Entertainment Weekly article (whiners on the board mentioned)

[austinstories]

http://www.ew.com/ew/onlyonaol/report/0,17129,648969_4||525468_0_,00.html

[Auton]

you need aol to see it

do you think you can copy the text and paste it here? thanks

[austinstories]

..

Check Their Heads
Before dropping their sixth album, the Beastie Boys open a few letters from Listen2This readers and defend their ''stupid'' antics by Michael Endelman



BOYS TO MEN (From left) Mike D, MCA, and Ad-Rock face their critics and fans alike


In 1986, a scruffy trio of beer-spewing, crotch-grabbing New Yorkers bum-rushed the greater national pop scene with a raucous and rocking rap ditty called ''Fight for Your Right.'' Now, 18 years later, the Beastie Boys' keg-party high jinks have been mellowed by a little wisdom and a whole lot of graying hair -- although that doesn't mean Mike D, MCA, and Ad-Rock are ready to retire their mics. In fact, the troika's new album, ''To the 5 Boroughs,'' their sixth, marks a return to the stripped-down beats of their early days, and comes complete with plenty of the goofy one-liners and offbeat references they've been kicking around since they paired ''Paul Revere'' with ''quart of beer.'' To celebrate two decades of rhyme, we thought we'd give L2T readers a chance to ask the Beasties some of their most pressing questions. And being the good sports that they are, the threesome sat down and defended their career with a smattering of serious answers -- and a gaggle of smart-ass remarks.

I was wondering why it took the Beastie Boys six years between ''Hello Nasty'' and ''To the 5 Boroughs.'' -- Brad Payne, Iowa City, Iowa
Ad-Rock Oh, Brad, grow up.

Mike D You know, Brad should get a job as a journalist. Because that's the No. 1 question we've been asked.
Ad-Rock None of your business, Brad.
Mike D You should stay focused in the moment and enjoy the record while it's here. It could be another six years, it might not happen again, so just relax. Lighten up!

As you push 40, you're assuming the unlikely role of ''oldest rappers of all time.'' At what point do you think rappers become too out of touch with youth to produce relevant music? Do you want to go down as the Mick Jaggers of the genre? -- Ben Chung, Lake Forest, Ill.

MCA Ouch. My friend said to me, ''Isn't there some rule about gray hair and MC-ing?'' What are you gonna say? I dunno. I guess that's why we almost called the record ''Still Doin' It.''
Ad-Rock C'mon, man, what's that supposed to mean? Why you gotta s--- on Mick Jagger? C'mon, man, ''Sympathy for the Devil,'' ''Under My Thumb'' -- those are big, big records. You know, Ben, we're not trying to prove anything. We're not trying to be hip with the kids, we're just trying to make some records. So give me a f---ing break.


Why choose ''The O.C.'' to promote and introduce your new single, ''Ch-Check It Out''? Longtime fans might think that you're selling out to the mainstream public. -- Kimberly Sieckman, Cincinnati

Ad-Rock We sold out a long time ago, if you're just figuring that out now...
Mike D ''The O.C.'' became a much bigger deal than we anticipated. To be honest, the show is my No. 1 guilty pleasure. My wife and I watch it every week. So our manager called us and said, ''I know you usually say no to all things like this, but 'The O.C.' wants to use a song of yours.''
Ad-Rock I've never seen ''The O.C.,'' and I think it looks really stupid, but the point is, it was a joke. It was something funny to do, and everybody's getting so serious about it. Why can't people take a f---ing joke?
Mike D The weird thing is, on our chat boards, folks are all worked up about it.... If you're not that secure about listening to our s--- that you can't see that it's kinda funny to have a song on ''The O.C.,'' then maybe...

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.

I like your music a lot, especially the early and middle albums. As a gay man, however, I don't like the song ''Girls'' [''Licensed to Ill'']. I understand it may be tongue-in-cheek [''I asked her out, she said, 'No way!'/I should've probably guessed they're gay''], but as a person who works with teens, the song sends a pretty poor message to females and males alike [''Girls to do the dishes/Girls to clean up my room'']. Defend yourselves, fools! -- Pastor Craig Minich, Oakland

Ad-Rock Craig, I appreciate your question. I like the way you stated your question. I like where you're coming from. There is no defense. I agree with you. It means we were stupid teenage boys.
Mike D I think at the time we definitely didn't realize what a serious effect it would have putting that record out there. But, ya know, hey -- maybe Craig will appreciate what we're putting out now.
MCA I had nothing to do with it, man! My voice isn't even on that song. Those fools made the record when I was outta the studio. But I'm not makin' any excuses -- it's a jackass song.

