Beastie Boys upcoming album will slam George W. Bush, praise New York

[Democat]

The Beastie Boys blend politics with party time on "To the 5 Boroughs," the New York-based rap trio's first album since 1998's "Hello Nasty."

"To the 5 Boroughs" is loaded with political commentary as expected, including calls to vote President Bush out of office and critiques of U.S. foreign policy. On "Time To Build," Adam Yauch (MCA) raps, "We've got a president we didn't elect / the Kyoto treaty he decided to neglect / and still the U.S. just wants to flex." On "That It's That All," the group demands, "'cause George W's got nothing on me / we've got to take the power from he."

The set frequently pays homage to the trio's New York surroundings, best heard on "An Open Letter to NYC." In front of a chopped-up sample of the Dead Boys' "Sonic Reducer," the group finds solace in the city's post-September 11th resiliency: "Since 911 we're still livin' / and lovin' life we've been given / ain't nothing gonna take that away from us / we're lookin' pretty and gritty 'cause in the city we trust."

Reinforcing the subject matter, the album's cover art is a pencil drawing of lower Manhattan as viewed from its southern tip, with the World Trade Center towers intact.

http://www.billboard.com/bb/daily/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000482309

Let's see what Clear Channel does with the new Beastie Boys record. They can't refuse to play one of the most anticipated records of the year, can they?

[truthspeaker]

1. they're writers, they're poets; it's genius, I know it;

they don't buy chiba, they grow it!

[belle]

2. Noooo YAWK!