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The Many Classic Music Videos Of Spike Jonze

Posted 7/5/11 3:00 pm EST by in beastie-boys, Video


By Zachary Swickey

The Beastie Boys are at it again. The trio is re-teaming with veteran music video director Spike Jonze to helm the clip for the group’s upcoming single, “Don’t Play No Game That I Can’t Win,” which features the unstoppable Santigold as guest rhyme-spitter.

We all know and love Jonze’s throwback video for the Beastie’s “Sabotage,” which featured the boys riffing on the police dramas of the 1970s – mustaches and all. For the second single off their critically acclaimed album Hot Sauce Committee Pt II, it appears Jonze and his crew are looking to have some fun again as the Boys will be portrayed by action figures in a style that is hopefully akin to the Robot Chicken series.

The band has posted a picture of their action figures – donning white parkas with artillery in hand – and it looks like production has already wrapped for the clip. “The video was directed by our esteemed colleague Mr. Spike Jonze. It is an explicit action adventure spectacular. It features action figures of us and yes, they are ACTION figures, NOT dolls!”

No word on when we should expect the video, but there will apparently be short and “epic” length versions for us to enjoy. Jonze is no slouch with epic music videos either. He is one of the grandfathers of the art form. You’d be hard pressed to find a more in-demand video director than Jonze during his heyday, when everyone from Bjork to Tenacious D requested his services. While there were plenty to choose from, here are some favorites from the man who would go on to direct Being John Malkovich, Adaptation and Where the Wild Things Are. Read More...

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The Best Albums Of 2011 (So Far)

Posted 6/22/11 2:00 pm EST by in Best Of, countdown


Adele

By Zachary Swickey

With July quickly approaching, we are about to wave goodbye to the first half of 2011. And what a year it has already been: current reigning Queen of Pop, Lady Gaga, sold a million records in a week; the Beastie Boys proved they still have it; and everyone’s favorite Parliament-smoking hipsters, The Strokes, sold-out Madison Square Garden!

We’ve already seen a slew of solid album releases from music veterans and some second efforts that show no signs of the sophomore slump. We have plenty of records to look forward to in the second half of the year – Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kanye and Jay-Z’s Watch the Throne project, Modest Mouse, Santigold and new Outkast and Dr. Dre records (if we’re lucky) – but before we get ahead of ourselves, here are ten of our favorites albums (so far) in 2011.

10. The Strokes – Angles

After making their return at last year’s Lollapalooza, The Strokes finally graced us with their first new music since ‘05. Taking a cue from bands like MGMT and Crystal Castles, Angles featured more synth and MIDI bits than most Strokes fans are used to. Nonetheless, the outcome was well-received and showed the experimentation the band was capable of.

9. My Morning Jacket – Circuital

Recorded in a church gymnasium in their hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, Jim James and Co. wanted their sixth offering to go back to the roots of their earlier works. There might not be much synth akin to their classic “Touch Me or I’m Going to Scream Pt. II,” but that didn’t stop the group from covering a vast musical soundscape, ranging from space rock to psychedelic funk.

8. Lady Gaga – Born This Way

The first artist to sell a million records in a single week since Taylor Swift accomplished the same feat late last year, Gaga’s “little monsters” obviously can’t get enough. Her Monster Ball Tour was one of the top draws of 2010, outselling many popular veteran music acts, and we suspect her upcoming Born This Way Ball will be no different. Our only complaint is that the disc sounds more like a sequel than a true evolution of her sound. Regardless, these delicious pop tunes are too good to deny.

Who else made our countdown? Read on. Read More...

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Beastie Boys' 'Hot Sauce Committee, Part Two': The Reviews Are In!

Posted 5/3/11 4:12 pm EST by in Music


Zachary Swickey

Who would've thought that three Jewish white boys could rap? All right, so MCA, Mike D and Ad-Rock – known to the music world as the Beastie Boys – proved that 25 years ago with the release of Licensed to Ill, a sample-heavy album that probably helped contribute to our current copyright laws.

But who would've thought that three Jewish boys could still rap in their mid-40s?

