Get Well Soon MCA

By now most everyone who follows the Beastie Boys have heard the sad news that Adam Yauch aka MCA is undergoing treatment for cancer of his salivary gland. In case you haven't seen it, here's the announcement he made on his website with bandmate Adam Horowitz (Ad-Rock):



Here's wishing him a speedy and successful recovery. Even if I haven't picked up a Beastie Boys album since Hello Nasty, they still mean a lot to me, and their continued presence brings comfort. License to Ill was the first cassette tape I ever purchased for myself at Gemco back in 1986. As they matured as artists and human beings, they've ably kept a playful spirit and experimental streak. Their sophomore album Paul's Boutique, a financial bomb upon it's release in 1989 is one of the most innovative albums of the last twenty-five years and revolutionized sample integration.

In addition to his storied career as a musician, Yauch is also a deft director, under the nom de plume Nathaniel Hornblower he's directed two documentaries: Awesome...I Fuckin' Shot That and Gunnin' for That #1 Spot as well as many of the Beasties videos. The best of which, though not the band's best video-that's still the Spike Jonze's directed "Sabotage" (as influential a video as Paul Boutique's was an album), is the clip for "Body Movin'" from 1998's Hello Nasty. In the video Yauch homages Mario Bava's classic comic book adaptation Diabolik, even incorporating footage from Bava's film into the proceedings. Get well soon, MCA: