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Old 02-05-2023, 05:25 PM   #661 (permalink)
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Originally Posted by SGR View Post
I definitely didn't expect this album to get glowing reviews across our little club, and even figured that I should pencil in Trollheart to give me a mulligan (given his open disdain for the Beastly Brothers), but I think the variety is useful - it seemed strange to me that we hadn't had a single hip-hop/rap album up to this point, and I guess it just reflects the tastes of those nominating, but the more the merrier in terms of variety in my eyes. I might nominate an exotica or mambo album next. Or maybe a lounge record. We'll see. I'll get my review up for Paul's Boutique sometime next week - prepare for a long one, and allow me to reminisce about it in glowing fashion.
for your bolded words, SGR. I for one will read your review with interest, your reminisces in particular.

Quote:
You mentioned not having much to relate it to Lisna, have you heard many rap records?
^ I've heard bits of rap, SGR and someone on MB kindly posted a rec or two of Rap Lite for me to see that it was more inventive musically than I thought. That experiment didn't really help, but yeah, in terms of relating Beastie Boys to something I know, I should've gone to rap first. Truth is, I don't understand the difference between rap and hip-hop, so I didn't want to expose my ignorance furthur by saying "Paul's Boutique reminds me of rap" if that is what it actually is.

I write my reviews first, then go back and read people's comments, so I'd like to make a couple of furthur remarks:-

(i) as Mindfulness says, it's a great album cover
(ii) I couldn't identify a single sample in the entire album. I even re-listened to Sound of Science listening for The End but failed in that endeavour too, so there's a whole sophisticated level to The Beastie Boys which is completely passing me by.
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Old 02-12-2023, 07:26 PM   #662 (permalink)
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"Ladies and gentlemen, Paul's Boutique would like to thank you for you custom. However it is almost closing time, so please bring your purchases to the front desk so we can **** off home. Thank you."

Tomorrow is the last day for the Beastlies, after which we move on to Rubber Soul's Concrete Blonde, and if that isn't a mixed metaphor I don't know what is.
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Old 02-13-2023, 12:48 AM   #663 (permalink)
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I've been bumming around at my brothers place for the Super Bowl (which my Chiefs won - Go Chiefs!), I'll get my Beastly Brothers review up this week and will get the review for the next album up shortly after - sorry for the delay!
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Old 02-14-2023, 07:28 PM   #664 (permalink)
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OP has been updated with new album, so get listenin'!

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Old 02-14-2023, 08:28 PM   #665 (permalink)
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDE4LHpK9dU
rock n roll!
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Old 02-15-2023, 07:12 AM   #666 (permalink)
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Thanks for the link, Mindfulness, and for the update, Trollheart:-
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trollheart View Post
OP has been updated with new album, so get listenin'!
^ The correct abbreviation is of course: Lisnin
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Old 02-15-2023, 09:07 AM   #667 (permalink)
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Great vid, Mindy. I remember seeing this when it first came out. It was one of those wow moments to be sure.
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Old 02-15-2023, 10:12 AM   #668 (permalink)
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Now that I'm back from my Super Bowl excursion (How bout those Chiefs!?!), here's my review of the Beastly Brothers.

Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique (1989)



A sophomore slump in sales but not in vision and creativity. The much anticipated follow up to the Beastie Boys’ debut album landed with critical glee - but it also left the public scratching their heads. Where were the party songs? The songs about drinking and screwing, the stuff that played well on MTV at the time? Well - this album has that….a bit - but there’s no obvious barnburner of a hit like “Fight for your Right”.

