Few ‘famous’ bands have what it takes to last beyond a radio hit or two, most just not able to sustain whatever it was that got them to crack the high bar and remain not just known but relevant to fans that pass from generation to generation and more. It takes incredible perseverance and innovation, leading the way in an industry that demands absurdity to be seen. This is where the indestructible Beastie Boys thrives. Perhaps you’re diehard fan, obsessed with their music, deep cuts and all, knowing every beat and the history behind each song. Maybe you’re a radio fan, turning up the volume when a familiar tune pops on. Maybe you have no idea who they are but recognize a song here and there. None of that matters. In director Spike Jonze‘s Beastie Boys Story, it all comes together in a wildly entertaining walk down memory lane that pulls down the curtain on how, why, when, and where it all began.
Live on stage at King’s Theater in Brooklyn, members Michael Diamond and Adam Horovitz, grey haired and frazzled but as always, invigorated by the audience and the chance to talk, they come out rapping and then set the tone for taking us through through their past, immediately giving nods and thanks to founder Adam Yauch, who passed away in 2012. They track their early days from their breakout local hit ‘Cookie Puss’ to how the band evolved in the years where the genre of rap and hip hop was bursting from the folds of staid radio pop rock as the likes of DefJam music was giving new artists a chance. Along the way, Diamond and Horovitz lay down the truth, explaining that fame was a pursuit and because so, mistakes were made, including the firing of Kate Schellenbach, the girl who was their first drummer and some lyrics that never should have been written. Atonments are made. It feels honest and timely.
This isn’t a concert film, it instead a rather humble, jagged presentation of two men with a colorful past celebrating their equally humble and jagged past, despite what is remembered as a raucous, troubled blaze to fame. These are guys with a near forty-year history, appearing to be more than happy enough to give their story a tell, clearly adrenalized to share with a huge live audience how they came to be there. We learn just about everything, how their bad boy flair and crash-life anctics came about and how they were basically learning as they went, developing the now over-the-top style that has garnered legions of fans around the world. Probably even you.
What’s perhaps best about Beastie Boys Story is its intimacy and economy, trimming what surely could have been dozens of hours into a very digestible event that truly pulls us into their swath of innovative music. These two are endlessly engaging, their timing on point, even as the stage show has its own set of hiccups (maybe by design or not – this is a Spike Jonze movie afterall). The show comes with plenty of answers and insight and a surprising emotional punch. A must see.