ACROSS LITE PUZZLE: [ THREE MCS AND ONE DJ]
PROGRAM: [Across Lite]
PROGRAM: [Java]
PRINTOUT PUZZLE: [ THREE MCS AND ONE DJ]
PROGRAM: [Adobe Acrobat]
First things first: get well soon, MCA. For those that slept, the guy on the far right in above embedded video was just diagnosed with cancer. Yuck. And for the 1% of you who’ve never heard of the Beastie Boys, let alone the song alluded to in today’s title, have no fear. This puzzle’s doable without needing insider information.
What a band, huh? I mean, was there anything these guys couldn’t do? (We’re going to forget all the instrumental “jazz” records, BTW). I mean, sure they started off as what appeared to be a watered down Run-DMC clone with frat-boy humor. But have you listened to “Licensed to Ill” lately? The forward-thinking vision and bravado displayed on those tracks is nothing short of stunning. I know, I know, everybody’s going to tell me that “Paul’s Boutique” is their coup de grace. Everyone’s going to say the kaleidoscopic Technicolor cool was all over “Boutique.” And hell, I agree, that one’s stellar. But I’ll argue for “Licensed” over “Boutique” in three quick points.
- “Licensed” is as over-the-top/everything-and-the-kitchen-sink if not more so than the overly polished versions of the same “anything goes” songwriting displayed on “Boutique.”
- “Licensed” has more songs. “Boutique” has more moments.
- And here’s the one everybody conveniently forgets when talking about “Paul’s Boutique:” it was supposed to be a Dust Brothers record until the Beasties staplegunned their schtick onto it.
But whatever. It’s like arguing what’s your favorite Beatles record. You really can’t go wrong with any of them (except for “Beatles for Sale,” that one not so much).
Anyway, hope y’all enjoyed this. New puzzle on Friday.
Living in NYC in the 80s, and having seen the Boys at CBs & various house parties, it took a long time for me to accept them moving to hip-hop, though in retrospect it was definitely the right move & they’ve done some awesome shit.
I still like Pollywog Stew better than any of the later stuff though.
Oh man, are YOU gonna hear from the “Beatles for Sale” fans. Ya can’t hate an album that has songs like “No Reply”, “I’m a Loser”, “Eight Days a Week”, and “Every Little Thing” on it. I know, you didn’t say you hated the album – you just implied that it’s your least favorite. And that’s kinda like choosing your least favorite M&M flavor.
Admittedly, this album has one of my two least favorite Beatles cover songs on it. “Mr. Moonlight”? C’mon guys – what were you THINKING?
You can take the girl out of Max’s Kansas City but you can’t take the Max’s Kansas City out of the girl.
Uh, let’s see: nearly half of “Beatles For Sale” is covers. If that isn’t proof they were obviously running on fumes when they made this one, I dunno what is. This had to be a let down after the stellar “A Hard Day’s Night” (no covers) that came out five months earlier. Having said that: “I’m A Loser,” “Eight Days A Week” and “I’ll Follow the Sun” are all great.
ROMCOM? Never heard it, tho’ (now) I can guess at its meaning. Absolutely killed me up there, and I *knew* there was a BB theme going on… But … OK, I haven’t read your commentary yet, hang on … OK, here’s the problem: MCA. I know MCA had cancer, so I saw “MCA” in one answer and “MCA” in another and figured that’s what was going on. Then there’s an “MCO”!?!?!?! Fudge! Only a few minutes ago did I see that there are three MCs and a DJ, so that the whole thing is a BB (and not specifically an MCA) tribute. Ugh. Weird (a little?) to call them a TRIO and then suggest there are four components to the group …? I mean, they Are a TRIO. I’m just sayin’. Nice work. Did you write this just in the past two days!?!?!
You and I already had the License/PB discussion (not really an argument, as I think we agreed that they are great in different ways).
rp
A reader gave me a suggestion for a theme of adding MC+ to a puzzle. RAISING MCCAIN et al. I was investigating this as an option when I heard the MCA news. After some thought, I adjusted it to what we have here. I mean, I think the title pretty much Sums It All Up. You’re going to add three MCs and one DJ to the theme entries. And the components of the theme reference the title of the song. And are you trying to say that the Beastie Boys are anything more than a trio? I rest my case.