This album to me is the most impressively produced album of the 1980s. It’s also the best hip hop record of the 1980s (sorry Public Enemy). And to be perfectly honest - that’s probably the biggest reason this album is one of my all time favorites - not the Beastie Boys, their talent or raps, but rather the mindbendingly creative production of the Dust Brothers. Before licensing laws changed, hip hop producers could sample whatever they wanted and get away with it (it changed primarily because of the egregious amount of samples used on this record). On this record, you hear a new sample from a wide arrange of artists and records about every 8 seconds - from the likes of The Beatles, James Brown, Johnny Cash, Curtis Mayfield, Ramones, Sly & the Family Stone and a whole bunch of obscure 70s folk and soul artists you’ve probably never even heard of. The Dust Brothers dug deep in the crates for this record. Hell, you even hear samples of the Psycho and Jaws themes (on "Egg Man"). Find me another rap record that samples the Jaws theme, I’ll wait.

One of my favorite tracks of the whole album is "High Plains Drifter". As soon as you hear that gun cock, and the drum break roll in, you know that it’s on. Not only does this track show the sampling creativity and prowess of the Dust Brothers, but exemplifies the incredibly creative way that the Beastie Boys can weave a hilarious story together, all the while trading the mic off after nearly line - I mean, just listen to that bassline sample and drum break from The Eagles’ “Those Shoes” - it’s just menacingly infectious, even if it is one of the most obvious samples on the record.





Spoiler for High Plains Drifter lyrics:
'Cause I'm the high plains drifter, and I'm the drifter
The high plains drifter, and I'm the drifter
They can't catch me, they're never going to find me
They're never gonna know that I'm the high plains drifter

Pulled to the river, to take a rest
Pulled out a pair of pliers, pulled a bullet out of my chest
Fear and loathing 'cross the country, listenin' to my 8-track
I reached behind the seat and snatched a Kool from the pack
I'm long-distance from my girl and I'm talking on my cellular
She said that she was sorry and I said, "Yeah, the hell you were"
Check the rear view mirror, check the gold tooth display
Check the odometer and I was on my way

'Cause I'm the high plains drifter, the best that you can get
A strapped shoplifter, a pirate on cassette
Bust a Travis Bickle when I feel that I'm getting pushed
Don't step to me 'cause you could be getting mushed

I'm doing 120, plowing over mailboxes
Radar detector to tell me where the cops is
Spend another night at the Motel 6
It's five dollars extra to get the porno flicks
And then I concoct a black and tan in my brandy snifter
I'm a kleptomaniac K-mart shoplifter
Cash flow getting low, so I had to pull a job
Found a nice place to visit but a better place to rob
I left my car outside and the engine still revvin'
Takin' care of business at 7-eleven
And then I went inside to make my withdrawal
I saw what he had had but I had to take it all

Knucklehead deli tried to gyp me off the price
So I clocked him on the turban with a bag of ice
'Cause I'm mellow like Jell-O, cool like lemonade
I made my get a way and then I thought that I had it made
I feel like Steve McQueen, a former movie star
Looked in the rear view mirror seen the police car
Ballantine quarts with the puzzle on the cap
I couldn't help to notice I was caught in a speed trap
Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry, on the run from Dirty Harry
Stash the cash in the dash, but my gun I did carry
I'm seeing blue and red flashing deep in the night
I got my alibi straight and I pulled over to the right
The cop knocked on my window and said, "Boy, where's the fire?"
You got a mailbox on your bumper and a bald front tire"
"Outta the car, longhair!", your goose is cooked
Read me my rights, fingerprinted and booked

Making like a DT, driving a grand fury
Wherever I hang my hat's my home and my past is kind of blurry
Every dog will have his day, mine will be in front of a jury
High plains drifter, you know that I'm never in a hurry

Read me my rights as if I didn't know this
Threw me in the tank with a drunk called Otis
With his 5 o'clock shadow he smelled of 3 day old beer
My man turned to me and said, "Why are you here?"
I said, I'm charming, I'm dashing, I'm rental-car bashing
I'm phony-paper passing at Nix Check Cashing
I went before the judge he sent me to the Brooklyn house of D
He said, "You behave or we'll throw away the key"
Houdini'd out the cuffs, kicked the screw in the knee
I took the Bailiff's wallet and went straight to OTB
I had a good feeling, easy come, easy go
I bet on one horse to win and your mother to show
And sure enough, that nag came in
Brought my ticket to the window and collected my win
And then I broke into my new car with a wire coat hanger
Hot wired hot wheeled and, "Suzy is a headbanger"



Or how about the tales of juvenile egg-tossing delinquency on “Egg Man”?

