The Beastie Boys

For those who may not have figured out, I'm Caucasian. You might say I'm an extreme Caucasian or, as one person once accused me, ethnocentric. It's true that I gravitate toward the art of my tribe--I grew up with grandparents who watched Lawrence Welk and Hee-Haw. When I first was into buying records they were almost exclusively by white artists--I think the only nonwhite face found in my collection was Stevie Wonder.

I'm not so bad now, but I'm certainly not what you would call diverse. For instance, until recently I had never bought a record that could remotely be classified as hip-hop. I've just never found the genre interesting, nor culturally relevant to me. So, of course, the first rap or hip-hop I've bought is by a white group, The Beastie Boys, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year.

I was around when The Beastie Boys first hit it big with what was essentially a novelty song, "Fight for Your Right." The local rock station played it, but they didn't know how to regard it. It was kind of a more musical version of Cheech and Chong's bit, "Earache My Eye," and like the Warren Court, found new rights, such as the right to party. I had friends who were into them, delighting in their wordplay: "I've got a girlie in a castle and one in a Pagoda/You know I've got rhymes like Abe Vigoda." That's from "Posse in Effect," which, unfortunately, is not on the disc I picked up, Solid Gold Hits, but there's plenty on it to enjoy. To my surprise, I've taken this group too lightly.

As a general rule I don't dance, but there are songs here that make me want to move, especially "Body Movin'," a deliriously infectious rhythm. I also like "Brass Monkey," "Intergalactic," and "Hey Ladies." There is a lot of declaiming in these songs, but I am unable, perhaps because of my age or my squareness, to make out what they are saying. I did look up the lyrics to "Hey Ladies," and found this choice bit:

Hey ladies in the place I'm callin' out to ya
There never was a city kid truer and bluer
There's more to me than you'll ever know
And I've got more hits than Sadaharu Oh
Ton Thumb Tom Cushman or Tom Foolery
Date women on T.V. with the help of Chuck Woolery

Now, come on. To mention both Sadaharu Oh and Chuck Woolery in short order is some kind of genius.

I also enjoy the instrumentation of the cuts. There's some odd musical choices, such as what sounds like a rubber horn in "Brass Monkey," a cowbell in "Hey Ladies," and a flute in "Sure Shot." Then there's the rap tradition of sampling. Looking at the liner notes, I see that among those credited are Rachmaninoff, Moms Mabley, Jimmie Walker, and a physical fitness record. I also enjoy, in "Hey Ladies," the quote from Sweet's "Ballroom Blitz." Sweet, that was an under-rated band.

The Beastie Boys had always seemed like kind of a joke to me, three Jewish boys from Brooklyn performing black music. There was the tinge of Pat Boone about it. But I must admit they are more than that. To quote the beginning of "Fight for Your Right:" "Kick it!"