Well, the Beastie Boys have done just that with the recent release of Hot Sauce Committee, Part Two, the sequel/retooling of the album we never heard due to Adam "MCA" Yauch's cancer diagnosis back in 2009. Following two lackluster releases, Part Two may just be the best work the group has brought us in the 21st century. Since our ears have had time to get acquainted with the new tunes, we took a look at what the music world at large has to say about the album.

Rolling Stone magazine seems to be the biggest proponent of the Boys' eighth record and views it as a return to form: "We get the sound of master musicians in their comfort zone, doing everything their own way. Nobody would want to hear the Beasties try anything else."

The publication also credits the group's self-production skills and points out that the Boys could care less about their age with Ad-Rock proudly boasting, "Oh my God, just look at me/ Grandpa been rapping since '83!" (4/5 stars) Read More...

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The Beastie Boys 'Fight For Your Right Revisted' And The Greatest Celebrified Videos Of All Time

Posted 4/8/11 11:54 am EST by in Lists, Music


On Thursday, much to the delight of Stanley Tucci enthusiasts and students of meta-comedy the world over, the Beastie Boys premiered a teaser clip for "Fight For Your Right Revisited," their short film that chronicles the events that transpired following their epochal 1987 video of the same name (or, as the B-Boys put it, "the long-ass video thing.")

Featuring appearances by pretty much everybody — Will Ferrell, Danny McBride, Jack Black, Jason Schwartzman, Ted Danson, Susan Sarandon, the aforementioned Tucci and Seth Rogen, to name just a few — it's most certainly a celebrified thing, but it also manages to rise above the usual cameo crap-heap by being really clever, too, filled with wink-wink nods to the Beastie's past, Ferrell's legendary "More Cowbell!" "SNL" sketch, and even the late, lamented "Arrested Development" ("Come On!")

In short, it's everything you could possibly want from a celeb-heavy clip, but is that enough to earn it a place amongst the all-time best? Here's a look at some of its competition ... the greatest celebrified music videos of all time:

» Vampire Weekend, "Giving Up The Gun:" Featured guests include the RZA, Lil Jon, Joe Jonas and, most memorably, a flask-guzzling Jake Gyllenhaal, all of whom channel their inner McEnroe in this tennis-heavy clip.

» The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, "Talk About The Blues:" Sure, the JSBX star in this video (in some sort of murder-mystery/heist sub-plot), but the real stars are the folks they got to play the band themselves — Winona Ryder, Giovanni Ribisi and John C. Reilly — who positively kill it here, particularly Ryder, who screeches and wails and actually looks like Spencer himself.

» Jamie Foxx, "Blame It:" A glossy, flossy clip that's most memorable for the inexplicable cameos it features, including Gyllenhaal (again!), Forest Whitaker, Samuel L. Jackson, Quincy Jones and, for reasons totally never explained, Ron Howard. None of them actually do much aside from post up in the club, but we do learn that, for a 57-year-old with male-pattern baldness, Howard has a surprising amount of swag.

» Moby, "We Are All Made Of Stars:" The celebrity video as social commentary, featuring a host of Hollywood F-Listers — Kato Kaelin, Vern Troyer, Corey Feldman, Gary Coleman, Todd Bridges, and Ron Jeremy, to name just a few — hard-living rockers like Tommy Lee and Dave Navarro, and glamorous folks like Molly Sims and Dominique Swain (and, of course, the Toxic Avenger), each fighting to keep their 15 minutes ticking. Deep indeed.

» Michael Jackson, "Remember The Time:" Like many MJ clips, this one is a big-budget, big-name affair, loaded with special effects, elaborate sets, and, of course, head-scratching celebrity cameos, including Eddie Murphy and Iman as Egyptian royalty, Magic Johnson and Tiny "Zeus" Lister. Oh, and Jackson appears as a hooded wizard with the ability to disappear into a cloud of dust. Y'know, just your average, run-of-the-mill thing.

