
Beastie Boys Book
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Narrated by:
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Michael Diamond
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Adam Horovitz
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various
Number One New York Times Best Seller
A panoramic experience that tells the story of Beastie Boys, a book as unique as the band itself - by band members ADROCK and Mike D, with contributions from Amy Poehler, Colson Whitehead, Wes Anderson, Luc Sante, and more.
The inspiration for the Spike Jonze "live documentary" Beastie Boys Story, coming soon to IMAX theaters and Apple TV+
Named One of The Best Books of the Year by Rolling Stone • The Guardian • Paste
Formed as a New York City hardcore band in 1981, Beastie Boys struck an unlikely path to global hip hop superstardom. Here is their story, told for the first time in the words of the band. Adam "ADROCK" Horovitz and Michael "Mike D" Diamond offer revealing and very funny accounts of their transition from teenage punks to budding rappers; their early collaboration with Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin; the debut album that became the first hip hop record ever to hit number one, Licensed to Ill - and the album's messy fallout as the band broke with Def Jam; their move to Los Angeles and rebirth with the genre-defying masterpiece Paul's Boutique; their evolution as musicians and social activists over the course of the classic albums Check Your Head, Ill Communication, and Hello Nasty and the Tibetan Freedom Concert benefits conceived by the late Adam "MCA" Yauch; and more. For more than 30 years, this band has had an inescapable and indelible influence on popular culture.
With a style as distinctive and eclectic as a Beastie Boys album, Beastie Boys Book upends the typical music memoir, featuring a collection of voices reminiscent of your favorite mixtape.
Photo Credit © 1987 Lynn Goldsmith
Audiobook Cast Includes:
Steve Buscemi / Ada Calhoun / Bobby Cannavale / Exene Cervenka Roy Choi / Jarvis Cocker / Elvis Costello / Chuck D / Nadia Dajani Michael Diamond / Snoop Dogg / Will Ferrell / Crosby Fitzgerald Randy Gardner / Kim Gordon / Josh Hamilton / Adam Horovitz LL Cool J / Spike Jonze / Pat Kiernan / Talib Kweli / Dave Macklovitch Rachel Maddow / Tim Meadows / Bette Midler/ Mix Master Mike Nas / Yoshimi O / Rosie Perez / Amy Poehler / Kelly Reichardt John C. Reilly / Ian Rogers / Maya Rudolph / Rev Run Luc Sante / Kate Schellenbach / MC Serch / Chloe Sevigny Jon Stewart / Ben Stiller / Wanda Sykes / Jeff Tweedy / Philippe Zdar
Praise for Beastie Boys Book
"A fascinating, generous book with portraits and detail that float by in bursts of color.... As with [the band’s] records, the book's structure is a lyrical three-man weave.... Diamond's voice is lapidary, droll. Horovitz comes on like a borscht belt comedian, but beneath that he is urgent, incredulous, kind of vulnerable.... Friendship is the book's subject as much as music, fame and New York." (The New York Times Book Review)
"Wild, moving...resembles a Beastie Boys LP in its wild variety of styles." (Rolling Stone)
©2018 Michael Diamond (P)2018 Random House AudioListen in as Ad-Rock and Mike D talk to Audible editors Courtney Reimer and Kat Johnson about how so many great celebrity voices help make the Beastie Boys Book audio pretty fantastic.
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Beastie Boys Book
- By: Michael Diamond, Adam Horovitz
- Narrated by: Michael Diamond, Adam Horovitz, various
- Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
A panoramic experience that tells the story of Beastie Boys, a book as unique as the band itself - by band members ADROCK and Mike D, with contributions from Amy Poehler, Colson Whitehead, Wes Anderson, Luc Sante, and more.
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License to Listen - The Illest Communication
- By J. Combs on 12-12-18
Spend time with the big brothers you wish you had
I have such a deep history with the Beastie Boys that they almost feel like my long, lost—but so much cooler than me—brothers. When I first heard about Beastie Boys Book, it sort of tickled the back of my memory as something I’d moved on from and might be ok to miss, but when I saw the list of boldface names that would be narrating (Amy Poehler, Bobby Cannavale, Rosie Perez, and Colson Whitehead, along with 40 other famous folk), I couldn’t get my earbuds in fast enough. Oh. My. God. What a trip down memory lane-meets-fly-on-the-wall-education. I cried when Adam Horowitz (Ad-Rock) eulogized his late bandmate Adam Yauch (MCA); I was green with envy when Luc Sante talked about what it was like in lower Manhattan when the band was on the come up. Of course this will be a must-listen—and must-discuss—for Beasties fans, but for anyone hungering for an entrée into pre-9/11 New York, it’s an unexpected, and unequivocal, treat.
Critic reviews
“A fascinating, generous book with portraits and detail that float by in bursts of color.... As with [the band’s] records, the book’s structure is a lyrical three-man weave.... Diamond’s voice is lapidary, droll. Horovitz comes on like a borscht belt comedian, but beneath that he is urgent, incredulous, kind of vulnerable.... Friendship is the book’s subject as much as music, fame and New York.” (The New York Times Book Review)
“Wild, moving...resembles a Beastie Boys LP in its wild variety of styles.” (Rolling Stone)
“As nutty, irreverent, and fun as you think it would be.” (Vogue)
Editorial Review
They were ill, but they got better Beastie Boys Book comes at a surprisingly appropriate moment in American culture. All around us, we’re being encouraged to turn a self-critical eye to the way the actions of our youth affected others. The Beastie Boys, original hardcore party animals, started doing this over 20 years ago. They included "long overdue" lyrics about respecting women on 1994’s Ill Communication and wrote an open letter to Time Out New York magazine apologizing for the misogyny and homophobia of their early records in 1999. How in the world did they go from cringeworthy party anthems like Girls to Song for the Man, with lyrics that directly address guys who ogle women in public? I can’t wait to listen to this one to hear it for myself, as reported by the surviving band members and the cast of crazy characters they’ve surrounded themselves with throughout the years. —Scott J., Audible Editor
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Read the book and forget the audio version
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incredible!
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please return hot sauce part 1
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Really, REALLY great. I didn't want it to end!
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I am, like I said, only two chapters in. But I'm hooked. The writing is impeccable. I feel like I'm there, in NYC, experiencing this along with them. There is mention of bands and genres from punk to reggae, of Robert Mapplethorpe and the gay nightclub scene. I can taste the 80s listening to the descriptions of the subculture that I watched from afar.
I picked this up as a whim; I was done with my last book and needed something new. I saw them on Kimmel hyping the book, opened audible and grabbed it. Now I'm planning on buying the actual book to get the pics that go along with the stories, but still want the audiobook because the narration is amazing, with an all-star cast and some fancy editing that, I'm sure, the Beasties had their hands all over.
If you're a casual fan, and grew up with the B-Boys, don't hesitate to pick this one up. You won't regret it. I'll keep updating this review as I go, but so far, it's my favorite read of 2018!
Casual Beasties fan perspective
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Full Clout
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fantastic
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Gratitude
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This book dragged me through a mid-life crisis inducing journey of my young adult life, but from the other side of the soundtrack.
This collection of anecdotes had me nodding to myself like an idiot for months.
What I thought would be a light read about good times ended up being that plus a story of enduring friendships that span a lifetime. It left me missing the days of good friends piled in a minivan bumping all the music referenced within.
It's full of answers to questions I didn't know I had and is good for quite a few nostalgic trips down parallel timelines.
I highly recommend it.
Realized it's weird to miss Yauch like I knew him
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Beastie Boys now and forever!
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