To The 5 Boroughs and Beyond

To The 5 Boroughs and Beyond
by Martell

After six long years, the Beastie Boys have finally unleashed a new album upon the world. Or maybe they just unleashed it upon New York. At first listen, it's hard to tell. Starting with the cover art and album title--To The 5 Boroughs--and continuing through songs like "Oh Word?" and "An Open Letter To NYC," references to the Big Apple are at the forefront of the recording. In fact, the only thing more omnipresent than references to New York City are references to food, which is exactly what one would expect from this trio.

Rapping about New York City and food are nothing new for the Beastie Boys. Based on what they're eating, though, it appears our fun-loving fellows are starting to grow up. No longer is White Castle the preferred cuisine; now, they get their breakfast from Bagel Bob's and pick up some gorgonzola at Murray's Cheese Shop. Based on this maturation curve, I fully expect to hear raps about Gramercy Tavern, Craft and Union Square Cafe within their next couple of albums. Or at least Patsy's. (On a side note, if you don't have a good cheese shop in your neighborhood, you could do worse than to shop at www.murrayscheese.com.)

But it's not just the Beasties' collective palate that we see maturing on TT5B; their political and social awareness seems to be developing as well. While the Beastie Boys (especially MCA) have been politically active since the mid-90's, they've never really turned their focus to domestic affairs. Perhaps this is the natural outgrowth of living in NYC during and after 9/11. Perhaps it's a reflection of the public's rising dissatisfaction with President Bush. Or perhaps it's simply the nature of aging. Whatever the reason, this is the first Beastie Boys album to have a strong political message, and the message comes through loud and clear.

"Maybe it's time that we impeach Tex/and the military muscle that he wants to flex." "We've got a president we didn't elect/The Kyoto Treaty he decided to neglect." "'Cause George W's got nothing on we/We got to take the power from he." And on and on. "We can work, walk, march and protest/Think about how we approach this/Ask questions but they keep frontin'/Due time we change a little something." And on and on some more. "We need a little shift on over towards the left/I don't really know but I suspect/I think it's due time that we inspect/How they get their information and their facts are checked." Like I said, the message is loud and clear--maybe even louder and clearer than it needs to be. Or maybe not. Maybe that's what it takes to reach the youth of America and to heighten their awareness of political affairs. If so, I'm all for it.

Musically, I think TT5B ranks right up there as one of the Beastie Boys' best albums. It probably won't displace Paul's Boutique as the favorite of the critics, and I doubt it will be a bigger commercial success than Licensed To Ill, but overall it's a solid collection of songs. The Beasties do less experimentation on this album, instead choosing to focus on what they do best--creating catchy beats, mixing in old-school punk and hip-hop samples, and tying it all together with their unique brand of vocals. None of the songs may be smash hits, but as many as six or seven are good enough to get radio play. Beyond that, though, the album works well as a unit. There are vocal clips between many of the songs that serve to carry the listener from one track to the next, giving TT5B a nice flow to it. It's not just easy to listen to the entire recording in one sitting; it almost seems wrong to stop in the middle.

In the end, listening to the new Beastie Boys album is like eavesdropping on a conversation among close friends. The political views lack any sort of balanced view or political correctness, and the songs are peppered with unabashed silliness and inside jokes that go unexplained. Hard-core Beastie Boys fans will "get it" more than the masses will, and I imagine that right-wing listeners probably will dislike the album and left-wingers will probably enjoy it. No surprises there. But from an apolitical-yet-socially-conscious perspective, I'm not particularly concerned with what axe they have to grind; I'm just happy to see that the Beastie Boys finally have a cause they are musically willing to fight for. That is, aside from their right to party.

Martell can be reached at martell@babblog.com.