Awesome...I Shot That

In a recent post, I'd referred to Sloan as 'those boys who refuse to grow up', and another band that I can squarely put into that category is Beastie Boys. When it came to me pondering what my musical tastes would be when I got older(say 50+; I'm in my 30's now), I always wondered whether the Beastie Boys' music would be something I could still listen to. Would I have outgrown them by then and moved on to mellower music? If I were married with kids, would my children be embarrassed that I was listening to them? And more related to the present, do I think Beastie Boys have passed their prime and/or have(or will they soon) reach a point where they'e just too old for the hip-hop game? I can't really compare them to guitar rock bands like say The Who, The Rolling Stones or bands like Echo and The Bunnymen and The Buzzcocks, because for all the criticisms laid on these bands for being too old and past their prime, they still draw respectable numbers to their shows or buying their CD's. Yes, Roger Daltrey and Mick Jagger are older and more wrinkled, but I don't find it embarrassing at all that they're still touring and making music. I mean it'd be different if they were using walkers or something. However, hip-hop seems so much more of a youth-oriented genre(much more so than guitar-rock) and I wonder how awkward it would be to see the Beasties still rocking the mic at 60 years of age. Mike D (born Mike Diamond, November 20, 1966), MCA (born Adam Yauch, August 5, 1965), and Ad-Rock (born Adam Horovitz, October 31, 1967) are hardly senior citizens, but when I see MCA's grey hair in particular, I'm reminded that they aren't spring chickens anymore. What's fortunate about Beastie Boys is that their forays into funky instrumental jams, hardcore and the odd pop tune(on "Hello Nasty") make them much more versatile than most hip hop acts. I can't wait to see what's next in store for them. I'm glad to say that their recent performance on Late Night With Conan O'Brien illustrates that they still have 'skills to pay the bills':

YouTube: The Beastie Boys - "Root Down" (live on Late Night With Conan O'Brien - July 21, 2006)

This Tuesday July 25, 2006, sees the release of the Beastie Boys' new concert DVD, "Awesome; I F*!kin' Shot That", which was shot by fifty fans who were handed cameras at their sold-out performance at New York's Madison Square Garden. ifilm has a bunch of trailers, video clips, and interviews related to the release of this DVD, available for your viewing pleasure.

Rocking it old-school with the new school, Getting There has a link to a YouTube video of a DJ mixing Beastie Boys and Gnarls Barkley.

Finally, for those of you in the Toronto area, Beastie Boys will be at HMV(333 Yonge St.) for an autograph session on July 27th from 4 pm to 5:30 pm. I work right down the street so maybe I'll swing by.