I'm from the Classic Rock generation, and I never cared much for rap. But my wife bought me the new Beastie Boys cd, To The Five Boroughs, for my birthday last week and I'm completely blown away.
I'm not the only one. The cd reached #1 in both Billboard's Top 100 Album and Top 100 Rap/Hip-Hop Album Charts last week (it currently resides at #3 on both charts) and it is now #8 on the Top Pop Album chart and #3 in Internet Sales.
What captivates me about the Boys' latest effort is not just the butt-driving rhythms and their unstoppable sense of humor, but also their politics (which is why I mention it here).
Here's a sampling of some lyrics:
From Right Right Now Now
Columbine bowling,
childhood stolen,
we need a little more gun controlling...
I'm getting kind of tired
of the situation,
The U. S. attacking other nations,
and narration,
on every station.
False elations
got me losing my patience.
From Time to Build
Stop building SUVs strung out on OPEC.
We got a president we didn't elect (but he does look hot in a flight suit).
The Kyoto Treaty he decided to neglect,
and still the U. S. just wants to flex.
So step up to the window and place your bets.
Is the U. S. gonna keep breaking necks?
Maybe it's time that we impeach Tex
and the military muscle that he wants to flex.
By the time Bush is done, what will be left?
Selling votes like E-pills at the discotheque.
Environmental destruction and the national debt.
But plenty of dollars left in the fat war chest.
From Who Got The
Never again should we use the A-bomb.
We need an international ban on.
All W. O. M. D.s gone.
We need a multilateral disarm.
This is the music your kids are listening too, it's a good thing.