Beasties Reissue Campaign Continues With Check Your Head

(swiped from Pitchfork Media)

Last month's 10.0 Paul's Boutique reissue made a lot of sense considering it was the album's 20th anniversary and all. But the upcoming tricked-out revamp of Check Your Head isn't quite as traditionally timely-- it's been, er, 17 years since the Beastie Boys' return-to-instruments funk fest hit Tower Records locations across the country.

This seemingly hasty, multi-tiered release-- expanded digital editions out March 30, expanded CD and vinyl editions out April 7, super duper expanded vinyl edition out soon after that-- continues Capitol/EMI's apparent 2009 business strategy, i.e., re-release everything they ever put out in any and all ways possible (see: all those Radiohead repackagings coming your way). They already redid last year's Coldplay album. I'm shocked they haven't gotten around to a Katy Perry reboot-- what are you guys waiting for?

The death of the compact disc (and, you know, the notion of paying for music in general) is sorta depressing, but it brings us this reissue, which should at least satiate those annoying Check Your Head=Best Beasties Album die-hards for a few months. Check Your Head isn't Paul's Boutique, but it still holds up well-- a vintage "Arsenio Hall Show" performance of "So What'cha Want" currently streaming on the trio's site reiterates a fact current high schoolers may not be aware of: these dudes were mean on the microphone. Very mean. Super mean. Especially Ad-Rock.

Some details on the Check Your Head relaunch: The crown jewel of this campaign is a limited edition quadruple 180 gram LP version with a "fabric-wrapped hardcover coffee table book case," according to a press release. They're calling it the "ultra-deluxe" version and it will cost a lot of money. For those of us not profiting from AIG bonuses, there's the standard double vinyl, digital download and double CD versions, each featuring a host of B-sides. A deluxe digital edition offers videos and video commentary, too.

All of these new products put the Beastie Boys in an odd position between reliving the past and trying to stay present, especially since they're due to release their first (real) album in five years this fall. They'll attempt to strike a balance when they hit Bonnaroo June 12 and headline the Hollywood Bowl for the first time September 24.

Beastie Boys Paul's Boutique Reissue Out Now

(swiped from Pitchfork Media)

If you're me, the Beastie Boys' sampledelic spazz-rap sophomore LP Paul's Boutique is easily the group's best album ever, made when the Beasties were at the ideal middle ground between the hilariously asshole-ish prankster brats of the License to Ill days and the self-consciously eclectic downtown boho aesthetes they first became on Check Your Head. Paul's Boutique is coming up on its 20th anniversary, and we reported last month that the Boys would be giving the album the reissue treatment it deserves.

Well, they've done it. Physical copies of the Paul's Boutique 20th Anniversary Edition won't be out until February 10, but if you cruise over to the Beasties' site, you can already buy yourself a download or decide how much money you feel like dropping on the various multi-tiered options the group is offering.

If you're seriously balling, you can drop $129.99 on the Commemorative Package, which includes a limited edition eight-foot-long panoramic poster of the fold-out cover art, a limited edition T-shirt, and both vinyl and CD copies of the remastered album, as well as an immediate download.
Broke motherfuckers can pay $11.99 for the download itself, which comes in DRM-free 320 kbps and includes "interactive, 3D digital album art" (Which will be what? The Google Earth street-view of the corner on the cover?). For $15.99, there's also a Deluxe Digital Download package, which includes five music videos and (this is actually awesome) a full-album commentary by the boys themselves. Still more options: $18.99 for the CD, $23.99 for the 180-gram vinyl, both of which come with a download of the album. They're also selling T-shirts and stuff like that on the site.

Even if you don't plan on parting with any money over an album you already own, it's worth checking out the Boys' site, which now features all manner of Paul's Boutique-related sillness: videos, photos, stories from fans, a truly difficult and low-tech ping-pong game, and a free download of that audio commentary track. Go nuts.

In other Beastie Boys news, last night, it was announced that they would be playing Bonnaroo. This is their only scheduled show right now.

Here's a little widget thingy that plays the remastered version of "Johnny Ryall":


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