» Johnny Cash, "God's Gonna Cut You Down:" Filmed three years after the Man in Black's passing, this somber clip is nothing but celebrity cameos. In order: Iggy Pop, Kanye West, Chris Martin, Kris Kristofferson, Patti Smith, Terrence Howard, Flea, Q-Tip, Adam Levine, Chris Rock, Justin Timberlake, Kate Moss, Sir Peter Blake, Sheryl Crow, Dennis Hopper, Woody Harrelson, Amy Lee, Tommy Lee, the Dixie Chicks, Mick Jones, Sharon Stone, Bono, Shelby Lynne, Anthony Kiedis, Travis Barker, Lisa Marie Presley, Kid Rock, Jay-Z, Keith Richards, Billy Gibbons, Corinne Bailey Rae, Johnny Depp, Graham Nash, Brian Wilson, Rick Rubin, Owen Wilson and Jerry Lee Lewis. Phew.

» Michael Jackson, "Liberian Girl:" The celebrity video to end all celebrity videos, Jackson showed just how much clout he truly possessed by lining up cameos by basically every gigantic star of the late '80s, a list that included everyone from Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Brigitte Nielsen, Carl Weathers, Paula Abdul and Whoopi Goldberg to Olivia Newton-John, John Travolta, Danny Glover and Richard Dreyfuss. Shoot, even Steven Spielberg shows up here, and he didn't even direct the thing. More proof that, at his peak, no one was as powerful as the King of Pop.

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Lupe Fiasco Has Company: 10 More Artists Who Dislike Their Own Work

Posted 3/2/11 5:30 pm EST by in Music


Usually when an artist releases a new album, he or she will assault the press with the message that the new release is the best thing the artist has ever done, and will undoubtedly be something the fans will adore and newcomers will get into. Such is not the case with the new (and long-awaited) Lupe Fiasco album L.A.S.E.R.S.. The process of creating the album was such a struggle that he could really take it or leave it at this point, and in interviews he has been honest about his ambivalence.

"I hate this record, the process of making this record, and I love this record," Fiasco told the Chicago Tribune. "What I had to go through was not fun, the ugliness I saw in people. But I love the manifesto." Fiasco went even deeper in the pages of Complex. "A lot of the songs that are on the album, I'm kinda neutral to. Not that I don't like them, or that I hate them, it's just I know the process that went behind it. I know the sneaky business deal that went down behind this song, or the artist or singer or songwriter who wrote this hook and didn't want to give me this song in the first place," he said. "So when I have that kind of knowledge behind it, I'm just kind of neutral to it like, 'Another day, another dollar.' As opposed something like The Cool, which is more of my own blood, sweat, and tears, and my own control."

Of course, Fiasco isn't the first artist to have mixed feelings about his own work (though in most cases, artists tend to bury their own stuff in retrospect, not in real time). Here are some of the more notable groups who have thrown their own work under a bus.

Foo Fighters, One By One
While Foo Fighters' fourth album was a commercial and critical hit, it left a bad taste in the mouth of frontman Dave Grohl. In an interview with Rolling Stone in 2005, Grohl said of the album, "Four of the songs were good, and the other seven I never played again in my life. We rushed into it, and we rushed out of it." He has been true to his word, as recent Foo Fighters set lists have only included One By One tracks "Times Like These" and "All My Life."

U2, Pop
When U2 released Pop in 1997, it was hailed as the album that was supposed to bridge the gap between rock music and electronica. That particular marriage was not successful, and the songs from Pop have mostly been retired in favor of the rest of the band's extensive catalog. The quality of Pop remains a sticking point between the members of the band (Bono still defends it, though).

Weezer, Pinkerton
While Rivers Cuomo never formally buried his band's second album, it did drive him away from making music for a while. It wasn't so much that the songs were bad (in fact, they represent some of his best songwriting) but that they were far too personal for Cuomo to handle. The band disappeared for a few years and didn't play Pinkerton songs live for a while, though they eventually made their way back into the fabric of Weezer.

Eminem, Relapse
Eminem had been gone for a minute when Relapse came out, and though that album was greeted with excitement and enthusiasm, it ultimately left a lot of people wanting more. Apparently, those people included Eminem himself, who dissed the album on his next release Recovery.

Mandy Moore, So Real, I Wanna Be With You and Mandy Moore
Of all the teenage singers who made it big at the turn of the century, nobody was more frustrated by her early work than Moore. Read More...

