Another Rick Rubin Interview... About LTI

[Micodin]

Good read. (http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2013/07/rick-rubin-reflects-on-his-contributions-to-10-iconic-hip-hop-albums/)

“That one was recorded over a long period of time, and I think one of the reasons it’s as good as it is is that each song really has its own life, which I don’t think would’ve been the case had we made the whole album in two or three months. It wouldn’t have had the breadth and depth that it does, especially musically. That was kind of two years of our lives. Not two years of our lives in the studio every day, but we’d work on a song for a couple of days, then we might not go back in the studio for another month or six weeks, then whatever was sort of speaking to us at that moment would be the next one. So it really came together over time, with all of the influences—both of the day and the influences we’d grown up with. I’d grown up with Led Zeppelin and AC/DC and more hard rock, and they’d grown up on punk rock, and you can feel all of those influences in that record.

“Again, we were making it for us and our friends, and if it would’ve sold 25,000 copies we would’ve been ecstatic. [Laughs] Really. The fact that so many people liked it was really a shock to us, because it’s such an inside album. There’s so many inside jokes and it’s such a personal album. And it’s ridiculous. The stuff they talk about is really ridiculous, and it entertained us, but we never imagined that it would entertain anyone else.

“I think in some ways [their sophomore album] Paul’s Boutique was a reaction to Licensed To Ill, because I think they wanted to do something different, and I think Paul’s Boutique, in their mind, was different. I remember hearing Paul’s Boutique and it blowing my mind. I really loved it. I thought it was the future. When it came out, it wasn’t very well-received, but it was really a brilliant album".

[Brass Monk]

Thx great read, a couple of thoughts:

*I don't recall much, if any, punk influence on LTI beyond the Clash vocal sample on Rhymin' & Stealin. Seems like all the Rock influence that was on that album was a Metal one (from Zep to Black Sabbath to Kerry King to Motorhead)
*I forgot how brutal the old Geto Boys were, a lot of that was really twisted and disturbed
*Sir Mix-A-Lot's One Time Got No Case was a great track, totally forgot about him. I gotta go buy that again.
*So Jay-Z's new album hasn't even been released yet and it's already iconic?
LOL. A nets fan must have put that piece together.

[LuciferHam]

Could be punk in the aggressive delivery of the vocals, the influence of punk/rap cross-overs such as This Is Radio Clash or the punk mind-set of exploring new musical territory.

[Brass Monk]

Could be punk in the aggressive delivery of the vocals, the influence of punk/rap cross-overs such as This Is Radio Clash or the punk mind-set of exploring new musical territory.

Hmmmmm, good try, but I don't know (Maybe the mindset of being open to all music)

Rap/Hip Hop recordings prior to LTI also had aggressive vocal deliveries, plus metal kinda always did that too.

Seems like there are virtually no real punk elements at all on LTI.
And that in turn kinda shows that the punk aspect/influence in the BBoys' background is often over-played (IMO)

[Kid Presentable]

Hmmmmm, good try, but I don't know (Maybe the mindset of being open to all music)

Rap/Hip Hop recordings prior to LTI also had aggressive vocal deliveries, plus metal kinda always did that too.

Seems like there are virtually no real punk elements at all on LTI.
And that in turn kinda shows that the punk aspect/influence in the BBoys' background is often over-played (IMO)

I think it's played about right, to be honest.

And punk rock kids making a hip-hop album is punk rock as fuck.

[tt5brevisited]

Nice.

[Brass Monk]

I think it's played about right, to be honest.

And punk rock kids making a hip-hop album is punk rock as fuck.

On a recent thread of an interview with Glenn Friedman on the Combat Jack show, he also seemed to agree with my sentiment (that the punk rock aspect is overdone and that they were never REALLY into punk rock)

I also tend to think that punk rock kids making punk rock albums is punk rock as fuck, but agree to disagree.

[Kid Presentable]

They were into it enough to record and play it. Seems about right.

[Micodin]

They were punk rock enough to put out Polly Wog Stew, feature punk rock songs on CYH & IC, put out Aglio e Olio, and tour as Quasar.

And the urge to play live and tour with instruments again was partially due to wanting to play their hardcore songs.

Pretty, pretty, punk rock.

[WesleyOHSnaps!]

I read some where that Jay Z and Rick were going to do an actual cover of No Sleep Till Brooklyn. Is this true? Or interweb garbage?

