I Like My Sugar with Coffee and Cream

I had another post initially planned for today, but since Adam Yauch, aka MCA, of The Beastie Boys passed away today I figured it would only be fitting to dedicate one to him. While I was not obsessed with the group, and only casually listened to their music, I distinctly remember my first exposure to The Beastie Boys: it was a weekday night during the summer before I entered 8th grade, and I was watching one of the scheduled blocks of new music on Fuse (a network I've mentioned before, and one that definitely shaped my taste in music), and it was when they were premiering the video for "Ch-Check It Out," which was the lead track and single from the group's 2004 release, "To the 5 Boroughs." Not only was the song catchy, but the video was by and large one of the funniest I had seen at that point in my life. I tried to nab myself a copy of the album, but due to my parent's unwillingness to let me listen to music with profanity, I was unable to check the album out (bad pun definitely not intended), and the Beastie Boys faded from my mind until the following summer when I heard "Sabotage" for the first time in Wildwood, NJ. Surprisingly, I had a feeling the song was by the group, and asked my dad if that was true. He turned to me, surprised, and confirmed by suspicion.

That is one of the reasons I respect The Beastie Boys so much: You don't have to be a fan or that familiar with their music to identify a song of theirs within the first few seconds. They were a genuine group of guys, and you got the vibe that they made music because they simply enjoyed writing songs, and they never took themselves too seriously (as can easily be seen with the title of their 2006 concert film, "Awesome; I F*#$ing Shot That!"). But more importantly (and slightly more on topic), MCA contributed some of the catchiest bass hooks in not only hip-hop, but music in general. Whether it's the well-known vamp of "Sabotage" or the grungy grind of "Gratitude," they carried the songs and made them what they were.

R.I.P Mr. Yauch. I still prefer my sugar with coffee and cream.

- Dan