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Have A Happy Hanukkah With The Beastie Boys

Posted 12/1/10 1:00 pm EST by in Music


There are two big events happening on the calendar today, as it is not only World AIDS Day (which you can learn more about at MTV's Get Yourself Tested page) but also the first night of Hanukkah (or Chanukah, depending on how you feel about the spelling of certain holidays). The annual Jewish "festival of lights" celebrates the rededication of the Second Temple following the Maccabean revolt. As Jewish lore goes, there was only enough oil to light the temple for a single day, but it remained lit for eight nights, which is why the holiday is celebrated over the course of that time frame and focused on the lighting of a multi-armed candelabra called a Menorah.

There will be plenty of legendary musicians celebrating over the course of the next week, including Kiss bassist Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz), Van Halen singer David Lee Roth, and the members of Yo La Tengo (who host an annual Hanukkah event, this year called "The Eight Nights Of Hanukkah with Yo La Tengo," which will run over eight nights at Maxwell's in Hoboken, New Jersey). And though their faith tends more towards Buddhism nowadays, each of the three Beastie Boys have roots in Judaism and have celebrated many a Festival of Light in the past. They never went as far as recording an anthem for the holiday, but "So What Cha Want" gets heads nodding no matter what the occasion. Feel free to pump your fist before you light the Menorah tonight, and have a joyous Hanukkah.


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The 'Jackass 3D' Soundtrack: Weezer, Beastie Boys And Run-D.M.C.

Posted 10/15/10 11:00 am EST by in Music


It's going to be a fun weekend at your local cinema this weekend, as many of this weekend's new releases are infused with a fundamental sense of fun. The comic book-based action comedy "Red" puts guns in the hands of Helen Mirren, Bruce Willis and John Malkovich, which makes that a clear winner. There's also the Hilary Swank vehicle "Conviction" (which is pretty heavy but does have a sense of uplift working for it) and the new Clint Eastwood film "Hereafter" (which doesn't seem like any fun at all but does star Matt Damon). But really, if you want some pure visceral joy this weekend, there's only one ticket to buy, and that ticket is "Jackass 3D."

The whole "Jackass" crew is back for a third theatrical film, this time with even crazier stunts and delivered with the magic of 3-D technology. Along the way, there is plenty of pain and deep hurting, but it's all buoyed by headmaster Johnny Knoxville's infectious laugh and the transfixing natural charisma of many of the cast members.

In order to psych yourself up to watch dudes getting struck in the crotch, you'll need to check out the video playlist below. It contains a bunch of tracks about pain (Three Days Grace's "Pain," Saigon's "Pain in My Life," Divine Heresy's "Facebreaker") and falling down (Atreyu's "Falling Down," Velvet Revolver's "Fall to Pieces"). There are also videos directed by "Jackass" team member Bam Margera (69 Eyes' "Dead Girls Are Easy") and spiritual leader Spike Jonze (Beastie Boys' "Sabotage"). There's also Run-D.M.C.'s "It's Tricky," just for good measure.

But we begin with Weezer's "Memories," the first clip from the band's just-released album Hurley that stars the "Jackass" crew skateboarding, running around an empty pool and standing in for the band members. It has the same sense of fun as "Jackass 3D" and should prepare you for the joys of stuff like hornet's nest tetherball.


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The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Nominees: Beastie Boys And Bon Jovi Lead Our Picks

Posted 9/28/10 4:30 pm EST by in Music


Any sort of hall of fame is bound to be a polarizing institution, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is no different. The new batch of nominees for the 2010 class were released earlier today, and it's an eclectic list that is bound to spark a ton of debate over the next few months (right up until the actual inductees are announced in December). Bon Jovi, Donovan, Alice Cooper, Dr. John and Neil Diamond have all been nominated for the first time, and they are joined by Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Chic, Laura Nyro, Joe Tex, Chuck Willis, the J. Geils Band and Tom Waits.

That's a pretty wide range of people, ranging in styles from classic rock to metal to hip-hop to soul to folk to whatever it is that J. Geils Band used to play. If I had a ballot (and believe me, I do not), I would cast my lot for four of those nominees.

Beastie Boys
These guys absolutely must get in, as they seamlessly straddled the worlds of rock, hip-hop and pop music (don't forget that they opened for Madonna once) while impressing everybody in those respective genres. Old-school hip-hop people respect them, and the rock world has always loved them for their always-present hardcore leanings and their association with Rick Rubin. As a bonus, they remain relevant, as their coming-soon album Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 1 is hotly-anticipated.

Bon Jovi
Can you believe that the band who brought us Slippery When Wet has been doing their thing for as long as they have? Read More...

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Bizzy Bone Becoming The Latest Rap-To-Metal Crossover

Posted 7/23/10 2:30 pm EST by in Music


After years of hits, trials and tribulations, Cleveland's own Bone Thugs-N-Harmony have managed to retain a hardcore following in the hip-hop world. Now it appears as though one of its key players is trying to branch out. Bizzy Bone has signed on to the roster of Sumerian Records, a small Washington, D.C.-based imprint known best for hardcore and post-hardcore bands like Asking Alexandria, Veil of Maya and the Faceless. Bizzy is about to release his latest album Crossroads 2010 (a reference to his group's 1996 smash hit "Tha Crossroads") via the label, and the album is a fusion of rap and rock styles featuring a number of players from the Sumerian roster contributing music. (You can check out samples of the music at Bizzy's official MySpace page.)

Bizzy Bone isn't the first rapper to dip his toe into the world of hard rock and metal. What other hip-hop denizens have made the journey into the world of guitars? Glad you asked!

Run-DMC
Two years before Rev Run, DMC and Jam Master Jay teamed up with the men of Aerosmith for the genre-bending re-creation of "Walk This Way," the trio dropped "Rock Box," which appeared on their 1984 self-titled debut. "Rock Box" not only had a ton of heavy riffage care of Eddie Martinez (who worked with David Lee Roth and Meat Loaf) but was also the first rap video ever played on MTV.

Ice-T
Perhaps the first rapper to ever completely cross over into the metal world, Ice-T made the transition from stone cold pimp to in-your-face power player. "Cop Killer," from Body Count's debut album, remains the blueprint all other rap-rock crossovers followed later.

Beastie Boys
New York's favorite sons have always managed to keep one foot in everybody's old school, be it straight hip-hop or savage hardcore. Read More...

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Beastie Boys' Hello Nasty: An Appreciation

Posted 7/14/10 12:30 pm EST by in Music


On this day in 1998, the Beastie Boys — Ad-Rock, MCA and Mike D — released their watershed album Hello Nasty, which extended the breakthrough success of their previous work and further cemented them as some of the most vital contributors to the hip-hop world in the genre's still-developing history. Also, it's the album that had "Intergalactic" on it, which totally rules. We asked Beastie Boys superfan Rya Backer to weigh in with her thoughts and memories of one of the best albums of 1998.

By Rya Backer

The legend was that when you called Nasty Little Man, the PR firm that represents the Beastie Boys, a secretary would answer with the salutation, "Hello, Nasty." And thus a seminal album by a band that had already had over a decade's worth of hits found a title.

Hello Nasty, which was released 12 years ago today, was the last great album that the greatest band of all time released. Its 22 tracks comprehensively defined the band's realigned ethics ("Song For The Man," Ad-Rock's ode to creeps on the 1 train), new allies in sound ("Three MC's and One DJ"), fresh inspirations ("Dr. Lee, PhD"), open sensitivity ("Instant Death," another Ad-Rock track, this time to his late friend and his mother) and their talent for writing and collaborating on beats, hooks and witty one-liners (every other track).

Hello Nasty also offered up the best viral marketing campaign of its time. The guys had a set of infomercials made teasing the album's release and street vendors citywide poured coffee into blue and white paper cups with an image of the three MCs "packed like sardines in a tin."

The Beastie Boys didn't drop another album until To the Five Boroughs, which came six years later. It was initially critically praised (Rolling Stone granted it the elusive five stars and saw it as the band's return to an all hip-hop album — something they hadn't done since 1994's Ill Communication). But it didn't take long for the album's newness to dull and for fans (or this one, at least) to once again romanticize in how perfect an album Hello Nasty was. And now all we can do is wait until September (maybe?) to see how Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 1 stacks up in comparison.

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