I'm not sure when exactly it happened, but at some point in the last few years Hey Ladies has become one of my favourite and most-played Beastie jams. I keep imagining what it must have been like to hear at the time, being a fan and having waited three years for new music (I was born in '89 by the by). I probably wouldn't have known what to think - does anyone have any recollections?
It's just so damn funky and the vocal interplay is some of their best ever. And obviously, it just heralds this whole new sound. It's a million miles away from LTI and - despite my love for that album - all the better for it.
I have some other questions that I've been thinking on recently: why was it never (to my knowledge) performed live? I know Yauch (I think?) was confused as to why it was the first single off Paul's in the Anthology booklet, but they obviously liked the track enough to include it on both best of's...
And, although I say it was never performed live, did it not make any of those small, very infrequent clubs show set-lists in 1989 around the time of its release?
One of those songs I painfully imagine them revisiting (along with Shadrach) when I imagine what recent set-lists may have been like had the unthinkable not happened
Hope everyone is well by the way - I miss this place but always remember with affection the brilliant fans...
ps - and how can I not mention the video!