Beastie Boys‘ Mike D recently sat down for an interview with Vulture‘s David Marchese, and if the result isn’t as revelatory as Quincy Jones’s, at least Mike D doesn’t look nearly as clueless as Julian “Ariel Pink is the modern David Bowie” Casablancas. Mike Diamond is 52 now; he’s embraced the California surfer-dude lifestyle even though he admits it’s the kind of thing the Beastie Boys might have made fun of back in the day, and the one artist his kids like that he (respectfully) doesn’t care to understand is New Orleans xan-rap duo $uicideboy$.
So if you ever hope to roast Mike D, there’s one critical point to know: He doesn’t like when people recommend him music that’s reminiscent of Beastie Boys, and he especially fears being compared to 311, official white reggae-rock band of the ’90s:
Can you remember something you’ve been played that was supposed to sound like the Beastie Boys?
This is an old thing, but I remember seeing Dee Barnes at a club and she said, “You’ve gotta hear this new group, Cypress Hill. There’s something about their voices that reminds me of you.” That’s kind of the best-case scenario.What’s the worst-case scenario?
Not that it’s ever happened, but my fear would be that someone would be like, “311. You love those guys, right?” I’m sure they’re nice people — [their music] isn’t my cup of tea.
Now according to Mike D, this hasn’t even happened before, so it certainly would be a shame to start now. Read the full interview here.
