Their description:

Beastie Boys are a band from New York City consisting of Michael "Mike D" Diamond, Adam "MCA" Yauch, and Adam "Adrock" Horovitz. We've been together for over 72 years and have sold so many records world wide it's stupid.
We've won Grammy awards, trophies, Lotto, and everyone loves us 'cause we are awesome.

You can customize your iGoogle homepage with a Beastie Boys theme by going here.

From MTV.com:

Beastie Boys’ MCA Speaks Out on the Protests Against China

MTV News caught up with Adam Yauch — MCA of the Beastie Boys, if you’ve lived under a rock since, like, the beginning of hip-hop — at the Tribeca Film Festival here in NY. He’s debuting his street-basketball documentary “Gunnin’ For That #1 Spot” there, and it’ll soon hit theaters. (More on that later.)

But what we wanted to share with you are his thoughts on the protests by Tibetans in the lead-up to the Olympics this summer in Beijing, China. (30 Tibetans were sentenced to prison today, with some to serve life sentences.) Yauch is a looooongtime supporter of the Tibetan cause — a fight for cultural and religious freedom, and independence from China — and he had plenty to say about the bravery of the Tibetans, and the possibility for change. And in case you haven’t heard the man — a devout Buddhist, a vegan, and a generally righteous guy — talk about the plight of Tibet, he knows of what he speaks. One eloquent and well-informed Beastie he be.

“It’s powerful times. I mean, the Tibetans are putting themselves at very serious risk by demonstrating. Many of them have been killed or imprisoned and tortured as a result of it…I just hope that some positive change will come of it. I think they see the Olympics coming up and it’s their one chance to really let the world know about what’s going on there.

“Man, I think the protests should stay non-violent, and I think for the most part the protests are non-violent. I think the Chinese government has chosen to show the couple of violent moments that have happened over and over again — which is very dangerous because it’s creating animosity. I think there are a lot of Chinese people who now feel very angry at the Tibetan people. So I think what really needs to happen is China needs to open up and allow foreign journalists to come in and allow the United Nations to come in and allow it to be resolved like that. I think it’s very scary that China has pushed out all the foreign media.”

I found a short lil video of Adam Yauch talking about his movie Gunnin' for That #1 Spot, which premieres today at the Tribeca Film Festival.

[VIDEO REMOVED]

Yauch also did an interview at Oscilloscope Laboratories with Jim Shearer from IFC.com's Lunchbox which should be posted on their site tomorrow (April 29) at 12pm EST.

MTV celebrated the 20th anniversary of Yo! MTV Raps this month by featuring classic clips from the show's seven-year run. The top 20 videos from the Yo! MTV Raps era were counted down with Beastie Boys' Hey Ladies coming in at number 12. Hosts Ed Lover, Doctor Dre (also the band's former DJ), and Fab 5 Freddy provide commentary for the video.

As per request by Top 10, the BBQ Cook-Off challenge (which appears on the Beastie Boys' AIFST bonus dvd) is now available to watch online! The video is uploaded in four parts and posted on the new Oscope Archive site for your enjoyment. Bon Appétit!

New Yorkers will have an opportunity to see a never-before-seen photo of the Beastie Boys and Run-DMC on a tour bus together in the 1980s. The photo, shot by Ricky Powell, has been purchased by NYC club promoter Zev Norotsky, along with a number of other Powell's photos, for a new lounge in Soho to be called Origine. The lounge will be located in the basement of Fr.Og on Spring Street (between Crosby and Lafayette). It is expected to open in early May.

Mix Master Mike has just announced a number of performance dates in Australia:

May 31 - Warehouse Festival, Canberra
May 31 - Metro Theatre, Sydney
June 1 - We Love Ministry of Sound Festival, Perth
June 4 - Soho Nightclub, Cairns
June 5 - Family, Brisbane
June 7 - The Esplanade Hotel, Melbourne
June 8 - We Love Sounds Festival, Sydney
June 9 - We Love Sounds Festival, Adelaide

A few years back (2005, to be exact), my friend Midzi and I began developing a fan site about the Beastie Boys' film Awesome; I Fuckin' Shot That! Our goal was to create a detailed resource site about the film. Unfortunately, because my interest in attending Beastie Boys shows in 2006 outweighed my interest in working on the film site, and because Midzi was trying to balance work and school, we never completed and launched the site. We did, however, amass a huge collection of interviews, reviews, videos, and photos related to the film.

Fast forward to today and the approaching premiere of Adam Yauch's film Gunnin' for That #1 Spot, we've decided to resurrect the fan film site, but change the focus to include all of Oscilloscope Laboratories' film and video projects.

We are pleased to announce the creation of Oscilloscope Laboratories Archive, or Oscope Archive for short. Oscope Archive will serve as a resource site for all the film and video work coming out of Oscilloscope Laboratories. Mic to Mic's focus will remain on the musical work coming of Oscilloscope Laboratories by the Beastie Boys. Of course, some overlap/duplication at both sites is expected. The difference between the sites, other than the focus (film versus music), is the authorship of the content. All the stories posted at Mic to Mic are the editors' own words, sometimes with references to outside publications. Oscope Archive, however, will primarily be the work and words of others (with appropriate credit cited). Our goal is to create a one-stop site to learn about the films and videos from Oscilloscope Laboratories.

