The Beastie Boys were quoted in the press a while back saying that they were going to write a book, and today they confirmed that news via a modest Facebook post saying to go check out BeastieBoysBook.com for pre-order info.
I’m not sure if you remember or not, but a while ago we said that we were gonna write a book about our band. Well, it’s almost done and it’s coming out soon, and this is what it’s gonna look like.
Kinda nice, right? It’s got a little something for everyone.
This is going to be incredible. The book will feature contributions from AD-ROCK and Mike D with Amy Poehler, Colson Whitehead, Spike Jonze, Wes Anderson, Luc Sante, and more.
Pre-order it today at: http://www.beastieboysbook.com/ or Amazon
Must cop, because if this turns out anything like it was said to be written, we may have a masterpiece on our hands. From the original NME article I linked to above, check out this passage:
…what fans can expect from the book upon its release…it may take a similar tone and form to the group’s 1990s magazine Grand Royal. The Beastie Boys are “interested in challenging the form and making the book a multidimensional experience”, [Julie] Grau said in an interview. “There is a kaleidoscopic frame of reference, and it asks a reader to keep up.” The book will be edited by Sacha Jenkins, a hip-hop journalist, and will be loosely structured as an oral history of the group from their beginnings in the music industry to the death of Adam Yauch.
Also, this set of details is not be overlooked…
With a style as distinctive and eclectic as a Beastie Boys album, Beastie Boys Book upends the typical music memoir. Alongside the band narrative you will find rare photos, original illustrations, a cookbook by chef Roy Choi, a graphic novel, a map of Beastie Boys’ New York, mixtape playlists, pieces by guest contributors, and many more surprises.
A cookbook??? This sounds really really unique.
Here’s some final details from the book preview…
Formed as a New York City hardcore band in 1981, Beastie Boys struck an unlikely path to global hip hop superstardom. Here is their story, told for the first time in the words of the band. Adam “AD-ROCK” Horovitz and Michael “Mike D” Diamond offer revealing and very funny accounts of their transition from teenage punks to budding rappers; their early collaboration with Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin; the almost impossible-to-fathom overnight success of their debut studio album Licensed to Ill; that album’s messy fallout; their break with Def Jam, move to Los Angeles, and rebirth as musicians and social activists, with the genre-defying masterpiece Paul’s Boutique. For more than twenty years, this band has had a wide-ranging and lasting influence on popular culture.
