
Mike E. Winfield makes his debut on the podcast to talk about the Beastie Boys experimental second album.
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Josh Adam Myers
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Mike E. Winfield
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Adam
That is looking down.
Mike E. Winfield
The barrel of a gun. Son of a gun son of a who? Mother Jamma Mother Slew oh no.
Adam
Lekka's food whistle's about to go off.
Mike E. Winfield
How far can I get into this intro before the whistle goes?
Adam
That is my favorite song off The Beastie Boys, Paul's Boutique from 1989. And it's number 156 out of 500 on the 500 with Josh Adam Myers. First of all, thank you guys for tuning in. This is the only podcast that's going through Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums from 500 down to 1. And dude, we're three years away from this being over. I'm just gonna level with you guys. I want to thank Morty for coming on last week to help with that Matt Penfield episode.
Mike E. Winfield
I don't.
Adam
You know, I think I've been very open about my past addiction and stuff, but I was on Kratom for years, never was an issue. But I decided in December to try this new kind of it called 7O. And it was great. And it's literally a legal perk 30. And yeah, dude, it got me. And so I decided last Monday to get off of it. And so on that Tuesday, man, when we were doing that Matt Penfield episode, dude, I was in it. So I love Morty from coming on and helping me out, you know, follow him at DJ mortycoil if we didn't give him the shout out that he deserves. And I want to thank today, I want to thank Adam for helping me with today's episode. Because, dude, today when I woke up and we had to do this podcast with Mike, I still don't feel good.
Mike E. Winfield
And.
Adam
Doing this episode really, really helped me. So I'm gonna keep it short and sweet. Subscribe to the Patreon. This is how short and sweet I'm gonna make it. Subscribe to our Patreon guys, we got a lot of great people working on this show. Full episodes on YouTube every Thursday. Patreon get them a day early. But also you get merch and you get Master Fleece Theater, which we gotta start recording again. I think we'll probably set one up this week. I'll send a with the boys. It's been a minute.
Mike E. Winfield
It's so much fun.
Adam
Me, DJ Morty Coyle and Fetty Wap. Fetterman is sometimes jt when he can make it. It's just the best. I love this podcast, man. I really wish this would grow bigger cuz it's just so much fun, man. And especially after today's conversation, I mean, you're going to hear me talk about it. I got really moved earlier last week watching the peewee doc. And if you haven't seen it, watch it if you do like Pee Wee because you got a raw deal. And then I watched the Beastie Boys documentary to prepare me for this record and then that got me as well. And I was shocked when Emily said that this was our guest because there's a dude that I've been friends with, but we just were never like super, like not gonna say we weren't tight. We're always like dap each other up. But I didn't even realize he would be this big Beastie Boys fan. And the one and only person that I'm so happy I came on today because we connected so well is our guest, Mike E. Winfield. But you're gonna hear it at the end. He's got a new special he's about to tape on dry bar. The guy has got upcoming dates. Las Vegas, Houston, and Sacramento. He's also got a podcast called Step Fans and Chill. This guy's a funny dude. I needed to do this today. I'm doing okay. Don't worry, everybody. A lot of my friends have been checking up on me. A lot of loved ones, a lot of big comics. Too much has really just moved me so much. I love everybody, and I'm hopefully, you know, if you got a problem with it, reach out to me, man. If you got addiction problems, you know, we got to go. We can go through this together. We can be support for one another. But this podcast today really made me happy. So, you know, I'm really thinking you guys are going to enjoy it. All right, what's the spiel? Rate, review, and most importantly, subscribe to the 500 and listen free on all platforms or any way you get your pods. Follow me at Josh Adam Myers on all social media at the 500 podcast. For the podcast 1. Email the podcast@500podcastmail.com Follow the Facebook group run by Crazy Evan. For all things 500, go to the website the 500podcast.com. All right, y' all, Nothing left to.
Mike E. Winfield
Say, but here we go with number 156 with the Beastie Boys. Paul's boo Teak Shake your rumper. Well, all right, so we'll get into all of that because it's actually interesting when I was like. Because, you know, when we did. What was the first Beastie record we did on the podcast before Adam? When we did it with Mix Master.
Adam
Mike, License to Illustration.
Mike E. Winfield
So we did License to Ill the first record then, and we got Mixmaster Mike. And so when. When Emily, who has been pushing you, you're like a code orange on the Emily Kagan scale. She's taking with whether she's talking to your people or whatever, which we'll get into. And so when she said that you were going to be the Beastie Boys guest, I figured, we like this. I'm 45. You are?
Mike D
Yeah.
Mike E. Winfield
Exactly. Well, how old are you?
Mike D
Exactly like. Like this.
Mike E. Winfield
You're 45. You're 45.
Mike D
I'm liking that world. Yeah.
Mike E. Winfield
God damn, dude. Black don't crack, dude. You do not crack. God damn, dude. The funniest that I've ever heard was it when he said, like, it was. I think Patrice said it was like, women age like bread, right? But I was like, that's more white people, dude. We just go. We go. We go downhill quickly.
Mike D
Oh, yeah. And it hits in certain spots, man, it's the necks and the crow's feet. Like, the next look bad and therefore the surgery. People are like painting their neck and getting surgery so they can smooth it.
Mike E. Winfield
All out, you know, dude, if I had the money, I would. There was a guy that I. That I had an acting class. I went to college with him. He was like a 5, 6 actor. And he moved out to LA and he tried to start doing stand up. Annoyed the out of me. And then he spent $150,000 to add three inches to his legs.
Mike D
Oh, hell yeah.
Mike E. Winfield
Oh, you agree with that?
Mike D
Hey, you know what? This is the thing.
Mike E. Winfield
Hit me.
Mike D
He's gonna feel better afterwards. And what is this really all about? You know, Like, I'm not in favor of anything that I would do personally, however. But if I'm five, six, and now I'm like feeling gigantic because I'm five nine now.
Mike E. Winfield
Yeah.
Mike D
Hey, money well spent. What else are you going to do with it? You going to gamble it on? Right, Right.
Mike E. Winfield
Isn't even that tall, though, five, nine. I would have gone for at least six, three. I've been like, give me the full length, lengthen.
Mike D
Realistic for the people to see him again, like, years later. Like something different. You're like, oh, man, it's just these shoes. Because if he goes to 6:2 after being 5:6 now, it's like, bro. What? Like, I don't get this, man. Right.
Mike E. Winfield
Let me ask you a question, because I feel like I. You and I have been like. I just remember the first time, I think, meeting. I just remember one, watching you kill. It was back. You're doing, you know, and you were. You would. You know, you talk about your teeth all the time. Which is the funniest ever. Yeah. Killing. But then I remember, like, the thing that really struck me was that you were managed by the same dude that managed Seinfeld.
Mike D
Right?
Mike E. Winfield
Is that wrong?
Mike D
No, even better. It was. It was very specific. No, it was. I mean, I don't know who managed Seinfeld for sure, so I don't think.
Mike E. Winfield
You had an old white dude that managed you, didn't you?
Mike D
Yeah. I mean, I'll say his name, please. It was. It was. I think the first time was probably Barry Katz.
Mike E. Winfield
Oh, God damn, dude. Mary, that was it, really.
Mike D
I think that was you with Barry. I was in the beginning. I was, yeah.
Mike E. Winfield
Holy.
Mike D
For some reason, maybe that's not what you're managing.
Mike E. Winfield
No, no. Am I. Am I completely wrong? I just remember, like, how much heat you had on you when I first met You. And so well deserved because you're such a funny comic. And I'm so different. Like, especially being out here in New York right now and watching, like, you know, going up at the Cellar. Because L. A is a different scene, New York. There's open micros that are better joke writers than the guys at the Comedy Store. You know what I mean? And it was like seeing you very early on, I think, in my career. But you didn't. You. And tell me if I'm wrong. Like, you didn't dress at all. Like, I've been seeing you pop off lately. Like, you. I don't know what the fuck you listen to. Sly in the Family Stone, he Brew. And you. You living in Brew. You're on the. You are the album cover of Brew.
Mike D
You know, that's the thing. I wanted to. Back then, I just didn't have it, you know, like, oh, yeah. So I was just like, all right, I could pull this sweater. This is 14.99 at the TJ Maxx, and I'm. I'm gonna make it rock. And I had the visions. I just didn't have the resources. So when you look back, there's glimpses. When you look back, there's things you see, but it doesn't all match. So back then it was just, hey, I'm strictly in the art form. I'm strictly on the joke writing. And you just kind of keep going, and then hopefully, you know, you find it crazy.
Mike E. Winfield
Isn't it crazy how once you really find the comfort on stage, being yourself. Because, dude, for years, all I wore was white T shirt, black T shirt, black denim, blue denim boots. That was, like, what I wore growing up. I felt comfortable in it. And also, I was under that impression that. That Louis CK thing, like, he always wore the same. So people would concentrate on the material and not the crazy you're wearing. Right?
Mike D
Absolutely.
Mike E. Winfield
So. But then you get to a point, dude, I moved out to New York, and then I was like, I gotta buy some sweaters. Because I was like, it's cold out here, right? And it just evolved. And it's so cool because now I think we did a festival together not too long ago. Yeah, you walked into the goddamn room and I was like this, dude. Yes. Sometimes people were just born in the wrong eras, dude.
Mike D
That's. That's. That's what it could be, because I feel that. I do feel that. Like, oh, man. Catch me at, like, 1979 dropping all this same content. Man, it's a wrap.
Mike E. Winfield
I can't get no gas I Can't get no gas. Card is fault. Can't get no gas.
Mike D
It's a rat, you know, but the camera's always rolling. You got to know that the camera's always rolling, man, wherever you at. You know, just the fact that, you know, it was cold that day, too. So that's why I had on all.
Mike E. Winfield
That extra stuff, which is an attempt. You're gonna see how I suddenly weave this into the Beastie Boys. You're gonna see how I'm doing this because I spent this entire morning watching. I watched the Beastie Boys documentary, got really emotional because, like, you really find out that, like, MCA was everything. He's the reason we're talking about this record. He's the reason they weren't just like that first record and forgotten. It's the same all throughout. Even with our careers in comedy. It's just like, if you're gonna just stay doing the same, you're never gonna grow. And, yeah, you might pop off real quick, but if you're giving him the same thing, like, Carlos was seeing nothing against it, but if he just, like, didn't get called out for stealing the same over and over, he'd have his fan base. But what do you have? You know what I mean? So we have twins.
