In case you were busy having a life and didn’t see this last night: the remaining members of the Beastie Boys, Mike D and Ad-Rock, are currently working on a memoir about their “history and aesthetic,” which should be published in 2015 under Random House’s Spiegel & Grau imprint. This is exciting, yet bittersweet news for Beastie Boys fans, and a must-read for anyone who loves music.
But what will they write about? That remains to be seen, but we have some ideas.
1. The exact moment they decided to switch from being a punk rock group to a rap trio, and what they think of other, lesser punk rappers who have followed in their footsteps.
2. The Beastie Boys toured with and opened for the likes of Madonna, Bad Brains, the Misfits, and the Dead Kennedys before they became the BEASTIE BOYS. Reading what they learned from those acts — and all the backstage shenanigans they presumably participated in — would be an intriguing look at what great musicians learn from other equally important artists. Plus, again, all the drunken mischievousness. Looking at you, Jello Biafra.
3. “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)” isn’t one of the group’s best songs, not even close, and yet, it’s the one they’ll forever be remembered for. It’s always interesting when musicians discuss their most well-known song — are they sick of it, like Counting Crows and “Mr. Jones,” or have they embraced it, like Billy Joel and “Piano Man”? — and I’d be curious to read which side the Beastie Boys fall on.
4. After MCA passed away last year, Mike D told Rolling Stone, “I can see making music [with Ad-Rock]. I don’t know about a band format. But Yauch would genuinely want us to try whatever crazy thing we wanted but never got around to.” Would the new music be under the Beastie Boys name? What was it like working on material with MCA? Would they ditch rap altogether? These pages and chapters would be tough to get through.
5. “Sabotage.” Just write about “Sabotage” for hundreds of pages.
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