RIP Beastie Boy Adam Yauch
Beastie Boy Adam Yauch in 2010 (AP file)
Adam Yauch, one-third of the trailblazing hip-hop group and recent Rock and Roll Hall of Famers the Beastie Boys, died today. He was 47.
Yauch, known as MCA, died in New York after a nearly three-year battle with cancer, reports the Associated Press. He had been diagnosed with a cancerous salivary gland in 2009.
At the time, Yauch expressed hope that it was “very treatable,” but his illness forced the group to cancel shows and delayed the release of their 2011 album, “Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 2.” (Pt. 1 was never released.)
He hadn’t performed in public since 2009 and was absent when the Beastie Boys were inducted into the rock hall last month.
Yauch is survived by his wife, Dechen Wangdu, and his daughter, Tenzin Losel Yauch. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and fans.
Yauch was an integral, founding member of the influential trio of three Jewish kids from New York who earned widespread respect in hip-hop over their 25-year career. They released four No. 1 albums and sold more than 40 million records, according to the AP.
Sean “Diddy” Combs called Yauch “a true pioneer and a creative force who paved the way for so many of us.” The rapper Nas lamented the loss of a “brother,” according to the AP.
“I think it’s obvious to anyone how big an influence the Beastie Boys were on me and so many others,” Eminem told the AP. “They are trailblazers and pioneers and Adam will be sorely missed.”
Born in Brooklyn, Yauch originally formed the Beastie Boys with high school friend Michael “Mike D” Diamond as a hardcore punk group. They played their first show on Yauch’s 17th birthday.
The group became a hip-hop trio soon after Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz joined and Yauch dropped out of Bard College two years into his studies, according to the AP. They released their chart-topping debut “Licensed to Ill” in 1986, a raucous album led by the sing-along-inducing anthem “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)”. It was the first hip-hop album to top the Billboard chart.
In the seven studio albums that followed, the Beastie Boys expanded their sound and their musical ambitions.
Their exquisitely layered follow-up, 1989′s “Paul’s Boutique,”made it clear the group was no a one-hit wonder. Produced by the Dust Brothers, it was ranked the 156th greatest album ever by Rolling Stone magazine in 2003, according to the AP.
The Beastie Boys would later take up their own instruments — a rarity in hip-hop — on the album “Check Your Head” and subsequent releases. Yauch played bass.
The Beastie Boys were a verbal tag team, Yauch providing a thoughtful, gravelly voice.
Their 1994 album “Ill Communication” spawned several of their most famous music videos, including “Sure Shot” and the Spike Jonze-directed “Sabotage,” which features a killer Yauch bass solo.
A practicing Buddist, Yauch used the group’s growing fame to attract awareness for Tibetan Buddists. He founded the Milarepa Fund to promote activism for Tibet in defense of what the nonprofit considered China’s occupational government, according to the AP.
In 1996, Yauch and Milarepa produced a hugely popular benefit concert for Tibet in San Francisco, which was followed by more concerts over the next decade.
Introducing the group at the Rock Hall, Public Enemy rapper Chuck D said the Beastie Boys “broke the mold.”
“The Beastie Boys are indeed three bad brothers who made history,” Chuck D said. “They brought a whole new look to rap and hip-hop. They proved that rap could come from any street — not just a few.”
Yauch also went under the pseudonym Nathanial Hornblower when working as a filmmaker. He directed numerous videos for the group, as well as the 2006 concert film “Awesome: I F—–’ Shot That!” and the basketball documentary, “Gunnin’ for that (No.) 1 Spot.”
In 2008, he co-founded the noted independent film distribution company Osciolloscope Laboratories, named after his New York studio, according to the AP.
The group’s continued influence was apparent a year ago when Yauch released the star-studded musical short film “Fight for Your Right Revisited.”
It stars Elijah Wood, Danny McBride and Seth Rogen as the Beastie Boys circa 1987, when they released the memorable mini-movie to their seminal smash “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party),” and the story actually picks up where that famous video left off.
Among the other stars spotted in “Make Some Noise”: Will Arnett, Rashida Jones, Jason Schwartzman, Rainn Wilson, Steve Buscemi, Ted Danson, Chloe Sevigny, Kirsten Dunst, Maya Rudolph, Orlando Bloom and David Cross. Jack Black, Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly play the Beasties from the future, who naturally return in a DeLorean to face off with their past selves.
In tribute to MCA, “Fight for Your Right” and “Fight for Your Right Revisited,” along with a few other Beastie videos, are posted here:
-BAM
Miranda Lambert and Little Big Town added to CMA Music Festival
Miranda Lambert (AP file)
The reigning Country Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year Miranda Lambert, who lives in Tishomingo, and fan favorite group Little Big Town have joined the performer lineup for the Nightly Concerts at LP Field at the 2012 CMA Music Festival. The event takes place Thursday through Sunday, June 7-10, in downtown Nashville, and will once again be filmed for an ABC television special to air in late summer
Lambert will perform on Thursday, June 7, and Little Big Town will perform on Saturday, June 9.