Mike D
No, you're saying evolved. So you're saying we have to evolve as artists, you know? Like, I mean, I remember a Jay Z line is like, if you, like, you want my old stuff, go listen to my old albums, you know? But I feel like we go to these artists for what they do. So a lot of times, yes, we are growing together as, like, let's just say the Beastie Boys. As they're aging, we are aging along with them, and they can't necessarily do the same thing, but there is something specific that we go to them for. So we don't want them to just mainstream it out or go commercial and just do what everyone else is doing.
Mike E. Winfield
So let me ask you this, all right? Because music, God, it's. I don't. I can't even remember, like, the first moment, but I always remember the first two or three rep. Me and my sister. You know, I think in 1986, I'm five, maybe, maybe six years old. My sister's two years older, and our parents took us to Waxy Maxi, which most people. Well, the people listening to this podcast, because our age group is old as. God bless you, Mike in San Francisco. You may murder me one day, but thank you for helping me at my show at Rooster T. Feathers. Don't Worry about that. We'll get to that later. And we love you, Mike. I'm kidding. Or am I? No one will know. Or am I? But I remember. I mean, my. My sister go into Waxy Maxi and I got licensed. Ill Run dmc, Raising Hell. These are my first records ever.
Mike D
Wait, you got them all at the same time?
Mike E. Winfield
So we back in 86, 84, 85. That was. That was like my family's, like, peak years where we had money. My dad hadn't quit his job yet. He hadn't left adp, he didn't get into state. My dad was a horrible. He quit this great job, went into sales, and then, like, everything up. So we went from, like Christmas being like Nintendo with the Power Glove with the speed you run on. We go into Disney World, we're stopping by the Big Sombrero on our way down to Florida. We're giving. And then it became like, all right, you get one thing, Christmas, dude. But no, no, no, dude, it's. That's. That's the. That makes you. That's what makes me not give up on comedy. That's the drive that you gotta have. And I remember, and I think the same thing with the Beastie Boys. It was just because I'm six years old, you're seeing these three white kids. Hip hop is nowhere near the level. You know, it's big in New York and L. A, but it's not. It's not global yet.
Mike D
We're not even in genres yet. Like that. Yeah, there's opera and classical and, you know, then there's pop, but there's not even the genre necessarily yet. Because I don't feel like it's split up. I feel like back in the day, we listen, we did. We listened to everything, and then there just became more branches, and then you stuck with whatever branch connected with you the most.
Mike E. Winfield
So I'm gonna. I'm gonna tell you before we get back into the Beastie Boys. So I was at my youngest. I was everything. And then I found heavy metal. Once I heard Guns N Roses. Like, I've talked about this a million times. Changed my life. There's like always. I don't. People always ask, what's your favorite, you know, like, artists? And I'm like, I don't have favorite artists. I have. I have life changing records. My life was one way. Heard that record. My life was another way. You know what I mean? Like, I'll never forget the first time I heard Birth of the Cool. And I was like, that's jazz. That's not the gay. My dad was listening to that Slow Joe, Pass this Hard Bot. All right, then I. And then it's like Appetite for Destruction, Stone Temple Pilots, Radiohead and the Beastie Boys. Hearing that at such a young age, just to see those guys doing that and being like, oh, my God, just like the party and everything. But when we were talking about finding your genre, once I got into heavy metal, dude, there was a moment in sixth grade because I was such a big music fan that the cool kids in my class were all black. They were listening to nwa they were listening to. And I. And I hadn't really so far, got like. I liked Public Enemy. I had Fear of a black planet because I loved the Anthrax song. They did, but I. And I had, I think, two Live Crew. But I remember taking all my heavy metal tapes, going to my friend Ryan McLaughlin's house and giving them to him and being like, you dumped me off. Because I thought you could only like one style of music. It wasn't until I got older that you could. Dude, it was, you know, why do you believe that?
Mike D
Why. Why is that a belief? You know, Because I get it. But we did. We felt like, oh, you know, a lot of it is because of the people around us. A lot of times it's our peers, you know, because just say you're listening. Imagine a sixth grader, you listening to hip hop. And then there's something over here that's like, yeah. I mean, I don't know. Different. You know, they're like, oh, you listen to that?
Mike E. Winfield
Well, try it. Tribes. What brought me back. So Stone Temple Pilots is what brought me back into rock for sure. But there was, like this evolution of hip hop where, you know, I always do this joke on stage, Mike. It's. It's. It never works. I think this is the funniest ever. It's like white people have this one style of rapping that's from like. Like 1982, and you've all gone to a company party. And then they're like, Tina from HR Is gonna spit a freestyle. And she's like, listen, everybody, I'm here to say I do the Xerox in a major way. It's like, that's. That's that old school. The Curtis Blow. The. The old old.
Mike D
Right. Yeah, the white people adapted to that one. That was the take.
Mike E. Winfield
They're stuck in that. They're stuck in that. And then you have. Which I first remember Raising Hell. And I think we got it because it walked this way. Double check that map. That it's on that song for me. Adam, by the way, also, Adam, pull up the Mike Portnoy quote. I think I sent it to you guys. He. He goes, we have one of the most biggest drummers in the world on. He wrote, like, a little blurb about how important Paul's boutique is. Oh, what do you got?
Mike D
No, no, that's interesting. I mean, I. I agree, and I hear you. How it shapes us. I'm a late bloomer, you know? Like, I was listening to it via everyone else's stuff, but I was like. And all this other stuff. And I realized that's the reason I have a life disconnect and I have a personal life disconnect because I was a late bloomer in the music. So there's just how I was. I was, like, there with them, but I was sheltered in a way as well, you know? And, you know, I'm discovering music on my own, like, purchasing my first. I think one of the first albums I had was the fat Boys, but that was like a Christmas present, right?
Mike E. Winfield
Sure. Yeah.
Mike D
And then the next one is like. The next one is like, the soundtrack to New Jack City.
Mike E. Winfield
Right.
Mike D
So now.
Mike E. Winfield
First time I touched a titty, dude. First time I touched the titty was to the soundtrack to New Jack City, dude. Dude. One of my first jokes on stage when I used to do the Black Rooms was I used to do New Jack City, the musical. I used to act out, like, different scenes from that movie with music, like, spooky. Put down the crack pipe like this stupid.
Mike D
It was a hit, dude.
Mike E. Winfield
It was like, I remember touching titties to I want to sex you up. And then the next song is New Jack Hustler, so. Yeah, right. Yeah, right. So that's your first record.
Mike D
Yeah, but see, I wasn't buying them. They were just coming via, like, a Christmas present or just some randomness. So I had the cassette. So I'm bumping iced tea, you know, and now that's shaping me, and I'm like, whoa, what is this? This is dangerous, you know? And then I'm like, later. I'm like, way later when I'm purchasing my own stuff, when I get, like, the C. I think I first purchased the cd. I don't know if I purchased my own cassettes. Okay, so that shows a time gap and how when I was getting music, it was. It might have been like R and B or something, you know?
Mike E. Winfield
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Everything I got at the beginning was tapes. I got my. My CD boombox. And they. My parents took me once Again to Waxy Maxi, because we were broke. You get one cd, we got you the Boombox. And I remember I had in my hand, I had either Tribe Called Quest, Midnight Marauders or us3 cantaloupe. What do you think I bought? Thank God. Drive. Call Quest. Thank God Quest. I'm not that lame, dude. I'm just getting. Just getting bitty bitty bop. That song's all right. It's not Midnight Marauders, I'll tell you that much. So then if you're not getting CDs and you're getting them just kind of coming to you. So before we even get into Paul's Boutique, like, were you there with them during Fight for your Right to Party? The Wild Years? Because the story is incredible. Did you. If I. I can't stress this enough, this documentary that Spike Jones did with the two remaining members, it's like they came because especially too being here in New York now, seeing how the city is, you can understand how, like, hardcore music could be so important and how Bad Brains and the Clash, it's the same. I heard from having Tom Murillo on, which is that they saw the Clash. They said, we can do that. Because they didn't start as hip hop. They started as rock. They said, well, I rock hardcore.
Mike D
I know that. And I know it has to feel different in New York than anywhere else, Especially if you weren't there. Like, if you take that album and then you go there and listen to it on the streets, it is a different feeling. Yeah, I understand. It has to be. Because you're seeing the cities, you're seeing the bodegas, you're seeing everything with the energy of that. It has to take you somewhere, dude.
Mike E. Winfield
I remember when I first moved here, I would put on Oscar Peterson Trio Radio. The jazz, dude. Real light, almost modal jazz. Kind of like, kind of bluish. And I would just, like, smoke a joint and walk through the city. And it was just like. I mean, you couldn't. You couldn't not feel that, like, energy. But it was almost like it was made for it. And, you know, the 80s, when we're going back. Because you have to talk about ill communication before we can get into Paul's Boutique, because ill communication. So in this story, do you know. Do you know kind of the situation?
Mike D
No, I know some, and I know a lot without watching the doc. So the doc would put me over the top. So that's what I would like. That's where. That's the assignment.
Mike E. Winfield
Tonight, when you're done. Tonight, when you're done. It's on Apple tv. Watch it. I'm so glad I did. And then I watched the making of just this record. But so they start. They're doing punk. They link up with Rick Rubin. They got a girl drummer, they still playing instruments. They. I think he. He's got all this like hip hop. He's got the 808 and all that stuff. And they start seeing what Run DMC is doing and they meet the. Now is he. Is he canceled Russell Simmons because he just like disappeared. Because I think there was currently.
Mike D
Yes, yes. But you know. Right.
Mike E. Winfield
But at that time he's Russell and he's basically the number one dude in hip hop. And he sees these three guys working with Rick Rubin who he knows who's been working with them and Run dmc, he says, he's like, I'm gonna make you guys the next big thing. And he.
Mike D
But you have to do what? But you have to do what?
Mike E. Winfield
Well, it wasn't so much selling their soul because they were 18 years old. They're partying, they're drinking, they're wanting. Dude, imagine being 17 years old, playing shows in your friends houses, parkour shows, then being like, hip hop is where it's at, dude. You hear this, you see the dance, the Adidas shell tops and they're like, that's what we should do. And then they were doing that white style style of rapping which is like, you know what I mean? That like hunky donkey donkey and a bunk and do and a chunky monkey with the flunk too. So.
Mike D
So you're talking before License to Ill.
Mike E. Winfield
You know, this is. Yeah, this is right at the beginning. And then they started really working on some good songs through Rick Rubin production. They, they. I'm pretty sure there's. There's, there is, there is. There's a lot of sampling on Ill Communication, but nowhere near License to Ill. Yeah, keep. Thank you. I'm sorry, dude. Thank you, Adam. That's. If that's the only thing you say this podcast, that's perfect. Just keep, just keep smiling at me and telling me I'm doing a good job. That's all I need today. But I think I know they're sampling, but basically they wrote all these songs together. What was the one that really blew them up off that record? Because it's not Fight for your right, that. The track that is it off the first record. There's one track because in the, in the documentary, which is so cool, they kept having different chapters and they're like the Song that changed everything. And it was the. It's not like License the ill.
