"Sabotage"

Beastie Boys
(Grand Royal/Capitol, 1994)

Dumbest move on the recent Beasties retrospective Sounds of Science, besides claiming "Fight for Your Right" was all Rick Rubin's idea: putting "Root Down" and "Sabotage" on different discs. On Ill Communication, the old-schoolisms of "Root Down" gave way, on beat, to the corroded dive-bomb bass of "Sabotage," in the most thrilling transition since A Tribe Called Quest segued "Rap Promoter" into "Butter"; these songs go together like summer rock fests and young men acting retarded, and keepin' em separated is a travesty. "Sabotage" itself is a rap-rock landmark, white guys feigning blackness by jocking Black Flag and Black Sabbath.

-- Alex Pappademas