Also during the Nightly Concerts at LP Field, Sarah Darling, Nashville School of Arts Chamber Choir (under the directon of Walter Bitner), Oak Ridge Boys, and Julie Roberts will each perform the National Anthem.
The current lineups for the Nightly Concerts are as follows in alphabetical order:
Thursday, June 7: Jason Aldean, Glen Campbell, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Brad Paisley, and Zac Brown Band. National Anthem performed by the Nashville School of Arts Chamber Choir (under the direction of Walter Bitner).
Friday, June 8: The Band Perry, Brantley Gilbert, Ronnie Milsap, Jake Owen, Blake Shelton, and Carrie Underwood. National Anthem performed by the Oak Ridge Boys.
Saturday, June 9: Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Hunter Hayes, Faith Hill, Little Big Town, and Kenny Rogers. National Anthem performed by Julie Roberts.
Sunday, June 10: Dierks Bentley, Alan Jackson, The Mavericks, Martina McBride, Scotty McCreery, and Rascal Flatts. National Anthem performed by Sarah Darling.
Tickets to the individual Nightly Concerts are $40 (plus applicable handling fees) for general admission in the upper deck of LP Field. Fans can purchase their tickets through Ticketmaster at Ticketmaster.com or (800) 745-3000. They can also purchase them through CMAfest.com.
Four-day ticket packages are also available, from $125 per person plus handling fees. Four-day ticket package categories correspond to varying levels of seating at LP Field and include admittance to all four Nightly Concerts as well as all daytime Festival activities, including the Fan Fair Fall where artist autograph signing sessions take place. Children 3 years and younger are admitted free.
Ticket prices and artists are subject to change without notice. All sales are final and non-refundable.
Lambert has received four CMA Awards, including two wins as Female Vocalist of the Year (2010, 2011), Album of the Year (2010 for “Revolution”), and Music Video of the Year (2012 for “The House That Built Me,” directed by Trey Fanjoy). Her most recent album is the gold-certified “Four the Record,” which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart last year and established her as the first country artist in the 47-year history of the chart to have each of her first four albums debut at No. 1. The album features her No. 3 hit “Baggage Claim” and current single “Over You.”
Platinum-selling country group Little Big Town – consisting of members Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Phillip Sweet, and Jimi Westbrook – has received a career total of nine CMA Award nominations to date. The foursome recently recorded “Deep River Woman” with Lionel Richie for his current album “Tuskegee,” which hit the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart. Little Big Town’s fifth studio album, produced by Jay Joyce, will be released later this year and features the first single, “Pontoon,” which is at radio now.
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Video: Newest trailers for “Avengers,” “Amazing Spider-Man,” “Brave” and more summer movies
The busy blockbuster season kicked off at midnight today with the opening of the hotly anticipated superhero mashup movie “Marvel’s The Avengers.” Also on the agenda for the summer, which is forecast to be a record-breaker at the box office, are the Batman three-quel “The Dark Knight Rises,” the web-slinging reboot “The Amazing Spider-Man,” Ridley Scott’s “Alien” spin-off “Prometheus,” the time-traveling sequel “Men in Black 3,” the TV remake “Dark Shadows,” Jeremy Renner’s foray into the ongoing spy saga “The Bourne Legacy,” the Pixar girl-power fairytale “Brave” and many more.
To read The Oklahoman’s summer movie preview, click here, then check out the newest trailers from some of the season’s anticipated blockbusters:
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What to do in Oklahoma on May 4, 2012: Take your adolescent to the Teen Night Rooftop Party 2.0 at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art
Today’s featured event:
Get your adolescent some culture at the Teen Night Rooftop Party 2.0 from 7 to 10:30 tonight at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive.
OKCMOA’s teen council, Youth Arts Advocates, is presenting the end-of-school-year party, which will include pizza from Little Caesar’s and lots of prizes.
The event will feature live performances on the rooftop by Friskee Collective, Balcum-Rancum Puppetry, Lauren Zuniga and Black Magic Animals. In addition to the action on the roof terrace, the gallery floors will offer cool interactive art activities.
The theme is black and white, so teens can dress in their craziest black-and-white clothing or costumes.
Last fall, more than 400 teens took over the museum for Teen Night.
Admission is $3. For more information, call 236-3100 or go to www.okcmoa.com.
For more events, go to www.wimgo.com.
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Video: St. Vincent and tUnE-yArDs chat in Noisey.com’s first “Back & Forth”
Tulsa-born singer/songwriter/guitarist Annie Clark of St. Vincent and Merrill Garbus of tUnE-yArDs are the first artists chosen to participate in Noisey.com’s new series “Back & Forth.” Here’s the notion:
We had a simple idea: get two rad musicians we love to sit down and just talk, like two humans. We’re calling the result “Back & Forth,” and our first episode features St. Vincent and tUnE-yArDs.
The result is a fun, casual and occasionally crazy chat.
St. Vincent will play a May 15 show in the city of her birth: at the historic Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa. For more information, go to www.cainsballroom.
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Video: Broncho “I Don’t Really Want to Be Social”
Tulsa/Norman punk/garage rockers Broncho released this week their music video “I Don’t Really Want to Be Social” via Spinner.com.