Mike D
I feel like it got Paul Revere, I'll probably say is the.
Mike E. Winfield
That's not. No, but no, that's all great hits. All great hits. Let me pull it up because there's one of them that's like.
Mike D
They had like six or seven singles running.
Mike E. Winfield
I think it might be rhyming and stealing. Hold on, is this it? Basically one of these songs I can't remember. I'm not gonna waste any more time going over either. Slow and Low. Hold it now hit it. One of the. There's one of these songs kind of got them a lot more of the attention. And then Fight for your Right comes out, right? And they do all this stuff. Diy, dude. They're shooting the music videos in friends homes. They're just having the time of their lives.
Mike D
Oh yeah.
Mike E. Winfield
Drinking, dude. The craziest story is they're starting to get a lot of heat on them, right? Because they're. They're the first white boys doing hip hop for real, right?
Mike D
Yeah, they are.
Mike E. Winfield
There's no Vanilla Ice. This is no like, this is like when it was kind of like, all right, this is new genre hip hop. You got all these great people and now you got these white boys. And Russell is a genius. So he's like, I can sell these. But they get fight for your right to party. And in that video, they combined. How did he explain it? They combined the Three Stooges. They combined like just so many different elements. The hardcore stuff like the, the partying and the drinking and that they kind of were making fun of frat boys, right in that video, in that song. And instead of making fun of them, those are the fans that showed up to watch them. They went from. And then this is where the cool is, is they get a call from Madonna's manager and he's like, can run DMC open for Madonna? And he goes, her. The, the. He goes, the price is 20, 000 a show. And they go, no. And then they go, what about the Fat Boys? And Russell Simmons goes, oh, man, the Fat Boys are busy. Guess what? He doesn't rep the fat Boys, but he goes, but I got these three white boys that'll do it for 500. And next thing you know, Beastie Boys are on tour with Madonna. They're cussing at the crowds, like, cussing at these like 13 year old girls throwing beer at them. They become the fight for your right to party. But that after two or three years, now they're the biggest. They're one of the biggest acts are on mtv. They're living that nightmare, which is now they have to do that every night.
Mike D
Oh, yeah. That's the curse is like having to follow yourself. And now they created this. And I think that's the thing about second albums. Like, that's the problem as an artist for your second album, which is. Well, not that their first second commercial album.
Mike E. Winfield
Right, sure.
Mike D
But having to follow yourself. And I think it's. As an artist, I think that the best thing you could do is be seen for the first time in one of your later projects, because then people will go back and then they'll find you. And if they like that one. Because people kind of fall out of love, man, when they like that first thing. The second one. It's the sophomore curse. It happens so often where you piled in 10, five years of, like, your greatest stuff, and now you got to turn something around really quick.
Mike E. Winfield
And 100. Everything you're saying 100. True. But they get so worn out. They go to England, they get kicked off stage, they're selling out arenas, they're selling out Madison Square Garden, and they. They're like, creating this element of this party band. Like, they literally have a giant inflatable penis on stage.
Mike D
Yeah.
Mike E. Winfield
Like beer cans, they're throwing at the audience. You know, they have girls in, like, cages dancing. You know the lyrics. I mean, dude, it's. It's like. It's very. You know, is girls, Adam. Is Girls on ill. It is, yeah. Girls. Like, I think the lyrics are like, girls they do the dishes, Girls they met. And it's the most offensive song ever. You know what I mean? I mean, this is also 1986, when.
Mike D
You can find in their 20s so they can sustain that lifestyle. Like, imagine being in your 40s, trying to drink every single night and throw beers in the crowd. I don't know. It's. It's only. Yeah.
Mike E. Winfield
Some people can. There's some people can. Dude. Bert Kreischer does it every night, dude. I mean, that gets three IV bags a day. So. But here's what's cool, is that during that time, they realize they're not happy. Do you know what I mean? Especially mca. MCA is like. He's the one that kind of says, man, I just don't want to do this anymore, man. And he goes, adam, correct me in my math with. Or look it up at least if to correct it. I don't know if he goes on the vision quest yet, but he goes, I gotta step away. We need to separate. We've been together for the last three years. Because. Because, dude. Also because they didn't want to tour. This is the up. This is where Russell Simmons is kind of an. Because he. Because he didn't. Because the band didn't want to tour. He said they were in breach of contract, so withheld $2 million in royalty fees. Million. So what do they want to do, though?
Mike D
What do they want to do if they don't want to tour?
Mike E. Winfield
Ah, this is where the story gets interesting. So. But before I get into that, have you ever gotten into a place in your career? Because that's how the goddamn comedy jam was created. I did New Faces. Nothing happened. I was over stand up. I was like, what do I like doing? I like singing. I'm very good at that. I created the jam. It's the greatest thing I've ever done in my life. When I'm dead and gone, the comedy world will always remember the goddamn comedy jam. If I die now, I still got a few more things coming up, but if I died right now, that's the main thing. Have you ever had that moment in your career where you're just like, I'm doing. This is wrong. I need to. I need to shift.
Mike D
Absolutely. My shift was. This is my shift. And I still battle with it. But the shift was I was squeaky clean when I first started. I was just, you know, and it's a huge market for that, you know. Yeah, absolutely. And it's working out. I'm getting opportunities, I'm popping up on agt. But even when I did that, I'm not. That's just not who I am. Like, I'm not filth. You know, I'm just. I can articulate stories, and I can jump into some things that require content in context, and sometimes it is private and personal. And I was like, ah, man. Like, these things take me out of that world of being, like, corporate clean. And so that was. The shift is like, hey, man, listen, if you can pay your mortgage and you can support this family, being yourself, that's who you need to be.
Mike E. Winfield
Yeah.
Mike D
And then I just turned that and I've just stayed myself. And I'm comfortable in that. And you know that the thing about what I say when I'm like, I shift back and forth is because, yeah, there's. I'm a Do the money opportunities if I have to go there. But of course, it's just not the representation I think of who I am. I'm just this. You know, as long as you feel.
Mike E. Winfield
Like you're on stage being yourself. And that's the thing, dude. Even right now, it's like I get, like, being in New York and, like, I'm singing whether I have a band or not. And I know some of the comics are like, what the. Is this even stand up comedy? But I'm like, okay, but follow me, because there's a reason they put me at the end of the show every night. Now, that's not saying I. And I'm also like, I have a huge ego. But then I'm also like, I'm an addict. So then I'm like this horrible piece of. So I'm constantly just trying to, like, just not just. Just get that chip off my shoulder by giving everything. But it wasn't until I moved out here that I was even remotely close to be myself and do the goddamn comedy Jam, which is what really blew me up all the time. To being an artist and being an individual. And this is where we're going to bring it back to where they're at now. So this is split apart. They're now broke. And I'm pretty sure. Correct my math always, Adam. I'm pretty sure MCA stays in New York and does another band called Brooklyn Ad Rock. Which ones? Can I keep mixing them up? Which one is the. The most Jewish looking one that Mike D. Mike D. Mike D goes to la. Is he the one that's in the movie and was dating Molly Ringwald?
Adam
I think I. Sure.
Mike E. Winfield
Check the math. Check the math. I. I texted you I need math checking today. Adam. I'm sorry, I'm done right now.
Mike D
That was totally dehydrated.
Mike E. Winfield
Right, dude, so. So he goes to la. Molly Ringwald, I'm pretty sure.
Adam
Yes.
Mike E. Winfield
Thank you, buddy. I love you, Adam. Thank you.
Mike D
It is my D. It is my.
Mike E. Winfield
D. He goes to la, he's dating Molly Rewald, he's acting, He's. He's just doing the ladies. And I don't know what Ad Rock is doing, but Mike D goes to a party and there's this music playing and he goes, what the is that? And he goes up and he meets the DJs and they're these two guys called the Dust Brothers. The Dust Brothers are two of the most important people.
Mike D
Wow.
Mike E. Winfield
To this record. And they link up and, you know, so he starts dealing with them and he's like, dude, you guys are great. I think. I think they actually mastered or they did something with. Oh, Tone Loke. Yeah, they did Funky Cole Medina. They worked on that. I know they worked on that because I Remember, they're seeing that in the documentary, right? So. And so Mike D calls the boys and says, you need to come to la. You guys need to come to LA right now. You gotta hear this sound. It's that same in, like, Back to the Future, where he's like, my brother. He's like, you ain't heard this yet? Puts the phone up. And then that changed music forever. And so the band comes out there, they link up with the Dust Brothers. They say to themselves, since, you know Russell Simmons and Def Jam, we want to do this on our own. And Adam MCA is like, dude, like, let's. Let's drop all that old and let's just get all of our influences. Let's get as much experimenting as we can and working with these guys and sampling all the music that we grew up loving.
Mike D
And so now, too, right?
Mike E. Winfield
So three years older, and I think he already might have gone on a vision quest, because, dude, he's. Dude, MCA is a. It's, It's. It's a real loss as, like, a human being. Like, it's. He was a very good person. I mean, everything just that he did for Tibet, you know what I mean? It's like. It's just. It's just so sad. Especially that's why the band broke up once he died, because they're like. He was. It's the. He was the reason we have Paul's Boutique. And so the long story is this, is that they. They all go to la, they meet the Dust Brothers. They. I think because of the heat that they had for Ill. Communication, they go to all the record labels.
Adam
Yeah, I keep.
Mike E. Winfield
It's the. Thank you. License to ill.
Adam
It was 1994.
Mike E. Winfield
I know, and I know that it just. It just wants to come out. So because of that first record and the heat that they had on, they were able to get a record deal with capital, and capital gave him a bunch of money. And so they rented this house. And I mean, like a huge house up in the hills. Some famous. I think she was some, like, famous movie star who had, you know, a pool. And the pool looked into one of the bedrooms and she had these closets that were locked and they broke into them and they were putting on, like, funky, like. Like Miles Davis going to see, like, you know, a boxing match at Madison Square Garden outfit. Like, remember in American Gangster when he wears that? Like, he wears that. He's. He wears, like, the mink hat and they're. Everybody's like, oh, who's that?
Mike D
Yeah, right. The one. He hated the One.