I liked it. And now the song of the title is going thru my head.
I hope to see 1A clued as Tiger Brandon or something of the like from you some day, since you like baseball and I live in the Detroit area.
I have listened to “Licensed To Ill” recently…I have 4 songs off of it in my current workout mix…but I still would have to say that “Paul’s Boutique” is a better album…by a lot.
I have to disagree with your third point: The Beasties broke off with Rick Rubin, and they needed a new producer to lay down beats for them…so they hooked up with the Dust Brothers. Whether or not those tracks were intended for an instrumental album is irrelevant…they teamed up to make a classic album that still holds up today. Its like saying that LTI is their schtick staplegunned to a Led Zep album.
Go listen to “Shake Your Rump”, “Egg Man”, and “What Comes Around” again…and since you mentioned The Beatles, listen to “Sounds of Science”…and in honor of MCA, listen to his part in “3-Minute Rule”! Get well, soon, Adam!!
If you’d listed “Yellow Submarine” as a Beatles album that can’t possibly be anyone’s favorite, I would have remained silent.
But “Beatles for Sale”? “What You’re Doing” and “I’ll Follow the Sun” are minor classics, for starters.
May the ghost of John Lennon haunt your dreams this evening.
I gotta learn to not only read the title, but let it sink in for a moment before diving into the puzzle.
I moved through the puzzle pretty well, but held myself back by trying to fit an MC into the last theme entry…..
I think it’s time we hold ‘Licensed To Ill’ responsible for spawning some of the worst music of all time: Vanilla Ice, Insane Clown Posse, and rap-metal.
i agree with you re: “licensed to ill.” can we clue ILLER as an odd job now? also, “beatles for sale” is pretty weaksauce. definitely in comparison, to, say, every other beatles album.
i didn’t love the fill in this puzzle, but ROOM -> ROMCOM and TOAT (yuck) -> TOMCAT were pretty nifty finds.
INGE has been clued as the baseballer before. Glad you liked the puzzle.
At some point people decided that “Paul’s Boutique” was the best Beastie Boys record, end of discussion, and they weren’t going to hear it any other way. Well, I think a discussion is necessary because anybody who doesn’t think “Licensed” is as visionary, as timeless, and does the same schtick as “PB” with more swagger is lying to themselves. I have to remind you: NOBODY liked “PB” when it dropped. A unanimous decision that it was a bust. This automatic love for that record is serious rock revisionist history.
(On a side bar: it’s not unlike everybody’s knee-jerk reaction that “In Utero” is superior to “Nevermind.” Both are great albums, but please: quit pretending to be the cool kid.)
Look, I think “PB” is a landmark album. But everybody just lavishes love on the Beasties for that record when, I’m sorry, the Dust Brothers did virtually everything that everybody loves about it. There’s not that many missives of how great the lyrics are, but there’s certainly loads of love for the crate digging that was done for the beats.
I’ll kick the ghost of John Lennon’s ass any day. Bring him in here!
Always read the directions!
Please: Faith No More and Helmet were far more responsible for rap-metal, and those two bands were awesome.
Gaffney makes a good point re: “Yellow Submarine.” But as for full-lengthers, “Beatles For Sale” is the one I’m least-likely to listen to. I repeat too many covers! They wrote so many amazing original songs, I don’t need to hear their version of someone else’s material!
I don’t think ILLER can be clued that way, no.
Whatever: The Beastie Boys fusing Zeppelin stomp with fratboy lyrics predates Faith No More -AND- the Judgement Night soundtrack.
(As a sidenote: Teenage Fanclub and De La Soul? Really?)
You’re forgetting Dinosaur Jr. and Del Tha Funkee Homosapien.
I will certainly NOT forget those instrumental B-Boys records! They proved that in addition to being capable rappers (a talent, sure, but a fairly limited one) they can also play real instruments without the need to run their mouths off.
And the news about MCA really broke me up. I had tix to see them about a half-mile from my home in a couple weeks.
Trying to, anyway.
