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Song Stories

“Sabotage”

Beastie Boys | 1994

By the time the Beastie Boys released Ill Communication, their transformation from frat-boy rappers to surprisingly adept funk-rock instrumentalists was complete. But what about fuzz rock? "[Adam] Yauch came in one day with this idea for a song," explained Adam Horovitz, "where the fuzz bass keeps playing, and we would all do these hits and stops to bring, like, suspense and drama." Not only did the song create that suspense and drama but so did its Spike Jonze-directed Seventies-cop-TV-spoof video, complete with car chases, wigs and drooping 'staches.

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Song Stories

“More Than a Feeling”

Boston | 1976

Boston mastermind Tom Scholz was as surprised by anyone when he sent his unsolicited demo to record labels and got back a positive response. Scholz said, “I couldn’t believe it. Nobody knew who we were, so I wouldn’t even say we were struggling. It was groveling.” Part of the credit for the interest must go to the anthemic rock number "More Than a Feeling." Inspired by the Left Banke's 1966 hit "Walk Away Renee," Scholz worked on the song for five years in his basement studio before it was released on this album.

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