Photo: Brad Ogbonna for The New York Times

From The New York Times:

The Beastie Boys Sue Chili’s Over Use of ‘Sabotage’
By Orlando Mayorquín
July 11, 2024

The Beastie Boys sued Chili’s Grill & Bar in federal court on Wednesday, accusing the restaurant chain’s main operator of infringing on their copyright of the 1994 hit “Sabotage” by using it in advertisements without permission.

According to the complaint, Brinker International, which operates more than 1,600 Chili’s and other restaurants worldwide, rolled out promotional videos on social media beginning in November 2022 that used significant portions of the song and parodied its music video, directed by Spike Jonze.

The music video playfully pays homage to 1970s television crime dramas and features a fictitious opening credit scene and the group’s members dressed in fake wigs, mustaches and sunglasses of the era.

In the Chili’s video advertisement, three characters dressed in similar ’70s attire rob ingredients from a Chili’s restaurant scored to the sound of “Sabotage,” said the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Brinker International did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday night. Rimon, the law firm representing the band, declined to comment. The advertisement, the lawsuit argues, intended to evoke the three Beastie Boys members — Michael Diamond, Adam Horovitz and Adam Yauch — and scenes from the “Sabotage” music video.

Yauch, who died in 2012 and was known as MCA, is represented among the plaintiffs by Dechen Yauch, the executor of his estate.

The suit seeks a jury trial and at least $150,000 in damages for each of its two claims of copyright infringements: one for the music video and the other for the song.

The band has a history of successfully cracking down on the unsanctioned use of its music for commercial purposes. In June 2014, it won a $1.7 million judgment in a copyright infringement case against Monster, the energy drink maker, which had used remixes of the band’s songs in a promotional video.

Earlier that year, it won another settlement against the toymaker GoldieBlox, which used the band’s song “Girls.”

Adam Yauch's death has been confirmed by the Beastie Boys's publicist.

No words. Only sympathy and love for the family, friends, and fans of Yauch.

From Rolling Stone:

Beastie Boys’ Adam Yauch Will Not Attend Hall of Fame Induction
Group will be unable to perform at induction ceremony in Cleveland tonight

Adam “MCA” Yauch of the Beastie Boys will be unable to attend the group’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland tonight, a representative tells Rolling Stone.

“Beastie Boys regret that Adam ‘MCA’ Yauch will be unable to join Mike ‘Mike D’ Diamond and Adam ‘Adrock’ Horovitz at the band’s induction into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in April,” reads the group’s statement. “Mike, Adam and Adam are truly grateful for the honor but with only two of the three Beastie Boys attending, they will unfortunately not be able to perform at the ceremony.”

Yauch revealed he had cancer in a salivary gland in his neck in July 2009, which delayed the group’s touring plans and scheduled September 2009 release of Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 1. The album, now titled Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 2, eventually came out in April 2011. Last year, Yauch announced that he was optimistic about treatment, but was not yet cancer-free.

Photo by Sunny Bak

Kings of Rock Photo Show at Rush Arts Gallery on April 12
Three-Part Event Marks Beastie Boys' Induction to Rock Hall of Fame

Just two days before the Beastie Boys are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, New York's Rush Arts Gallery is marking the occasion with a special photo exhibition and book event. The opening reception will be held at Rush, 526 W. 26th Street, Suite 311, on the evening of Thursday, April 12. The show will stay up through Saturday, April 14.

Titled Kings of Rock, the show will feature a dozen of Sunny Bak's iconic mid-'80s photos of the Beastie Boys, and a complementary selection of photos titled "Wadeva Images Present Rush Artist Management, 1981 To the Present," featuring the photos of Talib Haqq.

The reception will be preceded from 5 until 7 pm with a presentation and book signing devoted to Def Jam: The First 25 Years of the Last Great Record Label, featuring Bill Adler and Dan Charnas — the book's authors — and Cey Adams, the book's designer. (The Beastie Boys recorded their first album, Licensed to Ill, for Def Jam.) The reception itself will run from 7 until 9 pm.

Sunny Bak, a student of Phillipe Halsman, was shooting the downtown scene for Details magazine when she was introduced to the Beastie Boys in the early '80s. Her best-known photo of them graces the centerfold of Licensed to Ill.

Talib Haqq, like Russell Simmons, came of age in Hollis, Queens. One of the earliest documentary photographers to set his sights on hip-hop, he began shooting many of Russell Simmons's management clients in 1981, starting with Kurtis Blow. He may be best known for the cover of Run-DMC, the debut album by the legendary trio, which features his stark black and white photos.

Def Jam Recordings: The First 25 Years of the Last Great Record Label was published by Rizzoli in October of last year. It was praised in Library Journal as "an extremely readable and browsable book, with glorious photos."

For more information, please contact Charlotte Mouquin at the Rush Arts Gallery: charlotte@rushartsgallery.org or 212-691-9552.

