Adam Yauch R.I.P.

It absolutely sickens me to write this, but it appears that Adam Yauch (a.k.a. MCA) of the Beastie Boys has passed away. According to Rolling Stone:

Adam Yauch, one-third of the pioneering hip-hop group the Beastie Boys, has died at the age of 48, Rolling Stone has learned. Yauch, also known as MCA, had been in treatment for cancer since 2009. The rapper was diagnosed in 2009 after discovering a tumor in his salivary gland.

Yauch sat out the Beastie Boys' induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April, and his treatments delayed the release of the group's most recent album, Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 2. The Beastie Boys had not performed live since the summer of 2009, and Yauch's illness prevented the group from appearing in music videos for Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 2.

Yauch co-founded the Beastie Boys with Mike "Mike D" Diamond and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horowitz in 1979. The band started off as a hardcore punk group, but soon began experimenting with hip-hop. The band broke big with their first proper album, Licensed to Ill, in 1986, and further albums Paul's Boutique, Check Your Head and Ill Communication cemented the band as a true superstar act.

In addition to his career with the Beastie Boys, Yauch was heavily involved in the movement to free Tibet and co-organized the Tibetan Freedom Concerts of the late Nineties. In 2002, he launched the film production company Oscilloscope Laboratories.

This is extremely devastating news. Yauch has long been an idol of mine, and the Beastie Boys no doubt shaped my musical interests since childhood. Adam Yauch R.I.P.

Feature: Music Videos That… Were Directed by Filmmakers

So remember when we said this feature was comin’-ta-getcha every Thursday? We forgot to mention that this excluded last Thursday. Sorry ‘bout that. Our Hallmark ‘forgive me’ cards are in the mail.

But enough groveling! This week’s list was hard to narrow down to just 5 – there are A LOT of creative people who fall into this category. And also Michael Bay. Below are a select few for your viewing pleasure, so do take a moment to procrastinate and somehow make it look like you’re doing work in that office.

Ad-Rock Showed Up On "Top Chef: Just Desserts," Shit Got Weird

More photos from Ad-Rock's MoMA DJ set over here. Coincidentally, we'll be DJing on the same stage next Thursday.

There's a great deal that can be said about the salient interplay between cooking and music... that I'm not going to really get into right now. Suffice to say, a lot of our favorite musicians are really big fans of great restaurants and chefs, so it's not TOO big of a stretch to learn that the King Ad-Rock of the legendary hip-hop group the Beastie Boys showed up on one of the many cooking shows on TV right now, Bravo's Top Chef: Just Desserts.

Here's where it does get weird: he pops on to introduce a pastry challenge involving food referenced in Beastie Boys songs... like bacon (cool), macaroni and cheese (okay), canned ravioli (...), and pork 'n beans (uh). Totally odd and definitely worth watching for Ad-Rock's final "Good luck with THAT one" at the end.

Check it out after the jump, and please pass me the Riunite on ice. (Thanks to Stereogum for the heads up)

Beastie Boys Unleash Collector's Edition Action Figures For Charity

Well here's some news that hits several levels of nostalgia all at once. FN favorites the Beastie Boys, fresh off releasing the excellent (and still-kind-of-confusingly-named) Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 and the accompanying Spike Jonze-helmed music video for "Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win," have announced that you can now create your own excellent adventures for the B-Boys with a new set of Collector's Edition Action Figures:

"To celebrate summer and renaissance all up across this fair piece, as well as the release of the video for Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win, we are making a select few sets of our very own B-Boys action figures available for purchase. Yes! These are the very same dashing figures that you feast your eyes on in the video. Produced by Nowhere Ltd. / Bathing Ape, these are some real limited edition, explicit, bottle service/ v.i.p. type items. And no, we are not trying to take you for all your Mozarell."

Regarding that last line - the figure sets cost $750 a pop (just $50 less than Björk's Biophilia Ultimate Edition release with the tuning forks), but the bulk of the proceeds go to two great charities that focus on helping kids with cancer, The Pablove Foundation and Alex's Lemonade Stand. Additionally, each set comes with a two-disc deluxe edition of the 1999 Beasties anthology The Sounds of Science. Hit up the Beastie Boys' store for more info, and get some ideas on how you can best play around with the action figures if you bust them out of their cases by watching the full 11-minute version of "Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win" below the jump.

