[tuc70021]

Time for my semi-annual post....

I'm not debating anyone's post because this is obviously a fun and opinion-driven thread; just adding my two cents.

It's always interesting when "lost" recordings or unreleased recordings are let loose, like when the Paul's Boutique demos became more wide spread. But there's also something nice about knowing that something unreleased exists and never hearing it.

Firstly, unreleased material lets the artist keep a little something for himself. A lot of us grew up on the Beasties and have a deep connection to a lot of their work. But just imagine how they feel. They made that shit. Who knows, but maybe Mike and Adam occasionally listen to some bullshit studio tapes and get to have a piece of their history back that no one else has heard (besides Mario maybe). It's like whispering to yourself from the past.

Then there's what I think of as the anti-Richard Branson effect. I've got no problems with the guy, other than that he bought an uninhabited Island and built a resort for himself on it. I dunno why that bothers me so much. I just think it's great that there is mystery in this world, and sometimes (*sometimes*) it's nice to leave it be and just wonder about it. I can't even imagine how much cool shit has never been released by the b-boys. But as long as it's never released, it's still super cool shit - it never becomes a "crap factory" as the boys call it themselves.

Finally, I think music was a little different back then. Albums were.... like.... things. There were b-sides, but there wasn't this unrelenting torrent of remixing and special releases and instant access to shit. The Beastie Boys have a canon. They have an audio legacy. Leaks are nice sometimes, but too much can sort of dilute it. I love Car Thief, and the demos are cool too, but it does kind of take away from the "official" version when you hear multiple demos. It's like "Oh, that line was just kind of recycled a few times." When all you have is the PB album version, it's like... whoa.... this is some unique shit.

Anyway, just thinking out loud. Switching gears, I secretly suspect there is some sort of secret submarine recording DAT tape floating around somewhere. It would be pretty Beastie-esque to actually made a submarine album, then say they made it, then never release it. Everyone would be like "Ha ha, very funny. The ol' we made a submarine album gag huh?" No one would take it seriously, and they'd be laughing at all of us, just like they did in every interview they ever gave. THAT.... would be some cool shit.