New Beastie Boys album arriving on June 15 (1 Viewer)

[LanceJ]

I received a Quicktime update today that said the single "Ch-Check It Out" from the new BB album, To The 5 Boroughs, is in the iTunes store right now.

The Beastie Boys' homepage doesn't have any details about the album, I guess because it's under construction.

Doesn't matter though, I'm still looking forward to it.



LJ

 

[LanceJ]

Just a "bump" for the other Beastie fans out there.

Bye!

LJ

 

[Brandon_S]

Wow I can't believe no one has commented on this one yet. I have given the disc a spin and I really like what I heard the first time through. If you pick it up at Best Buy or Circuit City, it can be had for $9.99!

I'm glad to see the Beasties back and releasing new music!

 

[Brandon_S]

Wow I can't believe no one has commented on this one yet. I have given the disc a spin and I really like what I heard the first time through. If you pick it up at Best Buy or Circuit City, it can be had for $9.99!

I'm glad to see the Beasties back and releasing new music!

 

[James W. Johnson]

I am not a fan of rap but I do like the Beastie Boys...I bought The 5 Bouroughs out of respect if nothing else. I was in high school when License to Ill was released.

The Beastie Boys members must be right around the 40s by now. These are some old school rappers for sure.


I bought the album today and am on the second song right now, I like it so far.

 

[James W. Johnson]

I am not a fan of rap but I do like the Beastie Boys...I bought The 5 Bouroughs out of respect if nothing else. I was in high school when License to Ill was released.

The Beastie Boys members must be right around the 40s by now. These are some old school rappers for sure.


I bought the album today and am on the second song right now, I like it so far.

 

[Gary->dee]

I've been listening to this record since last week.

Dope. Pure and Simple.

 

[Gary->dee]

I've been listening to this record since last week.

Dope. Pure and Simple.

 

[Justin Bauer]

I am a huge Beasties fan.

I am disappointed in the this album overall because of lyrics.

The political lyrics and the lack of creativity in general bugs me.

I still like the album, but I think it does not come close to Hello Nasty as a recent comparison.

 

[Paul_Stachniak]

I agree, it's taking me a while to warm up to this album. After Ill Communication and Hello Nasty a majority of tracks on this album sound very halfassed - it's almost as if a lot of the beats were done in an afternoon.

However, given the material and what it's trying to say I'm not surprised by the somberness of this album, I just wish it was a little more upbeat.

 

[Shawn C]

Well, Rolling Stone just slapped their 5-star ranking on this album. I like it a lot, but I could have gone without the politics. I downloaded the "Clean" version off of Wal-Mart, fo easier listening in the car. I also ordered the "EXPLICIT" version on LP. Can't wait!

 

[Justin Lane]

I agree totally. I will give this another listen this evening to see if my opinion changes, but in general I find this album uninspired compared to earlier releases. The Beastie Boys were never really about politics. Now they throw in politics, and do it blatantly. The best political artists (think Bob Dylan) get their poltical points across by not hammering the listemer of the head with lines like "The U.S shouldn't be at War", but do it in a more subtle way which requires the listener to think about and digest their lyrics.

Hello Nasty was great, and I made sure I caught their tour supporting that album. I will be passing on this summer's tour, especially if it focuses on tacks from the new album.

With rap/hip-hop records, I never expect great sonics, but this has to be one of the most compressed, lifeless albums I have heard in quite some time. Anyone else notice this?

J

 

[LarryDavenport]

I wasn't a fan of Hello Nasty because it seemed like 100% rap while Check Your Head and Ill Communication called on different genres and even had some great instrumentals.

 

[Citizen87645]

I picked this up for 9.99 because I was impressed with their performance on the MTV Music Awards. I like the album. I don't own all their stuff nor am a longtime or die hard fan. There is an interesting article in Entertainment Weekly, which is basically them answering questions off a chat. The politics issue is adressed briefly. Their lyrics are obviously not subtle, but from my casual observation I don't think it's accurate to say "The Beastie Boys were never really about politics." What about the whole Free Tibet thing?

