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Sabotage (Beastie Boys song)

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"Sabotage"
Single by Beastie Boys
from the album Ill Communication
ReleasedJanuary 28, 1994[1]
Genre
Length2:58
LabelGrand Royal
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Beastie Boys singles chronology
"Professor Booty"
(1992) 		"Sabotage"
(1994) 		"Get It Together"
(1994)
Music video
"Sabotage" on YouTube

"Sabotage" is a song by American rap rock group Beastie Boys, released by Grand Royal Records in January 1994 as the first single from their fourth studio album, Ill Communication (1994). The song features traditional rock instrumentation (Ad-Rock on guitar, MCA on bass, and Mike D on drums), turntable scratches, heavily distorted bass guitar riffs and lead vocals by Ad-Rock. A moderate commercial success, the song was notable for its video, directed by Spike Jonze; it was also nominated in five categories at the 1994 MTV Music Video Awards.

In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked "Sabotage" No. 475 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[9] In 2010, it was dropped to No. 480. In a 2021 updated list, Rolling Stone re-ranked the song at No. 245. In March 2005, Q magazine placed it at No. 46 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks, and was ranked No. 19 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 90s list. Pitchfork Media included the song at No. 39 on their Top 200 Tracks of the 90s list.[10]

Background

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The song was first conceived when MCA played the signature bass line one day in the studio and it immediately caught the band's attention. Both Ad-Rock and Mike D picked up their respective instruments and started building on it. According to Ad-Rock in the 2020 Beastie Boys Story documentary, the lyrics are a fictitious rant about how their producer "was the worst person ever and how he was always sabotaging us and holding us back."

Critical reception

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Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "Loud, aggressive, and probably likely to spur senseless acts of vandalism by teen wannabes, but showcases Beasties' devotion to punk and old-school rap–mostly the former. All that and a nice, compact, three-minute package perfect for radio play, with some modern rock outlets already aboard."[5] Chuck Campbell from Knoxville News Sentinel said that on the song, "over-the-top rage and bossy noise are key elements in a hybrid of vitriolic rap and edgy rock."[11]

Paste, NME, and American Songwriter all named "Sabotage" as the Beastie Boys' greatest song.[12][13][14] In 2024, Esquire ranked it number nine in their "The 50 Best Songs of the ’90s".[15]

Music video

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The accompanying music video for "Sabotage", directed by Spike Jonze and played extensively on MTV,[16] is a homage to, and parody of, 1970s crime drama shows such as Hawaii Five-O, The Streets of San Francisco, S.W.A.T., Baretta, and Starsky and Hutch. The video is presented as the opening credits of a fictional 1970s-style police show called Sabotage, with the band members appearing as the show's protagonists. Each band member is introduced as a fictional actor, and the names of the characters are also given.

The characters appearing on the show are (in order of credits):[17]

  • Sir Stewart Wallace guest-starring as himself (played by MCA)
  • Nathan Wind as Cochese (also played by MCA)
  • Vic Colfari as Bobby, "The Rookie" (played by Ad-Rock)
  • Alasondro Alegré as "The Chief" (played by Mike D)
  • Fred Kelly as Bunny (played by DJ Hurricane)

Jonze's future wife Sofia Coppola, along with co-host Zoe Cassavetes, conducted an in-character mock interview with the "cast" of Sabotage on the second episode[18][19] of her short-lived Comedy Central show Hi Octane (and the clip would later be included on the Beastie Boys Video Anthology DVD released in 2000[20]).

Additionally, in the DVD commentary for the 1996 film Trainspotting, Danny Boyle credits the film's opening credits to those used in "Sabotage."[21]

Actress Amy Poehler reviewed the music video in 2018's Beastie Boys Book saying that "there would be no Anchorman, no Wes Anderson, no Lonely Island, and no channel called Adult Swim if this video did not exist".[22]

Censorship

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Some scenes had to be removed when the video was shown on MTV, including a knife fight sequence, a scene in which a man is thrown out of a car into a street, and one where another man is thrown off a bridge and is shown violently hitting the ground (although it is clearly visible that the bodies thrown are stunt dummies).[23]

1994 MTV Video Music Awards

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The video for "Sabotage" was nominated for Video of the Year, Best Group Video, Breakthrough Video, Best Direction in a Video, and Viewer's Choice at the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards. However, it lost all five categories it was nominated in, losing Video of the Year, Best Group Video and Viewer's Choice to Aerosmith's "Cryin'", and Breakthrough Video and Best Direction in a Video to R.E.M.'s "Everybody Hurts".

During R.E.M. lead singer Michael Stipe's acceptance speech for the Best Direction award, Beastie Boys member MCA bum-rushed the stage in his "Nathaniel Hornblower" disguise, interrupting Stipe to protest the shutout of "Sabotage" from every category it was nominated in.

