••• BEASTIE BOYS - Hot Sauce Committee Part Two •••

Listening to "Too Many Rappers" again for the first time since it came out in 2009, and I'm a lot more into it now than I was then.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNB8pNqwrKw

Yeah I think Hello Nasty definitely is great and maybe even their best, but that's because I like the wonkiness/dorkiness of it all, plus I got it when I was like 11, at which point 70+ minute albums don't really bother you the way they do now.

I heard "Lee Majors Come Again" and "Here's a Little Something For Ya" on a Record Store Day single and they were amazing, but they were clearly remixes with a LOT of DJ work and a big sample of "Da Funk", still I really, really, really hope they get this whole album to sound like that

I definitely like Hello Nasty more now than I did in 1998. Their rhyme style got a little weird/lazy on that album (something that carried over to 5 Boroughs), but the tracks themselves are really really good.

Hello Nasty is mostly great imo

I will listen to this with an open mind but man that last album was bad. I think we can all agree on that.

Almost no convo I ever have about the Beasties even brings up 5 Boroughs. It's the album people rightfully forgot or wish to forget.

Their rhyme style got a little weird/lazy on that album

don't agree w/ this... their rhyme style on hello nasty was a return to the early days of rapidfire trade off and hyping each others' verses which takes more practice than the check yr head/ill communication style of here's the mca verse, now the ad-rock verse, now the mike d verse yawn

made for a more dynamic listen imo and more actual rap songs on hello nasty was a good thing too

either way to the 5 boroughs was a steaming heap

The first eight or nine tracks on Hello Nasty are awesome wtf.

I even like "I Don't Know" -- it's so goofy in an unironic way, and it works.

xp It's not the trade-offs that were weird. It was the rigid cadence of the delivery.

it's like you've never heard a run DMC album

anyway dogs love me cuz I'm crazy sniffable

Hello Nasty is great. I heard the original song they modified for the line 'i'm intercontinental when I eat french toast' this weekend on random but I can't remember what it is now. Something about pancakes instead of french toast. Anyway, Hello Nasty is a great album. Comments in full circle™

Are there any supporters for 5 boroughs? I've never heard it. Hello Nasty was the one that made me quit having any interest in them. I don't think it's a bad album by any means. But it certainly is not a 'great' album compared to their earlier releases.

Are there any supporters for 5 boroughs?

It's got a lovely sleeve.

their rhyme style on hello nasty was a return to the early days of rapidfire trade off and hyping each others' verses

it's been awhile and I sold my copy so I haven't heard it in years but I don't remember them doing any of this. what I remember was them doing a leaden Run DMC cadence with all three of them emphasizing the last word of each line. which was lame, and very different from what they do on Paul's Boutique, where they actually finish each other's lines/words/rhymes in a really ingenious way

them doing a leaden Run DMC cadence with all three of them emphasizing the last word of each line. which was lame

^ this

OMG that track with Nas above reminds me of the video of Oprah interviewing Cormac Mccarthy.

I'm Strawberry Letter 23 like Shuggie - what the hell does that even mean? Is it enough to just reference a conspicuously hip (by Starbucks standards) LP without any context whatsoever? Actually, I guess that's sorta what they've been doing all along.

God I HATE this fucking band.

If you're looking for meaning in every lyric, you've come to the wrong band.

If I'm looking for meaning substance in every lyric even occasionally, I've come to the wrong band.

assholes uptight, like stevie wonder amirite

Are there any supporters for 5 boroughs?

obviously it's in the lower echelons of these guys' catalog, but i do like it :/

I popped it in to 'revisit' it a few weeks ago and was surprised by how good it sounded. I think most of the disappointment is because it's not really as clever musically or lyrically as they're known for but the beats are pretty good. The leadoff single is great but not too much else is memorable; still sounds nice while it's on.

"sounds nice while it's on" is pretty much otm

Actual unprompted quote from my 3.5 year old in the back seat, when "Sure Shot" came on the radio and I turned it up (since it'd been a while):

"This boy can't sing, but he can rhyme."

man, that nas thing. oof. not nas, he's okay, but those senior citizens he is rapping with. so clunky.

you'd think they would have perfected their 1985 style by now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fN841FXtz08

Where did they find an analog synth with a "Jew's harp" setting?

this is actually not bad ... but, still with the distortion pedal vocals? really guys?

nice cowbell breakdown tho

I really like the backing track. But then they kinda ruin it by rapping poorly over top.

but, still with the distortion pedal vocals? really guys?

