tender old age of 7. Yeah, I said it. SEVEN. I was in second grade at P.S. 207 elementary school in Howard Beach, NY when 'License to Ill' was released back in 1986. Even though I may have been a bit young for the crazy sentiments contained on the album, but I had an older sister, Oona, who was in the 6th grade. Her and her friends embraced 'License To Ill' with a furor that only teenagers could do, and the album was EVERYWHERE. It was so popular it was trickling down to the kids in school who were still in single digits. Man was that album epic....
Click after the jump for more words from Mike D...
One of my youngest musical memories has to be memorizing the lyrics to every song on that album. Girls, No Sleep To Brooklyn, Fight For Your Right, Brass Monkey, Hold It Now Hit... the list goes on and on. But one song resonated more than any of the others. One song remained more popular than all the others. PAUL REVERE. Why? I have no idea... but when that track was on EVERYONE knew the words. EVERYONE. 7 year old girls were "doing it like this, doing it like that, doing it with a wiffle ball bat" . Wow, that is hysterical. 7 year old chicks singing about sodomizing a girl with a plastic bat (or his penis, either way its a great line)? Pure AWESOMENESS!! I even performed this song in the annual 207 talent show that year with two of my boys. What part did I sing? Of course the part of Mike D (lol)!!! But MCA had the best lines in the song, and he made that album the best.
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| The Beasties Back In the Day |
Yauch was super important to the Beastie's on multiple levels. Sure his lyrics and musical contributions were 33% of one of the greatest musical groups in history. But he was also the driving force behind most of their videos, he was their most outspoken leader on social issues, and was just an all around picture of someone who loved his job. The guy was simply one of the good ones. I am super saddened to see him go, and I know that EVERYONE has put up a tribute to him... so here at CCD we are gonna keep it short and sweet. Here is the video for "Hold It Now, Hit", which shows the Beasties having a lot of fun back in the early days of Def Jams tours. This is how we should remember MCA. Smilin' & Whylin'. Enjoy the video. R.I.P. Adam...
