Monday, September 3, 2007

Dogs love me 'cause I'm crazy sniffable.

I was recently asked what my favorite Beastie Boys album is. Without any hesitation I answered “Paul’s Boutique.” It seemed like such a no brainer to me. I remember when that album came out. I remember listening to it and thinking how awesome it was. In my mind there was no question that it is indeed the finest work by the Beastie Boys.

Chad, who asked the question, then brought up how good “Hello Nasty” is and that he has also recently been listening to “To the 5 Boroughs.” It got me thinking…those are really good too. Our conversation pretty much stopped there. It was at the end of the evening…so we did not get o have a full discussion…and this is one of those subjects that deserves a full discussion.

So, what is your favorite Beastie Boys album…and why? In case you want to know what the albums are; Licensed to Ill (1986); Paul’s Boutique (1989); Check Your Head (1992); Ill Communication (1994); Hello Nasty (1998); To the 5 Boroughs (2004); The Mix-Up (2007). I actually haven’t listened to the latest. It came out in July – it is all instrumental. It’s not on the top of my list – I like the rhymes.

Anyway, I mentioned that my gut reaction was to go with “Paul’s Boutique.” I was young when it came out – and I probably had no idea what I was even listening to…I just knew it was awesome. The older I got and the more I listened to it, the more I liked it.

I spent this weekend driving up to Chicago…and back. I decided to use that time wisely and listen to the albums in order. I was worried that I would not have enough time, but a side trip to Michigan City to see family made it all possible.

So, after many hours in the car, here are the results. This is all negotiable…it might even change before I post this.

Hello Nasty
Paul’s Boutique
To the 5 Boroughs

And those three are VERY close. It wouldn’t take much to move that order around. My mood might change, a butterfly my flitter by, anything. Oops, the dog sneezed…let me shuffle those. The second tier is a little more solid in the order. These albums are good – but they are just not the same level.

Ill Communication
Check Your Head
Licensed to Ill

I should note…I still think my favorite song is “Get it Together” which is on the “Ill Communication” album. It is really something special.

Initially when I started writing this blog I thought I would give myself a section that listed my favorite Beastie Boys lyric – but there are just too many great ones to choose. So, reader, I leave that up to you. What is your favorite album, song, lyric? Is there a reason…a reason that you are willing to share? Do you even know who the Beastie Boys are? Do you have a favorite Beastie Boy? What is a Beastie? Let’s get some discussion here people.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Dogs love me cause I'm crazy sniffable."

I'm down with that one.
That's how I found this blog, google'ing for that specific lyric.

Anonymous said...

Hello Nasty is my favorite and I found you with the same quote.

Ha.

Anonymous said...

Add one more name to the "crazy sniffable" google search. That line's been in my head all day.

As for favorite Beastie Boys album... it has to be Paul's Boutique, which has gotta be one of the best follow-up albums in recorded music.

Anonymous said...

HA! I just found this by doing the same google search on that line! There's nothing better than being crazy-sniffable. My favorite is Hello, Nasty, with emphasis on the first half of the record.

JTH said...

Add me to the list. I ended up here the exact same way.

Favorite album: "Paul's Boutique" hands down. If for no other reason than the fact that it was almost like this completely unknown commodity for what seemed like 2 years.

I was listening to it and maybe two other people I know were as well. Aside from that, NOBODY I knew would listen to it because it was too different from "Licensed to Ill."

They had no idea what they were missing.

eric said...

ha same here, thats great everyone who left a comment came here because of being sniffable.

Anonymous said...

lols me too