Who Hijacked Our Country

Friday, May 04, 2012

Adam Yauch — R.I.P.


Adam Yauch — aka MCA — was one of the founding members of Beastie Boys.  He has passed away, at age 47, from cancer.

Beastie Boys were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame just this year.  Adam Yauch was unable to attend the ceremony on April 14th.

When I first heard their mid-eighties hit “Fight For Your Right to Party,” I thought it was the most retarded thing I’d ever heard.  I still do.  But I kept hearing and reading good reviews of them.

A friend gave me a tape of their mid-nineties album “Ill Communication,” and I was hooked.  Their synthesis of rap, punk and R&B (plus a few other ingredients) is addictive.

Adam Yauch also founded Oscilloscope Laboratories — a recording studio — and Oscilloscope Pictures, a film distribution unit.

Beastie Boys were heavily involved in the Tibetan Freedom Concert — a series of concerts throughout North America, Asia and Europe from 1996 to 2001.


Labels: , , , , ,

6 Comments:

Blogger Jim Marquis said...

They're about the only rap group I could get into much.

May 4, 2012 at 3:48 PM  
Anonymous Jess said...

Saw them more than once and have been a fan for forever. I hate cancer, that is all.

May 4, 2012 at 6:06 PM  
Blogger Mr. Charleston said...

Like

May 5, 2012 at 5:34 AM  
Blogger Randal Graves said...

Not a fan of the tuneage, but they'll always have bonus points for appearing in an episode of Futurama.

May 5, 2012 at 6:15 AM  
Blogger Snave said...

I'm not a fan of their music (Fight For Your Right To Party forever tainted that for me), but I admire them nonetheless. I might not like their music, but hey, they are good. Millions and millions of fans around the world are a testament to that!

Too bad anyone has to get cancer, let alone die from it, however old they are or whatever it is they do.

May 5, 2012 at 9:51 AM  
Blogger Tom Harper said...

J: I like several rap groups, but the Beastie Boys definitely have their own sound.

Jess: I'm sure they sounded great live. Their Ill Communication album had almost a live sound to it, like they weren't using overdubbing or other studio gimmicks.

Mr. C: Thanks.

Randal: Futurama, huh. They were more versatile than I thought.

Snave: I hated Fight For Your Right To Party, and the video was even worse. I was watching a lot of rock videos in the mid '80s. I never watched MTV; TBS used to have a video show on Saturday night. There was no VJ so it didn't sound like they were pandering to 14-year-olds.

May 5, 2012 at 12:50 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home