[Brass Monk]

Just because they did it some, doesn't mean it's not overplayed.
You can certainly point to parts of the Beastie discography and say "look they did punk here, here and here" but proportionally it's low compared to other music that they did.

To use a basketball metaphor, Larry Bird would slam dunk sometimes but not frequently. Defining him, as a player, as a dunk artist would be misleading. Manute Bol hit 6 3-pointers in 1 game but that was not his primary game. He hit some 3 pointers in his career, but it may be a bit much to characterize him as a 3 point shooter.

Let's just stay with the original point then (that was spawned by the Rick Rubin interview): There is no tangible punk rock influence on LTI. This interview was enlightening because it made me go back and look at the album, trying to find punk rock stuff and there was none to my surprise. I had always assumed there was, but truthfully there is nothing of that sort there. I suppose a highly nuanced argument can be made that "it's so punk rock" because it's rebellious (but that's also assuming that Metal and Hip Hop recordings prior to LTI lacked that attitude, which they didn't).

[Brass Monk]

I read some where that Jay Z and Rick were going to do an actual cover of No Sleep Till Brooklyn. Is this true? Or interweb garbage?

Haven't heard about that. But in this article, Rick mentioned that when he was making 99 problems on Jay-Z's Black album, Jay-Z mentioned to Rick that he wanted to rhyme over a track that would sound like/be inspired by Licensed to Ill Beastie Boys stuff. I'm not a huge Jay-Z fan, but I think that might be his best song.

[Micodin]

I read some where that Jay Z and Rick were going to do an actual cover of No Sleep Till Brooklyn. Is this true? Or interweb garbage?

Probably interweb garbage. M.O.P. covered NSTB a while back. I'm sure Jay wouldn't want to do something that's already been done. He already has a Beasties tune in his catologue, Hello Brooklyn 2.0.

[Kid Presentable]

'Shout' aside, Girls is basically a punk rock song.

[Sir SkratchaLot]

Just because they did it some, doesn't mean it's not overplayed.
You can certainly point to parts of the Beastie discography and say "look they did punk here, here and here" but proportionally it's low compared to other music that they did.

To use a basketball metaphor, Larry Bird would slam dunk sometimes but not frequently. Defining him, as a player, as a dunk artist would be misleading. Manute Bol hit 6 3-pointers in 1 game but that was not his primary game. He hit some 3 pointers in his career, but it may be a bit much to characterize him as a 3 point shooter.

Let's just stay with the original point then (that was spawned by the Rick Rubin interview): There is no tangible punk rock influence on LTI. This interview was enlightening because it made me go back and look at the album, trying to find punk rock stuff and there was none to my surprise. I had always assumed there was, but truthfully there is nothing of that sort there. I suppose a highly nuanced argument can be made that "it's so punk rock" because it's rebellious (but that's also assuming that Metal and Hip Hop recordings prior to LTI lacked that attitude, which they didn't).

I think he's referring to it in more of a mindset thing. The Beasties are punk rockers and hip hoppers by nature. It permiates everything they do. There's a lot about their delivery on LTI (and their other albums) that's influenced by punk. Just like if you listen to Aglio E Olio it's obviously punk influenced by hip hop. Just because they do something in the "hip hop style" doesn't mean it's not punk, and just because they do something in the "punk style" does not mean it's not hip hop. Yadadamean? Nahmsayin?

[Brass Monk]

I think he's referring to it in more of a mindset thing. The Beasties are punk rockers and hip hoppers by nature. It permiates everything they do. There's a lot about their delivery on LTI (and their other albums) that's influenced by punk. Just like if you listen to Aglio E Olio it's obviously punk influenced by hip hop. Just because they do something in the "hip hop style" doesn't mean it's not punk, and just because they do something in the "punk style" does not mean it's not hip hop. Yadadamean? Nahmsayin?

You make good points.

I wouldn't deny that Punk is a part of their background and identity, my issue was just the degree to which it is attributed. I would argue it's significantly less than is often said (see previous posts for that argument).

But as far as LTI is concerned, what about the vocals is punk? I'm not trying to be annoying, I am legitimately curious.

It seems like for some, the definition of punk is so vague and broad that it could really be attributed to anything. There's a lot of groups that have no connection to punk whatsoever that could be called punk based on a very vague definition.