Review It's heaven and the photography is sensational. -- Lauren LaverneOne of the greatest music books ever published. In terms of quality, breadth, insight, Sincerity and pure archival value. Hot shit!! Grand Royal heaven., Max PorterJust incredible, the whole thing, words, images, production. Might actually be perfect. -- Richard KingI think I will add it to my list of favourite music books of all time. This list actually exists. -- Richard Russell, Head of XL RecordingsLed Zep also get props in The Beastie Boys Book (Faber, £32). The New Yorkers grew up on heavy rock and nerdy humour, which they spliced together over inventive hip hop beats. In this playful collage of a book, the band invite female fans such as Amy Poehler to address the misogyny of their early lyrics. Their original drummer Kate Schellenbach takes them to task for becoming "meatheads" but gives a thumbs-up to the line "disrespect to women has got to be through" on 1994's Sure Shot., Daily TelegraphBeastie Boys Book is possibly the funniest music memoir I've ever read, but it's also, ultimately, one of the most moving, Irish TimesThat this book tells their story so well is not a surprise - Mike Diamond and Adam Horowitz have exceptionally keen recall - but how it tells it is amazing, Irish IndependentFormed as a New York City hardcore band in 1981, Beastie Boys struck an unlikely path to global hip hop superstardom. Here is their story, told for the first time in the words of the band . With a style as distinctive and eclectic as a Beastie Boys album, Beastie Boys Book upends the typical music memoir. Alongside the band narrative you will find rare photos, original illustrations, a cookbook by chef Roy Choi, a graphic novel, a map of Beastie Boys' New York, mixtape playlists, pieces by guest contributors, and many more surprises. Start flicking through the pages and you'll see why this is our clear winner for Book of the Year., Rough Trade BOOKS OF THE YEARMemoir, graphic novel, cookbook, photo-journal, love letter, elegy: this vast, unwieldy, marvellous book, narrated, like the band's songs, scatter-gun style by the two surviving Beastie Boys, is as original, uncategorisable and attention-grabbing as their music. Telling contributions from the likes of Wes Anderson and Amy Poehler gild an already rich confection, in which the fact that three white boys from New York scored the biggest rap album in history is but one startling detail in an extraordinary and unlikely career. -- Dan Cairns, Sunday Times BOOKS OF THE YEAR'Similarly wide-ranging and unorthodox, the prosaically titled Beastie Boys Book is another treat: a compendium of photos, cartoons, recipes, annotated mixtape tracklistings and first-person storytelling from the two surviving band members, Adam Horovitz and Mike Diamond. They are both insightful about their group's shifting music and are expert yarn-spinners, homing in on telling vignettes rather than doling out a straightforward history: the saga of Bob Dylan attempting to co-opt the Beastie Boys into performing at a pro-smoking benefit show is particularly great. But the 2012 death of their bandmate Adam Yauch hangs over their story, so that even the book's most preposterous tales are shot through with yearning and melancholy.' -- Alexis Petridis, Guardian BOOKS OF THE YEAR Book Description A panoramic experience that tells the story of Beastie Boys, a book as unique as the band itself-by band members AD-ROCK and Mike D, with contributions from Amy Poehler, Colson Whitehead, Spike Jonze, Wes Anderson, Luc Sante, and more. See all Product description
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