NEWS: Beastie Boys Get Political On New Alubm

Eric Marth reports:
It's hard to believe that I was still in high school when the Beastie Boys released 1998's Hello Nasty, but after six years later, I've managed to make it through high school and complete a degree with Strayer University's television repair program. And the Beastie Boys have completed a new record! As previously reported here at the Pitchfork, the band has completed work on their upcoming sixth full-length, To the 5 Boroughs, and now, it is our great pleasure to reveal the details surrounding its release.

The record is set for a June 15 release via Capitol Records, and will be their first since their 1986 debut, Licensed to Ill, to not be released on their Grand Royal imprint, which went bankrupt in the summer of 2001. It will also prominently feature longtime stand-in DJ, Mix Master Mike, and, to our great shock, raps! Of which we have some to share with you. Dear Lord, they are pretty bad. But as staff writer Brent DiCrescenzo has pointed out, it won't be the first time the trio's let loose with a barrage of shudder-inducing lines. "They've rapped about the Bhagavad-vita and Sadahara Oh," he says. "What's the difference?" Decide for yourself with these reprinted lyrics blatently stolen from another publication's news story. Damn! Straight outta Billboard:

# "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." ["Sonic Reducer"]

# "Hey, could you please pass me the peas/ And let me get a tissue if you think you're gonna sneeze." ["Rhyme the Rhyme Well"]

# "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." ["Time to Build"]

Eeeeeeee. And here's the tracklist:

01 Ch-Check It Out
02 Right Right Now Now
03 3 the Hard Way
04 Time to Build
05 Rhyme the Rhyme Well
06 Triple Trouble
07 Hey Fuck You
08 Oh Word?
09 That It's That All
10 All Life Styles
11 Shazam!
12 An Open Letter to NYC
13 Crawl Space
14 The Brouhaha
15 We Got The

In addition to the album, the group's official website has reported that the Boys will drop the opening track, "Ch-Check It Out", as the record's first single. A video for the song, as well as album artwork and audio clips, will be made available on the site in the coming weeks. Additionally, the group plans to play the Summer Sonic Festival in Japan, alongside like-minded bands like Green Day, The Darkness, The Hives, Peaches, Hoobastank, Nas, Sum 41 and Midtown!! Festival dates:

08-07 Tokyo, Japan - Chiba Marine Staduim & Makuhari Messe
08-08 Osaka, Japan - Open Air Stadium & Intex Osaka