The book review of the Beastie Boys Book none of you asked for

I just finished the Beastie Boys book and it could be the most I've ever enjoyed a book. It's like a mix tape, paces really well, with Adam and Mike going back and forth with short chapters. It feels like the book form of a goddamn Beastie Boys song. It's wild. There's a ton of guest contributors too that keeps it fresh. Lot of great pictures spread throughout the book instead of sticking them all in the middle. It's bittersweet that it's over. It's about 600 pages and usually I don't enjoy books that long. I don't trust a story that can't be told under 300 pages. But this was different. It went by fast, too fast. I wish it was the size of Infinite Jest, maybe more. I want more! I wish MCA was still with us. I wish the Beastie Boys were still writing silly rap songs in their 50's. I don't think I'll ever be over the death of a Beastie Boy. That shit will be sad forever, but in a good way I guess. Better to have had the Beastie Boys than not at all.

Beastie Boys forever. Thanks for the book.

Warped Tour

I was going to wax emo poetic about how this past weekend was the last Warped Tour on NJ soil, a punk-ish rock festival I haven't attended in well over a decade. I was gonna lament over the end of an era and succumb to the heavy nostalgia thinking about Warped does to me. But Warped hasn't put together a line up I wanted to see in a long time. And that's okay, it shouldn't. It should be geared towards young people, not me. Things are changing and as time passes, things become old and tired. Warped will be gone by the end of the summer and that's okay because that means it won't hang around and try to exist well past its own suggested expiration date. The kids will figure something out. CBGB's closed and rock and roll is still alive and well any night of the week in NYC. Something will always come along. The kids will be alright. I'll reflect on the past with fond memories but also accept my own wear and tear. I'm 38 and can no longer hang out in the hot sun for 8 hours and mosh all day. You can find me at the back of an indoor venue now, wondering if I'm the same age as the parents of some of these young punks, rockers, and moshers, just happy to know that even though it may not seem like it in the mainstream, rock and roll is alive and young people are still tearing shit up.