Public Enemy "He Got Game"

Stick with me, MVY listeners . . .

I was following a Facebook thread last night from a friend whose musical tastes run shockingly similar to mine.  The post was based around late 80s/early 90s rap music, starting with The Beastie Boys amazing back-to-back records "Paul's Boutique" and "Check Your Head."  Further comments cited De La Soul, Black Sheep, Boogie Down Productions and Public Enemy, among others, as producing great albums in that era.

Then the thread host mentioned Public Enemy's "He Got Game" soundtrack, and wham! I was hit with a little bolt of lightning.

I am certain that I have not thought about that song since it played on WABN, some 15 years ago.

How certain am I that it was erased from my memory?  When the song came on I thought, "Oh yeah, the song where they sample 'For What It's Worth' a little too heavily."  While completely forgetting that STEPHEN STILLS IS IN THIS VIDEO!!!  They didn't just sample, Stephen Fucking Stills performed with Public Enemy?!?!

This isn't the kind of thing that slips your mind for a second.  Either it's there, or it's not there.

For me, it was definitely not there.  Until now.


Hey mvyradio listeners, I know many of your aren't interested in Public Enemy, but you gotta at least skip ahead to 2:20, when Stills shows up.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Beastie Boys "Get It Together"

It took me a little aback, but then it made me laugh out loud.

My 2 1/2 year old boy said, "What's up with boots on your feet!"

Part of the excitement just came from the pure joy of how much this kid has to say.  When we was 18 months old, we had him tested, because he didn't seem to have the words that his peers had.

Long story short, after a battery of tests, the speech folks basically said, "Oh he could talk.  He just doesn't want to."

Cut to a year later, and he is a talker.  He talks and talks and talks.  Tells stories.  Repeats things.  He's hard to understand, especially if you aren't used to translating his kid-speak.  But it is really entertaining to be his Dad.

I've mentioned before that there are phrases that we use around the house that the kids have no context for, but will one day hear it in a song and realized that's why my parents said "Get crazy with the Cheez Whiz"!!!

When winter started, we got our growing boy a new pair of boots as his every day shoes, to replace his summer sneakers.  He's a stubborn thing (as evidenced by the early unwillingness to speak), and sometimes getting him to sit still while you put on his shoes is a bit of a battle.

So I'll talk to him and try to make it fun.  Occasionally, I'll shout out a lyric from The Beastie Boys song called "Get It Together."

"Yo, what's up with the boots on your feet!"

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that he'd eventually parrot that back to me.  But it was delightful to actually have it happen.

I was an excited Gen-X Dad.

So I went straight to iTunes, and explained to him, and my 5 year old daughter, that "What's up with the boots on your feet" is part of a song, and I would play it for them now.

And that's where things went south.

It's been a while since I put on "Ill Communication."  But more than that, I don't think you really hear a song, until you've heard it with your kids.

Now generally, we don't censor the music around the house.  We'll play the unedited "Little Lion Man" or "Fuck You."  If you don't make a big deal of it, it won't be a big deal for the kids.

But I don't think I've ever really considered what to say about lines like: "Yes I'm Getting Funky And I'm Shooting All My Jism/Like John Holmes, The X-rated Nigger/Listen To The Shit 'Cause I'm The Ill Figure"?

I can argue about context all day, but I don't think I can explain a line like that to my kids.

And MAN, I don't think I realized how long it would take to get to that one "What's Up" line in the song.  The tune seemed to go on and on, as I was saying to the kids, "Just wait, that 'Boots' lyric is coming up!  Really, next verse!  Here it comes!  Keep listening!"

Meanwhile, "fucks" and "shits" and "niggers" are flying through the speakers, and I'm getting more uncomfortable by the moment.

Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time.  But I won't be playing that one again for the kids any time soon.

It sends the wrong message.  That is, I got the Ill Communication.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Beastie Boys "Bodhisattva Vow"

As I watched friend after friend post on Facebook about the passing of Adam Yauch of The Beastie Boys, I had two thoughts in quick succession.

"What should I write for the blog?" followed by "Most mvy listeners don't care about The Beastie Boys, so why bother?"

While there are certainly many listeners who have a broad taste in music, with a scope that includes rap music, I can also tell you that the category of music most likely to be despised by an mvy listener, is hip-hop.

For whatever reason (and there is a whole post, nay, a whole University study that could be devoted to the question), many many listeners over the years have expressed zero tolerance for the genre.  So it plays very little role in what the station does.

