Adam Yauch — R.I.P.

Adam Yauch — aka MCA — was one of the founding members of Beastie Boys.  He has passed away, at age 47, from cancer.

Beastie Boys were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame just this year.  Adam Yauch was unable to attend the ceremony on April 14th.

When I first heard their mid-eighties hit “Fight For Your Right to Party,” I thought it was the most retarded thing I’d ever heard.  I still do.  But I kept hearing and reading good reviews of them.

A friend gave me a tape of their mid-nineties album “Ill Communication,” and I was hooked.  Their synthesis of rap, punk and R&B (plus a few other ingredients) is addictive.

Adam Yauch also founded Oscilloscope Laboratories — a recording studio — and Oscilloscope Pictures, a film distribution unit.

Beastie Boys were heavily involved in the Tibetan Freedom Concert — a series of concerts throughout North America, Asia and Europe from 1996 to 2001.