Spoiler for Egg Man lyrics:
Ah yeah
I looked out the window seen his bald head
Ran to the fridge and pulled out an egg
Scoped him with my scopes, he had no hair
Launched that shot and he was caught out there
Saw the convertible driving by
I loaded up the slingshot, let one fly
He went for his to find he didn't have one
Put him in check, correct, with my egg-gun
The egg, a symbol of life
I go inside your house and bust out your wife
I pulled out the jammy, he thought it was a joke
The trigger, I pulled his face, the yolk
Reached in his pocket, took all his cash
Left my man standing with the egg mustache
Suckers, they come a dime a dozen
"When I say dozen, you know what I'm talkin' about, boy"


Talking about the Beastie Boys for a minute, this is not a record that showcases incredibly complex rhyme schemes or lyrical prowess, but it doesn’t need to. That’s not the point. It’s supposed to be fun - that’s the point here. And it has fun locked down. Like the aforementioned tales of juvenile debauchery, the Beastie Boys are constantly hilarious.

Perhaps the song that is the best example of the Beastie Boys fun lyrical nonchalance coming together with the high form of creative sample-mixups of the Dust Brothers is “Hey Ladies”, that kicks off and is driven by a slowed down sample of the Commodores “Machine Gun” - and has a cutup pseudo-chorus that is woven together with samples from:

Kurtis Blow’s “Party Time”
World’s Famous Supreme Team’s “Hey DJ”
Cameo’s “Shake Your Pants”
Afrika Bambaataa’s “Jazzy Sensation”
Kool & The Gang’s “Jungle Boogie”
James Brown’s “Funky President”
P-Funk All Stars’ “Pumpin’ It Up”
James Brown’s “Aint It Funky Now”

All of this, just for the chorus - it is immense. Oh yeah, the song also samples Sweet’s “Ballroom Blitz” (but not during the chorus). And in verse 3, we learn quite a lot - but it’s all quite disconnected - it’s a beautifully descriptive imitation of so many different ideas, events, and thoughts - all centered on the main idea of “the ladies, the ladies”:

Spoiler for Hey Ladies lyrics:
She got a gold tooth you know she's hardcore
She'll show you a good time then she'll show you the door
Break up with your girl it ended in tears
Vincent Van Gogh go and mail that ear
Call her in the middle of the night when I'm drinking
The phone booth on the corner is damp and it's stinking
Said come on over it was me that she missed
I threw that trash can through her window 'cause you know I got dissed
Your old lady left you and you went insane
You blew yourself up in the back of the six train
Take my advice at any price a gorilla like your mother is mighty weak
Sucking down pints until I didn't know
Woke up in the morning with a one-ton ho
'Cause I announce I like girls that bounce
With the weight that pays about a pound per ounce
Girls with curls and big long locks
And beatnik chicks just wearing their smocks
Walking high and mighty like she's number one
(She thinks she's the passionate one)


We learn about:

A gold-toothed prostitute who knows her trade
A bad breakup that references Vincent Van Gogh’s self-mutilation
A call to an ex in a fit of drunkeness in a nasty phone booth
An act of property destruction against the ex’s house
Suicide after the breakup in a train
A fat mom who serves as rebound sex, happening after the narrator was piss drunk (while referencing the Magilla Gorilla Show theme)
A preference for curvy women with curly long hair
A love of hippy women who are a bit on the self-righteous side

This song is a great representation of the album as a whole - the whole album is the truest musical pastiche that ever existed. And who knew that hip hop was in desparate need for a large amount of cowbell?