And if you're one of those folks, I guess I'm writing to you today.

I think it's pretty easy to define and dismiss a genre, based on the worst aspects of its shallowest contributions.  An intense dislike of Top 40 is built on a vapid, autotuned, moronic beat.  Your intense dislike of country is based on hicky, jingoistic, yeehaw twang.

And unfortunately, what can make a rap song really great, even something a non-rap fan could fully embrace and enjoy, is often the most impenetrable part ---  the lyrics.

If you're not familiar with it, listen to the first 30 seconds of "Bodhisattva Vow" before reading the rest of the post:


Hear the song on Youtube.

Chances are, you have not idea what he's saying.  It's just a jumble of sound.

Fair enough.

But if you've been a bit surprised at the outpouring of sadness over the passing of someone you were never able to musically connect to, the lyrics are a large reason why.

If your dislike of rap music centers partly on your idea that much of Rap music's lyrics deal with things that don't appeal to you (conspicuous consumption, violence, misogyny), know that you're missing out.  Because many, many artists use the form to say things that I think you might find intelligent, appealing and even profound.

Check out the lyrics below, go back and listen to the song and maybe find out why this guy got into the hearts of so many.


There are many, many great obituaries out there for Adam Yauch.  I really appreciated the one at The AV Club, which (astutely) called him "The George Harrison of The Beastie Boys."  It gave a lot of attention to Yauch's non-music endeavors, including his very successful filmmaking forays and his passionate commitment to his charitable organizations.

"Bodhisattva Vow"

As I Develop The Awakening Mind I Praise The Buddha As They Shine
I Bow Before You As I Travel My Path To Join Your Ranks,
I Make My Full Time Task
For The Sake Of All Beings I Seek
The Enlighted Mind That I Know I'll Reap
Respect To Shantideva And All The Others
Who Brought Down The Darma For Sisters And Brothers
I Give Thanks For This World As A Place To Learn
And For This Human Body That I'm Glad To Have Earned
And My Deepest Thanks To All Sentient Beings
For Without Them There Would Be No Place To Learn What I'm Seeing
There's Nothing Here That's Not Been Said Before
But I Put It Down Now So I'll Be Sure
To Solidify My Own Views And I'll Be Glad If It Helps
Anyone Else Out Too
If Others Disrespect Me Or Give Me Flack
I'll Stop And Think Before I React =
Knowing That They're Going Through Insecure Stages
I'll Take The Opportunity To Exercise Patience
I'll See It As A Chance To Help The Other Person
Nip It In The Bud Before It Can Worsen
A Change For Me To Be Strong And Sure
As I Think On The Buddhas Who Have Come Before
As I Praise And Respect The Good They've Done
Knowing Only Love Can Conquer In Every Situation
We Need Other People In Order To Create
The Circumstances For The Learning That We're Here To Generate
Situations That Bring Up Our Deepest Fears
So We Can Work To Release Them Until They're Cleared
Therefore, It Only Makes Sense
To Thank Our Enemies Despite Their Intent
The Bodhisattva Path Is One Of Power And Strength
A Strength From Within To Go The Length
Seeing Others Are As Important As Myself
I Strive For A Happiness Of Mental Wealth
With The Interconnectedness That We Share As One
Every Action That We Take Affects Everyone
So In Deciding For What A Situation Calls
There Is A Path For The Good For All
I Try To Make My Every Action For That Highest Good
With The Altruistic Wish To Achive Buddhahood
So I Pledge Here Before Everyone Who's Listening
To Try To Make My Every Action For The Good Of All Beings
For The Rest Of My Lifetimes And Even Beyond
I Vow To Do My Best To Do No Harm
And In Times Of Doubt I Can Think On The Dharma
And The Enlightened Ones Who've Graduated Samsara 

David Bromberg "Sharon"

Billy Crystal, back during his 80s stand up days, had this joke about how he knew he was getting old when his daughter asked him if he knew that Paul McCartney was in a band before Wings.

Yeah, when you're born creates the context, doesn't it. And sometimes---I'll even say often, now that Rock N Roll has a multi-generational history---you are more likely to know the spawn than the originator.

One of my all-time favorite albums is "Paul's Boutique," a record that still stacks up to any full-length creation out there, but was even more-so stunningly dense in its day.

