Saturday, August 11, 2012

Extra: New Beastie Boys Book

(This is the third and final installment of a series of books on 1980s artists. I'm keeping my end of the bargain in running these...which is more than Rhino could do. They promised to let me give away five free copies of this book and possibly talk with the authors -- which would have been helpful this week -- but they didn't. And then they refused to answer my followup emails. But, it's not Christopher Weingarten's fault that his PR guy punted the ball away, so please keep that in mind as you read on.)


There is a common thread that runs through the three books I've featured recently. Like the reviews I did for this book and this book, I noticed that there was an element of fandom here. These books aren't a rehash of what Wikipedia will present about the groups' origins, and they aren't a whitewash about the groups' early days, as authorized by people who now have identities and carefully crafted personas. In short, these books are all about the authors' memories as fans, and Every Day I Take a Wee is no exception.

The book's title is from a line in one of The Beastie Boys' songs that was misheard by Christopher Weingarten during his early days as a fan of the band. Starting his narrative in 1985 and continuing from 1987 (when -- at the tender age of seven -- he first heard the tape License to Ill) and continuing throughout certain periods as he grew up, he explains how the band continued to surprise him even after he was convinced that he knew all there was to know about that LP.

The book began as an article by Weingarten to commemorate the 25th anniversary of License to Ill but was finished before the untimely death of member Adam Yauch earlier this year. Here's a song from that album that is a classic today, even though it never charted on the Hot 100 as a single:



It is an amalgamation of the many facets they brought to their music...and part of why they were so important to bringing rap music to the suburbs, where the rich white kids would be able to give it a wider audience. Here's a couple of links that will allow you to pick up the ebook in its digital format. But don't fret if you don't have a e-reader; it's ready for any computer as well.

Every Day I Take a Wee: The Beastie Boys and the Untimely Death of Suburban Folklore - Christopher R. Weingarten

These are available for only $1.99. There is no additional shipping cost, and you'll be reading it within minutes.

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