yep. i was just listening to it on the treadmill today. musically, it still slaps. and daniel is right — “The New Style” is without question the best track on the record.
Being a teenager when this came out made it one of the most exciting albums I've ever listened too. I had this, Tougher than Leather by Run DMC and Knowledge is King by Kool Moe Dee rotating in my cheap walkman biking to high school.
Don't bike while wearing headphones, kids. (But it's super fun)
Also a rare instance of a label meddling to positive effect (the boys originally wanted to name this album something that would have aged impossibly badly but Columbia (I think) made them change it)
I'm partial to Paul Revere, but I think everyone can agree the biggest hit from the album, Fight for Your Right, was fun to play at parties but is the least interesting song on the album.
Sir, I must respectfully disagree.
Hold It Now, Hit It is the best song on the album
Pistol packin', Monkey drinkin', no money bum
I come from Brooklyn 'cause that's where I'm from
To this day I can still recite/rap Paul Revere without the song playing. One of only two songs that I can say that about, the other being "Freaks Come Out at Night" by Whodini
Man it was fun listening to them evolve through this into their later stuff like Paul’s Boutique. The sexism is a bummer but FWIW they really did try to make amends, and did so as far back as the early 90s when they started apologizing for it
It's not my favorite Beasties record... or their best...
But goddamn if it isn't the most important to me. Without that album, I may have skipped Hip Hop entirely. At the very least, I wouldn't have gotten into it for another 5 years.
Saying an album, TV show, movie…etc. didn’t age well is so weird. We don’t say The Mona Lisa didn’t age well because 16th century fashion was so 400 years ago. It’s all art, and reflects the time it was created. Appreciate it and acknowledge the evolution of thought over the past 40 years.
