There were two albums that I bought as a kid that made my parents concerned. The first was ‘License to Ill’ by the Beastie Boys (followed by ‘Appetite for Destruction’ about a year later). I find it ironic that , 25 years after the first Beastie Boys album came out (and lewdness laws were created due to behavior at their concerts), that I think it would be hard to find a group of more artistic and politically involved individuals. They’ve created some ground-breaking work, and in many ways came of age along with MTV (certainly using the music video as an artistic vehicle with as much importance as the songs themselves). I remember listening to that record with my friend George as a kid (and George also introducing me to what was probably influencing the Beasite Boys as well… thanks George! I still remember hearing NWA on a tape deck outside your house!).

They were also part of one of my favorite music SNL memories:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tondtut3dOc

I remember seeing this with my friend Colin, and both of our jaws just dropping. What a rad moment (no matter how staged it may have been).

But the only Beastie Boys I have on CD is ‘The Sounds Of Science’, the two disc compilation they put out in 1999. It’s a good set, and my Beastie Boys vinyl is still in fine condition in case I was to hear all of ‘Paul’s Boutique’. But it is some of the extras on this disc that are just great. Their version of ‘Benny And The Jets’ with Biz Markie is one of the most brilliant and funny covers I’ve ever heard (violating the law that ‘a cover shouldn’t imitate the style of the original’ – but doing it in a brilliant fashion, even including the sound of a crowd cheering in the background).

The other discs ripped tonight were the complete Saint-Saëns symphonies with Jean Martinon. The third (‘The Organ’) has some great moments and deserves to be his best knows symphonic work, but my favorite is his second in A minor. The orchestral forces are small compared to the large romantic orchestral forces of the 3rd Symphony and the piano concertos, but along with that comes a nostalgia for the music written for smaller orchestras. Parts of the piece sound more like something Mozart would have done, and points even have some contrapuntal writing that is surprisingly clear and simple. But there are some striking dissonances in the piece and some very effective drama, all while clocking in at around 22 minutes. For a romantic symphony, it is almost a miniature, but taken out of its historical context I think it has some real strengths over his other symphonic works. The opening arpeggios let you know right away that this is a classical work, and the main theme (treated fugally) is lots of fun. But after Beethoven (and Berlioz, Mendelssohn, Schuman and Brahms) the 7 minute LONG movement feels brief and succinct. Not that I have anything against long and developed… just that for some reason the proportions and material of this symphony have always captured my attention in a strange way. And playing it now (after not hearing it for MANY years) I’m glad to see that my impression of it is still intact.