In this grand melting pot of a decade, we've come to value
originality more than ever. The artists we love the most are those who
uniquely express themselves, rising above the ever-growing masses to do
their own thing.
And when it comes to being original, the most adept artists in popular music
over the last quarter of the century are New York City's Beastie Boys.
The trio's scorching debut, Licensed To Ill, was invaluable in
shaping the early days of rap. They were snotty bad-boys with a chauvenistic
but undeniably catchy rhyming style. Packing an ace hole of Rick Rubin's
production, they helped bring the art of rap and sampling into a new era.
1989's Paul's Boutique was a revolution in itself, the Beastie Boys
blossoming as artists and maturing into wise and funky chroniclers of pop
culture, backed by the mezmerizing sound collages of the Dust Brothers.
But even the genius of their second record couldn't prepare us for Check
Your Head, a monolith of style dropped just in time to take hold of the
decade's musical direction. Trip-hop and thrash metal, slow jazz and funky
raps, sample-heavy mixes and bare-bones musicianship: Check Your Head covers
it all. This was a crucial coming of age, not only for the Beastie Boys
themselves, but for music in general - tossing and mixing genres never
sounded as effortless or as tight.
The band had already become incredibly influential through their masterful
and always evolving mic skills. But lest we forget, they were once a
straight-up punk band, with Mike D on drums, MCA on bass and Adrock on
guitar. For Check Your Head, the Beasties decided to pick up their
instruments again, revealing that they actually knew how to play, and damn
well at that. Adding the versatile keyboard stylings of Mark Ramos "Money
Mark" Nishita, the band effectively dynamited down any doors restraining
their creative possibilities. This renaissance is comparable to what the
Beatles did with Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band: all bets were
off, predictability went out the window, and we just listened.
At first we were mezmerized. Soon, it was memorized. Not only were the
Beasties chronicling pop culture in their lyrics and the eclecticism of
their music, they were changing pop culture. They were influencing style
from so many angles, the band served as a unifying force for music lovers.
The jocks, the hippies, the punks, the nerds, the gangstas, the indie
rockers: the Beastie Boys fit everyone. Portions of their complex musical
personas represent all these crowds and more.
Check Your Head draws from rock history, but forges new paths miles
ahead of its influences. The Beasties sample Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan
seamlessly into rap songs. They turn a Sly Stone cover into a thrash metal
anthem. In one of rock's most surreal moments, they bring Biz Markie and Ted
Nugent together on one track, just to see what might happen.
This boundless urge to experiment resulted in an album that really
encapsulates what it means to be a musician in this modern age. Take every
possible instrument and device at your disposal, and use them all to express
the full range of your innate creativity. In this way, Check Your Head
served as inspiration to a generation of musicians. It set forth the most
important credo of the era - be yourself. Do whatever it takes. Push the
limits of your expression, but stay true to your ideals. And no record or
band of the past ten years exemplifies this better.
