The Mix-Up

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The Mix-Up
Studio album by Beastie Boys
Released June 26, 2007
Recorded 2006–2007 at Oscilloscope Laboratories, New York, New York City
Genre Instrumental rock, post-rock, post-punk, funk rock, jazz fusion
Length 42:43
Label Capitol
Producer Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys chronology
To the 5 Boroughs
(2004)		 The Mix-Up
(2007)		 Hot Sauce Committee Part Two
(2011)
Singles from The Mix-Up
  1. "The Electric Worm"
    Released: 2007
  2. "Suco de Tangerina"
    Released: 2007

The Mix-Up is the seventh studio album by the Beastie Boys, released on June 26, 2007. The album consists entirely of instrumental performances and won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album.[1]

Contents

Background [edit]

On May 1, 2007, an e-mail sent to those on the Beastie Boys' mailing list revealed the album is all instrumental.

“ OK, here's our blurb about our new album — it spits hot fire! — hot s***! it's official... it's named THE MIX-UP. g'wan. all instrumental record. "see i knew they were gonna do that!" that's a quote from you. check the track listing and cover below. you love us. don't you?" ”

On June 21, 2007, a legal stream of the entire album was released on BrooklynVegan.com.[2] Snippets of all the songs on the album can be found on BeastieBoys.Com along with the video for one of the songs, "Off the Grid". The video for "The Rat Cage" has also been released.

Drummer Mike D said that "even though The Mix-Up is a 'post-punk instrumental' album, the Beasties have no plans to ditch vocals for good. In fact, they are currently planning another version of the album that will feature collaborations with 'a pretty wide array' of 'mostly newer' vocalists."[3]

Two singers speculated to be featured on the vocal version were Jarvis Cocker and M.I.A.,[4] with Mark Ronson somehow also involved. The idea for this version of the album has since been abandoned.[citation needed]

In an interview with The Aquarian Weekly, published in February 2008, the band was asked if they were making a statement about the status of hip-hop music by releasing an album strictly of instrumentals. “In a way, the album was a reaction to our hip hop," said Ad-Rock "Our last record was an all rap record, so when we started recording [The Mix Up] we wanted to work with some instruments, and it just sounded cool, so we kept with it.” [5]

Diamond expanded on Ad-Rock's response, adding, "“We get asked, ‘What do you think of the state of hip hop today?’ a lot. Maybe I’m being defensive, but it seems like people always look for us to come out and criticize hip hop. But hip hop is what we grew up on, and it continues to be one of the only forms of music left that strives on evolution and innovation. Yeah, we might be in a spell where we’re waiting for that next record to come out and change everything—but still, that’s what hip hop is and that’s what puts it in its unique place.” [5]

Reception [edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic (61/100)[6]
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 3.5/5 stars[7]
The A.V. Club (B) [8]
Stylus Magazine (B−)[9]
Entertainment Weekly (C+) [10]
Robert Christgau (dud) [11]
Pitchfork Media (4.6/10) [12]
IGN (9.4/10) [13]
Rockfeedback 3/5 stars [14]
Rolling Stone 3/5 stars [15]
Vibe 4/5 stars[16]
Uncut 4/5 stars[17]
NME 4/10 stars[18]
PopMatters 6/10 stars[19]

The album debuted at number 15 on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling about 44,000 copies in its first week.[20] As of April 27, 2008, the album sold 258,000 copies worldwide. In Australia, the album debuted at number 42. In the UK, the album debuted at number 79. It is by far their lowest charting album in the UK so far, the highest being Hello Nasty, which debuted at number 1.[21]

According to BallerStatus.com, The Mix-Up was the highest selling "hip hop album" of that week. On September 15, the Beastie Boys sent a newsletter listing the last of the shows associated with The Mix-Up; within the newsletter it was joked The Mix-Up was a platinum record.

Uncut magazine gave it four stars out of five, saying "The Mix-Up is the best record collection ever thoroughly digested and re-imagined by a bunch of guys in love with sound."

