CURBSERVICEMUSIC.com

This might just be the best damn commercial ever made. Not only is it empowering to young women, they reworked the Beastie Boys classic, "Girls". Big ups to GoldieBlox.

Back in the day I used to memorize evey album I bought within days of the purchase. The particularly dirty raps (N.W.A., Geto Boys, etc) were stictly played in headphones to avoid my parent's wrath. But for tamer acts like the Beastie Boys, L.L. and Run DMC I was able to cover most obscenities with a well timed cough or by bouncing a basketball when my folks were within earshot. Found this video this morning of a thirty-something couple playing N.W.A for their son. Killer.

When Def Jam/Columbia released the Beastie Boys' Licensed to Ill in 1986, it became one of the fastest selling debuts to date. The Boys, however, did not receive a fair shake on the deal driving a wedge between them and Def Jam exec Russell Simmons. The Beaties eventually took their talents to Capital Records where the recieved a million dollar advance and flew to L.A. to squander it for the better part of a year - eventually releasing Paul's Boutique (which is celebrated in retrospect but at the time was a huge commercial flop). Meanwhile, Def Jam needed another white boy crew so they signed 3rd Bass. On their debut, The Cactus Album, they came out the gate swinging - taking shots at the Beasties. I gotta be honest, in 1989 most of this went right over my head. I was unaware of the shady dealings with Def Jam - I was even unaware that the Beasties had moved over to Capital. But later I discovered the beef between the two camps and took a listen to this track. Now, the Beasties obviously went on to create several great records and landed firmly in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame - but this is one of greatest diss tracks ever recorded.

With the passing of MCA this year I wondered what would become of his film company, Oscilloscope Laboratories. Apparently they're moving on and next month they will release the epic documentary, Samsara, directed by Ron Fricke. Filmed in 25 countries over the course of 5 years this looks to be more than just eye candy, this is pure documentation of the human soul. Check it.

What's better than watching the video for "Sabotage" as directed by Spike Jonze? Watching it remade shot for shot with children. Badass. Props to James Winters.