Adam Yauch talks to Billboard.com

From Billboard.com:
Beasties Eyeing M.I.A., Cocker, Allen For New 'Mix'
By Gary Graff

The Beastie Boys are moving ahead with plans for a vocal version of their latest album, the all-instrumental "The Mix-Up."

Adam "MCA" Yauch tells Billboard.com the trio is "talking to some different artists who might do kinda like remixes and put vocals on it, so it wouldn't be us doing vocals on it. It would be kind of like a different version of the album, with a bunch of people guesting on it."

Among those in the loop, according to Yauch, are M.I.A., Lily Allen and Pulp's Jarvis Cocker -- "a bunch of British people," Yauch notes with a laugh. "It'll be interesting to see what they do with the stuff."

That might not be the only outgrowth of the "The Mix-Up," which Yauch, Mike "Mike D" Diamond and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz released in June. Yauch says the Beasties have an idea for a visual version of the album as well, incorporating images from the group's touring to support "The Mix-Up."

"We've been traveling with a Super 8 camera," he reports, "and a lot of times we'll just make something. While we were in Singapore we filmed stuff, and in Australia and different places. We're talking about cutting it together into a full-length film that kinda goes the length of the album."

Yauch says the group is enjoying the tour, which alternates standard Beasties performances with Gala Event shows during which the three Beasties and their cohorts play instruments throughout. "About half of it is instrumental and half of it has vocals, but it's all based around the instruments," Yauch explains. "And a lot of it is B-sides and album tracks. We're not doing as many of the singles. It's fun."

Yauch says there are no plans to document the tour with a live album or DVD. After the trek wraps Sept. 27 in Chicago, the Beasties plan to return to the studio. "We're gonna start recording again," says Yauch, who's also working on a documentary about high school basketball players and their journey to the NBA.

As for where the next Beasties album will go, he notes that, "We just kind of go in and mess around, see what happens. There's no plan or anything."

17 comments:

3:47 PM Anonymous said...

Jarvis?! Jarvis?! Oh Hot Sauce, you musta freaked reading that one. :)

3:56 PM Spiffy D said...

Hmm I thought Yauch was doing the NYC graffitti film.

"Yauch, who's also working on a documentary about high school basketball players and their journey to the NBA."

4:00 PM Klepto said...

"We're gonna start recording again," says Yauch, who's also working on a documentary about high school basketball players and their journey to the NBA.

this is new news, ain't it? :O

i've only heard of yauch writing/directing a graffiti film called "of toys and kings" which didn't work out 'cause he couldn't raise the funds...

4:16 PM Klepto said...

oh i see this is not new news after all...

Lights, Camera, Action

If the players feel like someone is watching their every move this weekend, they aren't being paranoid. Beastie Boys member Adam Yauch is making a documentary on the Elite 24 with his production company, Oscilloscope, and filming everything from drills and scrimmages to post-practice parties.

In addition to their shots, Yauch outfitted the players with Logitech Pocket Video handheld recorders so each player could add his own personal footage. The appeal of chronicling the event, says Yauch, is easy to see.

"It's pretty amazing seeing these regular high school kids being groomed and trained to be these highly paid athletes," he said. "The trajectory in front of them is pretty amazing."

:D

4:20 PM Hot Sauce said...

Putting Jarvis with the Beastie Boys is like putting chocolate with spaghetti. Individually, both items are delicious. Put 'em together, however, and they make you sick.

A non-Beasties vocal version of The Mix-Up doesn't flip my skirt. I'm ready for a hip-hop album.

4:26 PM Unknown said...

Can't say I'm too excited about a vocal version of the album either

4:45 PM Hot Sauce said...

I was surprised to read Yauch say that they've been enjoying the tour. I've been to a bunch of shows, and I can't say that I ever saw a spark in their eyes. Their demeanor and attitude on stage has been greatly different than what it was on the Pageant tour and at the shows last fall.

4:50 PM Klepto said...

beastie boys sparkle 'n shine! :)

4:53 PM Anonymous said...

A vocal version of the album, a film version of the album, and a new album?! I will happily accept all of it. And MORE! I look forward to new material in any shape or form.

Hot Sauce, I agree that they have seemed not like themselves on the current tour. I think they played too many shows in a short time. When I saw them, they looked tired. I felt badly for them.

4:59 PM Hot Sauce said...

Yeah, being tired was a part of it -- but it goes beyond that. Something has been missing.

5:00 PM Klepto said...

me. :(

5:02 PM Hot Sauce said...

^Talk your dad into taking you to Chicago.

5:03 PM Anonymous said...

i want a hip hop album too

9:28 PM Anonymous said...

The Mixup with vocals will be cool if all the singers they said get involved. I don't see it happening though.

1:12 AM Anonymous said...

Yeah, I am happy that they're talking about going back into the studio to do new Beastie songs. That would be a really nice surprise. I know that I'm being greedy but I want new Beasties songs. I have no interest in any offshoots from The Mix Up.

8:11 AM Anonymous said...

Why they didn't just hold out and release a film, vocal and instrumental version at once is beyond me.

Although, it's a very cynical marketing move.

1:03 AM Anonymous said...

Maybe they should stop touring altogether and focus on the studio. As soon as the Beatles stopped touring they revolutionized pop music. Most musicians feel the need to play live, but how psyched can they be to play Intergalactic and So Watcha' Want night after night every time they hit the road? If they aren't into it, just stop, make music, and let us listen to it on our iPods, CD players, turntables, walkmans, grammaphones, 8-tracks, reel-to-reels, and radios.

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