Beastie Boys - License to Ill (w/ guests Ed and Alice Magdziak)

Bill and Brian welcome bloggers Ed and Alice Magdziak from youdontknowjersey.com to help us talk about what makes Beastie Boys' License to Ill great. Formed by 3 teenage New Yorkers who held the burgeoning rap scene of the early 80s in the same regard as the hardcore punk they grew up on, the band went on to release a huge cross over hit that was only a hint at the critically acclaimed and influential series of albums they would produce. Alice and Ed discuss their very different experiences discovering the band in middle-of-nowhere Ohio and as a college sophomore who had a chance meeting, respectively. Brian, Bill, Ed, and Alice discuss the Beastie Boys' party dude image, the mysoginistic and sexist content on the album, the influence of happenstance in meeting producer Rick Rubin and label head Russell Simmons, how broad the genre divide is in rap music, the importance of sequencing especially when navigating mediocre tracks, and of course a track by track review!