Soundtrack to my Science: Shake your rump-ah

Well.

Not many things can break up the monotony of a slow day in the lab like the Beastie Boys. The new album, The Hot Sauce Committee, was supposedly set for release in September. However, the album release was delayed following Adam Yauch's (MCA) diagnosis with cancer. I want to revisit the complete catalogue (minus any compilation albums) before the The Hot Sauce Committee hits stores. Today seemed like a good time to get started since purifying proteins was once again on the agenda. I decided to take the chronological approach and listen to the first two albums, License to Ill (1986) and Paul's Boutique (1989), respectively.

As many of you may probably know, License to Ill was a huge hit. What you may not know, is that over 5 million copies of License to Ill were sold, making it the best selling rap album of the 1980s. It was also the first rap album to hit #1 on billboard.

My personal favorite, Paul's Boutique, was initially a huge commercial disappointment, as albums sales were much lower than License to Ill. However, this sample-heavy album turned out to be the bands most critically-acclaimed release, and routinely appears on "greatest albums" lists. Paul's Boutique is considered a landmark hip-hop album by many.

I love this album from start to finish, and some of my favorites tracks are Shake Your Rump, High Plains Drifter and last, but certainly not least, Shadrach (included below, check it out).