Paul’s Boutique also brings up interesting topics of
discussion regarding sampling of music. A lot of the controversy regarding this
album was the fact that it took a lot of bits of beats, rhythms and melodies
from previously made music. While some people in the corporate area of music
feel that this is stealing from the artists who initially created these beats,
I believe that the way that the beats were manipulated in this album as a whole
makes it alright. The Beastie Boys were able to mold these sounds into
completely different songs and incorporate their own harmonies and melodies in
with these beats. For this reason, I feel that, although they used samplings,
they were able to create their own unique fabric of music that shines through in
its own way.
Moving past the mere sampling aspect of this album, this
album is overall strong and versatile. While the Beastie Boys tend to lean
towards a more ‘rap’ sound in their songs, they are able to interlay various
sounds that make the melodies very distinct from another. Additionally, the
production quality of this album as a whole is very impressive. The fact that
they are able to mix together so many varying beats and countermelodies are
astounding. In addition, they have FLAWLESS transitions from each song. These
strong and fluid transitions between songs make the album flow very easily.
This also enables album listening more comfortable and appealing because it
makes the album more digestible in its complete form. While some albums seem
like a hodge-podge of random songs with immediate stops and starts, Paul’s
Boutique connects each song together which makes the music arc throughout the
entire album.
On the other hand, within some of the songs, there is such a
diverse conglomeration of various sounds that the songs sound random at times. For
example, in the middle of the album they bust out a short tune called “5-Piece
Chicken Dinner” which is just them screaming like hillbillies. Another example,
“The Sounds of Science” mixes together sounds from the Beatles to gangster rap.
This blend of music I think led to the dawn of a new decade in music. This
album’s revolutionary sounds I feel led to an ultimate change in the music
scene. While this might seem like a bold hypothesis, I think it pushed so many
boundaries at the time that it probably had a major influence on later music. I
even hear bits of early style of music such as house and other electronically
developed music.
Analyzing this album as a whole, I generally enjoy listening
to the songs. The style of the music on this album is very appealing to me
because it mixes together hard, sharp beats with a wicked bass line, turntable
manipulation, and harsh harmonies. The Beastie Boys have also perfected a
strong, rap-oriented vocals. What is appealing about the Beastie Boys as
compared to other rap artists around this time period is that they also tend to
avoid the use of profanity throughout their songs. I was impressed that they
were able to take on a tough vibe and match the intensity of groups such as NWA
and simultaneously avoid the use of vulgar language and profanity that take
away from the messages of the songs. While I would’ve liked it better if they
had more fluctuation and diversity in their vocal capacity, I think that it
generally matches the intense countermelody that they heavily utilize.
While you can’t get a feel for the amazing transitions
throughout the entire album, the following videos are a few of the songs off of
this talent-filled album. When listening to “Shake Your Rump”, take note of an
awesomely wild mix of bass and turntable manipulation that creates an old
school dubstep vibe. Check it out:
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