Before they were rhymin’ and stealin’, or getting live on the spot (puttin’ all kinds of shame in the game you got), the Beastie Boys were a rag-tag group of punk rockers in New York City. Not just any kind of punk rock– the loud, fast, agro version called hardcore that was popularized by bands like Black Flag (and other California groups) at the end of the 70’s and beginning of the 80’s. In that era, hardcore was rising in southern California and Washington, D.C., but it was also taking hold in New York City.
The Beastie Boys are forever entwined with NYC. Much like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, it isn’t difficult to discern what stomping grounds their collective hearts yearn for (sidenote: Anthony Kiedis actually has a highly functioning version of Tourette’s where he has to say the word “California” every other sentence). Since the Beasties name-drop New York more often then an art school grad student, here is a little tour of the NYC locations from those early hardcore days.
