dee_bee_76
06-22-2004, 03:09 PM
Still romping with that beastly fun
CD Review - Beastie Boys: To the 5 Boroughs
By Danny Kimball - The Daily Iowan
Published: Tuesday, June 22, 2004
So what should you expect from To the 5 Boroughs, the Beastie Boys' first new album in more than six years? The group has become rather political lately, and it is now releasing its first record since Hello Nasty (1998). The band has also dedicated the album to New York City, a much-embattled city still in turmoil. Further, Mike D, MCA, and Adrock are now all either pushing 40 years old or there already.
However, if this has made you expect a more serious, grown-up Beastie Boys record, you would be very wrong.
Boroughs is a throwback to classic Beastie style - and that means anything but growing up. The group has lost none of its absurd and outrageous antics. Adrock certainly guarantees he's not going to act his age: "That's stupid/that's for sure/you be like, 'Yeah Adam, real mature.' "
The band members get silly just as in the old times, giving shout-outs to everyone from Miss Piggy and Toucan Sam to Helen of Troy and Mutual of Omaha. Like the great Beastie Boys records of the past, this is a never-ending escapade into ridiculous rhymes: Mike D raps, "I'm blowin' up like my name is Joe Bazooka/I'm a super-duper MC party pooper," and Adrock says, "I'm a freaky streaker like Winnie the Pooh/T-shirt and no pants/and I dance the boogaloo." Tracks such as "Shazam!" and "The Brouhaha" are simply laugh-out-loud hilarious.
Granted, there are some politically fueled tracks on Boroughs, such as "Right Right Now Now" and "It Takes Time to Build." Despite some specific shots at George W. Bush and the right, though, the political messages are mostly limited to calls for people to get involved in the political system ("We Got The") and celebrations of cultural diversity ("All Lifestyles"). The most consequential track on Boroughs, though, is "An Open Letter to NYC," the Beasties' grand tribute to New York City. Along with reminiscing about growing up in Brooklyn and Manhattan and venerating the city's unity in diversity, "Open Letter" also honors New York's toughness through its struggles: "Since 9-11/we're still livin'/and lovin' life we've been given/Ain't nothin' gonna take that away from us/we're lookin' pretty and gritty/'cause in the City we trust."
CD Review - Beastie Boys: To the 5 Boroughs
By Danny Kimball - The Daily Iowan
Published: Tuesday, June 22, 2004
So what should you expect from To the 5 Boroughs, the Beastie Boys' first new album in more than six years? The group has become rather political lately, and it is now releasing its first record since Hello Nasty (1998). The band has also dedicated the album to New York City, a much-embattled city still in turmoil. Further, Mike D, MCA, and Adrock are now all either pushing 40 years old or there already.
However, if this has made you expect a more serious, grown-up Beastie Boys record, you would be very wrong.
Boroughs is a throwback to classic Beastie style - and that means anything but growing up. The group has lost none of its absurd and outrageous antics. Adrock certainly guarantees he's not going to act his age: "That's stupid/that's for sure/you be like, 'Yeah Adam, real mature.' "
The band members get silly just as in the old times, giving shout-outs to everyone from Miss Piggy and Toucan Sam to Helen of Troy and Mutual of Omaha. Like the great Beastie Boys records of the past, this is a never-ending escapade into ridiculous rhymes: Mike D raps, "I'm blowin' up like my name is Joe Bazooka/I'm a super-duper MC party pooper," and Adrock says, "I'm a freaky streaker like Winnie the Pooh/T-shirt and no pants/and I dance the boogaloo." Tracks such as "Shazam!" and "The Brouhaha" are simply laugh-out-loud hilarious.
Granted, there are some politically fueled tracks on Boroughs, such as "Right Right Now Now" and "It Takes Time to Build." Despite some specific shots at George W. Bush and the right, though, the political messages are mostly limited to calls for people to get involved in the political system ("We Got The") and celebrations of cultural diversity ("All Lifestyles"). The most consequential track on Boroughs, though, is "An Open Letter to NYC," the Beasties' grand tribute to New York City. Along with reminiscing about growing up in Brooklyn and Manhattan and venerating the city's unity in diversity, "Open Letter" also honors New York's toughness through its struggles: "Since 9-11/we're still livin'/and lovin' life we've been given/Ain't nothin' gonna take that away from us/we're lookin' pretty and gritty/'cause in the City we trust."