New Yo La Tengo Video: "I'll Be Around"

The video stars Mac McCaughan from Superchunk for some reason.

RIP Adam "MCA" Yauch

Rap music pioneer Adam Yauch, better known as MCA from the Beastie Boys, died today at age 47 from cancer. Rock stars die almost every week it seems, but in the case of Adam Yauch, this rock star death is more significant.

Yauch was a co-founder of the Beastie Boys back in 1982 when the group was a four-piece hardcore group. As they ditched hardcore and discovered rap, the B-Boys became one of the most significant groups in pop music history. Their importance, not only to me, but to the world, is hard to overstate.

As a suburban kid growing up in the Midwest in the 1980s, I was not exposed to much "urban" or "street" culture (translation: black people stuff). I grew up on classic rock like KISS, Led Zep, and AC/DC, and by the mid 80's, I was definitely a metal kid. My first exposure to rap music, technically, came from Blondie's "Rapture;" but I was too young to really understand the references to Fab Five Freddy and all that. I remember seeing Run-DMC late one night on television, probably '85 or so, and not knowing what to think. But a year later, it all made sense.

The Beastie Boys really did take rap music from an urban, underground phenomenon to a mainstream one. This, obviously, had a lot to do with being white, and therefore getting more access to non-urban radio stations and to MTV. But the Beasties' whiteness, for lack of a better term, should not be equated with a watering down of authentic hip-hop to make it more palatable to whites. The Beasties were the real deal, and by the time of their second album, Paul's Boutique, you could not find a credible rap source - black or white - who did not agree.

In the early days of the B-Boys, many mocked the group and considered them to be either a joke or an insult to what had been an entirely black dominated style of music. But the band slowly changed its image over the years to reflect who they really were, as opposed to who they were trying to be. Their music and message evolved to such a degree that it is almost impossible to believe that it is the same three guys that created both 1985's "She's On It" and the 2011 album, Hot Sauce Committee Part 2.

Unlike many of the band's peers, however, the Beastie Boys were able to have a long and successful career. The group's albums began incorporating elements of and samples from jazz, rock, dance, disco, R&B, and pop. Lyrically, they were all over the place, too. The band effortlessly moved from the party rock themes of their first album, to more serious topics like 9/11 and Tibet on later releases. All the while, though, keeping the music fresh, funky and fun. The first single from HSCP2, "Make Some Noise," sounded like vintage B-Boys, like not a day had gone by since 1987. Fantastic stuff!

I have been listening to the music of the Beastie Boys for 25 years -- more than half my life. There are few things that I liked as a sophomore in high school that I still like today, at age 41. But, the Beastie Boys have stayed constant from my walkman days to my ipod days, and I imagine I will still be listening when we move on to the next way to play music. Timeless music is timeless music, and the Beastie Boys are timeless.

I'm going to pour out some of my 40 on the curb tonight in honor of MCA (first, I'll have to buy a 40, assuming I can find one), and play the Beastie Boys all night. I suggest you do the same.

 

 

 

  

  

 

The Life and Times TONIGHT at Waiting Room

Kansas City rock band, The Life and Times, returns to Omaha tonight at The Waiting Room. The band mixes UK shoegaze music with a muscular math rock sound to create very loud, very intense music. Bring your earplugs. Tickets are $8 at the door. Openers are Landing on the Moon and Lonely Estates.

R.I.P. Dick Clark

Television legend Dick Clark has died today at age 82. It is impossible to overstate the importance of Clark to the popular culture of the 20th century. His television dance show, American Bandstand, introduced rock 'n' roll music to millions of new people from all across the country. 

I have always believed that popular culture - mainly music, but also television, movies, and sports - had more to do with social change and progress in this country than any set of laws. It was kids of the "rock 'n' roll generation," who came of age in the late 1950s and early 1960s, who embraced what was essentially black music at a time when whites and blacks rarely inter-mingled. It became increasingly more difficult to hate someone when you listen to the same music or like the same athletes. Racists and opponents of change always understood this, which is why they were so opposed to rock music in the first place.

But this is not a sociology lecture, this is a blog post about the death of Dick Clark. By the time I came on the scene in the 1970s, American Bandstand was already an institution. Every major artist from the 1950s to the 1980s performed on the show, and countless records became hits after the AB audience said they liked it.

Looking back, the show seems so old fashioned and almost quaint. But, it was actually quite cutting edge in its day. I'm glad that I was able to grow up in the AB era. So long, Dick.

The English Beat TONIGHT at Waiting Room

Tickets are still available to see 80's legends, The English Beat, tonight at The Waiting Room. Tickets are $20. The Bishops are opening.

Ronnie Montrose's Death Ruled a Suicide

Very sad news. The passing of legendary rock guitarist Ronnie Montrose has been ruled a suicide. Montrose's wife told the media that he suffered from clinical depression for much of his life.

Rather than dwell on the end of his life, let's celebrate the man's music. Here is a video of Montrose (feat. Sammy Hagar) performing "Bad Motor Scooter" back in 1974.

Those Darlins Lose a Darlin

Well, this sucks. I just started getting into Nashville band Those Darlins and now one of the founding members quits the band. Kelley Darlin (aka Kelley Anderson), guitarist/bassist/vocalist, announced at the end of last month that she has departed. I thought something might have been up when I saw some live shots from the band's current UK tour, and Kelley was nowhere to be found. I hoped that maybe she was just a felon or something and couldn't travel outside of the US. No such luck.

On its website, Those Darlins posted the following statement: "With sadness, we must announce that Kelley Anderson has decided to leave “Those Darlins” in order to pursue other musical projects and professional ventures. We will miss Kelley but will follow her with excitement at her new website: KelleyAnderson.org. Kelley promises to keep us updated on the Tenth Anniversary of The Southern Girls Rock and Roll Camp in Murfreesboro this summer. It was Kelley’s hard work and dedication to the Southern Girls Rock And Roll Camp that brought us together in the first place. Those Darlins will continue to move forward with a lot of exciting news in 2012. We will be recording an EP in May with producer Scott Litt (REM, Nirvana, Patti Smith) to be released this year and will resume touring in March."

Those Darlins new 7". Click to order

I had the good fortune to meet Kelley when TD was in Omaha last Fall opening for Drive-By Truckers. She was very nice and seemed really excited about the state of the band. Oh well, shit happens I guess.

The remaining Darlins have just released a new single for "Mystic Mind" and the b-side is a cover of Rockpile's "Pet You and Hold You." It can be ordered by clicking the picture.

For the uninitiated, here is a video for "Screws Get Loose," the title track to band's most recent album: