Monday 1 April 2013

My iPod #37: Beastie Boys - And Me

(Skip to 2:38 in the video)

2012 was a sad year for all Beastie Boys fans. Adam 'MCA' Yauch passed away with salivary gland cancer, since then the hip-hop trio have gone on hiatus but it is hard to imagine that Ad-Rock and Mike D could perform under the 'Beastie Boys' moniker without that trademark low and raspy vocal.

I liked Beastie Boys, but I had never listened to any of their albums. It sounds bad that I only decided to after MCA's death, and as I type I do feel quite shitty for not listening to one earlier.

Upon release the album received mostly positive reviews. The majority of them mentioning how the trio were branching out with their sound, gaining influence from an eclectic range of genres and successfully stepping forward in progress from previous releases. This is understandable, compare this album with their debut 'Licensed to Ill' for example.

'And Me' was one of the songs that caught my attention upon my first listen. To my knoweledge, it was the first time that Beastie Boys had ever had such a calm and mellow vibe in a song. No one raps, it's just Ad-Rock (though I am not sure) singing accompanied by synthesizers and a steady drum beat. I had never heard something like that by them before.


Sure the song is a bit repetitive, the melody is the same for every verse. Maybe it's because they're better at rapping, but I don't know. It's a very under rated song, so listen to it and see what you think about it.

Until next time.

Jamie.

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