Beastie’s FactIn the early 1990s

Adam Yach traveled to Tibet and became so inspired by the culture he began practising Tibetan Buddhism. In 1994 he started “The Milarepa Fund” to pro-mote awareness and gain support in freeing Tibet from its illegal oc-cupation by the Chinese Communist Party. In 1996 he organized the fi rst “Tibetan Freedom Concert” in San Fran-cisco.

ENTERTAINMENTB8August 3 - 9, 2007

The Epoch Times

By STACY TOWAR-FOGARTYSpecial to The Epoch Times

According to Beastie Boys lore, every recording session starts with a warmup of the trio noodling around with the tape rolling. This time that noodling became “The Mix-Up,” their seventh full-length release (not counting compilations, mix tapes, and EPs) in over 20 years. There was fair warning from the Beasties’ camp pre-release that this one, en-tirely instrumental, may make some fans unhappy. That’s where the buzz began—unhappy? As most diehard fans will attest, the Beastie Boys can do no wrong.

You can tell that some music crit-ics don’t subscribe to that theory. In reviewing “The Mix-Up,” the New York Times critic referred to the Beasties as the “Uncredible Bongo Band” and The Village Voice critic wrote: “The Mix-Up is a kind of ad-mission of obsolescence.”

Ouch. I could never say such things about the beloved Beastie Boys or their latest release. Goofy? Yes. Mediocre in their playing abil-ity? Yes. Trend setting? As usual. But in true Beasties fashion, the � nished

product is greater than the individu-al parts.

And here’s the quick skinny on the individuals. The Beastie Boys—three nice Jewish guys from New York City—defy the odds and go from punk band to burgeoning rap idols, sign to Def Jam records in 1985, tour with Run DMC in 1986, � ght for their right to party, revive 1970s athletic fashion, discover Buddhism, organ-ize the Tibetan Freedom Concert, don fake mustaches and lederhosen, and here they are 20-plus years later with a few gray hairs.

Just as their journey has been full of surprises, this disc is no different. “The Mix-Up” is a collection of 12 tracks loaded with funky, quirky in-strumentation, effects, and samples. It opens with “B for My Name,” very reminiscent of their instrumental compilation “The In Sounds from the Way Out!” Funky bass lines are layered over a Hammond B3/Leslie groove, punctuated by the Fender Rhodes piano—very 70s. It’s a great opener but a little misleading in that the rest of the disc is less melodic and more groovy sci-� .

The tracks are rooted by funky-crunchy guitar from Ad Rock (Adam Horovitz), fat bass lines from

MCA (Adam Yauch), and some nice drum work from the mighty Mike D (Michael Diamond). The stew is thickened by the return of long-time Beastie collaborators and friends Money Mark (Mark Nishita) on keys and Alfredo Ortiz on percussion.

Great textures come from the si-tar, fuzzbox, bongos, vibes, clavinet, whistles, jingle bells, miscellaneous noises, and what I swear sounds like a parakeet.

I have to admit there were sev-eral occasions while listening in my car where I thought, “Is that my car making that noise?” Gratefully no, it was just the Beasties doing what they do.

“The Mix-Up” encompasses their 20-plus years of experimentation and stands well alone but will also provide great fodder for turntablists (those who use record players as an instrument).

Don’t look for a lot of depth in the Beasties’ latest, but it’s a � ne disc to slip in while driving. Just remem-ber…it’s not the car!

Stacy Towar-Fogarty is an on-air personality and music director for a popular radio station in the heart of the Colorado Rockies.

Music Review

Beastie Boys: ‘The Mix-Up’

The pioneering hip hop trio returns, sans rhymes

‘THE MIX-UP’: The Beastie Boys’ seventh full-length studio release is a 12-track, all-instrumental album. FRAZER HARRISON/GETTY IMAGES

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