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Production Credits:
Instant Death [ Click for Lyrics ]

First Appearance: Hello Nasty LP, 14 July 1998
Written by: Beastie Boys
Performed by: Beastie Boys
Production Notes: Produced by Beastie Boys and Mario Caldato. Engineered by Mario Caldato. Recorded at G-Son Studios (Los Angeles, CA), The Dungeon (New York, NY), The Tree House (New York, NY), Ted Diamond's House of Hits (New York, NY), Soho Music Studios (New York, NY), Dessau Studios (New York, NY), RPM Studios (New York, NY). Second engineers: Steve Revitte and Sue Dyer at RPM Studios, mixed at RPM Studios (New York, NY). Mastered by Howie Weinberg and Andy van Dette at Masterdisk (New York, NY)

Behind the Beats and Lyrics...

Sample & Reference Breakdown

  • "And what do you do when your man kills himself?" - Beastie Boys' friend Dave Scilken died of a drug overdose in 1991
  • "And where is my mom?" - Adam Horovitz' mother, Doris Horovitz, passed away of an alcoholism-related illness in 1986

Commentary:

Beastie Boys

"...completely done at the Dungeon and that's Adam Horovitz playing every instrument" - Mario Caldato, 1998

"me and Mike met up at the Dungeon and Mike said he had this melody stuck in his head, he sung it and I played it on the piano. Then we started the Casio drum machine, I picked up the vibes and he played the piano, Yauch on bass, me adding guitar and then I just sung it with that lyric. They were into it." - Adam Horovitz, New Musical Express, July 11 1998

Press

"...[Instant Death is] where one of the Beasties confronts death and loss and the need for trust. The lyrics seem to point to the death of Horovitz's mother when he was a teenager, and a friend a few years ago from an overdose (Dave Skilken). But the brief, ghostly lyric works its effect even without this 'inside' view" - The Worcester Phoenix, July 1998
 

Released Versions:
Instant Death

Live:
No Known Performances in Concert.
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