Five Non-Album Beastie Boys Tracks You’ve Probably Forgotten About
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Alongside classic albums such as Paul’s Boutique and Hello Nasty, Beastie Boys also produced several amazing b-sides, EPs, and even a country album. But even after releasing their Anthology compilation, and expanded versions of albums, there are still some left overs worth exploring. Here’s five to check out.
1. Intergalactic (Original)
According to Adam Horowitz, the band started this Intergalactic in 1993 while working on their album Ill Communication, but it was cut because “it was just bad stupid and not even good stupid.” Eventually they would return to the idea while recording Hello Nasty, and Intergalactic was released as the albums first single in 1998.
Later, there were plans for a Beastie Boys CD-Rom in 1995 which would have featured the original Intergalactic. Titled Don’t Mosh in the Ramen Shop, the project was completed in 1996 and even won an award for Best Entertainment Product of the Year, but it was ultimately cancelled due to “copyright complications”.
2. Desperado
I’ve previously written about this in an article on an unreleased Beastie Boys album from their Def Jam era, but it’s one of my all time favourite non-album tracks so I had to list it here.
Desperado contains a sample from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Soundtrack, and became known to fans after it featured in Tougher Than Leather, a movie Def Jam released in 1988 featuring several of their artists, including Beastie Boys. Although it’s performed during one scene in the movie, unfortunately Desperado isn’t on the soundtrack, though a demo was leaked which gives you some idea of what was being worked on.