In the time since Adam’s passing I’ve been re-reading about the Boys, including books such as Alan Light’s The Skills To Pay The Bills and Dan LeRoy’s “Paul’s Boutique”, and its been fascinating to reconsider MCA’s development as an artist.

As I mentioned the other day, one of the most interesting things about Yauch’s life was his journey from obnoxious rabble-rouser to a deeply spiritual activist. This could be traced in his music, and you can see him growing in confidence on each record. The first sign of this on record was probably “A Year And A Day” from their ground breaking second album “Paul’s Boutique”.

This was a remarkable album, being such a departure from the uproarious brattishness of “Licensed to Ill” and this song even more so. It was tucked away at the end of the album, lumped in with the multi-song medley “B-Boy Bouillabaisse”. In it, Yauch in addition to the usual b-boy brags and pop culture, makes references to hope, prayer, dreams and destiny. In an interview with the Buddhist magazine Shambhala Sun, Yauch spoke about it:

there’s a song where I am starting to say what I’m feeling spiritually. It’s called “A Year and a Day,” but the lyrics to that song aren’t on the lyric sheet and I’m using a real distorted mic, so it’s not really clear. And I got a lot of positive feedback from people. I was kind of taking a big risk for myself doing that, just in terms of my own confidence, but I got a lot of positivity on that.

For their next album, “Check Your Head”, the Beasties changed course again, bringing in live instrumentation and more of a punk-rock sensibility to the mix. On this album were a couple of Yauch-driven songs, including “Stand Together”, which for me is the spiritual successor to “A Year and a Day”. Here, over a similar mix of rapid drums and a electric guitar line, Yauch is much more upfront about his new outlook on life and emerging spiritual practice

I don’t see things quite the same as I used to
As I live my life, I’ve got just me to be true to
When I find that I don’t know about just what to do
I turn and look within to see what I should do

There are references to Yauch’s meditation practice and its positive effects

Yeah, as the earth spins into a brand new day
I see the light on the horizon’s not fading away
Gonna shine from within, like a bright white sun
No need to hide and no place to run

Also on “Check Your Head” is “Namasté”, a trippy, laid back psychedelic tune, featured Yauch reciting a surreal poem which culminates in:

My fear was just a shadow
And then a voice spoke in my head
And she said dark is not the opposite of light
It’s the absence of light
And I thought to myself
She knows what she’s talking about
And for a moment I know
What it was all about

If you can trace Yauch’s growing confidence in expressing his spiritual side from album to album, it came to full fruition on “Ill Communication”. On “Bodhisattva Vow”, Yauch leaves no one guessing as he talks about the Buddhist vow he has taken.

As I develop the awakening mind
I praise the Buddhas as they shine
I bow before you as I travel my path
To join your ranks, I make my full-time task
For the sake of all beings I seek
The enlightened mind that I know I’ll reap

As he explained, a Bodhisattva is:

someone who has decided to strive to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all other beings, to better assist all other beings in avoiding suffering and attaining happiness — following the spiritual path to end the cycle of death and rebirth, learn whatever lessons need to be learned on this planet.

Yauch attempts to convey Bodhisattva Vow (which I’ve written about before) in one song, something he himself admits was ambitious.

The general concept behind the song was to take the meaning of Shantideva’s text, at least on the level that I understood it, and compress it into a modernized, three-verse rhyming song. In retrospect, it was rather a bold move. People who write Buddhist texts generally spend most of their lives studying them beforehand. The idea that a person could read a couple of books, go to one teaching, and then attempt to write an updated abridged version of the Bodhicaryavatara is presumptuous at best.

The song represents Yauch’s full ‘coming out’ as a Buddhist, a clear statement of intent. It was at this time that he also become heavily involved in the Tibetan Freedom movement, that was to become a huge part of his life.

Yauch’s desire to contribute solo positivity-centered contributions to Beastie records continued on “Hello Nasty” on “Flowin’ Prose”

But I’ll remain sane making gain without pain
Staining trains with names and driving lanes to the refrain
And keep it positive as painstaking as it is
I’ll never turn back cause that’s the way I’ve got to live

But on “Nasty” Yauch also contributed a rare moment of softly spoken melody, with the acoustic Bossa Nova flavoured “I Don’t Know” which was an oasis of calm in between the smashing breaks that populated the 1998 album.