Mike E. Winfield
Yeah, because he. That's what got him caught. That's got all the heat on it. Right? But. But they're around wearing that, and what they decide to do is just experiment as much as they can. And what they basically put together is what most critics would call the hip hop Sergeant Pepper using every different thing you could possibly think of. Very. Yeah. I mean, well, Miles did that in. I think he. He started around in Brew. Because the Beatles were the first to really start. Well, let me take it even more. Wait a minute. The Beach Boys are the first? Well, no, hear me out. So the Beach Boys, that's that album Pet Sounds, which on every list has always been ranked number two as the. As one of the most important records of all time. And it's because Brian Wilson, the guy from the Beach Boys, is the first person that used the studio as an instrument. Right? Does that. Does that make sense? Do you know what I mean? He's like, well, if I. I could overdub this and I could turn this backwards and I turn this up and I can play that. The guitar sounds like this. And then Miles does something different and Sly does something different. And now you're into hip hop and basically what, what? Adam, Mike, you know, and God damn it, the other guy, mca. Thank you. Dude, I'm dying right now. The second this is over, I'm going back to bed. The second they started making this record, they knew they were doing the right thing. Have you ever had. You know, you were talking about that moment of change. What's. What was the biggest epiphany? Where it was like, was there something that set you off? Because I know you were saying you're doing clean, but, like, even. It doesn't have to be about your career, just in life, like a way of thinking.
Mike D
Oh, yeah. Yeah. One of the. Probably the biggest epiphany for me in the form of entertainment was this is crazy to say. And I inherited from my wife, and she told me this, she was like, no one gives a fuck about you. And I live with that mentality of, like, amen, you gotta go out here and get your own. Because relying on or expecting or just thinking someone's gonna do anything for you is not the case, so go get it. And when I live in that mantra, it's just me working hard. And, you know, when stuff happens, it happens.
Mike E. Winfield
Yeah.
Mike D
So that was like that corner changing for me. And, you know, it makes so much sense for them at the time to have, like, it's sample heavy, if not heavy heavy dude album ever If I mean layered. They got, like, things from, like, scary movies in there.
Mike E. Winfield
It's like, dude, I'm trying to find the list of all the samples. There's a really good YouTube doc that showed you every. I think. I think they sample the Beatles a couple times on this record.
Mike D
Oh, yeah, they did.
Mike E. Winfield
They got sued, and they were like, there's nothing cool. They're getting sued by the Beatles. I mean, that's dope.
Mike D
If they don't do it, someone does this. Because the way I feel this is deeply. I feel like I'm not even a fan of sampling. I'm not a fan because I want that new. I'm always looking for that new something. But I also understand that it's important, and that's how an evolution takes place is, you know, stuff coming from the past. Like, there's times when I hear an album like, oh, this is. I love this. And they're like, oh, you know, that's. That's from Angie Stone, you know, and they'll throw out something, and I'm like, oh, man. And I just wanted the artist that I heard it from froze first to be the originator of it. And so that's where I get, like, my little letdown in it. But I understand it's a part of it, and if they didn't do it, someone else was going to do it. It's a part of the culture.
Mike E. Winfield
Yeah.
Mike D
So this being pieced together is very special for the time when it's happening and what they brought into it.
Mike E. Winfield
Now, here's the kicker, Mike. The audience hated it. No one. This album didn't sell for critics. Liked it. This dude, they literally get a call from their accountant like, y' all are broke now. You know that, right?
Mike D
Like, your first album grosses 9 million.
Mike E. Winfield
TLC, when they released Waterfalls, had $0 and filed for bankruptcy. You spend money, dude. Didn't you. You heard what we talking at the beginning, bro?
Mike D
Why do I have.
Mike E. Winfield
Why do I have all three Air Yeezys? Because I'm bad with money.
Mike D
Oh, man.
Mike E. Winfield
You know what I mean? They're still. They're in their 20s, and they're millionaires, and they got a huge house in the Hollywood Hills, and they, like, just like that house alone probably cost, you know, who knows, right?
Mike D
Yeah.
Mike E. Winfield
I mean, 5,000 back then in 1987, 88. You know, they just blew through their money.
Mike D
Yeah. Like, let's live.
Mike E. Winfield
But also. But also. But this album is not. This is not. This is not like, more of the party boy stuff. They're older Only a couple years. But the lyrics are different. Right? You know what I mean? They're saying something, and it's like the way they're doing it. I mean, I want to go through some of the tracks, you know, but it's like. Because I. It's. There's so much cool that's on this record that is so important, Adam, because you. Because you put the sheet together before we even get into the tracks. Is there any other stuff that I need to, like, we need to drop and talk about before we get into them?
Mike D
You know, what's interesting is you started off with this. When we started talking is about the need to evolve, and then that's what happens in this album, and it's what happens with age, with all of us, if, you know, we're paying attention to the world. But it's like, all right, so this is where I'm going to, for information is the Beastie Boys. I mean, if they're giving it and I'm a fan, I'm listening.
Mike E. Winfield
I know, but that's the thing, is that the audience didn't want it. They wanted more of Fight for your Right. They wanted. You know, they wanted more of that.
Mike D
They were only three years older. I want to party. Still.
Mike E. Winfield
This album came off. They were about to get written off, dude. If it wasn't for that record deal that they signed with Capital, there might not be more Beastie Boys. There may never be the next record, which is not Ill Communication, the one right before that, Check your head, which is when they really started playing the instruments again and getting back to their roots and still doing a lot of sampling, but really still being a band again. You know what I mean?
Adam
So the thing about this album that's important to understand, too, is Chuck D of Public Enemy, sue was quoted as saying that the dirty secret among the black hip hop community at the time of release was that Paul's Boutique had the best beat. So while it didn't sell well, it established the credit amongst their peers that, like, okay, guys are legit. That was. You know, it was experimental, but, like, hey, these guys are here to stay. These guys can hang. Like, that was what was important about this album.
Mike E. Winfield
Well, this is what the Dust Brothers. Go ahead. No, go ahead, Mike. What are you going to say?
Mike D
They also said with the amount of samples that they had in this, if they paid for every sample that they should have during that time, it could have cost them in the likings of $20 million.
Mike E. Winfield
I know, and I think the album cost 2 million to make. If I'm not mistaken.
Mike D
Say.
Mike E. Winfield
But. But, you know, this is. Don't forget, man. It was like. I think it was. When did that change? When did sampling. When did everybody start getting sued? And was that all the Diddy era? Or was it like. I just don't. Because if they could use that many samples and it's like, I don't know how much they probably had to pay out. You know what I mean?
Mike D
Like, I mean, people were doing it back then. It just, you know, if the suings were happened, they weren't all public because they're not the first to get sued. Even though I think the Beatles coming after someone was like the biggest.
Mike E. Winfield
That's so dope.
Mike D
Story of someone so dope.
Mike E. Winfield
And you want to talk about a band evolving Beatles. That's one of my favorite lines from the Imagine documentary about John Lennon, where he's being yelled at or being. He's arguing with this woman who's, like, interviewing him, and he's like. He's like, listen, love, if you want more of love, love me do. That's. That was six years ago. I'm not giving you that. You know what I mean? Like, I'm different. It's not. It's not me anymore, you know? And I just remember, like, it was like, it's. He wasn't mean, but it's just like, you know, oh, God damn, dude. What was the quote that really, like, got me emotional because, you know, as. As MCA evolved as a human, you know, dude, they were. They treated women like. And there's. I think it's. I think it's off. Ill communication. Is that one Adam, where he says, you know, I want to offer to all the mothers and the daughters and the sins, I want to offer my love and respect in the end. And I remember they got quoted by some woman writing an article, and she goes, aren't you kind of a hypocrite? He's like, I'd rather be a hypocrite than the same old person. You know what I mean? It was something like that. You know what I mean? Yeah. Like, he. Dude, that's in. What I got from that documentary is they all were growing, but MCA is the one that was like, I mean, dude, he's just, you know, look, it's like, drugs and alcohol and partying will only get you so far. You know what I mean? If you want to numb yourself and just be drunk every night, and if you just want to, like, you know, so many artists have, like, their careers up because of the partying that's what got me sober off opiates. The first time at the Comedy Store, I had a bad relapse and. And I remember Sam Tripoli saw me. He goes, he goes, when are you going to quit? And I go, I don't know, when I die. He goes, or, okay, maybe you die. Or maybe you're that 50 year old comic still hanging out at the store. Almost had a TV show. And I'm like, that's that. Failure is. Failure is scarier than death.
Mike D
Failure is scary, you know, and they weren't. Even though they weren't, you know, I mean, they were partying, you know, that's how they were creating too though. You know, they were creating drinking wine and hitting bongs is how they were like developing tracks. So now, you know, I mean, think.
Mike E. Winfield
About how many people they influence. Like how many different. I mean, I. Adam, check this math for me. When did It Takes a Nation the Public Enemy record come out was. Because, like, I don't know if that was. This is. This is 89. I know. You know who's the DJ for Cypress Hill, who used a lot of samples. I know they're heavily influenced by this record. 1988. 1988. So the year before. So yeah, you think about that too. You know what I mean? Public Enemy. Because I always thought Terminator X is one of the greatest hip hop. Dude, Public Enemy is, is, is heavy metal. I don't give a what anybody says, dude, it's. It is in your face. It is. Dude, it is. The reason do the Right Thing is one of the best movies about race ever made is that opening with Rosie Perez just dancing to fight the power.
Mike D
Yeah, right.
Mike E. Winfield
Yeah, dude, it's. It's that important because it's a rock song when you. And that shows what you can do with hip hop. And so when the Beastie Boys do this record and all these other producers that are now like probably seeing the evolution, they were probably so influenced by it that they, I mean this, this album in the day didn't get any of the respect that it deserved. It wasn't until the next record when. Because, dude, they were like written off as lame right then. And then the next record came out and they just low key. They got rid of the big mansion. They just started working together on their instruments, having fun, changing the style of the lyrics. It's not about the party. It's about being open to the world and Buddhism and giving up, like about love, respect, all that. And that's when it was like almost. It was almost the perfect timing of the 90s because they went from like. Because they couldn't just be the Beastie Boys from the first record their whole career, people would have been like, this is lame.
Mike D
Hey, but you're right. But is that wise? Like, is that wise?
Mike E. Winfield
I mean, like, that.
Mike D
Yeah, right? I mean, because the people want something and you're the artist and you just.
Mike E. Winfield
Like, yeah, but I'm gonna tell you something. Let me tell you something about the flute.
Mike D
I'm gonna do the Andre 2000 and pull out the flute. Like, why not give the people what they want?
