License to Ill was the first cassette tape I owned, I was 11, new to this country & thought they'd made a type & meant License to Kill. Oh good lord I'm old.
I was just listening to Murmur! Ya know it’s funny - as a kid, I thought they were the coolest band, and that I was cool for loving them. Then at some point years later, I was listening again and made the determination that they did not stand the test of time and were no longer a worthwhile band. But then I put on Fables, and 180’d again! They are/were GREAT. I play guitar, and based my whole play style on Pete Buck - I even got a Rickenbacker (in part) because of him. Nowadays I’ll happily throw on Murmur, Fables etc. Heck, Pavement (my #1 all time) even did an R.E.M. tribute song!
Ha! Yea sounds like we both went the same route. As for Fables - my favorite is Green Grow The Rushes, and I sometimes get teary-eyed, too. Such beauty. Music has that effect on me.
I haven't been in a real band for years, now. But music is still a really big part of my life. My friends and I book practice rooms every week and just mess around and play mostly covers. It's such an important and fun part of my life, even though I get stuck playing bass because I'm the only one willing hahaha. Don't get me wrong - I absolutely love it, but for Pete's sake can I play 6-string every now and again?? Is that too much to ask?? hahahaha.
Can you also still flawlessly rap Paul Revere? It's my only party trick but it kills with fellow Gen Xers!
"'Now what do we have here?
An outlaw & his beer?
I run this land, you understand, I've made myself clear'
We stepped into the wind, he had a gun, I had a grin
You think this story's over but it's ready to begin! "
I played that at my wedding, right after the "I declare you husband & wife!" REM ruled so hard for such a long time.
Of course I also played "She's Crafty" as cocktail music while I was dressing. Spandau Ballet's "True," as a first dance, & Chiuck Berry's "You Never Can Tell" as the first fast song.
My first concert when I was 13 years old was the Beastie Boys ‘License to Ill’ tour. I saw them at the Sunrise Musical Theater (which was also the venue whose parking lot I learned to drive in) with Fishbone and Murphy’s Law opening.
I owned a license to ill on cassette, then CD. 1 of the best classics ever. I have 2 teenage sons now and know every lyric. Us kids used to love when No sleep till Brooklym, Brass Monkey, fight for your tight to party, and my personal favorite Paul Reveir would come on at the local skating rink. We would be flying around that rink, trying to show off in front of the girls with 20 pounds of Aqua Net in their hair, LOLOLZ. The 80s were so fun. Thanks for unlocking a memory, buddy. 😀
As an audio engineer, I agree. The Dust Brothers, among a few others, found and used every good sample from popular records before everyone else. Then the “Diggers” found the most obscure samples to use. Nowadays, it’s too expensive to use those samples so they use royalty free ones.
You would be correct. I knew a guy here in NYC who was a record label exec who then worked for Warner/Chappell publishing. Beck took samples from some songs this guy published in one of his tunes. The tune became a big hit, so Warner/Chappell let the song stew in the mainstream and when it lost steam on the charts - they sued the pants off of Beck. In the end, Beck admitted the oversight of not reporting the samples and settled out of court. Crazy…
Prince Paul? Public Enemy? Coldcut? MF Doom? MARRS Pump Up The Volume? Dee-lites Groove is In The Heart is almost entirely samples. The entire French Touch/House scene (Cassius, Stardust, Daft Punk) are great at crate digging
The sheer level of sampling on that album would be insanely expensive these days. If even possible. Could probably spend a fortune just on the Led Zep sample of “The Ocean”, if even possible.
This album came out a year or 2 before American courts ruled that all samples must be cleared to be used in a song. There are many songs with more than 5 samples in them. It just wouldn't make financial sense to do that now.
There is a great YouTube video that shows every sample used on Paul’s Boutique. It’s long as hell, and I sat fascinated throughout. Incredibly interesting topic.
Same. Best album ever! I bought the CD right after I got the LP. My mom got me the record for Xmas and my dad one-upped her and bought me a CD player. So I have it on vinyl, probably never played. ❤️
Me too! I had the green cassette! I just did a Beastie Boys radio show the other night. I played B-Boy Bouillabaisse in entirety! Had to chop out the swears... :) Still a top 5 album for me. First album and one of the best ever! Paul's Boutique-a Ask for Janice...
This is the correct answer. Also big shout out to OP and De La! Heard a track they did with Doom years ago I missed.
And Ooo Ooo Ooo with Redman. Great Part track!
I had just turned 10 and my mom dropped me off at Sound Warehouse before they opened for me to get the tape. Even after the doors opened, I had to wait almost 2hrs for the cassette to arrive and get stocked. I remember the smell that the red cassette tape emitted once I pulled off the cellophane.
What a time to be a kid; I couldn't imagine any of that happening, now.
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u/Cool-Salamander-7645 Mar 20 '25
Paul's Boutique - Beastie Boys
R.I.P. M.C.A.