Sucks about the cancellation.
have to agree with rex (i can’t believe i just said that): the title alluding to four band members + the TRIO answer together were inelegant. otherwise, enjoyable puzzle! altho: i’ve seen WMD in puzzles before and never thought it made any sense clued in connection with terrorists: WMDs are state munitions (nuclear, chemical and biological), not terrorist munitions. it’s possible — and feared — that a terrorist group might get its hands on a weapon of this sort, but this has not happened yet. you could, i suppose, argue that after 9/11 airplanes became WMDs, but i doubt that’s what you had in mind here. (if this sounds niggling it’s because it totally is!)
Not only was there a mess of covers on Beatles For Sale, but “I’ll Follow The Sun” was written by McCartney about three years earlier and resurrected only because they needed material.
But, of course, two killer tracks they recorded in those sessions were held off the album in order to be the next single — “I Feel Fine” and “She’s A Woman” — though they were included on the truncated U.S. version.
Nobody liked PB when it dropped because it was so ahead of its time…everyone was expecting “Fight For Your Right, Part 2”, and when they didn’t find it, they lost interest. I still remember how exquisite it was when I rediscovered PB in the 90’s and realized what a masterpiece it was…just because it has turned into the popular opinion doesn’t make it any less valid.
I was a 15 year-old HS student in the Bronx when LTI came out…it was the best thing I had ever heard at the time and I still love it to this day…but timeless? I think it has an 80’s-dated feel to it now…unless of course you walk around talking about “jammies” and “jockin'” and putting spanish fly in girls’ drinks.
And I do think the lyrics on PB are great…if there aren’t that many missives saying so, I may have to write one! I mean, “I got more Louie than Philip Rizzuto”?…c’mon, that’s the best!!
And how did you know that “In Utero” is my favorite Nirvana album??? That is just eerie…. =)
Oh boy, a “your favorite band sucks” smackdown. Can’t get *that* crap anywhere else on the web. #tired
I think Chuck D had “Paul’s Boutique” love early on. Like, right away. Not everyone thought it was a failure.
rp
Nothing to add on the Beasties other then look at the charts and see the consistency of their ranking on Billboard and R&B/hip-hop, to bridge that gap is damn impressive.
Bottom part of the puzzle was problematic with that pair of See XX Down. Liked the pirate party with YOHO/AHOY. Was really stoked to see TOAT in a second crossword today. Medium rating works for me.
ALL OF RAP music has a dated feel because in an effort to sound current, they always use slang/pop culture references/etc. that immediately puts an expiration date on the material. Doesn’t mean it’s not amazing. Every reference in this song is dated, but the song’s unimpeachable: http://is.gd/1I0td
Dude, quit fronting: “Nevermind” smokes “In Utero.” 😛
Nice puzzle, fun and interesting. Given the comments I think it’s a pretty good bet that you and none of your readers are attending the Gathering of the Vibes this weekend here in CT!
Re. BFS: When any of the albums came out, I slipped a twenty to a friend whose father was a pilot. He would pick up the “real” vesion (as opposed to the Capital Records smush job) for me in London. So, I was able to hear the songs the way they were intended, plus enjoy the hyper-glossy finish of the EMI sleeve — and the BFS photo was one of their best.
Six of the fourteen songs were covers. Until the Beatles came along, nearly all songs were “covers”, i.e. composed by others. Neil Sedaka sang his own stuff, but many 45 hits were a combination of great writer/ great performer. Purchasing an album was a waste, as much of it would turn out to be crap. Think eleven B-sides (or Side-B with some crossword constructors) and one A-side. There were folk albums (and other genres of course) where the entire album was good material. And along came Bob. But for Rock’n’Roll, “covers” meant the best music. The Beatles were among the first to combine great song-writing and performing skills, and make albums a great value.
Part of the early allure, though, was not just their own songs, but their ability to transpose Rhythm and Blues (or Soul) songs into a more penetrable (for some) format. When their version of “Twist and Shout” first hit the airwaves people were transfixed, overwhelmed and amazed. There was a bit of “Hey, if John can sing that, maybe I can” among a certain set of listeners…those who couldn’t conceive of matching Mr. Isley’s soaring notes. The simple four instrument line-up added to that fantasy. Could other magic music be similarly attainable? Hearing George transform some wild horn section’s scream into a simple guitar line was a normalization of sound that reached the ears of a set of listeners who wanted to replicate it in their (parents’) garage. It wasn’t better, but it was approachable. And, the Beatles had traditionally performed Rand B songs as part of their repertoire. I wanted to hear them do “Shout” (and finally heard it on some VHS tape), some Sam Cooke numbers, and other beautiful, soulful sounds (e.g. “Desiree”, some Phil Spectre, more Smokey, maybe an Impressions).
