well, yes, that should be mike d d5, look you see, since it is and is not a solo album off of mike d, but one gone done with the collaborative band i am (reliably) led to believe is called d5. moving on from that and the new tape (disc) is called thank you, and yes, it is that mike d, as in the one out of beastie boys.
a reasonable amount of "if" will feature here. further some (alas) unavoidable beastie boys references, though i do hope this does not spark a revival of the tiresome accusations of me "not being a proper fan" of intergalactic no matter what i do.
for those in a rush, yes, the album is quite decent. due to the genre (or style) or what have you it might, oddly, appeal to that "younger generation" i keep hearing of and possibly attract an audience that has absolutely no idea what a beastie boy is.
quite the schrödinger thing here, really, for it is and is not "member of beastie boys does a beastie boys album as a solo thing". sure, the familiar and (this really feels like the wrong word) comfortable sound of the beasties resonates, but this album is no prisoner of the past. difficult to put an exact genre on it, as was the case with the beasties. for the sake of simplicity (or ease) the beasties got called "rap hip hop", but then that was qualified with also "trip hop" (whatever that is), funk and an acknowledgment of them never ever really leaving their rock / punk roots. essentially the beasties put together just whatever they believed to sound really, really f*****g good, and mostly that's what happens here.
had someone handed me this tape (disc) without any knowledge of provenance then it's rather unlikely i would have clocked it was the mike d, and i (likely) would have thought some of it sounds quite class but not for moi as such. yet i am aware of the provenance (hence the purchase) and that's all probably why i have been more receptive of it. make no mistake, the "music free for all" now possible is brilliant, it's class that anyone can make music. but i do yearn for the days of filter, when "cream rose to the top" and you were led to class bands via either aggressive marketing, things like NME giving them coverage or simply mates chatting.
define the sound of the tape (disc)? sure. kind of. best i can do for you it is a hedonistic go at what the future might sound like, if you were in the late 70s / early 80s and imagining what that faraway year of 2000 might have for vibes. lots of smart snare snapes, awesome "ping ping bing wacca wacca" bass that i love so much, cool undefined random sounds and layered with sometimes distorted, occasionally coherent lyrics. actually Secrets Pts I & II is on now, and i really, really did the "bidibop" noises on it man, funky.
low points on the album? not really that much margin for such with a taunt, wise (just) south of 40 minutes play time. i confess (be ready with the "not a proper fan" comments) that a sigh escaped not long after Back To Start (ahem) started, since lyrics referencing the board game monopoly are not exactly a new thing or "cutting edge". decent enough song, mind, but i got distracted by the lack of creativity with the lyrics. such is seriously not the way of the beasties, together or alone i would have thought.
stating the obvious (which i am totes going to do) is to say that i simply don't have enough years left on this planet to play thank you anywhere near as many times i have what i consider the holy trinity of beastie boys records. which are paul's boutique, ill communication and hello nasty. not that there's anything wrong with the other two. the thing is, though, with what time i have left (a bit, i hope, even if some do not), i would imagine (at the least) paul's boutique will get played more frequently than this one. no, it isn't getting discarded by the end of the month like so many new albums of late have had such fate, but still. that said the bouncy bouncy uber funky bass on Make It Stop has just kicked in and, yeah, man, i am really digging this one.
exactly where does this sit in my if not pivotal then certainly irrelevant "album of the year" considerations and deliberations? well, from memory (which is not to be trusted) i think the only "new" tapes (discs) i have picked up this year have been the ho hum Morrissey one, and then two (2) goes at hearing a proper version of the second KillerStar album. so likely quite high, especially as i have no grand ideas of the new Kasabian one being all that groundbreaking. oh, yes, there was the Stones one too.
if you are wishing to seek out the album, here is a link to mike d's official website thing. rather smart it is too, being some sort of 90s web throwback. you may well note (or observe) that a tape (actual) version of thank you is available. normally i would purchase such because "why not", yet here there is a pretty big "why not" at it being priced north of £20.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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