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21 November 2009

We mentioned this back in October and finally got our hands on a copy this week - "Doublecheck Your Head".

I have to admit I was dubious when I first heard about the concept, but after listening to it, it really does work well. Mashing up tracks exclusively from "Check Your Head", this was going to be pretty restrictive, but Max Tannone has done a fantastic job.

Finishing off the release is a new mix of "Too Many Rappers".

The odd thing about this release is that it was not actually pressed up by Max Tannone - we talked to him and apparently it was bootlegged from his MP3s and he had to go out and buy his own copy!

21 November 2009

Just a quick heads-up for completists out there...Mix Master Mike is backing the new game 'Scratch: The Ultimate DJ' due out soon, but in the meantime there is 'DJ Hero' which has backing by other big names acts including DJ Shadow and Grandmaster Flash. Now, if you order the game through the official DJ Shadow website you can buy a special bundle including an autographed console, t-shirt, stickers and an exclusive 12". This 12" features four mashups from the game and one of them is titled "Here's A Little Number For Ya" which is "Here's A Little Something For Ya" (Beastie Boys) vs "The Number Song " (DJ Shadow).

7 November 2009

"White! What the hell?"

This was my first reaction when opening the parcel this week containing the new Hello Nasty deluxe boxset. In my head I assumed it was going to look like the original only with a lenticular lense cover like the Ill Communication deluxe boxset. Why did I think that? Because when I ordered it the official website store hadn't updated their descipriptions properly from the Ill Communication page they copied. It did say "8 panel gatefold package, lenticular cover, and hardcover "coffee table book" case". Now the site has "8 panel gatefold package, a special Hello Nasty Collectors Edition patch, and hardcover "coffee table book" case". Oops.

The good thing is that I am more than happy it isn't a lenticular cover as that would have been a cop out.

It's amazing the difference the white sleeve gives the whole design - it's a new perspective. I like it a lot. The patch inside is amusing, I wonder how many people are going to take it out and sew it onto their denim jacket when it cost them $100 to get the thing in the first place?

Apparently some people also scored a copy of the Too Many Rappers 12" in their parcels. We assume these are the same as the US 12"s that came out a few months ago.

24 October 2009

As mentioned last week, this is the first bootleg we have seen for the single 'Too Many Rappers' (and as a result, the first bootleg we have seen for the yet to be released new album).

Coming in a plain die-cut sleeve, this has been titled "Too Many Rappers: Reloaded" and contains exclusive tracks previously only available on MP3.

Five remixes are included and they were all created by DJ AK47.

The last track is a live recording taken from the only time this track has been played in concert so far - at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in June 2009.

17 October 2009

Just a heads up on two new bootlegs that have just come out...

The first is a 12" Bootleg of 'Too Many Rappers' featuring 6 tracks, including a live version from Bonnaroo and some new remixes ("Explosive Remix", "Number On Remix" ...).

The second is titled "Doublecheck Your Head" that is apparently "a great mash-up of vocals and samples from the Beastie Boys 1992 album "Check Your head"! Doublecheck was released in celebration of the recent re-issue of Beastie classic Check Your Head, with four of the remix tracks featured on the Beastie Boys' official site as well as: "Jimmy Namaste", "Pass the Gratitude", "3's What'cha Want", and "Booty Groove" mixed by Max Tannone"

12 September 2009

The new Collector's Edition 3LP version of Ill Communication is here and again, it's stunning.

The lenticular front cover displays a fantastic 3D version of the classic sleeve and the whole package is really well done.

Are we going to see a Deluxe Collector's Edition of Hello Nasty? 3LP? 4LP? I hope so.

No golden ticket style 7"s this time around, which at this stage is making those 'Lee Majors Come Again' 7"s even more rare.

8 August 2009

The European 12" for Too Many Rappers has now been released and is pretty much identical to the US version.

However there seems to be a printing error on the side-b label as the word "Featuring" has been duplicated and is unlike the a-side or either of the US labels.

When we first heard this was coming out, we saw mention of '12R 6781' as the catalogue number and Parlophone as the record label, however neither of these are mentioned anywhere on the release. This catalogue number matches the style of Parlophone, so if a release with this information was to come out, it would be a UK pressing. Was the idea canned for a UK 12"? Or will we see it soon? Or was '12R 6781' used as an internal reference number?

The European 12" is rumoured to be limited to 750 copies, though this has not been confirmed.

Speaking of rumours, a dutch friend just told us he heard Too Many Rappers is to be released in Europe (possibly The Netherlands) on 7"!

