I don’t know how long ago Tim loaned me this book. I know it’s been at some point since 2019, when I started writing again, and I was doing a ton of research. Maybe he wanted me to get a perspective I might be missing. Maybe he wanted to give me something to laugh about.
Here’s what I knew about the Beastie Boys when I opened the cover in… April? May? That one song. You know the one. “You gotta fight for your right to parrrrrty…” And that my newphew Daniel loved them. Presumably still does. Daniel and Tim are one year apart in age and happen to be of a generation that I always found smart and creative and off beat and edgy in ways that appeal to me.
I might have heard other songs. Seen some videos. I can’t remember everything.
The book is 571 pages. In all fairness, there are a LOT of photos and a lot of lists with photo credits and an index. Still… it’s a big damn book.
I began reading it with two goals. 1. Do NOT immediately figure out which Beastie Boy is who from the pictures. Let their personalities open themselves up to you by what they write (there are only two of them who are writing it, but they write a lot about the one who died, so there’s plenty of info). 2.Do NOT listen to any of the music they talk about. Not the music they loved or the music they made or the music they sampled. Delay that gratification.
I stepped into this like I was exiting a spaceship on another planet, where I might speak the language, but I didn’t necessarily understand it.
The book turned out to be one of the most engaging and enjoyable things I’ve read in a long time. I can’t believe I finished it despite this month of turmoil (it’s not only blog turmoil, there’s a lot going on in the lives of people I know and love and in my own life). I didn’t read anything else. I didn’t color. I did do one very small painting. I cooked and cleaned and took care of my home and dogs. But mostly in this month, it was FIX BLOG; READ BEASTIE BOYS.
Now that I’ve finished it, I’ll get clear on who’s who (not just the three Beastie Boys, but others who worked with them), and I’ll listen to the music with insights I didn’t have before. I don’t know how Tim knew I would need this or that I’d finally dive into it at the time it was needed most, but that’s the magic of life and friendship. Acceptance voluntary; answers not required.