Hard Rock Cafe has organized an exhibit honoring some of the 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees. Code Breakers of Rock and Roll features memorabilia of Beastie Boys, Guns N' Roses, and Red Hot Chili Peppers, and spotlights the career of music journalist Jane Scott. The exhibit, which is located at The City Room, a temporary exhibition space between the Cleveland Ritz Hotel and Hard Rock Cafe, opens Friday, April 6 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The exhibit is free and open to the public through April 16.

A friend was invited to a sneak peek of the exhibit last night and snapped the following photos for us:

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced its 2012 inductees this morning, and Beastie Boys are among the artists who made the cut this year. Joining Beastie Boys in the 2012 class will be Guns N' Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Donovan (Adam Horovitz's former father-in-law), Laura Nyro, The Faces, Freddie King, Don Kirshner, Cosimo Matassa, Tom Dowd, and Glyn Johns.

The induction ceremony will take place in Cleveland, Ohio, on April 14. Tickets for the ceremony will go on sale to the public on December 17 at Rockhall.com.

Beastie Boys have partnered with A Bathing Ape to offer a charity T-shirt that will aid tsunami and earthquake victims in Japan. The T-shirt, which features a graphic design by Mike Mills, will be sold at A Bathing Ape stores worldwide beginning on November 12. (It will first be offered at Vogue's Fashion Night Out in Japan and several BAPE stores in Japan on November 5.)

Beastie Boys issued the following statement: "The people of Japan have given Beastie Boys so much love and appreciation throughout the years, that we want to give back and help them, in some way, get through the devastation they've recently been through."

The T-shirt will cost ¥5040 (approximately US$66). Proceeds from the T-shirt sale will be given to Civic Force, a disaster relief agency working in Japan.

Photo by Mic to Mic

1. Directed by: Spike Jonze
2. Story by: Adam Yauch
3. "Actors": Beastie Boys action figures by Nigo and Santigold
4. Opening Scene: At a concert
5. Story: A sniper crew attempts to attack Beastie Boys and Santigold. A car chase between the two parties ensues. The chase involves sharks, zombies, Sasquatch, helicopters, parachutes, and submarines.
6. Video release date: End of July
7. Video length: 20 minutes


Photo by Opening Ceremony/Ace Hotel

The video for "Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win" (featuring Santigold) premiered at a private party at the Ace Hotel in New York City last night. See photos from the premiere at the Opening Ceremony/Ace Hotel blog [DEFUNCT SITE].

Press
-Interview Magazine: Boys (and Santigold) Just Want to Have Fun [DEAD LINK]
-New York Observer: Beastie Boys Get Plastic at Premiere of Epic-Length Spike Jonze-Helmed Music Video

Beastie Boys streamed their new album Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 in its entirety live from center court of Madison Square Garden this morning. Fans tuned in to see only Sasquatch and a boombox. The stream image consisted of the following views:









When the streamed completed, it began repeating continously. Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 will be released on May 3 in North America.

According to TV Guide, "Fight for Your Right Revisited" will air on VH1 on April 20 at midnight and on Comedy Central on April 21 at 3 a.m. EDT.

The Guide don't lie.

Update: According to a press release from MTV Networks, the "Make Some Noise" video (not "Fight for Your Right Revisited" but a short 5-minute video [an edit of FFYRR]) will premiere online on April 21 at 6 pm on the websites for MTV2, mtvU, VH1, Palladia, Comedy Central, MTV, and Spike.

Beastie Boys are among the artists who have contributed to an auction to benefit relief efforts in Japan. Proceeds from the EMI Family 4 Japan eBay Auction will go to help people affected by the tsunami and earthquake in Japan. EMI will match funds raised by the auction up to €1 million.

The Beastie Boys items in the auction are:

1. A signed set of BAPE dolls [VIEW ITEM]
2. A signed Hello Nasty gold album [VIEW ITEM]
3. A signed Beastie Boys Japanese Moon Man [VIEW ITEM]

The auction ends April 21.

After going "off the map" since his July 2009 announcement of having cancer, Adam Yauch made his return to the showbiz world with the screening of his short film Fight for Your Right Revisited at the Sundance Film Festival last night. Before its premiere, Yauch kept details of the film secret except for the cast list (on IMDb.com) — even the actors were kept in the dark about the story. Danny McBride, who portrays Yauch in the 20-minute film, told MTV that he didn't know what the film was about despite having a lead role. It's puzzling why Yauch kept the film so secret, especially from Beastie Boys fans, the audience who is most likely to appreciate the film. Yauch's only communication to fans about the film was a posting of a film still at Beastieboys.com in December.

Reviews of the film are mixed. One audience member tweets that the film was "Endless and ultimately pointless cameos in an extremely vapid overlong music vid spoof." Okaaay. The Los Angeles Times provides a weirdly kinder (?) assessment of the film, saying it is so unfunny that it is perhaps funny. What?

New York Magazine tries to be helpful by describing the roles of each character in the film but doesn't give an opinion on it. Not particularly helpful.

Moviefone offers positive words about the film, saying it is "equal parts hilarious, offensive and really great to listen to." Yay! It's just like the Beastie Boys!

In its review of the film, MTV says, "Some scenes crackle with comedic verve, thanks to the talents of some of Hollywood's most reliable improv talents...[while] Other scenes could have benefited from a trim or two in the edit room."