On listening to that CDR we mentioned last week it seems that the track is slightly different to the standard version of Too Many Rappers that was featured on the 12"s. Is this an unmastered version? We don't know. And which version will be released on the album?

8 August 2009

We've seen listed the track listing for the Hello Nasty reissues and there are some interesting inclusions on the second disc, including a bunch of new stuff:

  • Description Of A Strange Man
  • Dirt Dog
  • Intergalactic (Colleone & Webb Remix)
  • Dr. Lee, PhD (Dub Mix)
  • Switched On
  • Body Movin' (Fatboy Slim Remix)
  • Auntie Jackie Poom Poom Delicious
  • Putting Shame In Your Game (Prunes Remix)
  • Stink Bug
  • Peanut Butter & Jelly
  • Piano Jam
  • Happy To Be In That Perfect Headspace
  • The Negotiation Limerick File (41 Small Star Remix)
  • The Drone
  • 20 Questions Version
  • The Biz Grasshopper Experiment
  • Hail Sagan (Special K)
  • Body Movin' (Kut Masta Kurt Remix)
  • Creepin'
  • Learning Remote Control
  • Oh My Goodness This Record's Incredible

31 July 2009

This is the first CD/CDR Promo we have seen from the new album - a one track CDR for 'Too Many Rappers'.

No inserts, just a plain disc, but what is interesting is that the year printed on it is 2008! We have to assume at this stage that it was a typo as we would have seen this a long time ago otherwise.

19 July 2009

The 'Too Many Rappers' 12" is out! Not too much to report, plain die-cut sleeve, usual combination of tracks (album version, instrumental and a cappella). Go get it!

It also looks like there is a UK version coming out, not sure on the details yet though.

11 July 2009

Well I hope everyone went and ordered the Ill Communication remastered editions as the pre-orders went on sale this week.

I can't wait to get the Deluxe Edition to sit alongside the Check Your Head version. They did a brilliant job on the CYH version, and actually, this is even rarer with only 1500 copies as opposed to the 2000 for CYH.

Even Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) has been praising the Beasties on the remastered versions: "Beastie Boys / TopSpin get it right once again. This is how you sell music today".

I guess what a lot of people are wondering is whether or not they will feature the golden ticket system again to give out some more freebies. And if we do get random bonuses, will they be the obscure 7"s from other artists? Will they be more copies of the Lee Majors Come Again 7"? Maybe even a new promo 7"? Looks like we have to wait until September to find out.

Some small tidbits about the first commercial single to come from the new album, "Too Many Rappers" - it will be limited to 5000 copies. This might seem like a lot, but for a major act, this is quite small. You are advised to try and pick up a copy early, especially as you might be competing with Nas fans as well.

The other rumour we heard this week was that the release has been pushed back due to a manufacturing error.

24 June 2009

Time to start getting those pennies together again as we look forward to a few new releases.

Firstly the remastered edition of Ill Communication has started to appear. Like the recently remastered Check Your Head, this contains two discs, but more importantly, it has two previously unreleased tracks. I don't know if we can call one of them a real track, titled "Atwater Basketball Association File No.172-C" it is 1 minute and 29 seconds listening to the band play basketball; but the other is an 'Unplugged' version of "Heart Attack Man". In the Country Mike style, Mike-D attempts to play the track with an acoustic guitar and laughs the whole way through. It's actually pretty funny. Other news from the Beastie Boys newsletter is that the confirmed date for the remastered Hello Nasty is the 25th of August, and that the new album ('Hot Sauce Committee Part 1') is coming out on the 15th of September. Track listing as follows:

  1. Tadlock's Glasses
  2. B-Boys In The Cut
  3. Make Some Noise
  4. Nonstop Disco Powerpack
  5. OK
  6. Too Many Rappers (featuring NAS)
  7. Say It
  8. The Bill Harper Collection
  9. Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win (featuring Santigold)
  10. Long Burn The Fire
  11. Bundt Cake
  12. Funky Donkey
  13. Lee Majors Come Again
  14. Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament
  15. Pop Your Balloon
  16. Crazy Ass Shit
  17. Here's A Little Something For Ya

22 May 2009

So the dust is starting to settle on the whole 'golden ticket' Lee Majors Come Again 7" situation, that was until I got an email from a Scottish friend this week.

Apparently his 7" was sent in a separate parcel to his Check Your Head 4LP set!? AND it came a day earlier than the 4LP set! So not only was it not sealed inside the boxset, it was delivered in its own envelope!?

What the hell! Did anyone else experience this?