At the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, the "Sabotage" video won best video in the new category of "Best Video (That Should Have Won a Moonman)".[24]

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Charts

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Chart (1994) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[36] 94
Canada Singles (RPM)[37] 38
Netherlands (Single Top 100) 35
UK Singles (OCC)[38] 19
UK Dance (OCC)[39] 21
US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles 15
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[40] 18

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[41] Gold 400,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ Billboard May 7, 1994, page 12
  2. ^ Aaron, Charles (September 1999). "Top 20 Singles". Spin. 15 (9): 137.
  3. ^ Weiss, Dan (April 6, 2012). "Ten Rap-Rock Songs That Are Actually Awesome". LA Weekly. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  4. ^ "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. February 16, 2024. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Flick, Larry (2 July 1994). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. p. 84. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  6. ^ Hand, Christian. ""Sabotage"". PSAudio. Retrieved June 29, 2021. The Beastie Boys maintained their cred, punk-rock attitude, and roots throughout their careers. This song is a 90's Classic, of that there is no doubt.
  7. ^ Gerard, Chris (22 April 2021). "THE 100 GREATEST ALTERNATIVE SINGLES OF THE '90S: 40 – 21". PopMatters. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  8. ^ "The 100 Best Alternative Rock Songs Of 1994". SPIN. August 18, 2014. Archived from the original on August 17, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  9. ^ "500 Greatest Songs of All Time: Beastie Boys, 'Sabotage'". rollingstone.com. 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  10. ^ "Staff Lists: The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s: 50-21". Pitchfork Media. 2 September 2010. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  11. ^ Campbell, Chuck (10 June 1994). "David Byrne': Talking Head Repeats Himself". Knoxville News Sentinel.
  12. ^ Goldmeier, Jeremy (May 5, 2011). "The 20 Best Beastie Boys Songs". Paste. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  13. ^ Smith, Thomas (November 29, 2018). "The Beastie Boys – their 10 greatest songs". NME. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  14. ^ Uitti, Jacob (October 2, 2021). "Top 10 Beastie Boys Songs". American Songwriter. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  15. ^ Covington, Abigail (July 19, 2024). "The 50 Best Songs of the '90s". Esquire. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  16. ^ Smith, Ethan (2012). "Spike Jonze Unmasked". New York. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  17. ^ "Beastie Boys: Sabotage (1994)". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  18. ^ Satenstein, Liana (29 May 2020). "Sofia Coppola and Zoe Cassavetes Look Back on Their Cult '90s It Girl Show". Vogue. Condé Nast. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  19. ^ Whitfield, Zoe (12 November 2020). "A brief history of Hi Octane, Sofia Coppola's chaotic 90s TV show". Dazed. Dazed Media. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  20. ^ "The Criterion Collection: Beastie Boys Video Anthology". The Criterion Collection. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  21. ^ DVD commentary. Trainspotting.[clarification needed]
  22. ^ Horovitz, Adam; Diamond, Michael (2018). Beastie Boys Book. Faber & Faber. p. 471. ISBN 978-0571308040.
  23. ^ "Sabotage (Comparison: Regular Version, Extended Version)". Movie-Censorship.com. April 23, 2018. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  24. ^ "The Playlist: Spike Jonze Wins Belated VMA For Beastie Boys' 'Sabotage'". theplaylist.blogspot.co.uk. 14 September 2009. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  25. ^ "Beavis & Butt-head - Beastie Boys - Sabotage (Video)". YouTube.
  26. ^ Elvis Costello and Beastie Boys- Radio, Radio - YouTube Archived October 16, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  27. ^ Funk, Allie (July 21, 2016). "The Song In The Big 'Star Trek Beyond' Scene Will Make Beastie Boys Fans So Proud". www.bustle.com. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  28. ^ Hogan, Marc (November 19, 2013). "Beastie Boys' 'Sabotage' Crashes 'How I Met Your Mother' 'Ill Communication' classic roars over the soundtrack and complements a punchline". Spin. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  29. ^ Modell, Josh (3 November 2015). "Steve 'n' Seagulls cover Beastie Boys". The A.V. Club. Onion, Inc. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  30. ^ Tobia, Scott (3 February 2016). "The People v. O.J. Simpson Recap: The Bronco Chase". Vulture. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  31. ^ "Trailer for Destiny 2". Bungie. Retrieved 31 August 2017.[dead YouTube link]
  32. ^ "I Killed Pom Pom Costumes". Homestar Runner Wiki. 27 November 2023. Retrieved 1 Jul 2024.
  33. ^ ""American Dad!" First, Do No Farm (TV Episode 2020) - Soundtracks - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  34. ^ "Watch Slipknot and Korn's insane live cover of Beastie Boys' "Sabotage"". Revolver. 26 January 2015.
  35. ^ Brkljač, Bhernardo Viana, Ryan Galloway, Slobodan (2024-06-09). "All free Fortnite Festival songs today (June 2024)". Dot Esports. Retrieved 2024-06-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  36. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  37. ^ "Beastie Boys Top Singles positions". RPM. Archived from the original on 2012-02-25. Retrieved 2011-05-10.
  38. ^ "Beastie Boys Album & Song Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2011-05-10.
  39. ^ "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  40. ^ "Beastie Boys Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  41. ^ "British single certifications – Beastie Boys – Sabotage". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
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