The song is from the band’s 2011 debut album “Can’t Get Past the Lips,” which was on my top 10 album list for the year.
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Video: Thompson Square’s “Glass” Version T2
Get More: Glass (Version T2), Thompson Square, Thompson Square Videos
Academy of Country Music Vocal Duo of the Year Thompson Square – which consists of Miami, OK, native Keifer Thompson and his wife Shawna – recently released a new version of the music video for their unabashedly romantic ballad.
Compare and contrast to the original music video:
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Oklahoma City Museum of Art planning trip to see new Chihuly exhibit at Dallas Arboretum
The Oklahoma City Museum of Art is planning a travel tour to Dallas May 16 and 17 to see the new exhibit of Dale Chihuly glass art at the Dallas Arboretum.
The trip will include a chance to experience “Chihuly Nights at the Dallas Arboretum,” an opportunity to view the Chihuly exhibition in the evening glow of moonlight and tree lights with the artist’s magnificently lit sculptures.
Also included in the trip will be a special visit to the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth to view “The Age of Impressionism: Great French Paintings from the Clark.”
The Kimbell Art Museum is the sole American venue for this first-ever international touring exhibition of the renowned Impressionist collection of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Mass. The 73 paintings in the exhibition include 21 Renoirs and six Monets, along with works by Degas, Manet, Pissarro, Sisley, Morisot, Gauguin, Toulouse-Lautrec, and other prominent French painters of the period. Among them are some of the most familiar masterpieces of the Impressionist era.
The trip, accompanied by OKCMOA staff, features travel by luxury motor coach; accommodations at the Marriott Quorum in Dallas, with courtesy shuttle to the Galleria; a wine dinner at the Restaurant DeGolyer; breakfast buffet; and museum admission. Refreshments, wine, and a light supper will be served on the coach. Price per person is $349 double occupancy ($449 single occupancy).
Past excursions include Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Santa Fe, New York City, and Savannah, Georgia
For more information, please contact public programs at (405) 236-3100, ext. 231, or programs@okcmoa.com.
I’m heading down to Dallas this morning to see the new Chihuly exhibit at the arboretum. Look for my stories coming up soon!
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Oklahoma artists Desmond Mason and Nathan Lee to be featured tonight on OETA’s “Gallery”
Desmond Mason, former NBA player, talks about his painting, which he donated to Educare in Oklahoma City on Thursday, July 14, 2011. Photo by Paul B. Southerland, The Oklahoman Archives
Basketball fans, before you tune in to TNT at 8:30 tonight to watch Game 3 of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Round 1 playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks, watch OETA’s Emmy Award-winning arts documentary program “Gallery.”
Former NBA star Desmond Mason, who is now an artist, will be featured on the latest episode of “Gallery,” airing at 7:30 tonight on OETA. Former hip hop artist turned painter Nathan Lee also will be featured in the episode.
Mason played basketball for Oklahoma State University (my alma mater!) before spending 10 seasons in the NBA playing for Seattle, Milwaukee, New Orleans, Oklahoma City and Sacramento.
After retiring from the NBA in 2010, he is now focusing on art.
An artist since the age of 13, Mason got a degree in studio art from OSU and painted throughout his NBA career, with exhibits in his various home towns raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for charities, according to a news release.
Now he’s raising money for charities in his new home state.
“Gallery” spends a new day with Mason, giving viewers the chance to meet his family , see his new home and discover more about his life in Oklahoma.
Oklahoma-born Nathan Lee’s artistic career began in the hip hop culture on the streets of New York City, but now he’s back in the state and doing all he can to add color to Oklahoma’s creative tableau, including contributing his own artwork as well as running an outreach program for minority artists and mentoring talented teens.
According to NewsOK TV blogger Melissa Hayer, this episode of “Gallery” will show again twice during the month of May, at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, May 17, and at 11 a.m. Sunday, May 27.
And go Thunder!
-BAM
Carrie Underwood returns to “American Idol” to perform tonight
Carrie Underwood is returning to “American Idol” tonight.
The Checotah native, who won the reality TV singing contest in 2005, will perform on the live results show, airing from 7 to 8 tonight on Fox.
The Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum Underwood is one of “Idol’s” most successful winners, selling more than 12 million records worldwide. Another Grammy-winning, chart-topping act, Coldplay, also will perform; it will mark the band’s first time to grace the “Idol” stage.
Underwood, 29, released this week her fourth album, “Blown Away,” and has been on quite a media blitz to promote it. She will continue the blitz with appearances on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” on Wednesday; “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on May 10, and “Dancing With The Stars” on May 15, followed by the Billboard Music Awards live from Las Vegas on May 20.
She also announced this week that she will embark in fall on a new North American tour that will include two Oklahoma stops.
“The Blown Away Tour” will include an Oct. 25 stop at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Tickets for her Oklahoma City show will go on sale Friday, May 11, according to a representative from the venue. Ticket prices have not yet been announced.
The singer-songwriter then will return to Oklahoma to play Nov. 21 at Tulsa’s BOK Center. Ticket prices and sale date are still pending for her Tulsa show, according to a venue spokeswoman.
-BAM
