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Released in 1986 on Licensed to Ill, this song helped make the Beastie Boys–it’s the tale of how they got acquainted. The title is a little misleading, as it has nothing to do with the American figure, Paul Revere; that’s just the name of Adrock’s horse, a reference to the song “Fugue for Tinhorns,“ the opening number of Guys and Dolls:
I got the horse right here
The name is Paul Revere
And here’s a guy that says if the weather’s clear
Can do, can do, this guy says the horse can do
Reportedly, the inspiration for this song came when the Beastie Boys were waiting outside a recording studio for Run-DMC, and Joseph Simmons, aka Run, came booking down the street, screaming incoherently. When he reached the Beastie Boys, he said, “Here’s a little story I got to tell…” And from there, the two groups collaborated on the lyrics.
It’s produced by Rick Rubin, and is remarkable for the 808 drumbeat played in reverse.
“That backwards 808? If I think right, it was actually Joe, Run, from Run-DMC. It was his idea to flip the tape up. He was there, like, ‘Hey, y'all should flip the tape around so that shit’s backwards.’ Either that, or we had it on backwards and he heard it, he bugged out, and that’s when he said, ‘Y'all have to do a story rhyme over the shit.’ And he came in started writing the shit with us.” –Michael Diamond, 1995
The track was co-produced by Beastie Boys, engineered by Steve Ett, and mastered by Howie Weinberg. Beastiemania reports that “Paul Revere” has been performed in 105 known concerts.
1st Known Performance: 12.26.1986 — Ritz, The, New York, US
Last Known Performance: 6.12.2009 — Great Stage Park, Manchester, TN, US
Check Jay-Z’s rendition of “No Sleep till Brooklyn” at the All Points West music festival, Jersey City, NJ in Summer 2009.
And Here’s The Roots from Picnic 2012
RG would like to give props to Sweet Juniper!…
…the creators of A Horse Named Paul Revere — illustrated for all the little Beastie girls and boys out there.
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Track 8 on Paul’s Boutique finds the Beasties on the prowl for female companionship. This classic number is helped along by a Japanese baseball player, scores of sitcom stars, a brooding Vincent van Gogh, and some encouraging words from James Brown.
source: Beastiemania
Samples include:
- “Party Time“ by Kurtis Blow, from the album, The Best Rapper on the Scene (1983)
- “Ain’t It Funky Now“ by James Brown
- “Breakdance – Electric Boogie“ by West Street Mob
- “Foxy Lady“ by The Jimi Hendrix Experience, from the album, Are You Experienced (1967)
- “The Ballroom Blitz“ by Sweet, from the album, Desolation Boulevard (1974)
- “Machine Gun“ by the Commodores, from the album, Machine Gun (1974)
- “Shake Your Pants“ by Cameo, from the album, Cameoisis (1980)
- “Holy Ghost“ by the Bar-Kays, from the album, Money Talks (1978)
- “Jazzy Sensation“ by Afrika Bambaataa and the Jazzy Five, from the single, "Jazzy Sensation” (1981)
- “Funky President (People It’s Bad)“ by James Brown, from the album, Reality (1974)
- “Jungle Boogie“ by Kool & the Gang, from the album, Wild and Peaceful (1973)
- “So Ruff, So Tuff“ by Zapp & Roger, from the album, All the Greatest Hits by Zapp & Roger
- “Dance Floor“ by Zapp, from the album, Zapp II (1990)
- “Come Let Me Love You“ by Jeanette "Lady” Day, from the single, “Come Let Me Love You” (1981)
- “Change the Beat“ by Fab 5 Freddy, from the single, "Change the Beat” (1982)
- “Pumpin' It Up“ by P-Funk All Stars, from the single, "Pumpin' It Up/Pumpin' It Up (Special Club Mix)” (1983)
- “War” by Edwin Starr, from the album, War and Peace (1970)
Beastie Boys & Dust Brothers share writing and production credits. Engineered by Mario Caldato, Jr. and assisted by Allen Abrahamson, “Hey Ladies” was recorded at Mario G’s and mixed at Record Plant. It was the album’s sole charting single, peaking at #36 on the Billboard Hot 100. PB was released 7.25.1989 on Capitol Records.
Ok, this is rap genius, but there’s all kinds of non-rap shit on here, so sit back and enjoy a tight acoustic cover of “Hey Ladies” from What’s That Noise…
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What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
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This is the fourth single — and Track 7 — from Beastie Boys' debut full-length album, Licensed To Ill. The record was released on 6.6.1986 by Def Jam Recordings, a division of CBS/Columbia Records, but the single did not drop until 2.22.1987.
source: musicalos80
The song was co-written by Beastie Boys, Rick Rubin, and Tom Cushman. It was engineered by Steve Ett, and mastered by Howie Weinberg. “Fight for Your Right” was a massive crossover hit for the Boys, thanks in part to Mr. Rubin getting Slayer’s Kerry King to play guitar on the track. Its adorably goofy video, co-directed by Ric Menello (RIP) and Adam Dubin, received massive airplay on MTV. The majority of the “actors” appearing in the video were friends of the band, many of whom are identified below…
- The song was written as a satirical, sarcastic jab at “party anthems”. The group indulged in this image with their tongues firmly in their cheeks, but to their disappointment, the joke was lost on the masses. “Fight for Your Right” became a frat house battle cry and the Beastie Boys became synonymous with the lifestyle they were parodying…
Fight For Your Right was performed in 17 known concerts.
