Justin Abarca is an Idiot

Posted May 8, 2012 at 2:11pm in battleground hulu | 1 note

One Lonely Beastie I Be.

When I was eight years old, I bought my first two cassette tapes. At Target. And I was stoked. My number one choice that day was Rob Base and DJ E Z Rock’s It Takes Two. Since I still had enough money for another tape, I grabbed Licensed to Ill. Why? Who knows. I remember really liking the airplane on the cover. What I do know is that what at the time was an innocuous choice would lead to a lifelong love affair with The Beasties. My next birthday I received a framed poster of a B-52 bomber. I returned it to the poster store at the mall (remember those?) and replaced it with a poster of The Beastie Boys hanging out with Run-DMC on a New York roof.

When I was fourteen, my mom took me to Lollapalooza because no one else would. That was my first Beasties show. I was into skating at this time so I was heavily influenced by the their fashion choices; baggy pants, anything X-Large, thrift store finds, etc. After that I went through a punk phase, a rude boy phase, what have you, but the one consistent thing in my life was my love of all things Beastie. When the stage spun on the MTV Music Awards from Green Day to the Beasties in their green tonic suits, I didn’t think anyone could look cooler.

At eighteen I moved to New York to attend Hunter College, and as much as I wanted to escape California, I would be lying if I didn’t admit to the fantasy of maybe one day running into the Boys and them being like “Cool kicks,” and I would be all “Thanks, I got ‘em at City Sports,” and then Adrock would be like “Wanna come be a Beastie with us? We could always use a fourth best friend.”

Over the years I was lucky enough to see them at a “secret” show at the Hammerstein Ballroom, a “secret” show at the Etnies factory, twice at the Universal Amphitheater. I remember years ago they cancelled a tour when Mike D broke his arm. That was my first reality check that they were in fact human. When MCA was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago, I was shocked but he seemed positive so in turn so was I. Then today…

I am now thirty-two years old and The Beastie Boys have been with me twenty four of those. Adam Yauch was a true renaissance man and too young to leave us at 47 years old. I will sorely miss him not only for what his music brought me, but also because in today’s world there are too many rappers and not enough MCA’s.