Mike E. Winfield
I agree. Hey, everybody. So you guys have probably heard me talk about how I've been in bands my whole life. I love writing songs and performing in front of crowds. Just like with comedy. As a musician, it can be kind of hard to cut through the noise and really stand out as an artist. I feel like half the music projects I've been in have ended just because we couldn't figure out the answer to that eternal question of how do we get people to hear us? But then again, that was before there was Distrokid. Distrokid is a digital music distribution service that brings your sound to the main masses. It's a one stop shop for getting your songs on itunes, Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon, Deezer, Tidal, and many more. What's these? I never even heard of Deezer. How many of them are there? I know all that. That's like the holy grail of streaming services though. And getting paid. They want to. We want to get you paid for your music. That's huge because a lot of bands go broke before they get big. But Distrokid collects earnings and payments and sends 100% of these earnings to art artists, minus banking fees and applicable taxes. And that's just one of the tons of benefits of using Distrokid. You can send big files to anyone with their instant Share feature. You can use the Hyper Follow feature to promote your release and get pre saves on your song. You can even create personal landing pages for yourself, your band, your brand, and whatever you like. It has a free Spotify Canvas generator too, to generate your own Spotify Canvas for your songs. And the Mixia feature instantly masters your tracks for higher quality audio. So if you're ready to bring your band to the next level, it's time to check out Distrokid. The Distrokid app is now available on iOS and Android. Go to the app or Play Store to download it. Listeners of this show can get 30% off their first year by going to distrokid.com VIP the 500. That's distrokid.com VIP the500 for 30% off your first year. Dig it. This episode is brought to you by ebay. We all have that piece, the one that's so you. You've basically become known for it. And if you don't yet fashionistas, you'll find it on ebay. That Miu Miu red leather bomber, the cousteau Barcelona cowboy top. Or that Patagonia fleece in the 2017 colorway. All these finds are all on ebay, along with millions of more main character pieces backed by authenticity guarantee. Ebay is the place for pre loved and vintage fashion. EBay things people love. I agree. And you know, one of my who told me this, but it was, you know, look, look at what's happening right now with like Limp Bizkit and Creed. Right? Like they came out, their style blew up and then they became a joke because they kept doing the same thing. And then they sat on their money and they waited until right about now. And now Creed was one of the biggest tours of the year. I went to see Limp Bizkit. You could do it.
Mike D
It's.
Mike E. Winfield
It's insane the way that music comes around. So yes, maybe if they stop doing that License to Ill bullshit. They kept doing that, they fade out and then next, you know, some girl does it in a TikTok dance and they're back out on the road.
Mike D
Do you. Do you think that translates in stand up? Do you think as like, for comedians, you know, their job is to, you know, keep giving you that same thing? Or is it like we're. We're discussing now? Should they.
Mike E. Winfield
I don't know, man. Comedy is. You're meeting me at a very weird, weird moment in my career, dude, where it's like, it's another one of those, like, I've gotta, I've gotta shift. Because if I'm still just calling in my spots to the seller and getting mad that I only got three this week and, and you know, I'm on the road, but, you know, I can only sell X amount of tickets. It's like, you gotta pivot. You gotta pivot.
Mike D
So you're talking about like, overall as a human, you're not even talking about like the.
Mike E. Winfield
Yes, dude. That's what they did. They changed as humans to make this record. This record is not just a sampling of like, oh, let's just take all the we do we. This, this is them evolving as human beings. And then the next Record after this is when they're finally now themselves. And that's when they do the Tibetan Freedom Concert. That's when he goes on the Vision Quest. That's when they start really just, you know, leaning more into, you know, dude. The best quotes I remember is like, when I met and I, you know, I love name dropping. So Tom Morello, former guest, the reason I vote in the Rock and Roll hall of Fame. And he said it was like him seeing the Clash. It was like. It was like seeing dude, because it wasn't Led Zeppelin, which was this big arena thing with fire and like they're sex guys. They were normal looking guys, dude. Normal looking people with the amp on a chair, the same amp that Tom Morillo had. And he said, I can do that. And so that was what Rage never really. They never did flashy shows. They just put their music out and they partied and they gave you everything they had for that hour and a half. Dude, I went to see five nights at Madison Square Garden. Probably they'll never tour again. Probably I saw the last show they ever did. I don't think I ever cried harder because it was one of the best moments of my life just watching that band. And. And dude, Zach was sitting on a crate because he hurt his leg early on the tour. More energy. He gave off more energy sitting than most people do standing.
Mike D
That is emotional. That is an emotional site.
Mike E. Winfield
And I think, and I think in me as a performer, like early on, I read that Franklin and Jai book about comedy. So it's like, who are your influences? Who do you want to be? And I started going like. I think he said something along the lines of, like, it doesn't have to just be comics. Who are you influenced by?
Mike D
You know, I mean, that's a tough one, you know. Cause I feel like I started stand up because of Def Jam era and I thought that was the only way standup is done. And so my first couple years I'm extra aggressive and that's not even who I am as a human, you know. And then time goes and then you start branching out and becoming a student and then seeing so much. So when I like name influences, it comes. It's so many. Like, I mean, I feel like for.
Mike E. Winfield
Me, give your imagination. I can tell you I'm. I'm Scott Weiland. Axl Rose, Peewee Herman, Martin Lawrence from you so crazy.
Mike D
Yeah, Martin Chris Rock Cat Mitch Hedberg. Watch this. I mean, this is just someone I like. But you know, JB Smooth, like early JB Smooth is like freaking Crazy. You know, those are guys, man, that I saw. And I was like, oh, I respect people that find a lane and then no one else is doing that specifically. And I felt like that was goals for me. If I can go down some way and do something that, like, people will say, damn, that's. That's what Mike does. All right, cool. You know, that's. That's where I'm. That's where I'm leading to.
Mike E. Winfield
Yeah, but this is it, dude. This is the record that basically took the B.C. boys from being a one hit wonder to going down. I mean, dude, 500 greatest albums list. This list. I don't know if I agree with everything, Adam. We've done a bunch of records on here that probably don't deserve to be on here. This does. This does. This is one of the records that I feel definitely deserves to be on here. I. I think it could probably be even ranked lower. I don't know. Is there another Beastie Boys record after this or is this the last one?
Adam
This is the last one for. For this podcast.
Mike D
Yes.
Mike E. Winfield
Shocking. Shocking.
Mike D
So wait, where do you rank the 2? Like, if you're comparing, let's just say License to Ill and. And Paul's Boutique. Do you prefer this one?
Mike E. Winfield
Do you prefer Now I do. Back in the day, it was licensed. L. But, dude, you can't. That was the first record I ever bought. You know what I mean? That Bon Jovi slippery one, Wet. That's a special place in my heart, man. Those are like, one of the first albums I ever like, you know? You gotta understand, dude, I. I used to run home from school, go to my room, put a seat, put a cd, put a tape on, grab my hairbrush, and I would just sing into the mirror. That's all I do every day. I love music is like, I wanted to be a rock dude. Even right now I'm like, why did I do comedy? I'm watching this band Turnstile from Baltimore. That is just amazing.
Mike D
Why. Why did you do comedy? Why did you do.
Mike E. Winfield
Because I use. Because I always. Because I. I remember when I was. I've said this on the podcast. I saw my dad watching Comic Relief when I was six years old, and he was watching Carlin and he had tears in his eyes. Yeah. And he was just laughing. And I was like, I want to do that. And I was funny. I was also. Dude, it's like you get a certain. I mean, dude, you know, you probably most comedians. Not most. I don't want to say that because some of the nerdy ones Just. It took longer for them to come out of their shells and, you know, maybe the joke writing or whatever, right. I was. I have so much energy that I always stuck out whether it was getting in trouble or whether it was, you know, just being funny. And I was a smaller guy, you know, do. My family's. Their house is getting foreclosed on. My parents are fighting. Like, I found, you know, peewee. Dude, I just watched that peewee documentary. I mean, dude, it's. That guy made me so happy as a kid. It was just. And so that's what I'm saying. It's just.
Mike D
Right.
Mike E. Winfield
And so comedy was this thing that I used to kind of, like, make friends. And so my whole life, I've always tried to be funny, but then I've also always done music. So it just kind of, you know, and a buddy of mine that. That passed away, Angelo Bowers, said combine both of them. It's just crazy, you know, because I think that, you know, when you. If. If you stick to just. If I just would have done music. I mean, I don't know. Yeah, I was. You know, who knows? I could be dead by now. I mean, because I probably would have kept drinking and I could have partied hard. I mean, who knows, right? Who says I can't do it now?
Mike D
Exactly.
Mike E. Winfield
You know what I mean? But it's. There's something. Something so beautiful. Like I'm watching the old videos of the old concerts of those. The Beastie Boy shows those. Earl, dude, it looks like so much fun.
Mike D
Oh, yeah. It was energy. Imagine just being in it and you know the songs and everyone around you knows the song. So now you relate with everyone in the room. It had to be almost spiritual.
Mike E. Winfield
Dude, watch this thing. There's a really cool moment in it because one of the easiest songs they said they ever wrote because they worked on this record for an Adam. Check my math. Two years or three years or something like that. The easiest song they ever wrote was Sabotage. And it's. And it came from just them noodling around in this little Atwater Village place that they. That they. Because they really downgraded after this record to go, like I said, go back to your roots and just keep it. You know. The best advice ever got in comedy was from a black comic at an open mic on vine street. That was keep it simple, stupid. That's it. Keep it simple. Don't try to. Don't, don't. Don't make it too. Don't be too smart. You're new. You know what I mean? Keep it simple, stupid.
Mike D
Yeah, that's the problem. We're heady. We. We want that depth and we're digging for. This punchline is so far away when it's like. It's right there, right? Try to be all complex.
Mike E. Winfield
Elaine Boozler came on the podcast. She said if a joke. She said Carlin said to her, if a joke's not working, you're just not explaining it right. You know what I mean? You just gotta change one little thing.
Mike D
Yeah.
Mike E. Winfield
And that's what this band did. And I mean, when they. It's. It sucks that this record didn't get the respect it deserved at that time. But what so awesome is that eventually. Dude, Beastie Boys are. They're headlining every festival. Sabotage. They write in 15 minutes because of a bass riff that MCA is playing. And it was so like. We kept saying, it's like. It's like. It's. When you. When he. They. The rest of the band heard him play it and they're like. Was like, what is that from? And he's like, I'm just making this up now. And then they do that song to close out. Where did they do it first? It was either at some festival and it was like they saw the crowd turn into that punk rock early Bad Brains. Because, dude, that's. Dude, watch the Rock and Roll hall of Fame speech, which is so sad that MCA is not there. And his letter that he wrote is so beautiful. And he was like literally on death's door during that time. But it's like in the moment.
Mike D
That's so crazy.
Mike E. Winfield
Just. I mean, just murdering, dude. Murdering with that song. And they were immediately like. Like, that's our closer that's taking it back. Because the first person that Mike D shot out was Bad Brains. And so they're still just those kids. But it's like when you can take the. You learned the people that influenced you early on and then it still grow as an adult and as a performer, you're never. You're still not. Not the Def Jam people you watch back in the day. Mike. It's still there. It might not be full.
