Why do we love the Beastie Boys? Do you really have to ask? You do? Well, we love the Beasties for this simple, fulfilling reason: they're fun! Their lyrics are fun, dancing to their songs is fun, and listening to the notoriously nasal Ad-Rock bust rhymes is fun. Just check what "Beastie" originally stood for: Boys Entering Anarchistic States Towards Internal Excellence. Or something like that. Poking fun at your own teen angst takes true talent. However, the Beastie Boys are more than just talented. Three skinny little Jewish boys don't become hip-hop icons (not to mention record executives, magazine publishers, clothing designers, and Tibetan freedom crusaders) by merely being talented. The Beastie Boys became hip-hop icons by being unafraid to experiment and just basically doing whatever the fuck they wanted, whether you liked it or not. The results have always been fresh, spontaneous, loud, and funky.

When Licensed To Ill came out in 1986, Mike D, Ad-Rock, and MCA (alias Mike Diamond, Adam Horovitz, and Adam Yauch, respectively) weren't quite so funky. Their debut LP is an obnoxious, infectious fusion of hammering metal guitars and potent hip-hop beats which produced several hits. Lyrically, the boys tackled such universal topics as girls, beer, White Castle, and bragging about being a bad ass. However, even when the Beastie Boys are being offensive hedonists, they come off as bratty Bugs Bunny cartoon characters, not macho pigs. For example, "Girls" should disgust me. When Ad-Rock and Co. shout, "Girls! (To do the dishes!)/Girls! (To clean up my room!)" I should be insulted, but I'm not. They're too much like your five year-old cousin who curses during The Big Family Dinner. You can't help but laugh as he pretends to be innocent while your aunt and uncle try to discipline him and hide their embarrassment. The Beastie Boys have a magical power that turns rudeness into charm.

While chauvinistic anthems got the Beastie Boys tons of enthusiastic followers, it didn't bring the boys too much respect as musicians. Their 1989 release, Paul's Boutique, however, easily blew away music heads and critics with its brilliant sample-crazed grooves. With Paul's Boutique, the Beasties proved that they could blend anything together and make it sound like their own. They dabbled in rock, blues, funk, soul, and hip-hop and snipped bits from everything from the Beatles to the "Psycho" theme. In the midst of all this musical mastery, though, the Beasties still let their twisted sense of humor peek its grinning head out. In "Egg Man", the boys shout, "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?/I egged the chicken then I ate his leg." On "Hey Ladies" they delicately describe relationships: "Break up with your girl, it ended it tears/ Vincent Van Gogh go mail that ear". Yes, it's a bit silly, but when you lay down seriously funky tracks, you need something light to maintain balance. You want to have fun while you're dancing, don't you?

So with Paul's Boutique they gave us hip-hop mania, and with 1992's Check Your Head they picked up their own instruments and came up with some really mellow, textured songs. At the same time though, they cranked out some viciously cool punk and hip-hop, two prime examples being "Gratitude" and "So What'cha Want". Ill Communication took that even further and the boys made some of their hardest, slammin', danceable, tunes, as well as some of the best music videos EVER.

Unfortunately, after Ill Communication, we all had to wait another four years for another full-length album, but Hello Nasty was well worth the wait. Yes, the Beastie Boys had grown up. "Song for Junior" and "I Don't Know" are refreshingly gentle, but of course, the Beasties still knew how to get people up off their feet. They get down and dirty on "Super Disco Breakin'," "Three MC's and One DJ," and "Body Movin." In case you're afraid they've grown up too much, just check out their video for "Alive" off of their anthology, Sounds of Science.

It's almost impossible not to love the Beastie Boys. The Beastie Boys do everything you would want to do if you had your own band. They built their own studio complete with a basketball court and video arcade. They work with people like Q-Tip, Lee Perry, Biz Markie, and the Dust Brothers. They take every opportunity to trick the public with goofy advertisements and pranks. The Beastie Boys always listened when Mom said, "It won't kill you to try something new" and "People will like you if you just be yourself". You know what? Mom was right.

Read these Beastie Boys reviews: Hello Nasty, Licensed to Ill, Sounds of Science, Paul's Boutique, Check Your Head

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Elvis Costello, David Bowie, Beth Orton, Radiohead, Bristol, Sonic Youth, Björk, Liz Phair, G. Love