A hip-hop and rap rock group that formed in New York City in 1981. The group consisted of Ad-Rock, MCA, and Mike D. They disbanded in 2012, following the death of MCA.

tek's rating: (and three quarters)

Solid Gold Hits
AllMusic; Amazon; Apple Music; Discogs; Wikipedia

A greatest hits collection, released in 2005.

1. "So What'cha Want": Sounds grainy and kind of distorted, which makes it hard to understand most of the lyrics, but at least it sounds cool. (And honestly, I can't catch all the lyrics in any of their songs, anyway.)

2. "Brass Monkey": I don't think I've ever heard this. It's kinda silly, but funky.

3. "Ch-check It Out": The only part of this that was familiar to me is the title/chorus, but the whole thing rocks.

4. "No Sleep Till Brooklyn": This is one of the band's songs that are more familiar to me, though again, that's mostly the title. But also again, the whole thing rocks.

5. "Hey Ladies": The title is a bit familiar to me. I like it more than I expected to, but still less than most of the band's songs. It's another song that's kinda silly and funky.

6. "Pass the Mic": I'm not familiar with this one, but it's not bad.

7. "An Open Letter to NYC": Not familiar, but it's not bad. Certainly sounds like they love New York, so that's cool. And it references 9/11 at one point, which is... I don't know. More bitter than sweet, but still optimistic.

8. "Root Down": Don't think I've heard this before, but it's cool.

9. "Shake Your Rump" Don't think I've heard it, but it's cool.

10. "Intergalactic": This is one of the songs that are most familiar to me. The chorus sounds robotic, which is a change of pace, but the rest of the song sounds like normal Beastie Boys songs. It's all good. (Let the beat... mmmdrop!)

11. "Sure Shot": Not familiar, but it's good. Got a funky flute or something in the background.

12. "Body Movin'" (Fatboy Slim remix): This one's familiar, fun, and groovy. Kinda makes you want to move your body, right? (But then I suppose all their songs kinda do that.)

13. "Triple Trouble": Not familiar, but it's cool.

14. "Sabotage": Another familiar one, this time maybe more hard rock than rap.

15. "Fight For Your Right": Probably the first Beastie Boys song I ever heard (it's from their debut album, released in 1986), and still the one I most associate with the band. It's another hard rock song, not as fast-paced nor quite as clever as their later rap stuff. But still a lot of fun, and iconic.

Well, I enjoyed the whole album more than I expected to, even the unfamiliar tracks. Lots of inventive lyrics, instrumentation, sound effects, some occasional unexpected... I dunno, inflections or singing styles or whatever, usually just for a moment or two in the midst of their normal rap style. And it all just really rocks.