Most unexpected and very welcome news came last Friday with the sudden appearance of a solo single by Mike D, the first Beastie Boy to release any music since the death of MCA (Adam Yauch) fourteen years ago. Mike and Ad- Rock said at the time that the Beastie Boys could not go on without MCA, so the band ended there and then.
Mike D's single Switch Up is a rush of prime musical fun, the sheer joy Mike gets from making music evident in the track- a squiggle of guitar, some chords and then the drums kick in, a rapid fire drum 'n' bass breakbeat, bouncing bassline and Mike's whiny NY drawl (not a criticism, I love the Beastie Boys whiny NY voices). The guitars are squally, the synths and noises ricochet about and there's some proper hip hop energy going on, Mike coming back time again to the song's title, 'Switch up!' among other phrases welcoming change. It slows down for the end, the rhythm and tempo cut in half and some strings swoop in. Good fun.
The track was recorded with his two sons, Skylar and Davis, who play in a band called Very Nice Person. Mike popped up with Very Nice Person and his own group 5D in person last week at L.A.'s Plaza Nightclub and they did Beastie Boys track So What'cha Want, a song from 1992's Check Your Head, with explosive drums, organ, screechy guitars and three way vocal wordplay galore.
Mike D's country album- Country Mike's Greatest Hits- was never officially released. Mike D recorded it as a joke for friends and gave it them for Christmas. Maybe a hundred copies exist, some on black vinyl and some on red. It has been bootlegged too but the quality is variable apparently. The YouTube upload below is from one of the genuine copies, the best faux- country album recorded by any of the Beastie Boys.
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