And another more lyrical example of the idea of the pastiche can be found in the track “Shadrach” - in just the first verse, we find references to Batman (Riddler), AC/DC, the classic hymn “Amazing Grace”, a verse from the New Testament, drug highs, idiomatic cliches, God, and three Judean prophets from the Book of Daniel:

Spoiler for Shadrach lyrics:
Riddle me this, my brother, can you handle it?
Your style to my style, you can't hold a candle to it
Equinox symmetry, and the balance is right
Smokin' and drinkin' on a Tuesday night
Not how you play the game, it's how you win it
I cheat and steal and sin, and I'm a cynic
For those about to rock, we salute you
The dirty thoughts for dirty minds we contribute to
I once was lost, but now I'm found
The music washes over, and you're one with the sound
Well, who shall inherit the earth? The meek shall
And yo, I think I'm starting to peak now, Al
And the man upstairs, well, I hope that he cares
If I had a penny for my thoughts, I'd be a millionaire
We're just three MCs and we're on the go
Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego


The song comes with an addictively delicious vocal sample from Sly & The Family Stone’s “Loose Booty” - sampled and looped in a way that might make 90s house DJs blush. And of course, the track is fittingly accompanied by a trippy impressionist hand drawn art collage - the pastiche continues:



When I was a teenager, I used to have a summer job that was a little under half an hour away (driving). So this album became a constant companion - as every time I’d drive to work, I’d finish half the album - and on the way home after the work day, I’d get through the entire second half right as I was pulling into my parent’s driveway (perhaps this is why I like side 2 of the record a little bit more, but side 1 always provided the energy I needed to motivate myself for the day).

This album is denser than a neutron star - and nothing before and nothing since is quite like it. Nothing ever will be, at least not on a commercial level. While it is a pastiche - the album somehow manages to imitate/sample so many different things, it becomes something totally and wholly unique. It is a complete musical chameleon.

So yeah, this album is a sentimental favorite. It always will be. Two years after their debut, the Beastie Boys, with the help of the Dust Brothers, proved that they were not a one-trick pony, they were in fact a creative musical force that had to be taken seriously. I suppose you could say that they did indeed have to fight for their right to party.


9.5/10 (trying to be objective, I think “What Comes Around” is just a little bit weaker than the rest of the tracks)

Last edited by SGR; 02-15-2023 at 10:20 AM.
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Old 02-15-2023, 12:00 PM   #669 (permalink)
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nice review SGR!
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Old 02-15-2023, 12:09 PM   #670 (permalink)
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That's a great review,SGR, because it puts Paul's Boutique into context and also guided me towards what I should be looking for in the Beastie Boys.

First up, the lyrics to High Plains Drifter are wonderful: references, jokes, images and a wild story are all piled on top of each other in a road-trip adrenal rush:
Quote:
Originally Posted by SGR View Post
Spoiler for High Plains Drifter lyrics:
'Cause I'm the high plains drifter, and I'm the drifter
The high plains drifter, and I'm the drifter
They can't catch me, they're never going to find me
They're never gonna know that I'm the high plains drifter

Pulled to the river, to take a rest
Pulled out a pair of pliers, pulled a bullet out of my chest
Fear and loathing 'cross the country, listenin' to my 8-track
I reached behind the seat and snatched a Kool from the pack
I'm long-distance from my girl and I'm talking on my cellular
She said that she was sorry and I said, "Yeah, the hell you were"
Check the rear view mirror, check the gold tooth display
Check the odometer and I was on my way

'Cause I'm the high plains drifter, the best that you can get
A strapped shoplifter, a pirate on cassette
Bust a Travis Bickle when I feel that I'm getting pushed
Don't step to me 'cause you could be getting mushed

I'm doing 120, plowing over mailboxes
Radar detector to tell me where the cops is
Spend another night at the Motel 6
It's five dollars extra to get the porno flicks
And then I concoct a black and tan in my brandy snifter
I'm a kleptomaniac K-mart shoplifter
Cash flow getting low, so I had to pull a job
Found a nice place to visit but a better place to rob
I left my car outside and the engine still revvin'
Takin' care of business at 7-eleven
And then I went inside to make my withdrawal
I saw what he had had but I had to take it all

