Just how old skool are these men?
1981 The Beastie Boys are hardcore thrashers. They shout a lot, wear skate shorts and gob on people. Ad Rock has yet to join the line-up, but Mike D and Adam Yauch compensate with a 'punk rock' guitarist and drummer.
Old skool factor: 2%
1984 The boys now 'rap'. Russell Simmons signs them to Def Jam, where they rub shoulders with Run-DMC and LL Cool J. No one seems to have rumbled them as upper-class New Yorkers, despite the fact that Horowitz's dad is a top playwright and not in the least bit 'ill'.
Old skool factor: 21%
1986 The Beasties release 'Licensed To Ill' and introduce spotty kids to the delights of heavy rock guitars and lyrics about beer and porn. They're accompanied on tour by an inflatable penis and naked girls in cages. A bit like Manumission. Later, the Beasties will defend this as 'ironic'.
Old skool factor: 26%
1989 They move to LA, where Mike D crashes cars and Yauch spends days tripping off his nut on acid. The result is 'Paul's Boutique', a sampladelic hip hop collage leaning heavily on 70s funk and disco. Sadly, this flies over the head of their fans, and the album flops.
Old skool factor: 64%
1992 Live instruments return for the 'Check Your Head' album. The Beasties then start their own label, Grand Royal. Mike D launches a magazine and invests in the X-Large skatewear label. Style gurus pronounce the Beasties 'cool'.
Old skool factor: 52%
1996 Yauch discovers Buddhism and goes grey. The trio run a Tibetan Freedom Concert. Scarily, 'Licensed To Ill' is still in the Billboard 100, along with Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side Of The Moon'.
Old skool factor: 33%
1998 Rumours that the Beasties have grown up are scotched by a new album, 'Hello Nasty'. It's very old skool, largely guitar-free and preceded by the electro-y 'Intergalactic'. Lyrics like "coming from Uranus to check my style" do little to harm their rep as permanent adolescents.
Old skool factor: 82%