It's unclear if Yauch attended the screening last night. From all accounts, it seems that he did not attend. (The saying goes "If there's no photo, it didn't happen.") Elijah Wood, who portrays Adrock in the film, appeared at the screening and made some comments to the audience. Danny McBride was also seen at the festival, but it's unknown whether he attended the screening.

Mike Diamond called into the BBC 1's Zane Lowe Show earlier today from his home in California, where he was "about to get ill on a sandwich." Mike told Lowe that Beastie Boys plan to release Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2 this spring. Whether the band will tour has not yet been decided. It will be Adam Yauch's decision. Mike also spoke about the band's new video/short film (a "filmeo" as he called it) as well as explained to Lowe how to prepare steel-cut oats.

Listen to streaming audio of the Zane Lowe Show at BBC.co.uk [DEAD LINK]. The interview begins around the 1:14 mark.

According to NME.com, Adam Yauch will have a new short film out, Fight for Your Right Revisited with the tagline "After the Boys Leave the Party."

Yauch is director and screenwriter for this short film, which will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, with the cast of Elijah Wood, Danny McBride, Seth Rogen, Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, and Jack Black, among other big names.

The man himself posted a still from the film on Beastieboys.com [DEAD LINK] at the beginning of December as a hint.

Mike D confirms that it will also be a video for a new song titled "Make Some Noise."

Click to enlarge

In memory of Sean "the Captain" Carasov, who passed away on October 30, we share his article "The Captain's Beefs," which was published in Issue #1 of Grand Royal Magazine (Fall/Winter 1993).

Today Tamra Davis, aka Tammy D aka Mrs. Michael Diamond, was a guest DJ on KCRW radio in Los Angeles. She chose five songs and discussed their significance to her. Her first song pick was Beastie Boys's "So What'cha Want." Davis explained the song pick by sharing a personal story:

I love that song. It, to me, really defines a time and this attitude. It's also a personal song to me because my husband is Mike D, and while he was making that record, I was just like the wife at home like, 'Oh God, you're just like taking so long on this record,' and the record company had asked them to make one more single and I was just like, 'Oh god, not another week in the studio every night.' So then he comes back and he plays me this song, "So What'cha Want" and I remember sitting in the front of our house in the car listening to it and I just was like, 'This? This is the song that you spent all this time on?!? This isn't that good.'

Time changed her opinion of the song, which she says is the best song that she has ever heard.

You may listen to and/or download audio of the program at KCRW's website (click on the "Listen" box at the upper left of the page), as well as read a full transcript of the show.

Tamra Davis is currently promoting her film Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child, which contains music composed by Mike Diamond and Adam Horovitz.

(Shoutout to Mama B)

Beastie Boys recently updated fans with this new information:

"Although we regret to inform you that 'Hot Sauce Committee Part 1' will continue to be delayed indefinitely, 'Hot Sauce Committee Part 2' will be released on time as originally planned in Spring of 2011."

It also appears that Beastieboys.com might be undergoing some sort of makeover (for the new album?) as the message board (and everything else) seems to be down, and the above message is the only text on the screen. So keep an eye on changes to that page!

The French music industry has been abuzz with talk that Beastie Boys have invited French artist Philippe Zdar (of house music duo Cassius) to help them mix Hot Sauce Committee. Zdar has successfully mixed albums and songs for Phoenix, Cut Copy, and Chromeo, among other artists.

A source close to the band has shared that Mike Diamond confirmed Zdar will be mixing HSC. It appears that Zdar will reign over the mix of the entire album, not just a few songs or remixes.

Beastie Boys have been nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011. Other nominees are Alice Cooper, Bon Jovi, Chic, Neil Diamond, Donovan (Adam Horovitz’s former father-in-law), Dr. John, J. Geils Band, LL Cool J (who was discovered by Adam Horovitz), Darlene Love, Laura Nyro, Donna Summer, Joe Tex, Tom Waits, and Chuck Willis.

The inductees will be announced in December, and the awards ceremony will be held on March 14 in New York City.

Michele Lupi and Adam Yauch in Venice. Photo: GQ.com Italy.

Michele Lupi, the editor-in-chief of GQ Italy, has become an unusual source for an update on Adam Yauch. In an editorial posted at GQ.com Italy, Lupi describes meeting Yauch in Venice this month and shares details from personal conversations with Yauch.

In his editorial (published in Italian HERE [DEAD LINK]), Lupi explains how he came to connect with Yauch. The story goes that Lupi was contacted by Italian rapper Jovanotti, a friend of Yauch's, to help Yauch find a house to rent in Venice while he attended the Venice Film Festival. Lupi used his connections to help out Yauch.

During a party for the Venice Film Festival, Lupi ran into Yauch and introduced himself as the guy who helped him with the house. Yauch thanked him, and the two chatted casually. Lupi decided to brave the personal question about Yauch's health and was surprised that Yauch responded openly and frankly. Yauch told Lupi that after 12 months of trying to beat the cancer, he believes that he has finally found the cure. Yauch said the trip to Venice and the Venice Film Festival was to celebrate the cure.