Beastie Boys Anthology, the Sounds of Science, plays as a reminder to the group's mastery of multiple genres. It is a perfect compilation; a conservative crop from the band's diverse catalog of punk, rap, rock, country, lounge, chant, and electronica. The tracks are sequenced to jump timeline back and forth, giving us a sense of how truly delicious their evolution was.
Birthed as punk rock rockers, the Beastie Boys would quickly hip punk kids to rap music with the crass, rock infused shenanigans of License to Ill. Though monumental, the debut is shit in light of their follow-up, Paul's Boutique; that oh-so legendary cohesion of sample construction courtesy the Dust Brothers. This big, robust sound (combined with a maturation of voice, lyric, and live instrumentation) would dominate later releases.
As the Beatles before them, the band's willingness to experiment helped rid them of the mock juvenility that plagued earlier work. But perhaps better than the Beatles, the Beasties were able to maintain innocence through playful rhymes that gave a more sincere plea to their grown-up politics. The boys became men, gray hair with baby faces, advocating for Tibetan freedom, female respect, and presidential candidates.
The day after George Bush won re-election, I saw my first Beastie Boys concert in Madison. Sabotage never sounded so right. Unwilling to settle for a similar result this year, the Beastie Boys will join Jack Johnson, Norah Jones, Tenacious D, and others in a series of select concerts in battleground states. Luckily (or unluckily) for me, Wisconsin is up for grabs. I'm hoping they keep the political preaching to a minimum and instead let their music do the influencing.
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