Oscope Archive will be an ad-free, not-for-profit fan site, like Mic to Mic. At this point, we have built a simple structure for the archive and populated it with basic information. It is nowhere near being complete. In fact, we don't have all the projects listed. In the coming weeks, we will be working on making the site more complete, adding a synopsis for each project, cast and production credits, etc. We are launching the site now because of Yauch's film premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival is coming up so soon. We want people to begin reading what the press have to say about the film.

We're hoping that fans will take a personal interest in this site and submit content for the archive. We're looking for press, interviews, videos, audio, photos, screen captures, fun facts -- anything that is related to the individual projects. Please use the CONTACT link to submit content for the archive. Right now, we're trying to focus on Gunnin' for That #1 Spot and gather as much information about the film as possible. Press of significance is posted in the archive for future reference; press of less significance is simply listed as links under the heading of GUNNIN' TALK.

Along with the introduction of Oscope Archive, I am pleased to announce the addition of Friis (aka The Update) to the Mic to Mic and Oscope Archive editorial teams. Friis is a long-time Beastie Boys fan, recognized for her many contributions to the Beastie Boys fan community. She has a unique sense of humor, and we are very happy to have her in our posse.

Mike D and actor Edward Burns (photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)

The Gothamist reports that Mike (now with handkerchief) once again has attended a Food Bank for NYC function.

Mike, amongst other celebrities, was at Chelsea Piers and enjoyed cocktails, live music, dinner, auctions, and raffles to support the Food Bank's 25 years of work to fight hunger in New York City. The event raised approximately $1 million for the Food Bank.

Contrary to what the Primavera Sound Festival posted on its web site, Mix Master Mike's entire European tour has not been canceled. I repeat: NOT BEEN CANCELED. Only his appearance at the Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona has been canceled.

Below are a few videos of Mix Master Mike performing at the Printemps de Bourges Festival last Thursday (April 17) in Strasbourg, France:

Silly-silly Oscilloscope Laboratories and their silly-silly news...

The Tribeca Film Festival schedule has been finalized. Adam Yauch's film, Gunnin' for That #1 Spot, will premiere on April 28 at 6 p.m. at the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center. It will also be shown twice on May 3 at 2:30 p.m. and 11:59 p.m. at the AMC 19th St. East Theater. Tickets to see the film may be purchased at the Tribeca Film Festival's web site.

The Motion Picture Association of America has assigned the rating of "PG-13" to the film for language.

The film has already been screened by a number of critics. In an article titled "Nine Films: Simplifying Tribeca," New York Magazine hailed Yauch's film as one to see at the festival. Critic Sara Cardace writes:

Adam Yauch's first non-Beastie Boys project is a funked-up, fast-paced doc that uses 2006's "Elite 24" all-star game at Harlem's Rucker Park to highlight eight high-school superstars (likely lottery picks Michael Beasley and Kevin Love, and top Brooklyn prospect Lance Stephenson, among them). It's as much a snapshot of the contemporary basketball scene as it is a love letter to the famed uptown court. The soundtrack is, predictably, killer.

Hmmm...some investigating of Mix Master Mike's European tour cancellation lead me to an interesting news find. Mix Master Mike has recently been added to the artist lineup for the Warehouse Winter Music Festival in Canberra, Australia. The interesting part is the Warehouse Winter Music Festival takes place the same weekend as the Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona -- the tour appearance he canceled.

This news casts doubt on the previous announcement that the entire European tour has been canceled. Again, I recommend fans contact the venue to ensure the show is still on.

It appears Mix Master Mike has canceled the remaining dates of his European tour. Organizers of the Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona, Spain, posted the news of his tour cancellation on the festival's official site. Mix Master Mike was scheduled to perform at the Primavera Sound Festival at the end of May.

At this point, we have been unable to confirm the tour cancellation from any other source. If you planned to attend any of Mix Master Mike's European shows, please contact the venue to confirm the show cancellation. If you learn anything of interest about the tour cancellation, please contact us so we can share it with the fan community.

We hope that all is well with Mix Master Mike and his family.

(Shout-out to Iker)

Little known fact: Adam Horovitz is a manager of a softball team. We kid you not.

Talk of an old, rumored Beastie Boys project has resurfaced in the media. At this point, we're not sure if the project has been mistakenly identified as new, if it's a late April Fool's joke, if it's a story distributed by a publicist to direct attention to Adam Yauch's new film, or if it's for real. Read on and decide for yourself.

In the mid 1990s, several respected entertainment publications reported that Beastie Boys were working on a film with Spike Jonze. It was supposedly a comedy scripted by both the band and Jonze, titled We Can Do This. (Country Mike fans will recognize the title.) Entertainment Weekly reported that a source close to the project described the film as "a lot like Woody Allen's 'Zelig' crossed with the parodic '70's cop-show spirit of 'Sabotage.'" Do you recognize how silly that description is?