Created before the rules on sampling were altered (due to a lawsuit), the record simply couldn't be made these days, because of the many, many sources The Beastie Boys and their producers The Dust Brothers, sampled from.

Even back then, I could pick up a number of the samples, including The Beatles "The End" and "Those Shoes" by The Eagles, but most of the loops and snippets and riffs were unfamiliar to me. They just sounded cool.

What a remarkable delight it was, to find out a friend had created a playlist on Spotify encompassing most all the original tunes that were sampled on "Paul's Boutique." 70 songs and over 5 hours of listening!

I can't tell you how many times I've grooved along to "Johnny Ryall." But in the nearly 25 years I've known and heard the Beasties' song, not once had I ever heard the David Bromberg song that forms its basis, "Sharon."

When "Sharon" came out in the very early 70s, I was still a pup, and I guess it had disappeared from the airwaves by the time my 80s rock-radio-listening years happened.

Now I know you old Bromberg fans probably feel like you're reading a post from a guy who'd never heard about The Beatles . . . but it was a thrill for me to hear the riff, in its original state.


Hear the song on Youtube.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Beastie Boys "Z-Trip Presents: All-Access A Beastie Boys Megamix "

I have previously professed my love for both The AV Club and The Beastie Boys.

This week, they came together not once, but twice.

The AV Club posted a link for this amazing free download (though I was first tipped off to this by my friend and fellow blogger Ross Condit). It's a 23 minute, Beastie Boys sanctioned mega-mix, incorporating dozens of great tracks from the breadth of their carrier, into one rocking opus.

In short, it's awesome.

And half the fun of listening to the Beastie Boys (or any great rhymers) is to try to catch all the crazy metaphors and references that fly through the mix. Not sure what Chateauneuf du Pape is, or who Sadaharu Oh is? The article "170 Beastie Boys References Explained" can help.

Enjoy!

The Beastie Boys "Eggman"

What with Easter coming around again this weekend, I am pulling out the old playlist of only-tangentially-related-to-Easter songs.

I mean, Christmas has a pile of songs related to it. But (as years of church going in my youth taught me) Easter is a much more important holiday. Why are there no related contemporary songs?

That leaves the work to songs that really have nothing to do with Easter . . .

So you play Echo And The Bunnymen. Bunny Wailer. Eddie Rabbit. Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers. Or songs from Patti Smith's record "Easter," for a stretch.

And you can pull out all those candy songs you played on Halloween, like "I Want Candy," "Candy Everybody Wants," Iggy Pop's "Candy," Elvis Costello's "So Like Candy."

Did the Easter Bunny bring you Twizzlers? Add in Aimee Mann's "Red Vines."

You can scrape out a few lyrical connections, like the Sheryl Crow song that says "He's got a daughter he calls 'Easter,' she was born on a Tuesday Night." Or play The Black Crowes "Good Friday" and Tori Amos' "Crucify."

And then there are the Egg songs. Because nothing says Easter like eggs!

It's a good excuse to pull out my favorite record of all-time, "Paul's Boutique" and play "Eggman." And there's "Einstein On The Beach For An Eggman." Ryan Montbleau's "Eggs." And "I Am The Walrus."

Goo goo g'joob!

Being a DJ is fun. And silly. And seasonal!

Happy Easter to you!


See this video on Youtube.

Beastie Boys "Make Some Noise"

If a new R.E.M. track throws me back to when love was young, a new Beastie Boys track has the magical ability to make me feel like a teenager.

I remember the effect that first Beasties record had on me, clearly. And this new track taps into this very primal, very youthful, very joyous place in my psyche, in a way that no other current artist (who was making records in the 80s) is able to do.

The song isn't nostalgic in-and-of-itself. It's not a throw-back. It simply possesses something in its DNA, identical to the Beastie Boys songs of a generation ago.

I'm not sure anybody who wasn't 17 in 1986 would say this, but "Make Some Noise" feels timeless . . .


See the video on Youtube.

And check out this amazing preview of a 30 minute movie featuring Seth Rogen, Elijah Wood and Danny McBride as The Beastie Boys of the Past, and Jack Black, Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly as The Beastie Boys of the Future!!!
See the video on Youtube.

LL Cool J “Mama Said Knock You Out”

While writing about the Bob Dylan cover version of this song, I was reminded of an LL Cool J version---not the original.

Sure, I liked the original. It had the right mix of LL punch and swagger.

But the version that really stands out to me as a seminal musical moment, is from an MTV Unplugged episode.

