Star Hits - Summer Special ‘87: Beastie Boys
Scanned this in ‘09, thought I should re-share it again now
This sentiment inevitably starts up every time a celebrity figure of some sort dies, like it’s not okay for fans to mourn about them or, if they do grant that, those folks had better acknowledge that even more people are dying all the time. The key thing I’ve been hung up on is that people do not do this when someone you know personally, like a friend or family member, dies, they accept that you are grieving over them and don’t suggest that you should really be thinking about all those other people out there dying…why is it not possible to be deeply affected by the death of someone who has had an influence in your life, whether you knew them personally or not?
I don’t think saying something like “Shoutout to MCA…and the inevitability of death.” would be terribly helpful. I do think the general population could acknowledge that fact more often, but I don’t think making anyone feel guilty about grieving over ANYONE, celebrity or not is going to accomplish that, especially when this guilt-tripping leans towards matters concerning those in the public eye particularly.
You can’t necessarily know at first glance what someone means to somebody else either. I have already posted about MCA / Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys on A Future in Noise, but I’d like to elaborate a little here. The Beastie Boys’ music has been a part of my life since I was born. My mom and dad both enjoyed the Beastie Boys (my mom was able to meet them) already before I was born, and bonded even further over the fact that my dad got a CD copy of Licensed to Ill for her when she only had the vinyl. “So What’cha Want”, along with Siouxsie and the Banshees’ “Kiss Them for Me” and Jane’s Addiction’s “Been Caught Stealing”, is one of the earliest songs I can even remember hearing. As I have related again and again because I am just so chuffed about it, the Beastie Boys logo was the first thing I could read…how cool is that? At around age 4 or 5, I had a picture from a magazine cut out and put in my room of Ad Rock because I thought he was cute. My family continued to enjoy their music, together, year after year. My mom cried when she found out, and she was the first to tell me. People called her and messaged because they thought of her when they heard the news…that’s how meaningful this has been to us, and her in particular.
When a band’s music is so incredible and meaningful, you are touched by it…it will likely affect you to some degree when a member dies. I can only imagine what sort of state I’ll be in if/when something happens to Nicky Wire of the Manic Street Preachers - this was a man that allowed me to feel comfortable with my body and learn that I could identify as male and wear all of the glitter, skirts, and leggings as I wanted to, more than any book or discussion about trans* issues ever really taught me. Their music, his personality, and my interaction with the fan community made these feelings more real and meaningful to me…I will always be grateful for that, so it will hurt when he is gone.
I can understand having varying perspectives on death or feeling distanced if you weren’t into [insert band, celebrity, etc. here] and you are seeing post after post and can’t relate. As meaningful as their creative works have been, they are also human…they have friends and family too. Let’s not buy into denying their humanity just because they are a public figure, crying out that we should acknowledge that thousands of people die each day. Many of this are well aware of this fact, and we’re scared of death to boot…that’s part of why someone who is well-known passing can feel so shocking, their ethereal, beyond-human status suddenly dissolved. Fear of death and struggling to cope with loss is often why mourning is even a thing, let alone mourning the death of somebody as a whole person and the contributions they have provided to society. I am not going to let anyone make me feel wrongheaded for being saddened over the loss of someone who has been part of a creative force that has brought my family together, a spiritual and talented person like Adam Yauch whose absence in music will absolutely be felt for some time to come.
~Marilyn
Beastie Boys - “Stand Together”
Adam Yauch / MCA of the Beastie Boys has died at age 47 as reported by GlobalGrind.com. The Beastie Boys have meant a lot to me and my family - both of my parents are fans and their music was introduced to me as a child, to the extent that the Beastie Boys logo was one of the first things I could read…”Stand Together” is one of my favorite MCA-lead vocals tracks, so I wanted to share that here now in his memory.
~Marilyn
A Future in Noise - Best of 2011 Picks (Spotify Playlist)
2011, in my opinion, was quite a spotty, largely rough year for music. There were really only three albums that I was fully impressed by: The Horrors - Skying, Dirty Beaches - Badlands, and HTRK - Work (work, work). So, I decided to put together a playlist of enjoyable 2011 songs, as opposed to a best-of album list. Very electronic and ethereal-focused.
Catwalk - John Foxx & the Maths
Sweet 17 - Dirty Beaches
Your Loft My Acid - Death in Vegas
The Cold World Melts - Soft Metals
Dog - C418
Bloody Mary (The Horrors Remix) - Lady Gaga
Dive In - The Horrors
Amber Hands - S.C.U.M.
Bandit - Cat’s Eyes
Take Your Shirt Off - Men
Sweet Dynamite - Todd Terje Edit - Claudja Barry / Horse Meat Disco
Heart is a Beating Drum - The Kills
Poison - HTRK
Post Physical - Pictureplane
Alien Observer - Grouper
Machu Picchu - The Strokes
You Don’t Have to Be Mad - Gang of Four
Holy Dotage - Magazine
Lonely Boy - The Black Keys
Don’t Play No Game that I Can’t Win (ft. Santogold) - Beastie Boys
Bitter Branches - PJ Harvey
Wild Man - Kate Bush
Doublecheck Your Head is Max Tannone’s latest fabulous remix/mash-up project, in honor of the recent re-issue of the Beastie Boys’ 1992 album Check Your Head. I wrote a little piece on it here:
http://www.afutureinnoise.com/2009/09/max-tannones-beastie-boys-remixes.html
And you can download it here (it’s official!):
Beastie Boys- Hot Sauce Commitee Pt. 1guys, this had better be better than the mix-up!
Hey, *I* loved The Mix-Up…I’m excited about this! It’s suposed to be out September 15th :D
