Encouraged to air my inner dork-thoughts in public, I present: the things that keep me up at night (or at least keep me on the toilet longer than I should).
1.) Root Down on Blue Vinyl.
The original Root Down EP (on vinyl) came in a blue and a black version, but as far as I can tell there was no indication which one you were going to get when you bought them. Was this just a surprise promo thing, or did they issue it first in blue and then - due to demand - crank out a bunch of black ones? Also, sub-comment: I compared the original blue version to the reissued blue version and the latter is definitely darker, possibly because it's thicker.
2.) Rock Hard: What's the Problem?
So I know that Rock Hard got kind of suppressed because of the uncleared AC/DC sample, but what I never understood was why? I mean, I get why now, but this was 1984. Licensed to Ill and the notorious Paul's Boutique were all allowed to go to press with shit loads of samples, so why did Rock Hard get such harsh treatment prior to the courts coming down on sampling? I know they mentioned it in Beastie Boys Book, but I feel like that didn't make things any clearer.
3.) Where Have All the B-Sides Gone?
I mean real official B-sides, not remixes. We all know that LTI had none, and even if there was a DAT containing any, Russel probably lost it underneath a leather bad boy where it got crushed years ago. But PB, CYH, IL, and HN had some that came out on singles and EPs, like B-sides are supposed to (shoutout the the Sure Shot EP for having both Mullet Head and The Vibes on the same disc. Sensational). But then the B-side kind of vanished. TT5B had some, but as far as I know they only came out on some Japanese/Australian CD releases. The Mix Up actually had a bunch, but again, only a couple came out on a Japanese CD, and even then I know there were more B-sides that were online-only. Neither the Suco de Tangerina 7” nor the 12” Mix Up Sampler had anything. HSCP2 obviously came with a bonus 7” so that was nice, and I understand that they weren’t focused on satisfying my niche B-sides desired with all that was going on at the time, but still, none of the promotional material had anything either. I guess I don’t really have a question, and now it sounds like I’m complaining, which wasn’t what I was shooting for… so I guess this is more of a coffee table book comment?
Also I’d like to repeat my incessant request to Mike and Adam: please do a vinyl reissue of all the stuff that was never available on wax. If I can’t terrorize my neighbors by blasting Brr Stick Em on vinyl all day, then why do I even bother living in a city?
4.) Who Is the “Yesterday at McDonald’s” Band?
You know the deal. The end of Pass the Mic on certain Pass the Mic singles, there’s that 8 second punk track “Yesterday, at McDonald’s I had…” Is that a band anyone would know? It is Beastie Boys? Is it one of Adrock’s earlier bands?
5.) What Do I Own?
This is the most selfish of all my questions. I acquired a couple rare nuggets from one of the absolute Beastie-fan legends (who frequents this message board) some time ago, but I don’t actually know much about them – just as much as is available on Beastiemania. It’s a long shot I know (since Beastiemania already has a encyclopedic amount of information), but does anyone know anything about
:
The Country Mike Acetate:
https://www.beastiemania.com/discog/...ountrymike#453 It was sourced by “Sir Dan,” whom I can’t track down, so I have no idea how it came into his possession. Also it was allegedly made to “check the EQ balance.” But it’s just Country Delight three times. How does that do anything?
The Purple Fight For Your Right 7”:
https://www.beastiemania.com/discog/...hp?g=ffyr#1844 This one drove/has been driving me crazy. It’s a Canadian release, and I took a magnifying glass to the run-out letters to see if it was different from the standard black version and it is. I cataloged the differences in the notes section of their respective Discogs pages (Purple:
https://www.discogs.com/release/9712...Right-To-Party) (Black:
https://www.discogs.com/release/3673...Right-To-Party) As far as I know there’s only one, but maybe there are more? Basically, what the fuck is the deal with this thing?
Alright that’s enough for now. This probably should have been multiple threads but hey, I’m heading over to the submit button. Hope this kept you on the toilet a little longer than necessary too.