9 May 2009

We've scanned in the vinyl editions of the new Check Your Head, and in doing so noticed that the 2LP version matches the first two records from the 4LP version except for the labels. (ie they were cut from the same plates which makes sense)

Three of us here at Beastiemania got the deluxe edition and two of us got the bonus 7"... of course the unlucky bugger who didn't was me! I am still clinging onto the assumption (hope) that this will be mass released closer to the album.

And on the subject of the bonus 7"s we hear people are getting other random 7"s (not just the Lee Majors Promo 7"), like a Van-Dells Stax 7"... Now I really am jealous! Were these used as sample sources from the new album? I guess we will have to wait and see.

3 May 2009

Stunning, the only word to describe the new Check Your Head "Deluxe" edition. We haven't got our images together for the discography yet, but more important was the bonus that some people got when they received their deluxe edition.

Random people received a 7" Promo in their parcel. The best thing about this - it contains two unreleased tracks, which we assume are from the forthcoming album.

"Lee Majors Come Again" (3:44) and "B Boys In The Cut (A Capella)" (2:32).

The 7" was added to random sets and is actually found inside the sealed boxset.

Personally, I love the A-Side. One of the best things to come out of the Beastie camp in a while. I am really looking forward to the album now. This has been one of the best kept secrets for a while. Nice work. Also, now that Paul's Boutique and Check Your Head have been reissued, we all assumed it would happen, and yep, various stores are taking pre-orders for reissues of both Ill Communication and Hello Nasty.

22 April 2009

The remastered editions of Check Your Head have arrived, and they're worth it for the bonus tracks alone. Nothing we we haven't seen before, but still nice to grab all the b-sides together.

Unlike the new Paul's Boutique editions, this time Promo Acetates were created. Coming with front and back inserts and housed in a jewel case, these have been released in the States. A few copies have surfaced on eBay though at this stage it's hard to tell how rare they are.

The commercially available CDs have also been released in both Europe and the United States and AGAIN they have decided to use the same catalogue number! This is really getting frustrating! At least the back sleeves are slightly different with the barcodes and logos. And while on the topic of the new Paul's Boutique, some people have pointed out the new longboxes for sale on ebay - a few of us have had a look and are fairly sure they are fakes. Let's see if they have new Check Your Head versions soon.

25 March 2009

Yes, we're slack and we know it.

The 20th Anniversary editions of Paul's Boutique have been out for a while now and finally we add them to the Discography.

We have excuses though... (1) The European edition is really expensive, (2) We wanted to add all the variations in at the same time, (3) We have been concentrating on the Live Bootleg Section for the Discography and (4) We are slack.

So what can we report on that you don't know already about these releases? Not much really, you get downloads, posters, mega-packs, etc... But what you might not know is that there seems to be ONLY American and European editions so far. No other country has released it on vinyl or cd. This might be a blessing in disguise actually as they have used the same catalogue numbers for each territory - good luck identifying sealed vinyl editions from each other.

17 March 2009

Looks like we were right about the Check Your Head reissue. Can we can this the "17th Anniversary Edition"?

Apparently there are all sorts of versions available on the 7th of April:

  • Digital Download (album and b-sides)
  • Deluxe Digital Option (also includes videos and video commentary)
  • Deluxe, limited collector's vinyl + Digital Download
  • Standard double vinyl + Digital Download
  • Ecopack double CD + Digital Download
  • Shirt combos:
    • Deluxe Digital + shirt
    • Standard Vinyl + shirt
    • CD + shirt
    • Deluxe, limited collector's vinyl + shirt
And for the extra cool vinyl version: Limited Deluxe 4LP Vinyl Box Set which will be "packaged in a fabric-wrapped hardcover coffee table book case and limited to 2000 copies".

Now why couldn't they do that for Paul's Boutique?!

27 February 2009

Be on the lookout for a new Mix Master Mike 4 track EP titled "Beta Capsule" due out very soon.

It will be sold with the new Skull Candy headphones being created with Mike and hopefully it will also be available separately.

29 January 2009

We're unsure if this new rumour is going be a bootleg or a legitimate release, hell we don't even know if it's going to come to fruition or not, but here we go...

Apparently on the 10th of March, Check Your Head is to be reissued as a deluxe edition. It will be expanded with a second disc of B-sides and Live tracks, remixes, and "original original versions". The album will be released in LP form (180g, 2LP, gatefold), and CD (2CD, 8-panel ecopak with fold-out poster and lyric sheet).

It sounds surprisingly like the new Paul's Boutique reissue, so either some sites are getting confused, or Capitol think it was a great idea and decided to expand on it.