Hear Tim Meadows Tell the Story of Beastie Boys’ ‘Sabotage’
One of the best things about Beastie Boys Book, the massive memoir being released this week, is how wildly overstuffed it is with jokes, insights and unexpected voices. It’s mostly made up of incredible first-person memories from Adam Horovitz and Michael Diamond, but there are also interjections from friends like Wes Anderson, Luc Sante and Amy Poehler; a recipe section from chef Roy Choi; a photo scrapbook from Spike Jonze; a short graphic-novel chapter; and lots more. “We wanted to have it be different, with little chapters about different things,” Horovitz told RS in a recent interview. “Like guest rappers or samples.”
They’ve carried that spirit through to the audiobook edition of Beastie Boys Book, which features a wide cast of celebrity readers ranging from Snoop Dogg to Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, Rachel Maddow to Elvis Costello, Bette Midler to Bobby Cannavale.
In the audio chapter exclusively excerpted here, Saturday Night Live alum Tim Meadows tells the story of 1994’s “Sabotage,” reading from both Diamond’s and Horovitz’s perspectives as they recall how engineer Mario Caldato Jr. inspired the classic rage-out. Yes, that’s right: When Ad-Rock screams “IIIIIIIIIIIIII can’t stand it/I know you planned it,” the person he’s so pissed at in that moment is the Beastie Boys’ own good friend and recording partner. Hit play below to hear Meadows set it straight, this Watergate.
Audio from “Sabotage,” narrated by Tim Meadows, excerpted courtesy Penguin Random House Audio from Beastie Boys Book by Michael Diamond and Adam Horovitz; read by the authors and a full cast.