Mike D
You got the sound right.
Mike E. Winfield
Yeah, dude, it's. This story is of this record is.
Mike D
Insane that's so interesting to the. The riff in the moment and create that in that short of time. That's like the current state of entertainment right now. It's like what we see is like these moments taken are posted and they're the biggest things now.
Mike E. Winfield
That's kind of what insane how it's evolved and. And it's, that's what's so sad about the Beastie Boys. But that's also what I think I love about them, is that the second that MCA died, they were done. You know what I mean? They didn't, they don't tour, they, that they did the documentary, they made the book and you know, they're all doing different now, but it's like this is, you know, the catalog that you got is what you got. And I don't think they're ever going to release any unreleased stuff because in his, in his will he said, I don't want any of my music used in a commercial. Really? He was very like, dude, he is.
Mike D
You don't think they release it though, is, I mean, they're gonna honor him like that because.
Mike E. Winfield
Yeah, they are. I mean, they are, dude. They are, dude.
Mike D
It's fans would love it.
Mike E. Winfield
He's the reason they are. They became big again. MCA is the heart and soul of the Beastie Boys. He was the guy that, dude, it's like, it's like I, because I'm in one of those places in my life where it's like, I'm just coming off of like a rough period of time and it's like you're looking from, for like answers when you're, when you're like, you know what I mean? Like, dude, I was, I've been numb for like eight years, not even realizing it, and I just got through this like really hard period. And you're starting to feel again and you're like, you're like, like what? I need something? And it's like you need to have some sort of spiritual base. And that's what he, he lost that as a kid and then found it in his 20s and in his 30s. And by the time he was in his 40s when he died, he was at peace, you know what I mean? And he's the reason the Beastie Boys went from that throwing beers to suddenly being a respected artist. Because you know, they like I said, dude, they could have been written off, dude. And then maybe 25 years later they're doing amphitheaters. They're playing the, the Walmart Amphitheater in Rogers, Arkansas, which I've played, which is a good venue. So I'm not on.
Mike D
Yeah, yeah, right, right.
Mike E. Winfield
You know what I mean? But it's like, it's, it's that, dude, it's touring. Touring kills you, dude. I remember I went on that three month tour with Jelly Roll and on that last week, man, I was so done and Then now that it's over, and it's like you look back, you're like, God damn, I took it for granted, but it's like it'll drain you.
Mike D
It's insane energy that's required, and you almost have to micromanage every aspect of yourself if you're going to survive.
Mike E. Winfield
Yeah.
Mike D
So doing anything over that, you know, because, I mean, I'll do weekends and then I'll do weekends, but at least I'm, like, able to come home and plant and refresh and rejuvenate. But if you just stay on the road, you know, and, you know, they're offering you the alcohol and.
Mike E. Winfield
Oh, yeah, and drugs. There's coke out there. There's. There's one.
Mike D
The women, every night.
Mike E. Winfield
Dude, on tour. Dude, living on a tour bus for three months is not real. It's. It's literally your food's waiting for you. There's whatever you want. There's like. You literally go to bed on a bus and wake up in a different city every day, and then they. Then when you have your day off, you. You just isolate from the world. You know, I. I didn't drink on tour, so I wasn't partying like that. But I do every. You know, you can't not have fun. But if you. You know, but if you're doing that and at the level that the Beastie Boys had to been doing for that first record tour to live up to that image, of course you're gonna get done. You're gonna. You're gonna be like, we're gonna die.
Mike D
They had to age.
Mike E. Winfield
Yeah.
Mike D
I mean, all the alcohol and drugs and partying every night.
Mike E. Winfield
Dude, dude, it's a. He actually. I mean, towards the end, like, MCA, he's. He's got the gray hair. Died at 46 or 47. He doesn't look. I mean, the cancer was probably, you know, really aging him, but even watching that documentary, they still. They look. You know, it's just so crazy to see these guys now talking at. At this documentary and then seeing the old footage of them for that first, like, you know, the. The. The fight for your right era. It's just insane. All right, what are the big songs? We really feel like we got to talk about Adam. We. You know, what do you think? Or. I mean, there's so many. I don't think we should have to go through every single one of them.
Adam
But, I mean, to all the girls. Let's see. You know, those are two of the bigger names on the album, so I.
Mike E. Winfield
Guess it's Kind of like. So, yeah, to all the girls is a great way to open, especially because you see the change in the band because this is like they're really putting some distance between being like, really rude to women. Do you know what I mean?
Mike D
You know, they shouted out. They did a big shout out and shout outs. You got to be careful with shout outs too, because then someone gets left out, you know, so shout outs are crazy, you know, and they opened it up and they were just like, what's up, everybody? What's up? Chinese, you know, the Swiss, the French, you know, and they, you know, they, they captivated an audience right out the gate.
Mike E. Winfield
Oh yeah, dude.
Mike D
Brooklyn girls, right?
Mike E. Winfield
And I, and I remember because I was thinking to myself, I've left her. Like, you know, like my change in my perspectives. In my 20s, all I wanted to do was get laid. And I wasn't mean to women, but it was like, just. It's like you, you understand what, like being one way and treating, you know, you know, even if it's just not just ghosting somebody and like, you know what I mean? Like.
Mike D
Did you ever change, though? When did it change? When.
Mike E. Winfield
I just stopped thinking about all the time and started just doing stand up. I think that was really what it was. I got older, so you just refocus.
Mike D
Because there's a lot of people listening now and they're like, how do I not think about every day, dude, Let.
Mike E. Winfield
Me tell you something, dude, you. You can. That's never gonna stop. That's especially. I. I'm gonna. I'll just be completely honest. I was been on this. You ever heard of Kratom? It's this, like, this. They sell it at head shops. It's basically a legal opiate. And it's like I was using it as like a supplement. And for eight years I had no sex drive and I just got off of it over the last week and. Which has been very difficult, dude. I've probably jerked off five, six times a day. You're never gonna not get real. You want that serotonin. There's nothing better than sex God gave us to us. But there's people that. It controls their life all the time. And dude, those are the people that up their, their lives. They either cheat on their wife, they cheat on their, you know, their girlfriends, or they just don't pay attention to the career because they're so focused on getting late. Dude, Chris d' Elia ruined his life over.
Mike D
Yeah, right.
Mike E. Winfield
I'll say it right here, dude. One. You know, one, somebody I'm not gonna say who. Somebody said he once. Nine girls in one day.
Mike D
Hey, man, at the end of the day, you have to sit down and share stories with your grandchildren. There's the legend of you.
Mike E. Winfield
I mean, you're almost, like, good for you.
Mike D
But nine, yeah, that's. Hey, listen, I mean, being in Hollywood, you know, there's so much we haven't heard about many of these artists that we revere. You know, you think.
Mike E. Winfield
And, dude, if you think and if you think it was. It's bad. Now imagine what it's like back in the day before there was paparazzi everywhere. It took Fatty Arbuckle to have a die at one of his parties for them to be like, damn, y' all like that. You know what I mean? Dude, they got away with everything back in the 20s and 30s. Dude. It's. This is.
Mike D
No, they were lucky. Now, everything, surveillance, like, we were lucky.
Mike E. Winfield
No, we were lucky because we. We are. We were. The Gen X is the last good generation that the Internet came later in life.
Mike D
Yeah, that's true.
Mike E. Winfield
All that. Yeah, dude, it's. It's. It's. I'm so happy that so much of my old shit's not out there, man.
Mike D
Yeah, no, I agree. I would be canceled if my 20s was, like, somehow available.
Mike E. Winfield
Yeah. When we. When we. When we signed the Spotify deal, early on in the podcast, they wanted to add a female co host. And I told the guy, Bart Coleman, who I love to death. He worked on my TV show, and he was a guy that brought me on to Spotify. I said, bart, if you bring. And the girls that they recommended were like, like. Like very social justice, warriory. You know what I mean? Like this. She's a lesbian from Portland, and I'm like, if we bring her onto the show. Not. I'm not a misogynist at all or anything, but there's a reason we don't tape this live. Because if I say something, we can cut it out. And I'm like, I'm gonna get canceled off my own show.
Mike D
Hey, you know, though, that's what people tune in for. That's why we watch 90 Day Fiance. They want to watch that angry. They want to see you clashing every single day and graying and stressed, and people love that stuff, man. So. So shaking doesn't help your mental health at all.
Mike E. Winfield
No, it doesn't. It doesn't, dude. It doesn't. It doesn't. It's. It's. It's. But to go from that opening track to shake your rump, which I mean, God damn, dude. The. That. I don't know, whatever that noise is, it's just. It's. It's unheard of, like to. To. For the band to use. I mean, so many different samples in this song. I mean, I'm looking at it just. Even the. The. It's the joint. Just all those little things. They just started throwing everything, every little thing they could into every song. Are you a good dancer?
Mike D
No. This is how it's gonna be.
Mike E. Winfield
Yeah. Are you a good dancer? I bet you are. Shake your rob, you shake your arm.
Mike D
I think great dancing is just believing in yourself, whether no one else does in the room. And chances are, when I'm dancing, no one else is believing in me but myself.
Mike E. Winfield
Good, good, good, good, good. All right. Johnny Rael. This song's about a homeless man Mike diamond often came across. He hung out on the stoop of their apartment. I think that's a beautiful. I mean, I wonder if he even knows that they made that song if he was homeless. Do you think, Adam, is there a way that you can check.
Mike D
You know what they were saying too? They were saying that he was like, you know, like he used to be a famous rock star and now this is what his life is. I wonder where they somehow, like just looking at what their life could be.
Mike E. Winfield
Wait, there's a good. Adam, you found this cool thing. Is this. This worth reading? In the Beastie Boys book, there's a photo of Johnny Rael with a Def Jam Records jacket on. The Beastie Boys, of course, were signed to that label and given those jackets as swag and Mike D gave it to Raelle. According to Mike, when Def Jam had Russell Simmons solemn wearing it, he was none too pleased. He didn't want Def Jam associated with homeless people. Have you ever had done something unintentionally that pissed somebody off and you thought to yourself, you know, good them?
Mike D
Oh, yeah. Can you say it right?
Mike E. Winfield
Can you say it? Can you say it? Or. Oh.
Mike D
Oh. Like, oh, man, I used to have this. I can't. But I'll say this much. I used to have this show on few. Not Fuse, whatever it was called. Straight Out Report. Right?
Mike E. Winfield
Yeah.
