What are the Beastie Boys up to?

A posting on a blog associated with Australian music site Dizzybeat.com has revealed some insight into what the Beastie Boys have been working on in the studio for the last few months. Last week, Sydney native and Dizzybeat.com associate "Glen" was chosen to appear in a Beastie Boys video, shot in Sydney.

Asked by M2M (that's us) to elaborate on his experience on the video shoot, Glen responded:

"From what I can gather, it is part of a concept DVD. Two songs were covered and the boys played out a spy spoof of sorts across the two songs. They were shooting a car (and I think boat) chase scene on the Saturday before their gig at Good Vibrations. The songs weren't at all what I expected from the Beastie Boys -- sort of a 60s psych sound and entirely instrumental."

Glen described the video shoot scene as a "1960 L.A. cocktail party" that included "girls with big hair and short frocks" and vintage bikes and automobiles.

If you couple Glen's information with a hint posted by a very suspicious character going by the name of "Soothsayer" on the Beastie Boys Message Board, you can begin to piece together the clues and imagine what the Beastie Boys new material might sound like.

Soothsayer hinted, "Think soundtrack. Think the tail end of 60's Northern Soul. Think stop motion." (We feel sure that Soothsayer has the "inside" scoop.)

Adding further to the clues is a comment by Mix Master Mike in an interview with Australian radio Triple J that the Beastie Boys' new album is a "spy thriller."

Although there are still pieces of the picture missing, it is safe to conclude that the Beastie Boys next project combines music and film in a unique way.

To see photos from the Beastie Boys video shoot in Sydney, visit the Dizzybeat.com blog.