On the Beastie’s last 3 records there were no real ‘solo’ tracks, as the group shared mic duties on all songs, but Yauch continued to supply a positive mind frame, but becoming much more political in the post 9/11 era, but as always was committed to, as he once described it:

striving for […] integrating the ability to only put out positive energy toward all other beings. I want to integrate that into having fun and functioning in the band.

He certainly did that.

Previously: Adam Yauch (1964 – 2012)

See also Beastiemania’s unparalleled wealth of Beastie song knowledge.

As the earth spins into brand new day
I see the light on the horizons’s not fading away
Gonna shine from within like a bright white sun
No need to hide and no place to run
Got the vibrations of the music
Bringing light to your mind
So you can move and groove
And feel the beat of the time
Sense the power in the air as it starts to move
You get a real good feeling that you just can’t lose

MCA – Beastie Boys “Stand Together”

I first became infatuated with hip-hop at the age of 11 or 12. I was cycling my BMX out on the lane outside my house in the early 90s when I heard this strage, but exciting sound coming from my older neighbour’s bedroom window. A few days later I asked him what it was and he said something along the lines of “You are too young for that!”. Deflated, I went back to my Michael Jackson tape collection.

A few months later the same neighbour came over to my house with a big box of tapes. He handed them to me and said they were now mine – his hip-hop cassette tape collection. He had, apparently, moved on swiftly to the new and emerging Seattle grunge sound. Out was the boombox, and in was a drumkit. Teenage fads move fast. His loss was my gain, I was left with a treasure trove of music including classics that would become dear to my heart, including N.W.A (their first EP “N.W.A. & The Posse” was a particularly proud possession), Public Enemy and 2 Live Crew. It was a good early foundation course in hip-hop for a glasses wearing floppy haired Michael Jackson obsessive. But there was something missing.

I went off to secondary school a confirmed hip-hop fan. These were different times however and whilst rap music is now a mainstream convention, back then it was a thing to be mocked. I was a wannabe, a ‘wigger’ and got reminded regularly. I built my tape collection diligently with pocket money; adding Ice Cubes solo work and more Public Enemy. Then one day I was at home and my sister and her friend walked through the kitchen. Her friend heard what I was listening to and said “Do you like the Beastie Boys?”. I instantly lied, in a desperate attempt to not look uncool, and said I did. “What is your favourite album?” I was asked. “Er..all of them?”

A few days later I asked my sister if she could get a lend of some of her friend’s Beastie tapes (“I lost my copy….”). So I spent one evening doing the old “press play and record” routine and got myself copies of “Paul’s Boutique” and “Check Your Head”, and I was instantly hooked. From that moment on The Beastie Boys would become my favourite group, a group I would listen to on a weekly basis, almost without interruption.

The Beasties earned a special place in my heart. I loved hip-hop, but there was always a tiny disconnection between me and the artists I loved. For as much as “Straight Outta Compton” unfailingly gets my head nodding, I could never really _relate_ to it. The Beasties changed that. They liked shit late night 70s cop thrillers. So did I. They were middle-class nerds. So was I. And they _loved_ hip-hop, and so did I.

So I became a Beastie acolyte from that moment on. Their humour, humanity, eclecticism, musicianship, and energy makes them, for me, the greats musical group of all time. Over their near-30 year career they have made some of the best hip-hop music I’ve ever heard, mixed in with all sorts of crazy different flavours.

I can remember clear as day the first time I listened to every album, from my dusty “Check Your Head” pirate copy, to rushing home with “Hello Nasty” to stick it into the CD tray of our cream Dell desktop, to the unbridled joy of downloading their last album “Hot Sauce Committee Part Two” and realising that they had made another classic (I have that on vinyl, despite not owning a record player….) I saw them live in Belgium in 2004, probably the best live show I have ever seen, and the highpoint of a great weekend of beer and banter with my best friends. I once bought a copy of their “Grand Royal” magazine from someone on eBay to be greeted by a bonus DMC (From Run DMC) action figure thrown in by the seller. And there are many more memories.

Through all this, my favourite Beastie was Adam “MCA” Yauch. Its much documented, but Yauch was the one who went from being the most ignorant, obnoxious member to being the thoughtful, spiritual Buddhist member who fought for Tibetan independence. He has supplied some of their deeper moments , through songs like “A Year and a Day”, “Stand Together” and “Bodhisattva Vow” (as well, as some of their silliest). He was also my first real introduction to Buddhism, as he was for many, and laid the groundwork for what has become a key interest of mine.

Yauch nicely maintained the balance between being a goofy entertainer and being a positive force in the world. You get the impression he really worked hard on that; diligent not to put out negative vibes but at the same time expressing themselves in a fun and energetic way.

