Monday 24 September 2007

BEASTIE BOYS – INTERGALACTIC (CAPITOL)


BEASTIE BOYS – INTERGALACTIC (CAPITOL)

As great as the song actually is it is somewhat disheartening and distressing to consider that this is THE Beastie Boys song for a whole generation. Sure it’s a good track and all but just because it is popular with a good video it doesn’t mean that it should always be the Beasties song the powers that be reach for whenever they want a piece of classic New York white boy hip hop.

Lifted from Hello Nasty this was the first single from the album that was supposed to mark their great return. Having now gradually picked up an alternative rock fan base through Check Your Head and Ill Communication this was the first record that was to be unleashed straight/direct at these people. With this in mind the band made a conscious decision to not make things too obvious, to not play much live stuff and to return closer to their hip hop roots.

“Intergalactic” is unmistakable as the opening gambits flies in from a robot/computer voice and almost immediately the images of the guys running around Japan in hi-vis vests is what arrives in the mind’s eye. From here it is classic rhymes over classic beats delivery at a quick fire, almost faultless pace. So why the downer?

It’s a pretty clinical and clean sound these work here. It’s too playful and goofy. In a way it just conjures up an awful image of dickheads at a nightclub suddenly doing robotic dancing while trying to keep their piece in their pants. Do you see my issue with it now? Nice bit of scratching and drop outs though.

Elsewhere the release offers up “Hail Sagan”, seemingly an ode to a great man done by way of horror soundtrack gone goofy and a guest appearance from Miho Hatori. Is this really fitting?

That said it does however offer up one of the greatest record sleeves anywhere.

Thesaurus moment: perception.

Beastie Boys
Grand Royal
Capitol

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