August 12, 2010

August 12th, 2010 : Cause & Effect : Beastie Boys

Tonight's show is a little different than normal for us. Rather than playing the BB's roots, influences, peers, and so on, we thought it would be interesting to spend all two hours showcasing the music they took samples from; talk about the ultimate influence set!

A friend was kind enough to pass along a link to blog that listed every BB release and then every song they pulled samples from to make that release. Sounds like our radio show was practically done for us, right? I was hoping that might be the case but in actuality, to pick out the key songs to feature during our show, you need to know the BB catalog inside out first to know which songs are the most important. This means we spent hours, maybe a total of 20+ between the two of us, listening to all the music (BB + the songs they sampled) and then deciding which songs will make for the best show. Not to mention that just ONE record (Paul's Boutique) has over 150 songs they pulled samples from! I have a new respect for the layering and soundscaping a rap group does to build the music to rap over no less their ability to sculpt a few seconds of a sample into something entirely new and interesting. We picked the first four releases by the Beasties and in turn will be playing them in chronological order along side some of the music they used to shape the sound of that release.

It's been an unbelievable learning experience to put their music under a microscope and I don't know what I am more impressed with, the music or the overall distance these men have traveled since their inception in 1979 as a hardcore band.



With Kate from Luscious Jasckson on drums!



To this:


Post a Comment