Beastie Boys

Anthology: The Sounds of Science (Capitol)
by Lex Marburger

Before Anthology: The Sounds Of Science came in, I’d already gone online to Musicmaker.com and customized my own two-CD set of Beastie Boys stuff. So I thought it’d be fun to see what a fan would choose versus what a label would choose as prime Beasties material.

First, I would take out almost all the tracks that came from major releases from Paul’s Boutique on. Sure, I put a few classic tunes on mine, like “Shake Your Rump”, “Professor Booty,” and “Do It” (OK, they’re classic to me, they didn’t get any radio play), but mostly I looked for the hard-to-find, the live, the re-mix. There’s no reason to put “Gratitude” on the disc, unless it’s the Live at Budokan version, and you’ve got to have the funky call-to-arms of “Revolution Time” and the Government Cheese Remix of “Finger Lickin’ Good.” Yeah, I might sound like a fanboy, but when they’re on, the Beasties can put out a good song. We seem to agree on the hilarious and sub-woofer destroying “Boomin’ Granny,” Fatboy Slim’s remix of “Body Movin’,” and the stoned out “Dub the Mic,” but why wouldn’t they include the Handsome Boy Modeling School Makeover version of “Negotiation Limerick File” (oh so pretty) or the killer live version of “Something’s Got to Give”?

Yeah, they got me with a goofy 30-second “Country Mike’s Theme,” a punk ripper, “Soba Violence,” and the live version of “Three MC’s and one DJ.” And I apparently missed their cover of “Benny and the Jets” (with Biz Markie on vocals) when I was adding tracks. But really, “Honky Rink” guys?! Chill, keys-heavy skating music and social commentary, all in one! You gotta have that! And what about the underwater bass and reverse drums of “Drinkin’ Wine?” But there’s one glaring omission, one song not on the label’s comp that flabbergasted me (and let me tell you, my gast hasn’t been flabbered in quite some time. Felt pretty good, actually…): they didn’t put Cookie Puss”on! How can that be? That was the song that put them on their way to superstardom. That was their first non-hardcore tune. Sure, it was a joke, but so was Licensed to Ill (admit it).

There’s also one track that I couldn’t find either online or on this comp. I have an old mix tape I got from a friend, and it has a song called “Car Thief (Some Stupid Cop Gave Me Two Tickets Already).” It’s not the “Car Thief” off Boutique, it’s this rambling track where Mike D’s slowed-down voice sings about how he seduced his girlfriend’s mother over ’70s funk horns. I need a better copy of that one. It’s fantastic. Oh well. The labels played it too safe, but they always do.
(www.grandroyal.com)