Proud Dad Moment: Spontaneous Beastie Boys

The teacher’s mouth was moving. I assume words were spoken.

All I heard was the sound of the adults in Charlie Brown…wont, wont…wont,wont, wont…wont wont.

Like Neal Armstrong driving the American flag into the surface of the moon (did he do that?), the rap culture was hoisting it’s flag triumphantly in the back of a 4th grade classroom in the (distant) suburbs of Boston, MA.

1986.

The Beastie Boys had (crash) landed.

My friends and I passed the Licensed to Ill cassette tape (!!!) around like it was contraband…Because it was!

Like a scene from an 80’s version of Wonder Years.

Hilarious.

The Beasties are forever misunderstood, but the musical legacy is undeniable.

Changed the face of rap with timeless flow, sick mixes, and a continuously evolving style.

Yesterday, in a proud dad moment, I heard Little Dude (4) spontaneously bust out “You gotta fight for your right to paaaarty!”

Awesome. And to celebrate, the Muppets killing it on So What’cha Want

PS – Want more Beastie info? Check out this awesome Rick Rubin interview. Beasties and so much more.

PPS – Related Beastie Boys Posts:

  1. Sabotage for the Kids – RIP MCA
  2. Beasties + Sesame Street = Awesome
  3. She’s Crafty

Sabotage for the Kids – RIP MCA

As we all probably know by now, one of the trifecta that make up the Beastie Boys passed away last week. I was tempted to scribble out a post memorializing MCA, but the interwebs were bursting at the seams with MCA-related posts; so I held off.

I mourned in my own way – I added a Beasties station to my Pandora (how did I not have a Beasties station?!) and cranked up the car stereo while cruising. I’m sure MCA can respect this.

Born in the late 70’s, the Dude is a product of the 80’s, and as a result, a product of the Beastie Boys. I can still recall sitting in my 4th grade class and seeing the Beasties cassette for the first time as a friend passed it around like illegal contraband.

Music was still rebellious at that point, and it doesn’t get much more rebellious than early Beastie Boys.

The Beasties will forever hold a special place in my musical heart. So, it’s sad to see a founding member move on – especially at the young age of 49. To be honest, it seemed like the Beasties would fade away a number of times, but they always found a way to stay relevant. With MCA gone, there is no way to make a full recovery, and with that, it feels like a piece of childhood for many gen x/y’ers is passing on as well. Hence all of the online memorializing.

I stayed out of the online memorializing for a week or so, but now I’ve been pulled back in. A great new video has brought the MCA memorial to the level of kids, and the Dude can relate to kids. So, I had to jump in.

Here’s a tribute to Adam Yauch – aka MCA – by James Winters and his family. James, the Dude digs. Nice work.

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/42106181[/vimeo]

Hats off to Kottke.org for sharing the link.