Beasties have always sucked. No disrespect to Mr. Yauch.

People who post dickish comments just to seem cool have always sucked.

People who rail against other people for expressing an opinion that is not the same as theirs have always sucked.

People who dis other peoples comments for dissing a dumb comment... oh never mind

The internet has always sucked.

This album is one I owned when very young. I do have some MP3s from it. I think it amusing that the full cover image doubles not just as an airplane but a joint:

http://wallpapers-diq.com/wallpapers/84/…

A friend pointed that out to me, that the plane had a suspicious joint-like double image.

to the other comments..think of it like this..

Why would you go and sit at a computer, read an RIP thread about a band you don't even like, then post a comment on how they ''always sucked''..

It's very infantile..

I don't really like the Bboys one way or another, but I'm not going to go around posting ''this band sucks'' comments when the blogger is posting about their memories in relation to the death of a member..

Seems kind of like showing up at a memorial service, and dissing the dead guy, and the peoples memories of them..

Be well.

@7 I have Aspergers Syndrome, so I sort of learned to deal with lack of empathy problems, but I still fuck up sometimes, like instead of showing empathy, I talked about the departed's diet and wanted to know what vitamins he might have been taking. That is Asperger's thinking, but also I read something interesting about Trolls and something called "Internet Asperger's Syndrome". People using the internet no longer have body language they can rely on, just like someone with Aspergers, who can't understand body-language, so they develop more wordy ways of writing posts to compensate for lack of body language, and invariably they lose empathy, so they post mean stuff online and become trolls and experts on everything, just like Aspies! It's kind of an interesting theory.

Based on the title, I thought maybe Ms Minard would be writing about her discovery and new found love of this band after the death of one of its members. After seeing so many references to his death, including a mention at the end of The Daily Show on Monday, I thought maybe this could illuminate something about the band I'd missed and give me reason to give them another try. Sadly, no.

The Beasties couldn't totally suck because Sabotage was genius. The first record was good as well, but Public Enemy left them in the dust. There had to be some white rappers, and the Beasties were the most acceptable, though only Ad Rock was truly a great rapper. Still, they definitely caught the zeitgeist of the 80s, and then ran away from it promptly, which was both good and bad, because it sapped their early ability to offend and stir the pot.

I admire Mr Yauch's commitment to his causes more than his music, and I'm sure he felt the same. I really really wish they had stuck to playing instruments like they did on Sabotage but it was not to be. Rap/hip hop (the same, sorry) is a form that starts out at a disadvantage, so it takes serious ability and talent to rise above the ubiquitous mediocrity caused by easy entry into the genre. The Beasties had the right look, and the right producers, but I never really bought it as long as they were watering down music presented better by Public Enemy, NWA, EPMD, Rakim and others.

The Beasties did bring the music to a wider audience, though, and their interest was genuine, and their skill (because of Ad Rock) good enough, if not sublime. It was better than Beck's two turntables and a microphone, that's for sure.

fun fact. Beastie Boys wanted to call "Licensed to Ill", "Don't be a Faggot" but the record company refused.

Paul's Boutique is honestly my fave Beastie's release. And I think it genuinely is for a lot of people. It still melts my mind.

This is a wonderful post and I totally agree, Licensed to Ill is their best album. It is the only album of my youth where every person I knew of, no matter what clique they were in, had a copy. Many had to buy replacement copies after the tapes wore out.