As with many rumored Beastie Boys projects, the film never came to fruition and was forgotten about by both the media and Beastie Boys fan community. Recently, however, the film project has resurfaced as an announced/in development project. Both the New York Times and Hollywood.com have recently listed the films in their databases. Is this a mistake or has the dust really been blown off the project? In either case, it's interesting that this news has resurfaced so close to the premiere of Adam Yauch's film Gunnin' for That #1 Spot. (Jonze is currently working on a film version of Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are, due to be released in 2009.)

Several things are certain: Spike Jonze is a director and screenwriter, Beastie Boys are long-time friends with Jonze, Beastie Boys own their own film company, and Adam Yauch seems hell-bent on making movies.

Read more about We Can Do This, as it was talked about in the 1990s, at Beastiemania.com.

When electrofunk duo Chromeo opened for the Beastie Boys in Canada on their tour last year, many Beastie Boys fans scratched their head at the choice of opening band. In a recent interview with Dose.ca, P-Thugg of Chromeo explained why his band got the invitation to open for the Beastie Boys and what the experience was like for them:

"We did the show and Ad Rock was on the side of the stage, singing our whole lyrics. It was," says P-Thugg, pausing, "it was inspiring."

Ad Rock told the group he was an instant Chromeo fan. "He was in a store and our CD was playing and he was like, 'Man, what's this playing, what's this old-school music that I don't know?'" P-Thugg recounts. The M.C. dug the CD so much, he wound up begging the disc off the store's cashier. "And then a couple weeks later they called us," says P-Thugg.

Episode 1, "Rappin' with the Rickster," 2008

Ricky Powell has posted the first episode of the new "Rappin' with the Rickster" show on his Myspace page. The premiere episode features some of Powell's old photos of the Beastie Boys from the eighties.

In the show, Powell tours Porto Rico Coffee on Thompson Street (the business has several locations in Manhattan). Adam Horovitz has called Porto Rico the best place to get coffee in New York City. He should know; he drinks a lot of coffee.

(Shout-out to Allan)

Can Mike flip it? Yes, he can!

Tamra Davis has relaunched her cooking blog, the Tamra Davis Cooking Show, with a new design and posted the final two installments of her three-part video of cooking in the Hamptons with Ed Burns and Christy Turlington.

When we last left the Diamond and Burns families, Tamra was preparing salmon salad. In part 2, she whips up some crepes (or, as Mike tells a pancake-demanding Davis, they're "Swedish pancakes") for breakfast. Mike even gets in on the cooking action, flipping a crepe like a pro. In part 3, Tamra makes several sandwiches for lunch.

New on Tamra's redesigned blog is information about the cookbook she has compiled, titled Make Me Something Good to Eat, which is available to purchase at Lulu.com.

If you previously subscribed to the RSS feed at Tamra's old blog design, you'll need to update it because the previous feed no longer works.

(Shout-out to Friis)

Adam Yauch will be participating in a Filmmaker Talks event at the Apple Store in SoHo on Friday, May 2, at 6:30 p.m., as part of the Tribeca Film Festival. Yauch will discuss his latest film project, Gunnin' for That #1 Spot, and take questions from the audience.

Mix Master Mike is in England this week. He will be performing at Digital in Newcastle Upon Tyne on Wednesday (April 9); The Club (Paradise Factory) in Manchester on Thursday (April 10); and the Sheffield Foundry at Sheffield University on Friday (April 11). For tickets, please check the links on the MMM Concert Dates listing on this site.

Beastie Boys have been nominated for a Jammy Award in the category of Studio Album of the Year for The Mix-Up. The Jammys is a grassroots music event produced by Relix magazine, Jambands.com, and filmmaker Peter Shapiro that honors bands that...well, jam. Other artists nominated in the Studio Album of the Year category are Keller Williams, Galactic, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Page McConnell, and moe.

In recent years, the awards show, which is more of a concert than an awards ceremony, has become famous for its unusual jams and musical pairings. The show is open to the public to attend. The performers for this year's show, which will take place at the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden on May 7, 2008, will be announced in the coming weeks. Tickets are available to purchase at Ticketmaster.com. No word on whether the Beastie Boys have been invited to perform or if they will attend.

Cast your vote for the Beastie Boys by going to the Jammy Awards Voting Booth and completing the online survey.

Mix Master Mike is among the artists who will be performing at the We Love Sounds Festival in Sydney, Australia, on June 8, 2008. Tickets are on sale now through Ticketek.com.au. Historically, tickets have sold out very quickly for this boutique festival, so if you're interested in attending, don't delay getting your tickets. Visit the festival's web site to see the full line-up.

On the subject of Mix Master Mike...check out a great photo of the DJ extraordinaire taken by Clifford William Fong (click on the photo to see an enlargement). Fong, who is a family friend of Mix Master Mike, was asked to shoot the portrait by the DJ himself.

I wish I had big feet like Les McCann, so I could wear these sneakers/sandshoes/rubber hooves by Amplified. Available from ASOS.com for £25.00 (approx. US$50) plus shipping, the plimsoll shoes are available in men's UK sizes 7-11 (see size conversion chart here). The shoe is also available in a Run-DMC design.