I long for the days of bands writing about life on the road, having sex with groupies, and living the high life. Don't you miss this too? -- Geoffrey Sprigle, Cedar Grove, N.J.

Mike D I don't, but you should go out and buy Jet's album.

If the Beastie Boys today could sit down with the Beastie Boys of the ''Licensed to Ill'' years, what advice would they give? -- Christopher Ortiz, Ft. Collins, Colo.

Ad-Rock Definitely think about the things you say. If you really think it's that funny, try and understand why it's funny, understand why it might not be funny to other folks. Use your best judgment.
Mike D Try to see how your actions affect other people. Licensed to Ill was our first encounter of meeting people who listened to the lyrics we'd written and taken them seriously. We'd meet people and they'd be like, ''You dudes like talking about smoking dust, I just smoked all this dust!'' And you're like, ''We were just kidding.'' It's a very sobering experience and makes you realize that you're actually going to have an impact with your words. But sometimes you gotta just say f--- it. On the new album, we just say f--- it and enjoy ourselves. And we're gonna have to pay the price, and that's fine.
MCA I think I didn't realize how much a single becomes a focus for a record. ''Fight for Your Right'' was a funny album track, but it made for a strange first single because it sort of drew the whole focus in this other direction.... If we had used more of a hip-hop single, like ''Paul Revere'' or ''Time to Get Ill,'' then I probably wouldn't have had three people mentioning ''Fight'' in toasts at my wedding.

One would assume from your success that you're quite wealthy by now, and there's no doubt that you're famous. So why do you keep working instead of sitting back and enjoying the fruits of your labor? Is it fear of boredom, or do you do it for the fans? For the love of the art or something more base, like greed? -- Chris Whissen, Elmhurst, N.Y.

Ad-Rock Well, we haven't put a record out in six years, so I wouldn't say that we work all that hard.
Mike D And that probably takes the greed motivation out. If we were greedy, then we'd put albums out more often.
Ad-Rock Yeah, if we were greedy we'd probably put our songs on ''The O.C.''

(Posted:06/08/04)

[madizm]

That's awesome! (y)

[cj hood]

who were those people that asked those questions......why do i get the feeling they were made up........i've made this implicit in the past, now let me make it explicit.......ANYONE WHO DOES SOMETHING OR BELIEVES IN SOMETHING CUZ IT WAS ON A RECORD DESERVES WHATEVER HE OR SHE GETS.....we shouldn't smoke dust cuz it was on LTI the same way we shouldn't become buddhists cuz it was on IC.....make up your own minds.......i'd like to think that most beasties fans are intelligent people.....the beasties themselves must come to this realization as well.......LTI was a masterpiece.......you did when you were in your teens.....we know this.......and understand this........don't front on your past!!!!

[NicRN77]

Thanks for posting this! (y)

[Auton]

yeah, thanks!

[alexandra]

Ad-Rock C'mon, man, what's that supposed to mean? Why you gotta s--- on Mick Jagger? C'mon, man, ''Sympathy for the Devil,'' ''Under My Thumb'' -- those are big, big records. You know, Ben, we're not trying to prove anything. We're not trying to be hip with the kids, we're just trying to make some records. So give me a f---ing break.
that's ma boy! (y)

[balohna]

On the topic of the last question, I think it's cool that in all their wealth Adrock can look at the So Watcha' Want video and say "I'm wearing that exact same belt right now" and not be lying (DVD commentary).

[pescado]

I'm sure the Beasties are wealthy, but I've always liked how they've never been about the bling, as people are calling it these days.

They got into this game as three punk rock kids, MAKING FUN of frat boys, jocks, and all that stuff. A lot of people forget about that. 18 years later, they're still cracking jokes, but taking it to different levels (ie political commentary).

The best thing I liked about this interview, is it was the B-boys just being honest, and a bit blunt. It didn't read like they were writing politically correct answers, or trying to appease anyone. And on that note, I'd have to say when it comes to honesty and being real... the Beastie Boys are some of the more honest performers getting in the press as of late.

-pescado aka Sasquatch on #beastieboys

[monkey]

this is why i love the beastie boys. i never stop laughing hysterically!

[Burnout18]

That was so funny
thats a keeper.

I liked the OC explanation.... mike watches the show and adrock thinks its stupid.