Beastie boys in Mojo magazine March 2020 edition

[pesto pizza]

MOJO 316 – March 2020: Joy Division
MOJO 316, featuring Joy Division, Genesis, Curtis Mayfield, Neil Innes and Atmospheres CD

By MOJO StaffJanuary 16, 2020
MARKING 40 YEARS SINCE their epic final album, Closer, and Ian Curtis’s tragic suicide, Joy Division’s surviving members revisit their 1980, while MOJO’s covermount CD, Atmospheres, traces the band’s fertile milieu and legacy through Wire and A Certain Ratio to Idles, Jehnny Beth and Black Country, New Road. Also in this issue: how The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway spelt the end for Peter Gabriel’s Genesis; Curtis Mayfield’s early-’70s bid for autonomy; The Black Crowes’ battle royale. Plus: Beastie Boys, John Prine, Peter Green, The Necks, Maria McKee, Mosey Sumney, Hank Williams, Tame Impala, Etta James, The Chocolate Watch Band, Neil Innes RIP, and Brian Jones… on acid!

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CONTENTS MOJO 316
COVER STORY: JOY DIVISION In 1980, the Mancunian quartet were poised to unleash Closer, an extraordinary re-imagining of rock, when the unthinkable happened. Forty years on, its makers revisit its painful but sacred ground.

COVERMOUNT CD: ATMOSPHERES Overcoats on for 15 tracks of chilly, heavy, gnarly or Mancunian vibes. Wire, Idles, Mark Lanegan, A Certain Ratio, Shame and Black Country, New Road star.

CURTIS MAYFIELD Fifty years ago, the Gentle Genius of soul went solo, taking his quest for autonomy to the next level, and Curtis – his masterly solo debut – was born.

THE BLACK CROWES The warring Robinson brothers have called a truce and tour in 2020. Drummer Steve Gorman went through heaven and hell in the service of their rock’n’roll revival.

GENESIS The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway was the album that broke Genesis. Did it also symbolise an entire genre’s strengths and ultimate over-reach?

BEASTIE BOYS They were puerile, vilified, then redeemed by Paul’s Boutique – the album that reasserted their cratedigging credentials and moved hip-hop somewhere new.

[Extra Cheese]

BEASTIE BOYS They were puerile, vilified, then redeemed by Paul’s Boutique – the album that reasserted their cratedigging credentials and moved hip-hop somewhere new.

"moved hip-hop somewhere new"

this is where I think PB gets overrated now. Not in terms of the music cuz it is a classic album but as being the go to album referred to for taking sampling and hip hop to a new direction when 3 feet high and rising and nation of millions came out before PB

[Sir SkratchaLot]

"moved hip-hop somewhere new"

this is where I think PB gets overrated now. Not in terms of the music cuz it is a classic album but as being the go to album referred to for taking sampling and hip hop to a new direction when 3 feet high and rising and nation of millions came out before PB

I hear what you're saying. There were definitely other records that were comparably influential. Still, hard to say 3ft High is anything other than existing in tandem with Paul's Boutique. They were being made at the same time unbnownst to one another. Nation of Millions is pretty different as far as the techniques. Far more chopped up. Equally dope. They have things in common but are all different styles. Gotta give the nod to all 3.

[brooklyndust]

Is this the era we are in now?

The era, where Mojo does Paul's Boutique articles every other month?

Not that I'm complaining or anything.

[tuc70021]

"moved hip-hop somewhere new"

this is where I think PB gets overrated now. Not in terms of the music cuz it is a classic album but as being the go to album referred to for taking sampling and hip hop to a new direction when 3 feet high and rising and nation of millions came out before PB

Good points. Although I think the Beastie Boys were very influential for lots of MCs and hip-hop groups at a personal level, I always felt that their influence on the genre was overemphasized (which I think actually makes them a more remarkable group). By that I mean, people say (nowadays) how Check Your Head was so influential in its time. I dunno... I was alive then and I don't remember this at all. Yeah, some people jumped on the bandwagon for a minute, but I don't recall a lot of hip-hop/jazzy instrumental/punk rock albums coming out after that. I also don't think sampling your own instrumentation became any more popular in hip-hop.

I actually think that the Beastie Boys influenced hip-hop like a passing comet. Their gravity definitely had an effect, but they were very much on their own course and would then blast off into the distance and record some crazy ass shit for the next album that no one was ready for. Do you remember 1998? Do you remember anything sounding like Hello Nasty that year? Do you remember anything sounding like it in the 22 years since?

Edit: I would like to also note at this point that figuring out that 1998 was 22 years ago has totally doinked me up and I don't think I'm gonna be ok with this reality any longer.

[pesto pizza]

Just read the magazine, nothing new to say and some nice photos of what we seen before from 88-89.

[Brother McDuff]

"moved hip-hop somewhere new"

this is where I think PB gets overrated now. Not in terms of the music cuz it is a classic album but as being the go to album referred to for taking sampling and hip hop to a new direction when 3 feet high and rising and nation of millions came out before PB

nail on the head. while all were forging the same path generally around the same time, its readily evident how much more attention 3ft High and It Takes a Nation received, thus corroborating that they were in fact the more influential recordings. that isnt to say PB was any less of an accomplishment, but its widely understood that this album was recognized well after the fact; once the production techniques in question had already been established into the popular zeitgeist.

[pm0ney]

Good points. Although I think the Beastie Boys were very influential for lots of MCs and hip-hop groups at a personal level, I always felt that their influence on the genre was overemphasized (which I think actually makes them a more remarkable group). By that I mean, people say (nowadays) how Check Your Head was so influential in its time. I dunno... I was alive then and I don't remember this at all. Yeah, some people jumped on the bandwagon for a minute, but I don't recall a lot of hip-hop/jazzy instrumental/punk rock albums coming out after that. I also don't think sampling your own instrumentation became any more popular in hip-hop.

I actually think that the Beastie Boys influenced hip-hop like a passing comet. Their gravity definitely had an effect, but they were very much on their own course and would then blast off into the distance and record some crazy ass shit for the next album that no one was ready for. Do you remember 1998? Do you remember anything sounding like Hello Nasty that year? Do you remember anything sounding like it in the 22 years since?

Edit: I would like to also note at this point that figuring out that 1998 was 22 years ago has totally doinked me up and I don't think I'm gonna be ok with this reality any longer.

It was influential in a different way. It allowed artists like DJ Shadow and The Avalanches to do their white boy sample routines. Some of the best records of all time, by the way. Definitely not saying that pejoratively.

Mainstream hip hop wasn't really influenced by Paul's Boutique or 3 Feet High and Rising or It Takes a Nation. Those were unique records and none of them were "huge" commercial successes. If anything, they inspired underground crate digging. So, if you want to count those subcultures as influential...of course they were.

It Takes a Nation sold I think two million or something like that. Nothing to sneeze at but also not enough to begin a trend. Nothing like West Coast g funk or anything like that.

[Micodin]

It was influential in a different way. It allowed artists like DJ Shadow and The Avalanches to do their white boy sample routines. Some of the best records of all time, by the way. Definitely not saying that pejoratively

the inspiration of Paul’s Boutique and the Dust Brothers also gave us the Chemical Brothers which i’ll forever be thankful for.

[pm0ney]

Great point. Absolutely.