So, when BFS emerged, most of the covers were warmly welcomed. “Rock and Roll Music” was explosive and exciting: John’s particular brand of gravel needed to see the light of every stylus. I agree with Eric LeVasseur on Mr. Moonlight (curious to know what his other least fave might be). Always fun to tell people “If you were a Beatles song, you’d be Mr. Moonlight”. The “Kansas City” medley bit was inspired and wild. “Words of Love” was servicable, and “Honey Don’t” just seemed like a vehicle to give Ringo a microphone. But “Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby”, with George doing a perfect copy of Carl Perkin’s guitar licks, was a delight. All in all, some very good covers, a couple pedestrian ones, one bummer. That these tunes were mixed with such a sweet selection of John/Paul numbers was gravy. The covers may not hold up as well, or appeal to new listeners, but, at the time, they were gold.
How many of us have spent good time in the shower meditating on the medley of “Eight Days a Week”, or “What You’re Doing”, struggling to grasp how someone dreamt up those melodies. Oh, not that many, sorry. Some of the commenters here have pointed out those and others of the beautiful John/Paul songs on BFS. When the remastered version of the CD comes out in September, plop “I’m a Loser” on your absurdly expensive stereo, the sound will amaze you.
BFS struck a chord. It says here……
Fun puns, some nice fill… MATHWHIZ looks odd without an “S” but I’m just a dumb foreigner who spells funny, sorry about that. “Iters” is on my pet hate list, mostly because I’ve yet to come across it once in my veterinary studies, and we’ve had thousands of terms (quite literally) thrown at us to this point… Maybe it’s a blind spot in the curriculum?
Don’t know the Beastie Boys that well so ain’t gonna join in there… Do know “3 MCs and a DJ” but not too many more (the obvious candidates).
Re “SIDE B” – many of my parents’ 45s and LP’s (from memory, I’m 1100km away so I can’t actually check) have SIDE A and SIDE B printed on them… I think that’s what it refers to… Last person to grow up on vinyl, lol.
#tired? What is this, Twitter?
Thanks, brah.
Uh, never heard of the Gathering of the Vibes. Should I?
Seems unimaginable nowadays that the U.S. Beatles records were chopped-up versions of the U.K. releases. At least until Sgt. Peppers. Thanks for the reminiscence, Karma.
Vinyl is somewhat popular still, and for the tiny market share of people who continue to pay for music, vinyl’s the format of choice.
Egg Raid On Mojo!
Enjoyed this one, though it was killing my brain (or squeezing my ITERS). Shame you couldn’t find a way to work a Q in there, but considering how much I like a decent pun, ADJUSTINPOWERS more than compensated for it.
Probably not, given the type of music you enjoy. Nothing wrong with that. You could google it, but it’s a 4 day music celebration of the Dead. Bob Weir & Ratdog are always there, Mickey Hart’s been there, CSN will be there this year. Located at beautiful Seaside Park in Bridgeport CT. Yeah, Bridgeport! Live feed from WPKN fm. (That’s where I’ll be, by my radio, even tho the festival is a mile away from my home…) ps. feel free to delete this from the section.
Ah, Gathering of the Vibes. It’s going on right now and as I speak (type) form loverly Bridgeport, CT.
No, I am not there. I forgot to tie-dye my shirt and I do enjoy bathing with soap.
Other than that… cool beans!
Good puzzle!
Luv the musical discussions on this blog. Wind up with nothing to add. However, I like the Beatles more as a rock band (meaning everything up to and including, say, Revolver) than as an Art-Pop band (most of everything after that).
But speaking of music, BEQ, what ever happened to your idea of repeating the great ‘Bowie X 2″ puzzle with someone else? My opinion is that Pavement is too obscure for the multitudes, but Talking Heads could really work.