RIP Adam Yauch

I don't know very many people who didn't like the Beastie Boys growing up.  Going back and forth flawlessly between hip-hop and punk rock/hardcore, the Beasties are certainly one of the more influential groups in my life.  Hell, they might BE THE influential group in my life.  I realize a lot of people were unable to take them seriously at times due to their lyrical content, but musically I can't think of many more original groups to come out in the last 30 years.  Many people before and after have tried fusing these sounds and only the Bad Brains have been able to pull of a similar feat.  While I wasn't as much of a fan of it, the Beastie Boys were also able to (somewhat successfully) pull of some electronic music as well.  What might have been their more underrated material in my opinion however would be their two intrsumental albums, The In Sound From Way Out and The Mix Up.  There really isn't a bad album in their catalog and I challenge anyone to find a group that stayed relevant and put out consistently good and original music for as long as the Beasties.  It is truly sad and cliche at best, but RIP Adam Yauch and thank you for being a gigantic inspiration for most of my 31 years.  I am also thankful for having seen the Beastie Boys live in concert twice.  The First time was great, it was in Ottawa and Talib Kweli opened.  Good dude.  The next time was probably one of the best nights of my life.  They played at the 930 Club in DC.  I was one of about 700 people in attendance.  We all ushered Bush out of office and welcomed in a new era.  I was looking forward to seeing the Beasties in DC again next January.  Sadly, that won't be the case.