Dawn of Def Jam

Dope!

Mike D. - Humberto vs. The New Reactionaries: Christine and The Queens Remixx

Although a few months old, this is a track by none other than Mike D. from the Beastie Boys and whereas it might not be everybody's cup of tea; I think that it's pretty fuckin' dope. 








File under: hybrid punk/trap?

Beastie Boys - Scenario (circa 1985/1986)

Back in 1990, I was just a semi-innocent Miscreant when I saw the film Pump Up the Volume for the first time. Besides being a great and inspiring flick, it featured a quick snippet of an unreleased track by the Beastie Boys, and per the film dialogue, "the song was so controversial that it couldn't be released on their first album". Although not necessarily groundbreaking as it sounded like an interpolation of Schoolly D's PSK, What Does It Mean, it was still something that I needed to track down and hear in it's entirety. Since the modern internet was still in the fetal stage, searching for this song was limited to record stores, word of mouth, or antiquated DOS based bulletin boards. Suffice to say, my searches always came up empty handed. 

Fast forward several years later, I recall finding and downloading the song via Napster, but after the nearly three hour download, I was quite disappointed with the end result. The quality was absolutely horrid and it sounded like a 3rd generation mix that was soaked in reverb, which was nothing like the version played in the movie. Unwavering, I found and downloaded a different version of Scenario, and again, the quality was just as bad. I kept trying off and on over the years, but kept finding the same crappy version wherever I looked.

I was just about to give up, when I happened to come across a so-called Beastie Boys demo CD at my local record store which featured Scenario, as well as alternate takes of  Rhymin' and Stealin', No Sleep Til Brooklyn, and Fight For Your Right. I was SO psyched to get home and play the CD that I could hardly contain myself! I remember racing home, opening the jewel case, and loading the CD with such excitement and anticipation, however after skipping forward to Scenario, it turned out to be another case of extreme disappointment. Just like the numerous downloads before, the CD version was soaked in the same goddamn reverb which made it practically unlistenable. 

Since that time, various bootlegs have been released which contained the track, but as to be expected, the quality was piss poor. Curiously, a lot of these bootlegs had Scenario labeled as a demo track, and it wasn't long before rumors abounded that a clear and proper version of this song existed, yet it never seemed to materialize anywhere on the internet despite intense scouring. I was convinced that a master tape, or at least a better version was out there, but I had finally come to grips with the fact that I would be forced to listen to the crappy 3rd generation reverb mix for the rest of my life...

As the result of a completely random occurrence, on a warm December night in 2012, twenty-two years after first hearing Scenario and turning it into something of an obsession, I inadvertently secured the elusive and seemingly non-existent clean version of the track. It's definitely not a proper master tape, and its likely a second generation cassette recording, but at least it's not soaked in reverb which makes it extremely listenable! If I had to grade the quality, I'd say that it's between 75% and 80%, whereas I'd grade the quality of the reverb soaked version at 45%, and that's being extremely generous. 

For a lot of Beastie fans, I know that a proper release of Desperado is something of a Holy Grail, but for me, it's always been Scenario just as it was heard in 1990's Pump Up the Volume. It's now safe to say that I can cross that off my bucket list, and if you would like, you can share my excitement and download the 320kbps MP3.

DOWNLOAD

(right click and save as)

It Feels Like I've Lost An Old Friend

 Adam 'MCA' Yauch 

August 5, 1964 - May 4, 2012

I'm not sure what to say, let alone where to start...

Anybody who knows me knows the significance that Beastie Boys have played in my life, and today's news is nothing short of heartbreaking. When I first learned that Yauch had cancer, I somehow knew in my mind that he would beat it and more so, he would go on and probably drop a line in a rhyme about beating it...

I have learned so much from this man, and he will always have my undying respect on so many levels. Thank you for everything, Mr. Yauch. Rest in peace. 

Pawls Boutique.....WTF?!?!

Hmmmm.....should I still ask for Janice?

I made the unfortunate discovery that my cat has been urinating on the rugs by my front and back door so while out shopping earlier, I stumbled onto something that had me laughing my ass off...

I grabbed the first pet urine remover that I saw and holy shit, get a load of the name!

Quasar - Live @ The Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle, Australia (1997)

If you're a die-hard fan of the Beastie Boys, the name Quasar should be somewhat familiar to you, but if you're not that die-hard fan, let me give you a really brief rundown: in 1995, the Beasties released their return-to-roots punk EP; Aglio E Olio. Rather than play to enormous crowds, they decided to gig at smaller, more intimate venues and toured under the name of Quasar. The first Quasar show was in 1995 at Coney Island High School in New York and their last show was played in the beginning of 1997 in Japan. Their live shows were done strictly punk with no hip-hop to speak of even though most people were probably expecting them to jump into Sabotage or maybe even Gratitude, but alas it never happened. The live Quasar sets consisted of material from Polly Wog Stew, Aglio E Olio, and of course quality covers from Minor Threat, The Circle Jerks, and The Ramones just to name a few. This particular show was recorded at The Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle, Australia on January 23rd, 1997 and whereas it wasn't taped from the soundboard, it still sounds relatively decent. I'm assuming that the recording source was from a handheld device somewhere in the crowd (possibly even a video camera), but regardless; it sounds pretty damn nice and it makes you feel like you're RIGHT THERE, maybe 10 feet away from the stage. Enjoy!!!

Time For Livin' (live)

Egg Raid On Mojo (live)

Brand New (live)

Ode To ... (live)

Red Tape (Minor Threat Cover) (live)

Mullethead (live)

Riot Fight (live)

Nervous Assistant (live)

53rd And 3rd (Ramones Cover) (live)

I Want Some (live)

Tough Guy (live)

Transit Cop (live)

Deal With It (live)

Believe Me (live)

Beastie Boys (live)

I'm A Cliche (X-Ray Spex Cover) (live)

Soba Violence (live)

Square Wave In Unison (live)

Reagan Youth (Reagan Youth Cover)(live)

I Can't Think Straight (live)

You Catch A Bad One (live)

Big Shot (live)

Heart Attack Man (live)

DOWNLOAD HERE

(36.3mb via Mediafire)