Half Notes: Beastie Boys – To The Five Burroughs (2004)

I am not a fan of rap, per se, but these newly crowned Rock and Roll Hall of Famers have managed to keep their music so varied that it’s hard to identify them purely as rap. The Beastie Boys also kept a good deal of humor in their music, making each album enjoyable on a second level apart from the musical aspect. This time around, however, the aging Beasties ended up showing their age and a surprisingly juvenile sense of humor, even for them, as they floundered at attempts to make political jokes. The other problem was the music: They’d done all this before — and a lot better — with Paul’s Boutique.

‘Half Notes’ are quick-take thoughts on music from Something Else! Reviews, presented whenever the mood strikes us.

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Tom Johnson

Tom Johnson has contributed to Blogcritics, and maintained a series of stand-alone sites including Known Johnson, Everything is a Mess and others. He studied both creative writing and then studio art at Arizona State. Contact Something Else! at [email protected].

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