That's almost like saying "Still with the harmonica? Really, Dylan?"

reissued instrumental version of paul's boutique would pretty much be the only way to get me to buy beastie boys product in 2011.

seriously, though, dylan should have cooled it with the fucking harmonica years ago.

lol

the difference is the harmonica is an instrument, one that sounds nice

the distortion pedal vocals thing is a one-trick pony that SOUNDS SHITTY

Eh, their penchant for distorted vocals has never bothered me at all I guess. Sometimes they use that trick, sometimes they don't. I've never heard them use it when it made absolutely no sense to do it.

am i hearing this right? 30 seconds in and they've rhymed "this" with "this"?

i just don't understand why aging, past-prime rappers are so obsessed with rapping about how they're knocking all the other rappers out. there are so many subjects they could tackle, and instead it's just "woo! we just slayed all the wack competition!" and no you fucking didn't.

I'M TAKING MCS DOWN WITH LETHAL RAP INJECTIONS!

i just don't understand why aging, past-prime rappers are so obsessed with rapping about how they're knocking all the other rappers out

uh this is what hip hop is about...? do you ask yourself why young, shitty rappers are so obsessed with rapping about this very same thing?

I dunno, I feel like the old guys go off more on this than the young guys, who have materialism and sexual violence to entertain themselves with as well

also the drug trade

yeah, the beastie boys should really go back to rapping about penetrating girls with wiffle ball bats, good call, anthony

do you even believe yourself when you write stuff like that?

do you believe it when you write stuff like that to noz?

smdh

sorry if I was being a little too tongue-in-cheek there, but I didn't mean to suggest that the Beasties had to go back to the PBR, just that allegedly enlightened codgers going on about how they're blowing the competition away cracks me up

man when will don rickles stop insulting ppl

really sorry you guys are offended by my irreverence towards their lyrical bankruptcy, guys

yeah, because everyone loves it when they talk about THE ISSUES, MAN

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfpgK2V1k4g

I even like "I Don't Know" -- it's so goofy in an unironic way, and it works.

― Rich Lolwry (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, March 14, 2011

lol, "I Don't Know" has always been one of my favorites, no idea why, but it's such a pretty tune and it's from the Beasties

^^^ Me too. Love it.

Think Hello Nasty might be my favourite BBs.

"Open Letter to NYC" with the Macho City sample is the only thing worth keeping from To The 5 Boroughs imo.
Rub N Tug did an extended dub of it that's pretty sweet. http://clone.nl/item9089.html

yeah, should have mentioned the Rub'n'Tug alongside the Just Blaze above, both were dope

Showed up in my inbox from Beasties Boys.com....Think I will tune in for the takeover :D

Attention all you geeks, freaks, nerds, trainer spotters, and sophisticates alike: The radio station 101.9 WRXP here in NYC will be graciously hosting a "Make Some Noise" themed weekend this Saturday and Sunday. Perhaps the pinnacle of this debauched weekend will be an eclectic, odd, and at times sensually funky dj set featuring cuts of Mr. Adrock and Mr. Mike D's choosing. We sincerely hope you can join us.

The Management

* Sunday night @ 7p EST check out the album special with Matt Pinfield
* Sunday night @ 8p EST Mike D and Ad Rock TAKE OVER

Okay, this album isn't at all as bad as I expected. It sounds kind of cool and lo-fi and post punky.

I wonder if they changed anything drastically between the scheduled 2009 version and the one that's coming out now. "Too Many Rappers" has been played with a little, but I wonder if most of these songs were originally intended to mine Check Your Head territory like they do.

It "sounds" good but i'm still waiting for hooks.

fake livebloggin on the 1st 2/3 of the album, whatever they got up on that site someone linked:

make some noise - liking this. the weird echoey chorus is awesome, and i'll always be a sucker for that kind of nasal-ass, "let me clear my throat" loop. that said, i'd much rather be listening to DJ kool. i notice, sadly, that adrock's saying corny shit about "make romance in my b-boy stance" or w/e.

nonstop disco paperwork - nice dub echoes, not a song with a strong hook (chorus is way weaker than the verses), but involving and head-nodding. "you think we sound weak like a box of douche powder" ha. <3 super slurry MCA verse.

ok - maybe this is where "no hooks" accusations come from? cuz two low-key, smoked-out nodders in a row does slow the motion down, but the chorus here is catchy as shit - inna scuzzy, post-punk kinda way, like dog latin said. (on second listen, this might be my favorite thing here, tied with the first track. love the sunburned horns, backing vocals, occasional morricone guitar dribbles...)

too many rappers - and yeah, it's not a record with a lot of colors. like this song is aimed straight at the same, stoned people who dug the last two songs, and not for anyone else. it's all channeled into a single groove, and the track breaks are just mile markers. cool with that, cuz the one groove they're bringing hits me okay. GREAT drum & guitar sounds on this one.

as an aside, i gotta say that, four songs in, lyrics are NOT popping out and slapping me around. i mean, i like the noise, but want more hilarious shit talking to carry it all along. the problem here isn't a lack of hooks, imo, it's a lack of actual, worthwhile rapping. styles are beyond familiar, which i guess is okay coming from the wayback machine, but i don't care about anything they're saying. it all just comes across as a rap-like rhythmic element, devoid of content. production tries to obscure this, but it's still glaring. brief nas verses are better, but not by much.