- 1st Known Performance: 12.26.1986 — The Ritz, New York, US
- Last Known Performance: 8.20.1987 — Madison Square Garden, New York, NY, US
source: 45cat
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Reference to Dr. Benjamin McLane Spock, (5.2.1903 – 3.15.1998). A world-famous American pediatrician, Spock broke new ground by integrating psychoanalysis in his understanding children’s needs and family dynamics. His message validated common sense instincts, assuring young mothers: “You know more than you think you do.” Spock railed against the application of behaviorist constructs in early child-rearing…
In 1928, the father of behaviorism, John Watson, published Psychological Care of Infant and Child, which propagated Watson’s beliefs that children should be treated as young adults. With a premise that love, like everything else, is conditioned, Watson advocated a “businesslike and casual relationship between a mother and her child”:
Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I’ll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select – doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and, yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors. –Watson, J. B. (1930). Behaviorism [p.32]
Watson’s theories were overly-derivative of his (controversial) Little Albert study, but his writings in popular magazines had scared the public about “the inevitable dangers of a mother providing too much love and affection.” Watson argued for teaching babies to sleep and eat on a “regular schedule.” He warned that picking up & holding an upset infant would only reinforce crying behavior. Watson even cautioned against allowing an infant sit on a parent’s lap. Parents, according to Watson, needed to instill in their babies the self-reliance required to cope with a harsh world…
The importance of behaviorism in areas unrelated to raising infants notwithstanding, Dr. Benjamin Spock said THIS IS TOTAL BUNK. Spock was committed to helping parents accept and value the child as a unique individual, dismissing one-size-fits-all philosophies as absurd. His ideas about raising children have guided generations of parents to be more affectionate and flexible with their little ones. In fact, Spock’s conclusions laid groundwork for John Bowlby’s attachment theory. Dovetailed with research from overlapping fields (e.g., deprivation and imprinting), by the late 1950s, the scientific community was beginning to recognize how interrelated human infants and baby monkeys really are: “programmed for soft, cuddly touch. Cooing, smiling, crying, clinging, following – all were understood to be a baby’s innate ways of keeping parents close…”
Of the four books Dr. Spock wrote on childcare, Baby and Child Care (1946) has been translated into 39 languages and sold more than 50 million copies. Quite the renaissance man, in 1924, Spock won an Olympic gold medal in rowing while attending Yale University. Beyond his pediatric work, Spock was an activist in the Anti-Vietnam War movement in the 1960s & early 1970s. No question: Dr. Spock was definitely here to rock, and it makes sense that Adrock was a big fan…
Contrary to popular belief, this is NOT a reference to the character of Star Trek Vulcan, Mr. Spock…
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZCaCk2rzeo From the 1990 French thriller, La Femme Nikita, Victor (played by Jean Reno) is a ‘cleaner’ – he salvages top-secret espionage missions by disposing of bodies with chemicals. In the 1993 American remake, Point Of No Return, Victor is played by Harvey Keitel, who reenacted a similar role the following year as The Wolf in Pulp Fiction.
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A “soapbox” is a raised platform used to deliver a political speech–so called for the original practice of speakers elevating themselves by standing on an actual box used to ship soap.
Here’s Mike D, interviewed by David Fricke for the
May 23, 2012 issue of Rolling Stone, discussing MCA’s use of the soapbox:
RS: Did his personality change after he became a Buddhist?
Mike D: He abandoned the band for months in the winter to go snowboarding, on this very serious level. Then it wasn’t snowboarding. He would disappear for two months of teaching by his Holiness the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala. He gradually incorporated that into the music. He was the first to realize we had this soapbox, and we needed to do something with it.
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What is this?
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Eddie Harris was a legendary jazz musician who famously invented the “electric sax,” an electrically amplified saxophone.
source: Mic to Mic
One of Harris' most famous records is the cleverly titled “Plug Me In,” released in 1968. The jazz recording evokes the feeling of being wired for sound, while conducting electricity, buzz or current. Adrock’s microphone line is plugged in and he’s feeding off the inspiration from Harris.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewPUQKnQzVg
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“So What'cha Want” is track #7 and the second single from Beastie Boys' album Check Your Head. It was recorded and mixed at G-Son Studios, Atwater Village, CA, Co-produced by Beastie Boys & Mario C with Mario C acting as engineer. After sequencing at PCP Labs, it was released on 6.2.1992.
Samples include:
- “I’ve Been Watching You“ by Southside Movement from their self-titled debut album (1973)
- “Just Rhymin' with Biz“ by Big Daddy Kane from the album Long Live the Kane (1988)
Beastiemania reports that “So What'cha Want” has been performed in 281 known Concerts.
- 1st known Performance: 5.17.1992 — Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, US
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FnjCb8R9aI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NtlRU_xSKZI#t=197s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQD2gwmq8Mk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGVeUPdjSac
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HSoonXZIGAE - Last known Performance: 6.12.2009 — Great Stage Park, Manchester, TN, US
A potpourri of “officially released” remixes includes:
- “So What'cha Want (All the Way Live Freestyle Version)”
- “So What'cha Want (Butt Naked Version)”
- and the RG Favorite, “Soul Assassin Remix” by DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill. B-Real’s verse appears at left…
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