After dinner yesterday I was just scanning through my Twitter timeline when I saw it. Questlove from the Roots Tweeted:

Yauch is gone. Fuck.

And my jaw dropped. Then I saw another Tweet. And another. And it hit me, he was gone. MCA of the Beastie Boys was dead. Floored. I remember thinking the worst when he didn’t attend the bands induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last month, but didn’t entertain really the thought they he might go. He had appeared to be on the mend since first announcing his battle with cancer in 2009.

Buddhism teachs us that everything is impermanent and that accepting and understanding this is the key to enlightenment. And there’s no stronger reminder of impermanence than when someone passes away. It lays it out starkly for you.

Seeing the universal outpouring of love and respect for Adam that has since flowed is testament to his stature as an artist and a man. The Beasties have always been my favourite group, and always will be. And i’ll continue to listen to them daily as I bop around the place.

Thanks Adam, Adam and Mike for everything.

Rest in Peace Yauch.

I was talking to someone earlier today about when “Summer Time” begins. Today is May 1st, and I am in Ireland, and according to The Irish Calendar summer consists of the months of

May, June, July

However, the Irish meteorological society, Met Éireann, say

June, July and August.

And the plot thickens. Ireland is in Europe, and Europe recognises Summer Time as

from 01:00 UTC on the last Sunday in March until 01:00 UTC on the last Sunday in October each year.

So:

Europe is currently observing Summer Time.

So, Summer Time began in March, began today, and is due to begin in June.

This brings up a few things I have talked about before here, all relating to symbols and our relationship with them. Of course “Summer Time” is not a real thing. As I write this I am staring out at a dark, gloomy, grey sky which has been dropping water on us almost unrelentingly for 2 days now. Not what I would call “Summer”. “Summer Time” is an idea. It is also a socially constructed and shared convention, but it is entirely arbitrary and subjective. I wrote before about Alan Watts and his comments on time, specifically day-light savings time. It also brings to mind Robert Anton Wilson talking about his address, and how he could live in many different ‘places’ at once. Why? Because the address system is also a symbol – just like time.

Wilson also brings up Eastern Philosophy and its relationship to such systems of symbols. One aspect of Buddhism is how it stresses that our world of concepts and ideas is not the real world. This is something people like Watts and Wilson expressed time and time again. Symbols, words, ideas are important, they help us navigate the world, but the trick is to never be fooled by them. They are not reality, they are labels for reality. They help us understand reality, but they are not the real thing. “The Map is not the Territory”.

So, is it summer? The rain pounding my window says otherwise.

Harry: I’m interrupting. I feel badly. What are you drinking?

Harmony: Bad.

Harry: Bad? Sorry?

Harmony: You feel bad.

Harry: Bad?

Harmony: “Badly” is an adverb. To say you feel badly says that the mechanism which allows you to feel is broken.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang really is one of the great underrated films.

This is pure magic.

From Wikipedia:

During World War II, Project Pigeon (later Project Orcon, for “organic control”) was American behaviorist B. F. Skinner‘s attempt to develop a pigeon-guided missile.

The control system involved a lens at the front of the missile projecting an image of the target to a screen inside, while a pigeon trained (by operant conditioning) to recognize the target pecked at it. As long as the pecks remained in the center of the screen, the missile would fly straight, but pecks off-center would cause the screen to tilt, which would then, via a connection to the missile’s flight controls, cause the missile to change course.

Although skeptical of the idea, the National Defense Research Committee nevertheless contributed $25,000 to the research. However, Skinner’s plans to use pigeons in Pelican missiles was considered too eccentric and impractical; although he had some success with the training, he could not get his idea taken seriously. The program was canceled on October 8, 1944, because the military believed that “further prosecution of this project would seriously delay others which in the minds of the Division have more immediate promise of combat application.”

I love everything about this.

(Image is B.F. Skinner With Project Pigeon, by Anton van Dalen, 1986. Oil on canvas (48 x 64”))

Remember that there are only three kinds of things anyone need ever do.

(1) Things we ought to do
(2) Things we’ve got to do
(3) Things we like doing

I say this because some people seem to spend so much of their time doing things for none of the three reasons, things like reading books they don’t like because other people read them. Things you ought to do are things like doing one’s school work or being nice to people. Things one has got to do are things like dressing and undressing, or household shopping.

Go placidly amidst the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy.

Amen to that.