Knucklehead deli tried to gyp me off the price
So I clocked him on the turban with a bag of ice
'Cause I'm mellow like Jell-O, cool like lemonade
I made my get a way and then I thought that I had it made
I feel like Steve McQueen, a former movie star
Looked in the rear view mirror seen the police car
Ballantine quarts with the puzzle on the cap
I couldn't help to notice I was caught in a speed trap
Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry, on the run from Dirty Harry
Stash the cash in the dash, but my gun I did carry
I'm seeing blue and red flashing deep in the night
I got my alibi straight and I pulled over to the right
The cop knocked on my window and said, "Boy, where's the fire?"
You got a mailbox on your bumper and a bald front tire"
"Outta the car, longhair!", your goose is cooked
Read me my rights, fingerprinted and booked

Making like a DT, driving a grand fury
Wherever I hang my hat's my home and my past is kind of blurry
Every dog will have his day, mine will be in front of a jury
High plains drifter, you know that I'm never in a hurry

Read me my rights as if I didn't know this
Threw me in the tank with a drunk called Otis
With his 5 o'clock shadow he smelled of 3 day old beer
My man turned to me and said, "Why are you here?"
I said, I'm charming, I'm dashing, I'm rental-car bashing
I'm phony-paper passing at Nix Check Cashing
I went before the judge he sent me to the Brooklyn house of D
He said, "You behave or we'll throw away the key"
Houdini'd out the cuffs, kicked the screw in the knee
I took the Bailiff's wallet and went straight to OTB
I had a good feeling, easy come, easy go
I bet on one horse to win and your mother to show
And sure enough, that nag came in
Brought my ticket to the window and collected my win
And then I broke into my new car with a wire coat hanger
Hot wired hot wheeled and, "Suzy is a headbanger"
Next, on your rec, I took another look at Hey Ladies. Yep, nice cowbell and again the lyrics are well worthy trying to catch. I played the song again, and wondered if it's just the speed of their delivery that is difficult for me. So (thank you, Youtube) I found this:-



Apart from the weird voice quality, I quite liked this speed, tbh. I am still lost on the samples, but found it easier to follow the lyrics. (The "She got a gold tooth..." starts at 3:10). Again they are a dazzling collection of tight-packed ideas, so thanks for teazing them out for us:
Quote:
We learn about:

A gold-toothed prostitute who knows her trade
A bad breakup that references Vincent Van Gogh’s self-mutilation
A call to an ex in a fit of drunkeness in a nasty phone booth
An act of property destruction against the ex’s house
Suicide after the breakup in a train
A fat mom who serves as rebound sex, happening after the narrator was piss drunk (while referencing the Magilla Gorilla Show theme)
A preference for curvy women with curly long hair
A love of hippy women who are a bit on the self-righteous side
Quote:
When I was a teenager, I used to have a summer job that was a little under half an hour away (driving). So this album became a constant companion - as every time I’d drive to work, I’d finish half the album - and on the way home after the work day, I’d get through the entire second half right as I was pulling into my parent’s driveway (perhaps this is why I like side 2 of the record a little bit more, but side 1 always provided the energy I needed to motivate myself for the day).

This album is denser than a neutron star - and nothing before and nothing since is quite like it. Nothing ever will be, at least not on a commercial level. While it is a pastiche - the album somehow manages to imitate/sample so many different things, it becomes something totally and wholly unique. It is a complete musical chameleon.
I loved this vision of the young SGR ! Thanks. It reminds me so much of how I used to feel about the Trout Mask Replica album: getting pent up and frustrated after a day at High School, then coming home to enjoy an intense album, packed with detail, that most people thought sounded awful - but for me it was my refuge and my rebellion.
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