"I want to offer my love and respect to the end." Adam "MCA" Yauch (1964--2012) |
Adam "MCA" Yauch, who
dropped science like Galileo dropped the orange, has left the Earth and two
Beastie Boys behind after battling throat cancer for three years. He was the
voice of gravel to Mike Diamond and Adam "Adrock" Horovitz's whine
and yelp. He was always the steadiest one, leaning in the back chewing
bubblegum and moving with a calibrated ease. I always took a personal liking to
Mike D, but it was the lyrics of MCA that rattled most in my brain. "All
you Trekkies and TV addicts/Don't mean to diss, don't mean to bring
static," or, “I’m cool as a cucumber in a bowl of hot sauce,” or,
"I'll stir-fry you in my wok," and who knows what else, all of it.
Once at a job interview for Blockbuster I
was asked how I prepare myself mentally before going to work. In a moment of
hesitation I wondered if I should give them the professional answer, or the
truth. "Well...I put on the Beastie Boys and that pretty much gets me
ready," I answered. The two employers had smiles that turned into laughs
and I was hired.
This is the absolute beauty of MCA,
Adrock and Mike D: When the Beastie Boys play all the problems of the world
fall away. Everything loosens up and suddenly it's the first day of summer
vacation. Dance, shout, jump, throw shit around and have some fun. The Beasties
unlock the part of your brain where all the happiness hides. They instantly
achieve pure wild positivity and reflect it back to the listener. No other
group does this. Many come close, many have tried, but only the B-Boys can truly
make it happen again and again. Just think of the opening seconds of
“Intergalactic” or “Sure Shot” and you’ll start to feel that spazzed-out
energy. It’s hard not to jump out a window or swing from the ceiling fan when
it comes on.
They've given the world something
magical that will last forever. It's heartbreaking to think it’s over, but hard
to imagine the Beastie Boys as a duo. They've always been and always will be a
trio, but this ends not with a slouching sadness, but of a joyful gratitude.
MCA’s soul now may be divided up amongst the rest of us so that a sliver of him
will melt inside us always. He now travels by the sound waves of his own
creation. He now is the music.
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