say it - not sure what to say (it). more hits from the bong.

don't play no game - hey, a change of pace! pushing the dub traces up to the point where it's nearly an actual reggae tune. plus the female vocal is very nice, better yet the fact that it's NOT coming at you through a wall of digital mic static. fucking nice. otoh, "automatic, systematic..." wtf, really?!? (have the feeling that the more i listen to this (big if), more the rhymes are gonna turn me against it.)

long burn - okay, ummm, this is bad. i was bumming earlier about the fact that you couldn't really make out the (presumably hilarious) lyrics, but here everything's up front and sucks ass. "tiger claws that'll scratch you dead?" kenny roger's roaster jokes? "operaTION/gravitaTION?" come the fuck on. plus i'm bored now. (on second pass, i like this better than i thought. lyrics do not improve, but the music is sweet, distant echoes of "in 3s" from way back, though nowhere near in the same league.)

fonky donky - at first i was thinking, pretty okay, no intergalactic, but... now i just want it to stop.

in summary, i don't know what to think. i liked this at first, it held my interest for six songs, but then started to not. the basic jams are really fucking cool, but it's hard to excuse the lazy fucking rapping.

it's hard to excuse the lazy fucking rapping.

It's better than the rigid cadence from the last two records.

yeah, though hello nasty has stellar high points. looking back, i notice that two beers apparently makes me say "fucking" a lot.

o fuck, that's THREE records back. five boroughs was terrible and i've never even heard the mix-up.

Mix-Up is instrumental fwiw.

I wasn't counting it.

New one sounds predictable

"nonstop disco paperwork" is a better, a more beasties title than the real one: "nonstop disco powerpack"

I'm probably crazy but somewhere around "Funky Donkey" and for the next few tracks this thing seems to me to be channeling Cabaret Voltaire (something from the early part of the mid period).

It's weird, it's casual, it's short, it's fun. I dig it, and I don't have to think too much about it and, you know, that's okay.

The "Lee Majors" joint is p killer imo

Probably not giving this enough love because I copped DJ Quik and Battles at the same time and have enjoyed them more. That said, 'Make Some Noise' 'Don't Play No Game..''Here's A Little Something' 'OK' and 'Lee Majors' are all pretty great imo.

The only one I dont like is "Tadlock's Glasses"...the effects on it make me queasy? But everything else is good to fantastic so far. Wonder how well MCA is, if there will be much touring

there won't be any touring IIRC

the album version of Lee Majors is exactly the same as the single, isn't it? I've only heard the MSG stream

goddamn on first listen I love this more than any post Ill Communication release. so much fun.

mca is still undergoing treatment but "doing well". so fuck knows. hope he pulls through. coming up to two years from the diagnosis (?)

Kind of impressed that he could lay down vocals even. Do we know how much stuff he added to Pt2 vs what was already on Pt1?

Changed a line about death in Too Many Rappers, I think that's all

It's fucking awful. the beats are rude electronic samples with no depth. squiggly electro that only exists for this kind of project. it should embarrass us all. what corny version of "old school" (how do you even type that?) "hip hop" is this? late 90s frat music can fuck off.

ok, finished?

shouldn't there be something about wheelchairs and irrelevancy...feel like we're missing some key bullet points

paulhw, eat a bag of dicks dipped in cocoa butter...k thx

paulhw way off the money, this is surprisingly good and I'm finding I like it a little more with each listen. I mean, yeah, we can talk a little bit about the lyrics being corny and lots OF shouting EVERY other WORD but, c'mon, thats been the case for a long time now.

yea that's kinda like criticizing Prince for squealing, I mean, it's been the Beasties' MO since they went from hardcore to hip hop.

and personally I adore the Beasties goofiness

i was one of the few who liked To the Five Boroughs, but it was clearly still a low point in their catalog. this is soooooo refreshing.

Listening to the full album and my enjoyment is kinda dependent on how long I can go without focusing on the lyrics (did you know these guys are crushing the competition?). Music's fun when it doesn't get too trudgy - def feels like a step up from 5 Boroughs.

This is a pretty good record, you know?

Way more interesting musically and with much better tunes than 5 Burroughs.

Totally in agreement. I ended up listening to it a lot over the course of 2011, and again over the last few days.

same here. The highlight is the 1:56 "Funky Donkey."

yeah, it's not amazing but it's a solid album. glad that to the 5 boroughs was not their swansong.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdnYzIxQUWE

exactly, but outside of a few tracks not much I'd want to hear again

Lee Majors Come Again is killer

yeah - that + "Too Many Rappers" were my favorites

it disappointed me b/c I heard the awesome record store day single with those DJ Hero mixes with DJ Shadow and the Daft Punk samples and it briefly made me wonder if the new album was going to be a cut-n-scratch DJ thing, like a new Paul's Boutique