The Mix-Up won a Grammy in the Best Pop Instrumental category.[1]

Track listing [edit]

  1. "B for My Name" – 3:31
  2. "14th St. Break" – 3:34
  3. "Suco de Tangerina" – 3:17
  4. "The Gala Event" – 3:47
  5. "The Electric Worm" – 3:15
  6. "Freaky Hijiki" – 3:05
  7. "Off the Grid" – 4:36
  8. "The Rat Cage" – 3:37
  9. "The Melee" – 3:10
  10. "Dramastically Different" – 3:57
  11. "The Cousin of Death" – 3:06
  12. "The Kangaroo Rat" – 3:28

Bonus tracks [edit]

The Mix-Up Bonus Tracks
EP by Beastie Boys
Released December 23, 2008
Length 21:25

A set of bonus tracks were offered as digital downloads as a part of the EP The Mix-Up Bonus Tracks. It was released on December 23, 2008.

  1. "Politickin'" – 3:57
  2. "Beasley Is a Beast" – 3:49
  3. "LTD" – 3:12
  4. "The Panda Rat" – 3:40
  5. "The Mix-Up" – 3:34
  6. "Fibonacci Sequence" – 3:13

Personnel [edit]

Beastie Boys
Additional musicians
Technical personnel
  • Jon Weiner – engineer
  • Greg Calbi – mastering
  • Bill McMullen – illustration, package design

References [edit]

 This article uses bare URLs for citations. Please consider adding full citations so that the article remains verifiable. Several templates and the Reflinks tool are available to assist in formatting. (Reflinks documentation) (May 2012)
  1. ^ a b Grammy Winners List
  2. ^ BrooklynVegan.com
  3. ^ Mike D. Talks New Beastie Boys Instrumental Album
  4. ^ Bizarre Beastie Boys Update - Second Edition of new Album "The Mix-Up" to feature vocals and remixes
  5. ^ a b The Beastie Boys: Still Mixing It Up, by Daniel Alleva, The Aquarian Weekly, 2/27/08
  6. ^ "The Mix-Up Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More". Metacritic. 2007-06-26. Retrieved 2012-05-25. 
  7. ^ The Mix-Up at Allmusic
  8. ^ Rabin, Nathan (2007-06-26). "Beastie Boys: The Mix-Up | Music | Music Review". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2012-05-25. 
  9. ^ "The Beastie Boys - The Mix-Up - Review". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved 2012-05-25. 
  10. ^ Reviewed by Douglas Wolk (2007-06-22). "The Mix-Up Review | Music Reviews and News". EW.com. Retrieved 2012-05-25. 
  11. ^ "CG: beastie boys". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2012-05-25. 
  12. ^ http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/10374-the-mix-up
  13. ^ var authorId = "41858809" by Spence D. (2007-06-14). "Beastie Boys - The Mix-Up - Music Review at IGN". Music.ign.com. Retrieved 2012-05-25. 
  14. ^ http://www.rockfeedback.com/article.asp?nObjectID=4945
  15. ^ By Rob Sheffield (2007-06-13). "The Mix Up | Album Reviews". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2012-05-25. 
  16. ^ Vibe Magazine - "Maybe The Mix-Up woks simply because it does nothing terribily wrong."
  17. ^ Uncut (p.96) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "THE MIX-UP is the best record collection ever thoroughly digested and re-imagined by a bunch of guys in love with sound."
  18. ^ "NME Album Reviews - Beastie Boys". Nme.Com. 2007-06-18. Retrieved 2012-05-25. 
  19. ^ Schiller, Mike. "Beastie Boys: The Mix-Up < PopMatters". Popmatters.com. Retrieved 2012-05-25. 
  20. ^ Jonathan Cohen, "Cyrus Sidesteps Clarkson To Debut At No. 1", Billboard.com, July 4, 2007.
  21. ^ UK chart log
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