(by Michael Diamond & Adam Horovitz/ Spiegel &
Grau/ 575 pages)
The Beastie Boys Book arguably shouldn’t exist. Late in the anthology of colorful essays,
monologs, photographs, and creative showcasing of memorable moments from the
lives and career of the legendary group, co-author Adam Horovitz (Ad-Rock)
explains their last album was only their last because Adam Yauch (MCA) got sick
(with cancer), and that otherwise, they’d still be writing, recording, and
performing. Instead, the surviving core
members put together a book to reflect and reminisce with one another and to
share select stories with their many fans. While Yauch’s voice is noticeably absent
from the book itself, his spirit fills nearly every section and story. Along
with Michael Diamond (Mike D), Yauch founded the band in New York City in 1981
after groups of mutual acquaintances met at a Bad Brains show. The book opens
and closes with specific tributes to Yauch and recognition that without his unique,
unpredictable, and often motivational words and actions, the group would have
never even recorded much less performed, got signed, became famous, and
eventually had the opportunity to do essentially anything they wanted to do
artistically, musically, and even to have some amount of social impact regarding
issues about which they felt passionate. Beastie Boys Book is an
intimate and often hilarious look into their experiences from their own eyes and
often with a bit of perspective wisdom.
To say Diamond and Horovitz are not writers in the
professional sense is beside the point. Their voice is the same in conversation
as it is in their songs, and the short stories, reflective essays, and detailed
geek-outs that fill the book make it something for readers with short attention
spans and something that can be enjoyed by those interested in a certain time
and place in culture and recent American history as much as it is a revelation
for fans. The first sections that discuss the early days of hardcore punk and
hip hop in New York would be engaging to music historians and cultural
documentarians whether those individuals enjoy Beastie Boys’ music or not.
Discussions of the bands who influenced each member of the group, and their
circles of friends, eventually takes up nearly 20% of the book, and they are a
music nerd’s dream. Horovitz’s descriptions of the high esteem in which he and
his friends held home-made cassette mix tapes paints a romanticized but wistful
picture of early ‘80s life that millennial (and younger) readers can only learn
about second-hand. Stories of the band attending concerts by The Clash, Black
Flag, and many others explain how the group started as something very different
compared to how they eventually became known and slowly (if not awkwardly)
evolved into the hit-making headliners they became in the early 1990s.
Stories about writing their first songs, making their
first recordings, and performing for the first time give way to dramatic tales
of replacing and dropping early members of the group, especially as the others
became progressively interested in hip hop music and culture and befriended
producer, DJ, and co-founder of Def Jam Records, Rick Rubin. This led to
friendships with Russell Simmons, Run-D.M.C., LL Cool J, and to their own recording
contact with the label, which released the Beasties’ debut LP, Licensed to Ill, in 1986. Stories of the
writing, recording, release, touring, and promotion for that album take up a
large chunk of the early to middle section of the book with anecdotes about
random events and unforgettable situations that became part of their daily
lives. Subsequent album eras are also covered, but in fewer pages and with less
detail. The section about their less-successful second LP, 1989’s Paul’sBoutique, focuses more on the fun they had living and working in Los Angeles
than it does on the songs themselves, though the stories are equally funny and
engaging.
Within the book itself are several other short pieces or
cutaways to other types of writing and storytelling, sometimes by guests who
contribute a few pages in their own words. A story about a memorable tour stop
in 1987 is told in the form of a graphic novel. Actress/comedienne Amy Poehler reviews the group’s music videos
(editorializing in the first person), celebrity chef, Roy Choi, steps in with a
short cook book of dishes inspired by The Beasties and their songs, and Andre Leon Talley provides a retrospective (and critique) of the group’s fashion over
the years. While this may seem strange at first, these choices perfectly
reflect their music and style. Beastie Boys Book is almost like one of
their albums, changing topics, tones, and tempos every few minutes (most “chapters”
are short stories of 1-4 pages each, compared to a 3-5 minute song on a record),
and with the inclusion of guest authors and creative sections between tons of
photos and stories from Ad-Rock and Mike D, even the heavy variety of influences
and styles present on most Beastie Boys albums becomes a big part of the presentation
throughout the book. Enjoy it all at once, in smaller segments, or even one story
or song at a time.
Beastie Boys Book will be best for the group’s
biggest fans, but there is enough variety, comedy, and history throughout that
even non-fans could enjoy it a great deal. Considering the amount of time
Beastie Boys wrote, recorded, and performed, it’s clear the book probably could
have been twice as long, or that a second volume could someday be published,
but the pacing keeps the book engaging, especially when read 1-2 stories or anecdotes
at a time.
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