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I had planned on writing a post about liking problematic things, but when I got word of the Beastie Boys' Adam Yauch's death from cancer. Maybe I should write about how to mourn problematic things instead.
Yes, the Beastie Boys have done a lot of good. At the MTV Video Awards in the wake of the US Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, Yauch denounced stereotypes of Muslims as terrorists, and his fellow band member, Adam Horowitz addressed the rapes and assaults that occurred at Woodstock 99. A few years earlier, he had organized the first Tibetan Freedom concert. But their early work was grossly misogynistic -- something Yauch later regretted. (source ) And I don't think it's unfair to mention it while still mourning his passing, and praising the good work he and his band has done.
Despite that, the Beastie Boys were part of the soundtrack to my junior high school years, and I'm glad I got to see a band evolve from macho posturing to actually working for change. Yauch was 47-years-old.
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