I wasn't a fan of anything other than rock or blues at the time but a girl took me to see them in the early nineties and it was so much fun. Alot of humour in there. RIP - WAY too young and very sad.

Thanks Anthony, tatters, and TooTough for the vids.

And thanks to all that shared memories.

To all Beastie family, friends, and fans: I'm very sorry for your loss but am glad
that Adam/MCA lives on in your hearts. Peace.

"Sabotage" was a great merger of visual and audio ...
the guy had a good sense of humor. Looked pathetic
doing the teeny angst thingy by The '90s though ... RiP

pretty awesome Letterman appearance:

Quote
lettingitbleed
um...they were working class kids from NYC...AND in on the ground floor of hip-hop forming in 1979. They ripped NO ONE OFF! They are as responsible for bringing hip-hop/rap to the masses as any of the NY rappers in the late 70s/early 80s. You shouldnt make assumpsions like that just because they were white and suburban white kids liked them. The Beasties were and and continued to be inovators.

Shows what you know.

Upper Middle Class is more like it.

None-the-less sad news on the passing of course -

"hey are as responsible for bringing hip-hop/rap to the masses as any of the NY rappers in the late 70s/early 80s"

I don't know about this... the fact that they were white and good-looing certainly helped. In a way they were to the rap era what the nicely dressed nicely mannered white boys were to Chuck Berry and Little Richard in the 50's...

"bringing hip-hop/rap to the masses"
I have been lucky enough to listen to some root/genuine rap recordings made in the late 70's like this one :

"Rock City Crew
The T Connection
3510 White Plains Road
Bronx NY USA
Exact Date Unknown 1978
AUD (Tape Unknown Generation) > CD-R > DIME FLAC (2011)

Line Up:
Lil Gee
Brisze B

Notes: Though the name "Rock City Crew" was used by a lot of different MCs from 1978-1980, the group performing here appears to be a group of 3 MCs. From what I can gather listening to this recording, the performers names are: Lil Gee, Brisze B, and someone whose name I can't quite catch. I know that the name "Brisze B" sounds unusual but in the first track I think he spells it out "BR I S Z to the E" in the other torrent that I uploaded last week"

... and I can tell you it's far more experimental and interesting than "License To Ill". So I'd say that imho the BB brought a watered-down and commercially accessible version of rap music.

Beastie Boys star Adam Yauch's will bans music in ads

Late Beastie Boys member Adam Yauch has used his will to stop people from using his music or image in advertising.
The will was filed at Manhattan Surrogate court in New York earlier this week leaving instructions from the pioneering rapper, also known as MCA.
It read: "Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, in no event may my image or name or any music or any artistic property created by me be used for advertising purposes."
Yauch died of cancer in May aged 47.
His will leaves his $6.4m (£4.1m) estate to his widow, Dechen Yauch, and their 13-year old daughter, and gives Dechen the right to sell and manage his artistic property as the executor of the estate.
The phrase "or any music or any artistic property created by me" was added in handwriting, according to Rolling Stone magazine which has seen a copy of the document.
Yauch founded the Beastie Boys with rappers Ad-Rock and Mike D in the 1980s, going on to have a string of hits including Fight for Your Right (to Party) and Sabotage.
He was diagnosed with cancer of the salivary gland in 2009 and underwent surgery and radiation therapy, which delayed the release of their latest album Hot Sauce Committee Part Two.
Corporations have regularly used the images of deceased musicians, celebrities and historical figures in their advertisements, such as Apple's 1997 Think Different campaign featuring John Lennon, Martin Luther King Jr and Gandhi.
This week the remaining members of the Beastie Boys took legal action against US energy drink company Monster over allegations of copyright infringement.
They lodged papers in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday, claiming executives have been using their tracks in a promotional video and downloadable audio file without their permission.

Not a fan of much of their music, but loved their sense of humor. I think it's great that he made sure he defended his creativity against ending up as a jingle.