Watch: Beastie Boys "Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win" (feat. Santigold)

The Beastie Boys Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win ft. Santigold from Beastie Boys

Speaking of videos of artists covering the Beastie Boys, here's an actual video by the Beastie Boys, directed by longtime collaborator Spike Jonze (a.k.a. the guy who made one of my favorite films of all time). "Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win" is off of the recently released, and excellent, Hot Sauce Committee Pt. II and features singer/songwriter Santigold, who I remember when she was Santogold. How fucking nostalgic....

Enjoy!

Watch: Blondie Covers The Beastie Boys

I kind of love it when this happens. FN icons Blondie are currently gearing up for their fall US tour in support of their upcoming album Panic of Girls with several European shows, and as Gothamist reports, some lucky fans at their recent show at London's Somerset House got to see them cover the Beastie Boys' classic jam "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)" after tearing through their own hit, "Rapture."

Fortunately someone had their camera out, and you can see it too after the jump. Tickets are still available for their 9/12 and 9/13 shows here in NYC at Highline Ballroom.

Photos: Ad-Rock @ MoMA (DJ Set)

The Beastie Boys have yet to announce any live dates in support of their recently released (and excellent) Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, but that doesn't mean the trio isn't staying active. Adam Horovitz, better known as the "King Ad-Rock," played a DJ set at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan yesterday (5/5) as part of an exhibition entitled Looking at Music 3.0. Ad-Rock's wife Kathleen Hanna, known best as the frontwoman for Bikini Kill and Le Tigre, also participated in a poster signing during the event. Horovitz took time during his set to talk to fans and take photos with them... he really does seem like a genuine and nice guy.

Fucking Nostalgic will have a full review of Hot Sauce Committee Part Two up shortly (hint: it fucking rocks), but in the meantime, check out a full set of photos from the MoMA event in addition to the full length 30 minute short film they just released, Fight For Your Right Revisted...

Beastie Boys to stream SOMETHING at 10:35am EST; Watch it right HERE

Watch live streaming video from beastieboys at livestream.com

Watch the Beastie Boys' Fight For Your Right Revisted film in full

Seth Rogen, Elijah Wood & Danny McBride as the Beastie Boys

I was spending a good portion of the day trying to find the full movie of the Beastie Boys Fight For Your Right Revisited, and here it is, via Hulu. Enjoy!

The Beastie Boys Debut "Fight For Your Right Revisited"/"Make Some Noise" video

Earlier today, our beloved Beasties released Fight For Your Right Revisited, a star-studded short film that picks up where the original "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)" video left off and features cameo appearances by EVERYONE.  I've yet to see the film in its entirety but the brand new music video for The Beasties' newest single, "Make Some Noise"(comprised of footage taken from the short film) should give you an idea of the kind of star power we're talking about.

The Beastie Boys' new album, Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2, drops on May 2.

Beastie Boys - Make Some Noise - Free Music Videos - Top Songs

New Beastie Boys album available for pre-order; 22-minute video premieres on 4/20!

The long awaited new release from our favorite hip-hop trio is available for pre-order. The Beastie Boys’ Hot Sauce Committee Part Two will be released on May 2nd but you can head over to their website and make sure you have a copy in your hands on May 3rd (unless you order the vinyl, looks like that will take a little longer). In what seems to be the standard for releases these days (something I definitely admire) there are a few different options available for you when you order, and you can check that out here. I reserved my copy.

The bigger news here is that the Beasties have announced that their 22-minute movie Fight For Your Right Revisited will premiere Wednesday night on VH1, MTV2, mtvU and Palladia at midnight EST! At 3:00am (Thursday morning) you can watch the “long-form explicit version.” Amongst the cast of the film is David Cross, John C. Reilly, Jack Black, Will Ferrell, Danny McBride and pretty much everyone else in comedy today. Fight For Your Right Revisited will also come with the deluxe edition of Hot Sauce Committee Part Two. Watch the trailer for the film below.

Listen to the new Beastie Boys single

The new single from the upcoming Beastie Boys release Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2 has been leaked by the Beasties themselves. After a 30 second “preview” made its rounds last week, you can now listen to the single “Make Some Noise” in its entirety over at the Beastie Boys website.

It sounds like a return to the Check Your Head-era Beastie Boys sound that expanded their unique brand of hip-hop to a much wider audience in the early 90’s. As much as I loved the simple nature of To The Five Boroughs, it was a pretty weak follow up to the awesomeness of 1998’s Hello Nasty. I had a hard time even acknowledging the Mix Up as a new Beastie Boys album… is that wrong?