So why is Beastie Boys’ Hello Nasty on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
No album represents my time living in New York City like Hello Nasty does – it ties so specifically to my life in Manhattan and Queens in the late 1990s.
Well, it’s fifty cups of coffee and you know it’s on
I lived in Astoria, Queens and had a car, which I used most frequently to visit my parents out on Long Island. I’d often pick up my older sister, Lisa, in Brooklyn and then we’d head out to East Northport for a combination parental visit-meets-laundry day.
Intergalactic planetary, planetary intergalactic
I’d avoid driving in Manhattan if I could help it, but I have clear memories of driving down the island’s glorious avenues and blasting Hello Nasty. It seemed to fit the energy and mood and electricity and vibe of the city I love so much perfectly.
Can I get a witness to testify?
Open your eyes, realize, electrify
The production on the album is ludicrously great, and so does its track sequencing. “Super Disco Breakin’” sets the mood and pace at the jump, and I always trip all the way out by the time we hit the harpsichord sample roughly halfway through “The Move.”
Dogs love me ‘cause I’m crazy sniffable
I bet you never knew, I got the ill peripheral
As a huge fan of all things funny, clever, and silly, I get something new and delightful out of every Hello Nasty playthrough, including taking a moment to focus on how great the line dogs love me ‘cause I’m crazy sniffable is.
Even the album title has a fun backstory: it “was allegedly inspired by the receptionist of the band’s NY-based publicity firm Nasty Little Man, who would answer the phone with the greeting ‘Hello, Nasty.’”
And our old friend Stephen Thomas Erlewine from All Music, typically snarky and backhanded compliment-y with even his “favorite” albums, can’t help but gush:
Hello Nasty, the Beastie Boys’ fifth album, is a head-spinning listen loaded with analog synthesizers, old drum machines, call-and-response vocals, freestyle rhyming, futuristic sound effects, and virtuoso turntable scratching.
It’s really important to note that for all of its many high energy tracks, Hello Nasty also shows tremendous range, exploring further reaches of sounds touched upon on earlier ‘90s albums Check Your Head and Ill Communication (#94 of best 1,000 albums ever).
Examples include the sweet and gentle acoustic rock of “I Don’t Know,” the slow, soulful jam of “Song For The Man” (this one is sneaky catchy), the spacey lounge of “Picture This,” and the loopy, stoned reggae collaboration with Lee “Scratch” Perry, “Dr. Lee, PhD.”
That being said, I’d be fully remiss if I didn’t also call out the bombastic and head-bobbing “Electrify,” and the electro hip-hop splendor of “Unite,” both of which rank among the best rap songs that the Beastie Boys have ever produced.
Some stats & info about Beastie Boys – Hello Nasty
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rap, Hip Hop, East Coast Rap, Underground Rap, Alternative Rap
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 4.5 out of 5 stars
- When was Hello Nasty released? 1998
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #86 out of 1,000
Beastie Boys’ Hello Nasty on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Beastie Boys’ Hello Nasty that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
Another dimension, new galaxy, intergalactic planetary.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.