Mike D
And the show was based on the straight and the gay side of the current pop culture news. Great premise. I was the straight side, you know, I had a gay co host and a lot of it was overwhelming and it was a lot getting to me. And I just remember I had like a quote that I said that wasn't in the script and I thought it was great. But in the room, they ended up airing it, and it was great feedback, so it pissed a lot of people off in the room at the time. But when I did it, the people were like, oh, that's funny. And I think funny prevails.
Mike E. Winfield
Funny first, dude. Funny always first. I don't know who told me that, but that's the truth. It's got to be funny. Make it. If you can say. You can say anything as long as it's funny. You can off color joke in the world. As long as it's funny.
Mike D
Yeah.
Mike E. Winfield
That's why Burr is so great, because he says something and you're like, how the is he gonna make this funny? And then you're like, oh, he's a genius.
Mike D
Oh, yeah, dude.
Mike E. Winfield
Patrice made the Mike Tyson rape funny. Shut up. While I peel the hood back and gently caress your clitoris with my tongue. It's brilliant.
Mike D
It's brilliant. And the tough part is. Now you. Where do you polish these jokes in private? Where do you work this out so that people can see a genius so they see the first take at it? If you try this joke out the first night, you know, you could probably see, like, oh, it could be great. Because this is a great artist. But not always the case.
Mike E. Winfield
Case. No, not always the case. Eggman. Eggman's a very interesting story. John Lennon, of course, sang about the eggman. And I am the walrus. Eggs are kind of like an ongoing thing with the Beastie Boys. Yeah.
Mike D
White boy, too.
Mike E. Winfield
Well, do you know. You know why this song is Eggman? Do you want to know why? Because this. Is this actually very interesting. Because they used to throw eggs from their apartment onto people waiting to get into the Comedy Store.
Mike D
Comedy Store, right.
Mike E. Winfield
Yeah. They used to throw eggs and talks about it hitting a dude. Like a bald head, dude. And good for them, dude.
Mike D
Yeah, good for them. Because black dudes wasn't throwing eggs, and no one's throwing eggs today.
Mike E. Winfield
All right, wait, wait, wait, wait. All right. Because I got into mischief as a kid. I used to toilet paper houses. I remember when they were building homes in my neighborhood and the toilet was out there. We would take a. And then just leave it in there. I mean, I. There was always a friend that did that brought into it. I never did the. But I gotta. Do you. Do black people get into mischief like that mailbox baseball like. Or is that no white boy thing?
Mike D
Only when we hang out with our white friends in elementary, that's when the stuff happened. When you were like, oh, man, I've never had a BB gun before. You know, we're in the woods shooting animals. I'm like, why are we doing this? Are we allowed to do this?
Mike E. Winfield
White people are so weird, dude. I mean, every race. Every race culture is weird, but it's just like. It's just like. White people love, like, the mayhem because they know. It's like, even if they get stopped by the cops. I mean, dude, I remember one time we used. This is. I could have killed somebody. And we used to hide. We had this one friend. I. I give full names, but I'm not gonna. This kid, his name was Robert, and his dad was never home, so we used to just. Mayhem and we used to go hide. There's this stretch in my neighborhood where there were trees on both sides and cars would be driving by, and we used to take trash can lids and throw them from the bushes at the cars, and we hit this kid. There's this cool black dude named Jamal that lived in my neighborhood, this dope truck. And on the back of it was. It was like. It was, like, lowered, and on the. It was black, all. All tinted out. In the back of the truck, on the. Whatever you call the. The shield that goes down, it said back the up, right? And I remember he pulled over, found us, and he was just like. He's like. Because we. I mean, I might have hit the tire or whatever. Whatever. He got really mad, and he's like, what's your name? And I was like, josh. And he's like, what's your last name? I'm like, like, ooh, that's. That's how I got out of it. I thought that would get a laugh. All right, never mind. Moving on. Okay, so what do we got next? What's another great song to talk about? Adam? What's next?
Adam
I mean, hey, Ladies is probably one of the last ones, I would think.
Mike E. Winfield
Well, I. Because I eventually want to talk about looking down the barrel of a gun, because that's my favorite song on this record. I mean. I mean, hey, ladies. This wild throwback Rom, finds the Beastie Boys on the prowl. Lyrically, it's a mashup of pickup lines, micro stories, and pure nonsense. Zany, fun, clever world play the group became known for. You know, this is. Is this still them doing more of License to Ill, though? Lyrically? Yeah.
Mike D
Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. And that's probably why that's, like, one of the only two singles on there. It's like, oh, let me remind you, they're still the Beastie Boys, even though they're in the midst of this evolution.
Mike E. Winfield
See, I've got. What are the samples that I've got? Do you have any cheesy pickup lines while I find these samples? Yeah, What's. What's the cheesiest you ever said to a girl to get.
Mike D
Oh, man.
Mike E. Winfield
One time. One time I spoke a whole night in a, like, in a Louisiana accent trying to get some. Get some. I was like, yeah, I don't know. I was just not about to buy you. And I swear to God, the whole night. Whole night. It works. It works.
Mike D
Yeah, No, I just. I would. I've had a book. I've looked it up before. That's the bad part. I've looked it up online and. And saw the lines and walked in with openers and.
Mike E. Winfield
And what was one that you used? Dude, this is a free zone. Dude, this is a free.
Mike D
No, I know it is. I know it is. I'm. I have an interesting memory. It. It blacks out from a. An edible overdose I had in 2017 that is gone.
Mike E. Winfield
Really?
Mike D
Yeah, yeah, it was like one of my. I had one of those THC sodas and, you know, I drank like half the can. It was like, you know, I didn't know better, you know, and I didn't feel it like, two hours later.
Mike E. Winfield
Were you smoking weed before that or.
Mike D
No? No, not even. That was like, my first experience.
Mike E. Winfield
So you're. You're jumping into a can, You've never smoked weed, and you're jumping into just a can of thc?
Mike D
Absolutely. And I thought, you know, oh, you know, I drink alcohol, you know, it's nothing, you know? And then two hours later, I still don't feel it, so I'm like, ah, finish the can. Turns out the can was like 52 milligrams or something, you know? And then it all starts crashing at once. And then I'm in hell. I remember that. Then I'm crying. Then I'm like, living the same day over and over and over again, and I can't come out of it, you know? And then I got my wife. She's next to me, and she starts, this is the wildest shit. She starts interrogating me because I can't stop telling the truth. So now I'm spewing out every truth in the world that I ever had. And she's just coming at me and, like, the questions, the answer she wanted, like, I told the truth. And it was like, nothing that was like, violating the marriage or anything like that, you know? So she didn't get her answers. But I also called her out the next day because I'm like to take advantage of me in like my most vulnerable moment.
Mike E. Winfield
Sure.
Mike D
You know, it was like the worst thing you can do to anyone. But I crashed out, you know. And then I have anxiety from this. Like afterwards when I'm not even doing it, I think I'm high or I'm living the same day and I'm like living in this anxiety riddled life now just because of that one night. And then now gaps of time, I no longer remember. Wow. Yeah. Like my brother was like, you don't remember when we had a dog for those three years? I'm like, we had a dog. I don't remember it at all. It is, I believe it.
Mike E. Winfield
The power of your brain though, man. It was. I had this bad trip when I was 15 years old. I took way too much acid and my life has never been different. I never looked at anything the same after that. But it's crazy like how powerful something will set it off that'll bring all that back.
Mike D
Yeah.
Mike E. Winfield
Because I remember I'm having this bad trip and it did not end well. I like literally like, like show up to my parents house, they wake up and I'm like freaking out. Like I'm on drugs in front of my family. But as I'm, as I'm freaking out in my parents bedroom, everything started aging backwards and everything. It was the TV got. It went from the new TV to the older TV to the TV before that, to the bedspread to the this to that. My mom started getting younger. It was the craziest. So that's scary, man. But no, dude, the brains, dude, the brain is psychedelics. Listen man, I, I really do believe in psychedelic therapy. I've been microdosing for, for years on a light thing of like these. I have a sponsor for some of my shows in la and this guy really makes incredible. Even during this like detox, man, it's been like. It's just really because it's, you have to, it's you, you lose so much through life. It's just dopamine. So it's like, dude, psychedelic therapy, if done right, there's a reason I'm open to that.
Mike D
Yeah.
Mike E. Winfield
Yeah, you should try it. You should do it if you've really got. I'm actually thinking now if once I get, you know, not now, but I would love to do like, you know, go somewhere and do ayahuasca. Because you have to get to the root of the problem of why you do certain stuff. And it's like that's the only thing that'll really fix anything.
Mike D
I need that more than ever right now. I need to understand aspects of myself that could change my life for the better moving forward from today.
Mike E. Winfield
Yeah. And that's what MCA did, dude. That's what MCA did. He went on a vision quest, which I've always wanted to do. I've always wanted to go somewhere outside of the country, like to go to India. I mean, not now, because it looks shitty out there, but I would love to still. I'm gonna stay at a nice hotel, I'll tell you that much if I go. But it is one of those things that it's like you have to. There's so much more than what we're just in our. In our just main little focus and you can get caught up and. Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right, what's the last song? Let's Talk about, which I think is one of my weird. Well, I love say what?
Mike D
Wasn't that the one when they were like telling you where the boutique is or something? Wasn't that on what song?
Mike E. Winfield
On Looking down the Barrel of a Gun.
Mike D
No. Oh, no, no, no. I thought you meant the last track of the album.
Mike E. Winfield
Oh, no, no, no. Well, you can get to that too.
Mike D
No, no, no, Keep going, keep going.
Mike E. Winfield
So. So my favorite track on this album, and I think this is where the Dust Brothers are at their best, is Looking down the Barrel of a Gun. I don't know if you know what the Dust Brothers went on to do, but they produced a bunch of stuff for Beck and Beck. One of my favorite artists really, you know, is, you know, he has a first record, then he puts out his second record and he's. He's, you know, could have been written off as just a one hit wonder. With Loser, he puts out Odalay. And that's all Dust Brothers sampling and beats and. And like that. And that's basically his Paul's Boutique. Do you know what I mean? And it changed Beck forever after that. And then Beck. Beck basically made, you know, which I know it won a bunch of Grammys, I mean, but it was like in the top, you know, 10 list on almost every, you know, spin, NME, rolling stone. Like. Like it's. And I hear a lot of. Of some of the Dust Brothers work with Beck in Looking down the Barrel of a Gun because I know they're using. Is this is. It is Adam is looking down the barrel of the Gun, that the drum beat is when the Levee Breaks, right?
Adam
It says here, scratching elements of Pink Floyd's Time Last Bongo on Belgium By Incredible Bongo Band do me a favor.
