Form following content (or vice versa) here’s a short quick one about a short quick record, Beastie Boys Aglio e Olio. Released quickly as the Beastie Boys realised they’d written too many hardcore tunes for their next LP*, as a cheap EP and boasting 8 tracks in 11 minutes this was their first full-on hardcore release since 82’s Polly Wog Stew.
Just like Beasties offshoot band DFL** the brand of hardcore on show here is pretty much a sped up version of Minor Threat, with a bit of added slowed down mosh-it-up type other bits; I appreciate that after a description that detailed and technical you don’t actually need to hear the music, but here it is anyway, because I’m a bit of a traditionalist:
Best track by far is ‘Square Wave in Unison’ which is all about Léon Theremin and his wonderous invention (For all of his brilliant innovation / Sent off to a Siberian reservation), but it’s all of a similar bent. If you like highly over-caffeinated hardcore chances are you’ll like this, if not then don’t worry you’ve only wasted 11 minutes. To be honest I was that much of a fan that I’d have bought it even if it was just 11 minutes of the various Beasties farting into a microphone and banging frying pans together whilst reciting the alphabet, hmm… anyone fancy forming a band?
For reasons best known to the Beasties the Australian version was, I think, released on a 7″ single and featured two additional tracks, ‘Soba Violence’ with its really high scratchy guitar sound and a brilliant lounge jazz cover of the Doors ‘Light My Fire’ featuring Ciba Matto’s Miho Hatori on vocals, which pretty much invented Nouvelle Vague seven years early.
Curse you Australians! With your fantastic climate, marsupials and your bonus tracks!!
289 Down.
P.S: The Youtube version above is the full Aussie version, pls do check out the last track, at least.
*1998’s really disappointing, to me anyway, Hello Nasty – which could badly have done with some proper hardcore tunes.
**Dead Fucking Last (just in case you missed that week in hardcore high school).