Beastie Boys: To the 5 Boroughs

 
Beastie Boys: To the 5 Boroughs

2004

Capitol Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing:  1. Ch-Check It Out  2. Right Right Now Now  3. 3 the Hard Way  4. Time to Build  5. Rhyme the Rhyme Well  6. Triple Trouble  7. Hey Fuck You  8. Oh Word?  9. That's It That's All  10. All Lifestyle  11. Shazam!  12. An Open Letter to NYC  13. Crawlspace 14. The Brouhaha  15. We Got The  16. Now Get Busy

I remember this album causing a shit-storm on the internet when it was released (on the other hand, what doesn't cause a shit-storm on the internet?)  As I recall these attacks came form two fronts...This was released not too long after the September 11th attacks and if you recall all music released for awhile after that tragic event was a bit simplistic and jingoistic. Which is probably to be expected from a culture trying to heal...But the Beastie Boys were one of the first wave of bands that criticized then-President George W Bush's policies, and fans complained that the album was nothing but a cheap political platform...

I said it then and I say it now...Even the Beastie Boys have the right to air their political views...It's their record, they can talk about whatever they want on it...and it's not like they've never done it before...

I mean, the specificity of its political commentary does date it a bit now, but speaking as someone who has no problem listening to a band called "Reagan Youth" I don't especially have a problem with that aspect...



And what...you're not supposed to talk about the things that are important to you right now because you may sound dated in the future? Man...who cares?!?! Besides, as is the norm with political lyrics, you can always just change the names a bit and unfortunately, they still  always seem relevant....

The other criticism came from the disc itself...That it installed spyware on your computer... At the time of its release, the once mighty record companies were now beginning to feel the strain of internet piracy, and this album was one of the first to feature that big anti-piracy warning on it....

...and there had been lots of reports about some spyware being developed to stop piracy,  so everyone assumed this disc had it for some reason, and a lot of fans were really upset about it...And, as with most things people become enraged about on the internet, it wasn't true...There was no copyright protection software on the disc (except in Europe, where  it's a standard practice, and even then it's not spyware, which is something else entirely...).  So yea, I remember the record getting a pretty chilly reception.

In actuality, it's a pretty cool (and fun) record...Completely abandoning the genre- hopping that's been their trademark since "Check Your Head." this is 100%  old-school hip hop.  The Beasties toss around dizzying pop-culture references, and the politics only really occur on  about 3 of the album's 16 tracks...And I find this to be one of the groups funniest records...When I first got this I couldn't stop rewinding that ""Tappin'!  Clappin'! Rappin'! The sound of fingers snappin'!" sample...hoo boy, I thought that was funny...

The disc also boasts one of my favorite Beastie Boys songs,  "An Open Letter to NYC."   Built around the ominous opening guitar riff of the Dead Boys' "Sonic Reducer" (which I should get to in a year or so), the track is a charged love-letter to their city, that really only addresses 9/11 in passing ("two towers down but we're still in the game..." MCA raps), but the cloud of guitars couldn't be more clear...I think it's significant that if you look at the drawing of the New York city skyline on the album cover, the Towers are both still standing...it appears to be simultaneously an act of nostalgia and defiance...

Oh yea, I should also give a shout-out to the lyric sheet...It's pretty great...It comes with extensive editor's notes that are often as enjoyable as the lyrics....In this post-physical media world, bands often neglect the lyric sheet...I appreciate the attention to detail...

So yea, not as stunning as the string of great albums that preceded it, but it shouldn't be overlooked either...Here's a pretty cool live performance the band gave on David Letterman back in 2004 of "Ch-Check It Out."  Enjoy...