If you live long enough, you get to see some cool shit. And you get to see small evolutions. Say, for instance, from a fringe hip-hop album that you and a few buddies used to jam out to in college when the world couldn't care less . . . to a cultural icon regarded as "seminal," "foundational," and even "watershed."
Rock snob glossary entries are fun. But this is more than a label; this is a landmark.
You guessed it, I'm talking about the three bad brothers you know so well (Ad Rock, MCA and Mike D, not rob, Dave, and me). The Beastie Boys have been further cemented into the streets of their beloved hometown, if not history.
According to Time Out:
“On July 14, the New York City Council approved the co-naming of the intersection of Ludlow and Rivington streets as Beastie Boys Square.”
Why there? Fans of the trio will surely know. Cue Track 14 on Dave's CD that he brought back from summer break before sophomore year...
“The best in men's clothing. Call Paul's Boutique and ask for Janice, and the number is (718) 498-1043. That's Paul's Boutique, and they're in Brooklyn.”
Except they're not. This bogus business, the basis for the name of this album, was just a lark. Whose legendary album-cover street shot has inspired multitudes to track it down and hang, if just for a moment, where it happened.
I know, I know, but everybody's got their Graceland. And this spot is it for fans of the latter-day Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
And it's cool. Check this out on Google Maps.
So if you happen to be in Manhattan's Lower East Side, say visiting Katz's Delicatessen, or the club formerly known as CBGB, or maybe you're headed to Little Italy, or maybe, just maybe you were looking for 59 Chrystie Street, the name of a track off Paul's Boutique... and holy crap check this out...
Anyway, if you're down that way, say maybe you got drunk at Doc Holliday's and got way lost downtown after that, come on by the corner of Ludlow and Rivington. You won't see a Paul's Boutique sign, but you will see a cool mural:
And who knows? You might see an old-school hip-hop trio on the corner, grooving and riffing on a piece of cardboard like Jay and Silent Bob, but to "Johnny Ryall," and "Eggman," and "Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun," among others.
No, not the Beasties, not after MCA left us way too early. I'm talking Random Idiots in our rap personae: Honky Dory, D. Pave, and DJ Robbie Robb. Get some.
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