Beastie Boys - Sabotage

Eclectic feels like a bit of an understatement when it comes to describing the Beastie Boys. Hip-hop, alt-rock, jazz, hardcore punk – trying to predict what was coming next on any given track on any given album was like trying to guess which member of Slipknot was which on mask washing day. There was always one certainty about what you were going to get, however – an emphatically listenable experience that pushed the boundaries of every genre under the sun and pissed off your mum and dad in equal measure. In the Rock Song of the Week offices, that’s what we call “a bloody good Tuesday”.

We know what you might be thinking at this point. “But Eddie, the Beastie Boys were a hip-hop act. What’s that got to do with Rock Song of the Week? Also, while I’ve got you, why won’t my significant other stop looking at you all dreamily?” The second part is all natural, but the first doesn’t need much in the way of explaining either. Funnily enough, the Beastie Boys actually have their origins in hardcore punk, during that wonderful period of the late 70s/ early 80s in the USA when punk got mad and the LAPD got nightstick-happy. Made up of members of experimental band Young Aboriginies, it wasn’t until 1984 and signing onto Rick Rubin’s newly formed Def Jam records that the band gained their famous hip-hop image.

Though they had always been fans of including a little of this and that, when it comes to dipping toes in the genre waters the New York City rabble-rousing trio turned it up to well beyond eleven with their third studio album Ill Communication in 1994. Firmly in the camp of the group’s transition away from sampling other tracks and instead focusing on using instruments in their place, Ill Communication was a smorgasbord of sound, an audio assault that took on multiple forms – with several tracks taking on a very hardcore punk style, harking back to their roots in the music scene.

Which brings us neatly to what we are sure you’ll agree is a track worthy of some light reading on a Friday morning. An absolute jam worth pumping as loud as it goes, Sabotage is a genre-spanning classic that will get you in shape for the weekend in true rebellious style. From the distinct intro to the iconic record scratches there’s not a part of this track that doesn’t bear repeated plays, so put those middle fingers up (responsibly, of course) and enjoy a slice of the good stuff.