10 -I he Michigan Daily - Monday, July 20 1998

Beasties
back with
Hello' .


Steve Gertz
Daily Arts Writer
Sucker MCs beware: The Beastie
Boys latest efibrt. -Hello Nasty," is
bound4o monopolize the speakers of
hipsters stereos worldwide for the
remainder of the summer.
After a lengthy four-year hiatus,
the beastly three, rappers and stylistic
auteurs Mike D (Michael Diamond),
M.C.A. (Adam Yauch) and Ad Rock
(Adam Horovitz), have finally
released their first full-length LP
since the greatly ambitious and
rewarding "Ill Communication," a
perfect show-
case of the
Beasties' innov-
ative and genre-
w a rp ing The
metal/rap-fusion Beastie
- a style intro-
duced by their Boys
1986 break- Hello Nasty
t hr o ug h***
"Licensed to Dot Recras
Ill."
Artists such
as Beck and
Cornershop have since borrowed
heavily from the Beasties' trademark
collage of old-schsool hip hop, '70s
funk, hard-core 1nd general weird-
ness. and ire"ccc1e_ to elaborate
expansrreh spoi it Soit appeared
that tba Ieatics it ould have a formti-

H.O-R.D.E.
Continued from Page 9
small stage or possibly check out some
of the many vendors selling pipes and
hemp attire, Ben Harper and Ihe
Innocent Criminals took the stage.
Harper and his unique slide-guitar
playing technique had the members of
the audience out of their seats and
dancing to such tunes as -Ground on
Down" and "You Look I ike Gold.- By
the end of I larper's set, the suorn-out
audience seas mostly seated and relax-
ing in the extreme heat.
Then it sitime for Blues Traseler,
H O RD I s creator, to liven up the
shos Up to this point 1.0 R D 
Festival had been good. but, compared
to earlier years, still a few strokes short
of par. Because It R 11'D 1 estival is
Blues Traveler's babv. i aii one could
make this show an unforgettable expe-
rience it was John Popper and his band.
Blues Traveler opened with
"Carolina Blues," a bluest tune off its
latest release, "Straight on till
Moming" As soon as Chan, the lead
guitarist, began to play the first several
chords of "But Any way," screams
could be heard throughout Pine Knob.
All the audieice members took to their
feet and sengin smn g along. Blues
Traeler had'iome reads to play.Chan

began toting the lit cigarette from his
mouth as Popper waved a pirate sword
wildly. Blues Traveler was now playing
as everyone knew they could.
"This is a new song. It's the first time
we're playing it anywhere in the
Midwest." said Popper as they began
"Decision of the Sky." Then the band
Ynoved directly into "100 Years." Popper
chimed in on the Blues Traveler tune at
lead guitar and vocals. It was a nice
change to see the multi-talented Popper
sswitchlit hetween harrronica and guitar1
Thus far the crowd response had been
steadily rising with each chord being
blsted out of the speakers. Yet the
response' that camne when Blues Traveler
coiered the Steve Miller classic. -The
Joker was unprecedented. After bust-
ing into some amazing guitar and har-
monica duos, Blues lTraveler thanked
the audiencee tor corming out and called it
quits, making way for BNL,.
Although theishow started out as
nothing spectacular, it ended as an awe-
inspiring experience. Alina Davis, Ben
Harper, and Blues Traveler are all
amazing musicians who put on won-
derful shows, but none could compare
to the energs BNL displayed.
II ..D) E Festival was an amazing
combination of musical talents and
styles, nmade great by an unprecedented
FAif"-Pd I --dU r"rj'- nc

Cour tesy of Capitol Records
The long wait for a new Beastie Boys album has turned out to be well worth it. Ad-
Rock, Mike B and MCA jam as well as ever on "Hello Nasty"

dable challenge to keep up with their
younger heirs.
But as "Hello Nasty" has made
strikingly evident, the Beasties are still
the star players in the game.
Stretching across a lengthy 60 min-
utes and 22 songs, "Hello Nasty" is as
artistically diverse as albums come. The
Beasties have transcended the organic,
punkish rap sound characteristic of the
bulk of their '90s output with an album
that simultaneously nods heavily to
their 1989 sample-crazy "Paul's
Boutique" and treads new sonic territo-
ry.
Song stmeture? What's that? The
Beasties allow their druggy funkathon
to string track to track in hqiiedous free-
flowing orm. turning "I 1db Nast'
into one gigantie boots mn-ing jana-
borce.
Opening track "SuperI )lsco
Breakin kicks things off it li
blend of outer-space computer bleeps
and circa-Run DMC rhye etrades.

"The Move" follows with a repetitive
bass lull that somehow turns into a
Bach-esque harpsichord melody.
Latin sounds and Salsa beats sur-
face and resurface here and there in the
mix, as do early-'80s new new-wave
computer sounds. The single
"Intergalactic" builds on a pulsating
robotic vocal line.
1ello Nasty" also boasts the tal-
ents of guests as diverse as reggae-
legend tLee "Scratch" Perry, Ness
York-super I).. Miimaster Mike,
folk siren Beth Orton and liz Markie,
all of ihom are given free reign on
several tracks.
Of course.,all of "hello Nist 'is
strung together weith the Ieasties'
signature half-itellectual, 1alf-
smartass lyrics. Songs like Sneikiii
Out of the i l%.spiiJl' and the
Sugarhil GaTliI-bsed 'The
( Ira',sspleper Unit' prove that the
Iieties' biting sense of humor lhas
not beeen lost il lthe shuttle.
Altogether, the cumulati e whole
of "-ello Nasty" is much more than
the sum of its drastically diverse
parts. This hugely creatiie and inno-
vatie wonder of an album makes a
perfect addition to the Beastie Boys'
already wonderful catalog and pre-
serves their position as some of the
most imaginative artists of the past
two decades.
0


rj ,iiaii e.rsja go's-
NNUALCHAPGF FOR
f sa
~'J~y ~Nees",,,a

0
Sonya Beth
Kleerekoper
o 0
July 14, 1998
rU '1

ADRIANA YUGOVIH/Daily
John Popper, the lead singer of Blues Traveler and creator of H.O.R.D.E., jams with
his dark sunglasses and harmonica.
-- - 0- ARTISTS
Continued from Page 16
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