FFWD REW

High Five – week of May 10 2012

On Friday May 4 Beastie Boys member filmmaker Tibetan freedom activist and all around fascinating cultural figure Adam “MCA” Yauch passed away due to complications related to his three-year battle with cancer. While I don’t usually have any sort of emotional response to the death of a celebrity this was entirely different. Yauch didn’t overdose on drugs or take his own life and he wasn’t a cold distant cultural figure like most rock stars are. He was a hardcore kid from New York with an impeccable sense of humour a solid social conscience and the ability to push rap music in all sorts of fascinating directions. As such here are five of my favourite things about Yauch.

I. HIGH FIVE

It’s only fitting to include an actual high five in the High Five column. When the Beastie Boys played Vancouver’s Pacific Coliseum in September of 2004 my then-girlfriend now-wife and I lined up early in the day to ensure a spot in the front row. This is the only show I’ve done that for as an adult and I’m so glad we did. After a Vegas-style dog show and a bass-heavy set from Talib Kweli the Beastie Boys absolutely destroyed. Best of all Adam Yauch took a break from his raspy-voiced delivery to walk over and give us high fives. It was one of the only moments in my life where I truly felt star struck.

II. SLURPEES AND JOKES

The main thing that has kept the Beastie Boys cool for decades is their sense of humour: even when they’re dealing with serious subject matter they’re never taking themselves seriously. Yauch embodied this so well from the incredible music videos he directed under the name Nathanial Hörnblowér to his own performances in the videos. The Criterion DVD of the Beastie Boys’ videos is amazing for many reasons but among them is the fact that you can switch cameras during many of the clips effectively making your own edit on the fly. There’s one take of the “Alive” video where Yauch has a Slurpee and every time it’s his turn to rap he refuses to stop sipping on the iced beverage.

III. OSCILLOSCOPE

In addition to his music video direction Yauch became a solid filmmaker and producer in his own right spreading work with Oscilloscope Laboratories a production company he founded. Aside from Gunnin’ For That #1 Spot the Hoop Dreams -esque basketball documentary he directed the company was responsible for the distribution of fantastic indie films like Dark Days We Need to Talk About Kevin Wendy and Lucy and many others. It was just another aspect of Yauch’s life that encouraged the DIY spirit in others.

IV. GROWING UP

From a 17-year-old hardcore kid brat to his early incarnation as a beer-swilling chauvinist to his eventual arrival as the least annoying conscious rapper to ever exist Yauch made mistakes and gracefully accounted for them as part of his career. Even his work to support Tibetan independence was an omnipresent aspect of his public persona but it was never obnoxious or preachy. Yauch grew up on record and had many ups and downs but it was never awkward to observe.

V. FLAWLESS DISCOGRAPHY

Aside from the fact that he was never hard to appreciate as a person Yauch and the Beastie Boys as a whole were also never hard to listen to. In fact they have one of the most consistent and versatile discographies of any band ever. At their worst some of their material (like 2007’s instrumental album The Mix-Up ) could be considered forgettable but never bad. And at their best they changed the entire world with some of the most fun interesting and exciting music ever made.

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