| Reviews: |
The Washington Post, May 26, 1985
By Richard Harrington:
Definition of a good break for an unknown band: becoming the opening
act in 35 cities on Madonna's "Virgin Tour." Which is the case with New York's Beastie Boys, the first successful white rap group and purveyors of such underground hits as "Beastie Revolution." They'll do the honors at Merriweather Post Pavilion on Saturday.
The four Beasties have been enjoying their 20 minutes in the spotlight
and, according to Adam Yauch, some of Madonna's fans have, too. "The
reaction has been mostly good," Yauch says. "Usually they love it or
they hate it. There's always been a reaction, I'll say that."
"It's not like bland Muzak," adds Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz, son of
playwright Israel Horovitz. "It's real obnoxious, and it rubs you,
either the right way or the wrong way."
The same could be said of a 1981 hard-core punk incarnation of the
Beastie Boys. Inspired by a Black Flag performance and convinced they
could be just as bad, they pursued a brief career on the CBGB circuit.
Two years later, they ended a recording session with a rap parody
titled "Cookie Puss," and within another year they had abandoned their
instruments for the standard rap lineup of turntable-deejay-triple
rappers. The other rapper is Michael Diamond (Mike D), while Rick
Rubin (Double R) handles the deejaying.
There's still a strong element of parody at work in the Beastie Boys,
though Yauch insists that "we've been playing so long that it's hard
to just keep making jokes. Some of our songs are serious, but I don't
think we could ever be too serious about it."
Next, they may incorporate Madonna's boyfriend into a band. There's
been some backstage talk that actor Sean Penn may front a group in New
York in the fall with several Beastie Boys picking up their
instruments again. |
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