The Beastie Boys, one of the first and most successful hip-hop combos, founded in New York in 1982, have been a part of Thomas Melle’s life for 30 years. A book about the clout of youth and the fuzziness of memories – a retrospective snapshot and brilliant analysis of the “Beastie Boys” phenomenon.
“’Melle, check out the new Beastie Boys, it’s good.’ I did. And I’ve listened and listen to them again and again ever since.” The Beastie Boys’ music always ran alongside Thomas Melle’s life. “Sure Shot” was ringing out when he escaped from the Jesuit boarding school in Bad Godesberg to go dancing. At a festival in Bonn, he saw the Beastie Boys live for the first time and almost kissed a girl he still likes to think about today. A concert by the band in Berlin in 1999 made him ecstatic, and he still considers it the best concert of his life. A band shirt he bought in Austin/Texas in 1996 sends him off in search of said shirt, but also of a great time. Thomas Melle’s engagement with this revolutionary music isn’t just for hip-hop aficionados – this book recounts a life in fast forward, underpinned by the ingeniously keyed-up sound of the Beastie Boys.
