Pandemic Playlist: Top 5 Beastie Boys tunes will get you in the mood to party at home during this lockdown
Hey there, friends, we hope you're doing okay! The coronavirus lockdown protocols are still in full swing, so we hope you're staying happy and healthy in the comfort of your homes while observing social distancing. While waiting out this enforced quarantine period, most of us are turning to streaming services like Apple TV+, Netflix and YouTube to keep themselves occupied. And one of the best shows to currently watch, especially if you're a fan of rap music, is the new Beastie Boys documentary that dropped on Apple TV+ today.
Titled 'Beastie Boys Story' and directed by Spike Jonze, this two-hour live documentary takes a look back at the career of one of the most successful platinum-record-selling rap groups of all time. Narrated by Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz and Michael "Mike D" Diamond (the third Beastie Boy Adam Yauch passed away in 2012), this show is playful, informative, nostalgic and downright entertaining. So in honor of this beloved and influential hip-hop outfit, here's our Top 5 Beastie Boys pandemix tracks that are sure to take your mind back to the good old "chilly-chill" days and get you in the mood to paaartaaayyy!
'Hold It Now, Hit It'
Let's kick things off with a classic Beastie Boys jam from 1986, produced by the great Rick Rubin of Def Jam Records. This song was released as the lead single off the Beastie Boys' debut album, 'Licensed to Ill', which went on to sell over 10 million records in the United States, giving it an official Diamond certification. And it's not hard to see why this song is so popular - it's irreverent, cool, and full of pioneering techniques like using 808 beats and innovative voice samples.
'No Sleep Till Brooklyn'
The New York City natives penned this ode to their home turf and released it as the sixth single from their massively-successful 1986 album 'Licensed to Ill'. The song became one of their signature hits and was so popular that they ended up performing this as the closing song at many of their concerts. The track talks about the exhausting struggles of life on the road, but the band defiantly refuses to relax and hit snooze until they reach their home base, Brooklyn.
'(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)'
Another jolly single off their immensely-popular 1986 classic, 'Licensed to Ill', this track was so influential that it earned an entry into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. Although originally intended as a parody of "wooohooo" party people and "chug that keg, bruhh" frat-boy attitudes, the very same people that the song lampoons ended up adopting the song as their unofficial party anthem in the late 1980s. House parties have never been the same since then, with this song in constant rotation.
'Sabotage'
This scintillating 1994 classic is probably the hardest-hitting and best-sounding song in the Beastie Boys' catalog. It's a perfect blend of funky rap and blazing rock, and the memorable music video, featuring the band members as actors on a police procedural show, was directed by none other than Spike Jonze. And with all this recent talk about the "plannedemic" going on, this song makes more than perfect sense. "I can't stand it / I know you planned it / I'm-a set it straight / This Watergate."
'Bodhisattva Vow'
Although this track from 1994's 'Ill Communication' may not have been as commercially successful as their other fun-loving rap anthems, this song heralded a growing maturity in the Beastie Boys' songwriting approach. Adam Yauch's Buddhist leanings helped inform the wisdom and sincerity of this track, and it's probably one of the best Beastie Boys songs to help us take stock of our current global pandemic situation. "I give thanks for this world as a place to learn / And for this human body that I know I've earned / Seeing others are as important as myself / I strive for a happiness of mental wealth / With the interconnectedness that we share as one / Every action that we take affects everyone."
Pandemic Playlist is a daily list of songs that will keep you entertained instead of feeling drained while you're isolated at home. Look out for a fresh selection of great tunes from MEAWW to refresh your mood every day!