Beastie Boys: Paul’s Boutique

And to think the assholes at my local record store in LA told me not to buy this thing the day it came out. I stood there with the CD in my hand as they told me about its muddled production, nonsensical lyrics and bizarro track sequencing. I blew them off and never looked back. Thank God, as this turned out to be one of the best albums of all time. Made back in the day when stealing samples of people’s music wasn’t illegal (sorta), this album is so multi-layered and deep in sounds, samples, beats and entertaining lyrics that it makes one’s head spin. I guess I could understand the record shop guys’ confusion over the whole thing, but to not recognize the Dust Brothers production as revolutionary and insane is grounds for being fired. “Car Thief” is probably my favorite cut on the album, but “Hey Ladies” and “Shake Your Rump” were the tracks that got the party going back in the good old days.