How the Beastie Boys Changed My Life (My MCA Tribute in 6 sentences)


“If you can feel what I feel than it’s a musical masterpiece" – MCA (Adam Yauch) on “Pass the Mic” 

When Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys died a few weeks ago it hit me hard, harder than I would have expected.  So I have been thinking a lot about why, and what it really boils down to is that the Beastie Boys helped define my musical taste and my personality in way that was encapsulated by the album “Check Your Head,” one of my four or five favorite albums of all time.  Check Your Head was a distinct evolution from earlier pieces that were very sampling/party anthem based and stuck almost exclusive within the hip hop genre. 

With Check Your Head the Beastie Boys stretched themselves.  They did something almost unheard of at the time by playing their own instruments and winding through a bunch of genres to create an album that showed off their own diverse interests and helped create mine – hard hitting rock, jazz/funk, and more all weaved together with both humor and intensity.  In short, Check Your Head showcased everything you needed to know about the Beasties and 20 years later, most of what you need to know about me.
  • Loud and aggressive at times, but not angry
  • Self taught and eager to show it
  • Employ a mix of styles and skills
  • Not willing to be defined by one thing
  • Very happy to sit back in a groove and let it wash over
  • Enjoy change and able to adapt over time






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is market research recession proof?

Bob Skolnick , North American CEO of Synovate seems to think so in this month's Marketing News... This heightened need to understand competitors and consumers may well prove a boon to the market research industry, despite the struggles of the economy at large. Bob Skolnick , North American CEO of Chicago-based market research firm Synovate , predicts "was abobe average growth" in the overall demand for data. Because of the demand for data, Skolnick notes, Synovate has been under greater pressure to yield applicable results. "Client companies need to see smart research done to make sure they are satisfying their best customers and developing new business where they can," he says. "The market research business, while not recession-proof, is much less susceptible to budgets being cut."
Keep reading

2009 Market Research Predictions, Forrester Style

Forrester's 2009 Market Research Predictions are out and if you're not a subscriber, you can at least read the executive summary here... One prediction of note: "Traditional qualitative research will see erosion as market research online communities (MROCs) and fusions of quantitative and qualitative research from firms such as Invoke Solutions gain steam. In short, everyone will be looking for ways to gain insights to succeed in a troubling market in as cost-effective a manner as possible. This means that newer research modes will gain traction and grab more share of stable or declining market research budgets — even among research buyers who have been more traditional in the past."
Keep reading

McCafe? Its Not Possible

Image
Over the weekend I noticed and more and more McCafe's popping up within my local McDonald's and am curious (cough, skeptical, cough) whether or not this can possibly work. Starbucks has done such a good job over the last few years of teaching the public that a latte requires the love and care that only Starbucks' Baristas or local coffee houses can provide in making a high end coffee that I barely trust Dunkin Donuts to make a latte correctly (and I love Dunkin in a not so healthy way!). What I certainly don't trust is that the 14 year olds who currently make a breakfast sandwich an iffy proposition care enough to even attempt to make my drink correctly. Maybe I have become a coffee snob, but I see the McCafe winding up in a room somewhere with salad McShakers and McPizzas.
Keep reading