 

[Citizen87645]

Here's the response to the politics question:

As your career progresses, politics seem to play an increasing role. Have you always been politically minded, or has this grown out of something? The early years don't seem to have those messages, so I'm curious where it evolved from. -- Tim Washington, Redondo Beach, Calif.

Ad-Rock In the old old days, listening to punk rock and the Clash, politics was more on our minds, I'm sure. Then during the ''Licensed to Ill'' days, it was really just about beer.
Mike D If you go from ''Brass Monkey'' [''Licensed to Ill''] to ''Time to Build'' [''To the 5 Boroughs''], it might seem like a big jump. But if you go in a gradual trajectory, and go record by record, it's actually a pretty gradual and natural progression.
MCA Sometimes I think it's a good thing to take a look at what's going on in the world and deal with it. I certainly think that having Bush in office and the way that he's been representing the United States is something I feel pretty uncomfortable with.

 

[Scott Weinberg]

As a 17-year Beasties freeeeek, I'm quite pleased with this new CD, although I do agree with my fellow fans that this one falls a bit short of their last two CDs.

I don't mind the politics so much, but I do agree that their stances are a lot more overt than in the past. Perhaps it's just becuase they're three intelligent New York boys and they've come to a point in their lives where they have a few new things they want to say.

I can never truly judge a BB album before listening to it at least 20-some times (you guys know what I mean; songs you didn't like at first end up becoming your favorites), but here's how I'd rank the CDs:

1. Paul's Boutique (89)
2. Ill Communication (94)
3. Hello Nasty (98)
4. Check Your Head (92)
5. To the 5 Boroughs (04)
6. Licensed to Ill (86)

That's not to imply in any way that I dislike any of the CDs, but that's the order I'd put 'em into my CD player.

As far as the new CD goes, I do dig the "Ch-Check" but I suspect it'll soon become overplayed by a long shot. "3 the Hard Way" has a great beat, "Triple Trouble" is killer old-school stuff, the last 30 seconds of "All Lifestyles" (when the three Motown-y gals start singing) is just fantastic, "Shazam!" is quite funky indeed and is the first track I plan to memorize , "An Open Letter" is quite good, though it suffers a bit from Chorus Redundancy.

So far I'd give this new CD a solid B / B+ . And all things considered, that's pretty damn impressive. They're still putting out great music after all these years. This from a band that was probably considered a Novelty Act to most people circa 1987. Good job, beasties.

 

[Citizen87645]

That's what I considered them until I got to college in the early 90s. Then I had a neighbor enlighten me. Didn't make me run out and get their material, but it shifted my perspective. Now that I see them with graying hair, raising families and staying relevant, I have tremendous respect for them. I don't know the titles, but Track 9 and Track 10 sound excellent with my SVS sub. I also like the goofy rhymes

 

[LanceJ]

The Beasties have always had a political & humanistic side to them but to know this you have to study their music, including during thier punk era. Wrapped inside the fun & irreverant lyrics are flashes of empathy, non-preachy positivity & their politics, just enough to let one know they have depth. And if you need a couple of obvious examples of this, look up the lyrics for their songs "Something's Got To Give" (1992) or "Alive" from 1999.

The Beasties are musicians, and musicians like to express what is on their minds. And they are from Brooklyn--looking at a map of the surrounding area reveals the site of a horrific event that I am sure still deeply affects them. In my opinion for them to totally ignore the after effects of that event would go against what they stand for, ideas they have stood for for more than two decades now.

 

[Gary->dee]

I like Crawlspace, that one is a standout for me besides Check it out. Regardless of political content the album is tight.

Some other tracks I like:

Hey Fuck You (best ending ever)
The Brouhaha
Oh Word?
Shazam

 

[Mark Dubbelboer]

um. i just bought this album, but i can't seem to rip it.
i know it is supposed to have copy protection, what do i need to do to get it onto my ipod?