My Man MCA has a Beard Like A Billy-Goat

The sound of “Paul's Boutique” is one of the most fascinating hip-hop albums to come out of the late 80's. '89 to be exact. For my money it ranks up there with genre changing albums like “Straight Outta Compton” and “It Takes a Nation of Millions.” Obviously these three albums come from very different circumstances, people, and areas. Well, both “Paul's Boutique” and “Straight Outta Compton” hail from California.

I know; the Beasties are from New York, but they hooked up with the Dust Brothers in LA. Where they wrote and recorded it.

There is something different going on in the album. It is the precursor to all the sampling you hear in music today. It doesn't matter if it is the Verve with “Bitter Sweet Symphony” or Moby with “Natural Blue's.” It seems to really come from “Paul's Boutique.” Innovated in the use of samples; pulling in elements from music as diverse as punk, funk, jazz, The Beatles, and more that I am forgetting. I am sure that I will want to admin this later when I go in and dig through the songs again.

It is no secret that “Paul's Boutique” is my favorite album in The Beastie Boys catalog. It is an album you can listen to over and over again. Hearing something different in it each time you listen. It is as exciting and fresh as it was back in '89.

I come back to this album because like many because we recently learned that MCA passed away.

To many people of my generation, it seems like we grew up with them. Hearing “License to Ill” while in grade school, “Ill Communication” in high school, and “Hello Nasty” while in college. The music ended up being a part of the soundtrack for us growing up. Even if you weren't an active listener, you know who the Beasties are and ten to one you probably danced to a few of their tracks at house parties, keggers, and out at the club. Unless you are like me and can't dance to save your life, then you just played the wall bobbing your head to groove coming from the DJ's sound system.

I never knew the man, I won't even pretend that I did. I know that he along with Mike D and Ad-Rock put out some great music that made it alright for white boys like myself to get into hip-hop. Get our feet wet and ready to explore another side of music that might have never been available in a small midwest town where the nearest record store was roughly 30 minutes away.

Fast forward to this very moment where I am spinning some of the 12 inches on the turntable, the same vinyl that I have taken out to DJ. Listening to remixes, extended cuts, and a few fun things for the fans. Just like me typing this, it is some way to pay tribute to a man that has given all of us some of the coolest music. Music that, even if the hardcore hip-hop guys don't want to admit, has pushed the art form to another level (and possibly being the antithesis for the advent of rap-rock... Do we really want to admit to that.)

I made a statement about a month ago saying that I was very fortunate to have seen A Tribe Called Quest open up for The Beastie Boys. I can now add on to the fact that my fortune is amplified that I was able to see The Beastie Boys kicking it on stage.

The side of the record is over, I think that I am going to just let is spin for a bit. A moment of silence, if you will.

Droppin' Science on Digging

Since this is my first writing on the topic of record collecting and music, (on a blog dedicated to the previous mentioned activities) I decided that it would be good to have some sort of background on where I am coming from. Droppin some science on what I do, and a little bit about how I go about it. Sure, I will go through some more details about artists, stores, and other musical field trips in future scribblings.

When I was in college, all those years ago, I had a buddy who use to collect comic books. By the time I was in college I was getting my toes wet in the arena that is record collecting. To a certain degree it was a cool little niche and something to do with all that extra free time and extra money that I seemed to have then. In my dorm room I had a turntable and roughly 10-12 records. Just things that I would get when heading to some of my favorite record store at the time. My buddy, Mike, said something that has stuck with me as this hobby has become a little more time consuming; and financially. Sometimes to my wife's dismay. Mike said to me: “collect what you like, don't worry about the value of it. As long as it has value to you, that is all that matters.”

What a revelation, a revelation that occurred almost 13 years ago. With that I started my real journey through record stores, Goodwills, Salvation Army stores, garage sales, antique stores, and whoever else happened to have a handful vinyl setting in some crate waiting to be explored, bought, and taken to a new home. To me it wasn't about finding the missing pressings of some Beatles, Stones, or Miles Davis work. It is about finding things that speak to me. Wandering around a record store in an almost daze, my hands go through the musty smell of cardboard and wooden racks. It creates an almost intoxicating affect when I walk through and see stacks of records, just waiting for me to pillage them.

I don't go into the store with a list. I just go in and dig. There is so much that can be found when you are not looking for it, and it would be worthless to have a shopping list. The same type of shopping list that you head into the grocery store with: Milk, eggs, cheese, soda, coffee, etc. etc. etc. For me if I have a list, it leave a huge room for distraction, and in the sense of collecting; distraction is the key to find new things. If it wasn't for distraction I wouldn't have found some albums like “The Kenny Burrell Quintet with John Coltrane.” or Jr Walker & the All Stars “Road Runner.” Two albums that have been purchased many moons ago and still get regular spins on my turntable (both when sitting in the basement and gigging as a DJ.)

There are two different schools in the realm of record collecting. It is to a certain degree the same as guys who collect and refurbish vintage cars. There are the guys who buy the car and trailer it to the show, and there are the other guys who rev up the engine, spin the tires, and feel the power of the car as it hits the road on the way into the car show. Records are just the same way, I know there are guys who collect records for their value and show them off as if they are priceless piece of art, and then there are guys like me. Who pull them off the shelves, put them on the turntable, and listen the analog hiss, warmth, and pure form in which music is to be listened to.

But, collecting records isn't an art form. It isn't about finding the holy grail and then putting them up as a relic of financial superiority. It is about the enjoyment of music. To listen to music how it was intended. From the sound of a great Jazz album like “The Kenny Burrell Quintet featuring John Coltrane” to the Native Tongue of De La Soul's “Stakes is High.” The feel of a 7, 10, or 12 inch platter in your hands, the art work, liner notes, and the smell. Yes, records have a great smell; musty or otherwise. To collect records is about finding new music in a manner that means digging through A-Z rather than searching iTunes so you might get to hear a song on shuffle when hit play on your iPod.

All in all, it is about excavating and finding music that speaks to you on an emotional level. It isn't about being a hipster who wears the funny sock hat in the summer, but the joy of finding music that is truly unique and moves you. To walk into any store and know that you are going to find something, anything, and everything. That is record collecting to me.