I do love me the Beastie Boys -- Paul's Boutique is one of my favorite albums of all time -- but they should shut the hell up. Why, you may ask? It's a free country, you'll say. They have a right to speak their minds, right?
Sure they do. But it must have been difficult to learn all the incredibly complex nuances of American and world policy while on tour, dousing girls with honey in the back rooms of venues.
I know, I know...they've changed from the hell-raisin' rich boys they once were. They arranged the Tibetan Freedom Festival, etc, etc. In fact, I've seen them speak out against so-called American prejudices against Arabs before.
I just hope these nice Jewish boys know a few things: first, that the Arab world wants them dead. Second, that a US war against Iraq is not unjustified, nor is it "bullying" (a term I've seen more than once recently). Third, it takes a pretty detailed understanding of the US's role in the and its foreign policy aims and objectives to understand the true scope of the situation, and I ain't seeing it here in the lyrics.
I'm going to speak directly to Mike D, Adrock, and MCA right now. Fellas, please -- shut up. You're out of your collective depth here. Go back to the days of "Pass The Mic," "Shake Your Rump," "Hey Ladies," and "Egg Man." The new, serious Beastie Boys give me the willies.