Rap music is so much a part of the culture now, it’s hard to imagine a time when it didn’t have wide main stream acceptance, or even the acceptance as a legitimate musical form from the musical establishment. But yeah, even in the late 80s/early 90s Rap was having to defend its credibility.

Among the not-entirely-baseless claims was that Rap was a studio confection, that could not be reproduced in a live setting.

At the time, if you saw a Rap act in concert, you probably saw the MC onstage, maybe a DJ in the background, and the music was provided by a backing track. Flat and flaccid.

MTV was having a pretty successful run with its Unplugged format, and while there was no one Rap performer who could carry a full episode, they at least insured a curiosity factor, filling an episode with a couple songs each by De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, MC Lyte and LL Cool J, backed by a live instrument House Band.

The thing about concerts on TV is that they can only do so much to transcend the medium. With rare exception, the power of being in the room with a live act, is completely squeezed out when wrung through a TV’s tiny speakers and screen.

With rare exception.

I don’t know that the YouTube clip is going to do it justice either, but I remember watching on my TV as LL took the stage on this episode (which had the unfortunate title “Yo! Unplugged Rap”). The camera shows enough of the audience to really get the sense that the power of his performance was winning the crowd over, second by second, until the song’s frenzied conclusion, in the same manner it was winning me over at home.

It was an impressive performance, and I think it went a long way to legitimize the form for non-believers, as well as pave the way for the acceptance of live instrumentation in Rap, from bands like The Roots and The Beastie Boys, among others.

Proverb “You (PJ’s Song)”/Beastie Boys “Live At PJs”

Silent Bob had a great line in the movie “Chasing Amy”:

“What you don't know about me, I can just about squeeze into the Grand F***ing Canyon.”

I am too often reminded that the gulf of my ignorance is mighty large. Well, not ignorance, but limited knowledge.

A few weeks back I wrote about how The Hold Steady had a song that used the name Jessie, and I complained that there weren’t any songs about people named PJ.

Well leave it to a Jessie, to find me a PJ.

Jessie Barnett is an independent record promoter, and an all-around bright guy, who made this comment on my The Hold Steady Post:

"Come on PJ... took me five seconds on Google. Enjoy!"

Okay, so I wasn’t likely to find a Christian rap song on my own, but I probably should have thought of Google. Thanks, Jessie.

But no excuses for forgetting The Beastie Boys “Live At PJs.” Especially since I used it as the intro to my radio show for the first 6 years (pre-mvyradio) of my career!

So here they are, for your listening pleasure. Plus the great Silent Bob speech.



Silent Bob’s Speech

Beastie Boys "Intergalactic"

From time to time, I'm inviting other voices to contribute to Every Day I Write The Blog, to speak on their area of expertise. So without further ado, here's the All Time Top 5 Songs Mentioning Coffee, written by Guest Blogger Alex Scofield of Coffee Hero . . .

I like my sugar with coffee and cream.

The best line of what is currently (in my judgment) the Beastie Boys’ last pantheon-caliber song. I’ll forgive them for loading up perfectly good coffee with tons of sugar – besides, I have a hunch that this line, like many other Beastie Boys lyrics, is not to be taken at face value.

I was one of many who had major expectations of the Beastie Boys. By the time “Check Your Head” came out in 1992, I though they were The Ones – the band that was going to age gracefully as the musical standard-bearers for Gen X-ers, always cutting-edge, relevant, and several steps ahead of the rest of us. Now, I just hope for MCA’s/Adam Yauch’s success in battling cancer.






Alex Scofield is a freelance writer who lives in Bourne, Mass. He is a contributor to CoffeeHero.com

Soul Coughing "Uh, Zoom Zip"

When people talk about the Landmark sample-based records that middle America latched on to, where is Soul Coughing in that discussion?

The Beastie Boys "Paul's Boutique," the first 3 Public Enemy albums and De La Soul's "Three Feet High And Rising" are all seminal, in terms of ridding the prejudice against samples and beats. They met with varying levels of commercial success, but they are all records that people returned to years later for ideas and examples.

"Ruby Vroom" should be part of that canon, and I can't figure out why it isn't. It's such a smart record and it one-ups the others mentioned above, with lots of live playing---real drumming, a heavy bottom stand-up bass groove, and dense, imaginative lyrics that you could spend hours and hours parsing out.

It's an under-appreciated classic, to my mind.

Hear "Uh Zoom Zip"