Mike E. Winfield
Do me a favor. Can you just play the beginning to when the Levy Breaks by Led Zeppelin? Just the first, like, 10 seconds, and then just. And then put on 10 seconds of looking down the barrel of a gun. It's just such a genius thing to be able to do that, to like, hear like. You know what I mean? Like, that's what's so impressive about sampling is like, yeah, people. You hear this little dude. Rza, like, would take these little things and then. And then just turn that into a symphony. It's. It's crazy. Dude. I'm telling you. Wu Tang. I. I would be shocked if they didn't hear Paul's Boutique, you know, when they were made. Six chambers stealing is the one where.
Adam
They actually use it.
Mike E. Winfield
Yes, that's it. I'm stewed. I only can retain so much.
Mike D
That wasn't the same.
Mike E. Winfield
It's very.
Adam
It's like they, like, change, like, the phasing on it. But, yeah, it sounds very. It's that same kind of drum base.
Mike E. Winfield
Dude, that is. That is such a good story.
Adam
So there's what we got.
Mike E. Winfield
One day when the Dust Brothers, John King was scratching elements of Pink Floyd's Time Over Last Bongo in Belgium by Incredible Bongo Band mca picked up his bass and began jamming along, and that's what this song became. And I mean, I just. I love this song. I love this song. I think this is what really, you know, it's a great record, but that. This is the song that I. I just. I will never skip over. I probably listen to it the most out of this.
Mike D
I think that is the specific song in there where it shows that they're turning a corner. That's like the only song in there that has a tone of seriousness. They're like, come in very. I mean, they always came, like, real with stuff and their life and we partying and girls and. And money, you know, but this is the time when they're like, you know, man, I'm. I'm saying something. This is that track.
Mike E. Winfield
Yeah, it really is, dude. It really is for me. It's just. I really feel like this is them. I don't want to say at their most experimental on it, because I know there's some songs on this that they're using the psycho noises, they're using the Jaws theme, but it's just. There's something that resonates with looking down the barrel of a gun. Maybe it's because I've had a gun pulled on me so Many times. So I kind of understand, like. Oh, yeah, it's, it's. It's like this. That's what it kind of feels like. Have you ever had a gun drawn on you?
Mike D
No, but I've been near. I grew up in Baltimore, so I've seen it.
Mike E. Winfield
And I lived in Canton Square for seven years. Dude, look at that. Yeah, And I just did the. I just did the port last week too.
Mike D
I mean, don't get me wrong, it's my home. I love it. I love it.
Mike E. Winfield
Where in Baltimore did you grow up?
Mike D
I was East Baltimore, so I was around like Memorial Stadium where the Orioles played, like originally. And.
Mike E. Winfield
Yeah, dude, you know.
Mike D
You have friends, man, you see stuff, man. I went over this dude's house that was cutting my hair. He lifted up his couch, was like, I want to show you something. Has a whole arsenal in his couch. Now I'm seeing like the most weaponry I've ever seen in my life live. And it's just. This is every day for people.
Mike E. Winfield
Yeah, you know, it's, it's. I was saying that, you know, this is, this is a weird thing. I just lost a buddy who had like his whole life up from drugs and so he had to move back home. And then he was like, fine for years, but then he started using again and he died because he was living at home. And I was like. And I started thinking, it was like, I don't. People were like, I don't understand why I would use again. I go, no, it makes perfect sense. And that's why there's people. Like when you talk about people living in Baltimore that either deal drugs or in gangs or whatever, downtown la, whatever the it is, it's like he. He up his life through drugs, so he moved home and then when he moved home, he did drugs because he had up his life from drugs. It's the snake eating it itself. Does that make sense? Do you know what I mean? Like people. Do you watch the Wire? Of course you're going to sell drugs if you're in Baltimore, dude. It's. It's not made for successful like, it's. It's a crazy town where there's like, you know, dude, dc, Baltimore, I. My heart, I love those areas. I never got with living, living in, like when I went out party and I never got with. It wasn't until I got to la, that was when I had a lot of happen to me me. Actually it's not true. I had a gun pulled on me by a guy in Germantown. But I was a idiot we were walking out of my buddy Greg's house, would go smoke a joint, and these dudes came out, and they were like, what are y' all doing? And I was so young, was like, about to smoke this weed, and then he was like, let me see that. And I. Me, like an idiot, goes, okay. And then he pulled a gun, and he was like, it's my weed now. And I go, yes, it is. All right, goodbye. I'll see you later, buddy. You gotta get smart. But, yeah, it's. It's. It's really. It's like, you know, living in a place like Baltimore, man. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's Charm City for a reason.
Mike D
But it's hard, your awareness, too, you know? So, like, when I'm anywhere in the world, like, head is always on a swivel because I. Like, that's where I came from. So it just lets, you know, like, all right, you know, play it safe, be wise, understand stuff, you know? And. Yeah, I mean, it helped. It helped.
Mike E. Winfield
Sure, sure, sure. Yeah. Adam. What? Because I see, like, some of the other stuff that we have here, it's like, what Comes Around. They hated it. They Ad Rock said it sucks. He says it's the worst song on the record.
Mike D
They knew it too.
Mike E. Winfield
Yeah. I mean, look, you know, it's. It's not my favorite either, but I mean, ultimately, dude. And then you have a medley, like, they end it that, you know, track 15 is just. Is just what? A through I of different P of music. I mean, that's.
Mike D
That's fun.
Mike E. Winfield
Yeah, no, that's awesome, dude. I mean, that's. Dude. To go from, like, when they. What I love is. And I'm gonna pull the quote up with Mike Portnoy. We. Because we're gonna wrap this up in a second. Mike Portnoy is in a. Is a drummer in a band called Dream Theater. You ever heard of them? They're real white boy music. It's like they sing about dragons and, you know, it's very like. And the lizard flies in the devil's roar. But it's like they're shredding on guitars, like, for, like.
Mike D
Right.
Mike E. Winfield
Say what? Wait, what did you say? Three minute song.
Adam
Sometimes, like, one track. And I just know about them.
Mike E. Winfield
I didn't mean to insult you by saying they're a huge. You love it. What you're gonna do, dude, I'm telling you, after I met Mike Portnoy, I started with him hard, dude. Like, it's. It's fun gym music. Dude, it is fun, gym music. Adam's more of a Pearl Jam guy.
Adam
Talica.
Mike E. Winfield
Okay, I'm sorry.
Adam
That's my number.
Mike E. Winfield
Metallica's number one.
Adam
Seen him 38 times. 38, 39, and 40 coming up in a couple weeks.
Mike D
Real fan.
Mike E. Winfield
I've seen Billy Joel in the last four years. Seventeen times.
Adam
Not anymore, sadly.
Mike E. Winfield
I know. But that's why I say to everybody, man, you know, go see the people that you want to see now. Don't wait. Don't wait.
Mike D
I saw Sexy Red.
Mike E. Winfield
I saw Sexy Red at Irving Plaza. It was the worst hip hop show I've ever seen in my life.
Mike D
Oh, man. I was at Rolling Loud, I don't know how. And I was there, and, you know, it wasn't. It wasn't for me.
Mike E. Winfield
You know, she is. I, I. Here's the thing. I have a lot of hookups here in New York. They played at a club that I can get into. I called him. You know, I always. When you ask for one ticket, you can get nan event. You know what I mean? When you ask, that's when you were like, can I get four?
Mike D
Yeah.
Mike E. Winfield
Like, I'm going, like, I'm like, jim Jeffries is busting my balls because we're going to see Oasis in, In England. And I got us tickets to one of the shows, but then another friend is hooking us up with another set of tickets so we can go to see two nights. And another friend wanted. It was like, it's like, oh, I think I'm gonna go there, too. And so I was like, nicely, like, let me. You know, he's like, maybe I can link up. And I hit up Jim. And Jim's like, like, do you know how hard it was for me to get these tickets, Josh? Like, dude, I. I love you, but. And now they're all just busting my balls. They're like, they're like, like, hey, Jim, we've got a family of Koreans that are. That are refugees that are staying in my house. Can they come? And I was like, all right, guys, I get it. I get it. But I went to go see Sexy Red. I just got back from that Jelly Roll tour, and it was. It was. It was crazy.
Mike D
Let me state for the record.
Mike E. Winfield
Please stay for the record.
Mike D
For the record, she was great, you know, and when I say it wasn't for me, I mean, because everyone else at the concert was like, 21, 22. But she's on stage giving a show. She did a split. You know, she's walking the catwalk. You know, she's hitting you with the hits. So she did her thing. Not for me. It's just when I looked around, man, like. Like it's a bunch of kids, you know?
Mike E. Winfield
Yeah, yeah.
Mike D
Yeah. That it wasn't. Lauryn Hill wasn't there. And Erykah Badu, you know, it was who it was.
Mike E. Winfield
By the way, I saw Erica twice on our last tour, and I had better seats than Gerard Carmichael.
Mike D
Hey, you saw him back there. Is that what.
Mike E. Winfield
Dude, he was walking. I was. I got a ticket. It. I got a good seat. I was like, four rows from the front. And I love Erica. I think she's. I love her. I love everything about you. One of my favorite moments of the pandemic was Erykah Badu Jill Scott verses. Remember that? When they were doing those verses online, dude, it was just. But that one was special because that one was like, you know, dude, that's the thing about why I love the Beastie Boys even more now is, you know, the lyrics, it changed into love and perspective and. And, you know what I mean? When, you know, you can listen to, you know, music that'll amp you up to get ready for, like, a UFC fight, you can listen to gym music, and you can listen to music to chill, but, you know, there's nothing that moves me. A great movie. Oh, my God, I'll get emotional, but music, dude. Yeah. And then actually watching that documentary, dude, when they. When they explained that their last show at Bonnaroo, they had no idea was their last show, it's just. It's just tore me up. And it's a beautiful thing. And so going to see Erica, dude, she just put on such a good show. And. And then Gerard kind of walked by. Hey, what's up? And he sees me. And then Usher was like, no, you're back there, Gerard. And he looked at where I was, and he was like, that's funny. But. But that's. But that's the thing. But Mike Portnoy came on the podcast, and he is a.
Mike D
A.
Mike E. Winfield
One of the most respected drummers in the land. He's one of my. This is why I love doing this, too, is like, dude, I. I was not. Not feeling. I haven't felt good for a few days, man. I've really been, like, just going through it, through this detox and. And which is eventually I'm gonna be. I'll get the pink cloud and I'll get out of it, and endorphins will come back and all that good stuff. But doing. I was not looking forward to this today. Not because I didn't want to talk to you. Just having to be in public or even see it. Right. This is why I love doing this show, is because this has been the highlight of my week right now. I had so much fun talking about it. And that's the thing is that that's why like we're. Dude, we're three years away from this being done, Adam. You know that, right? It's crazy. I've almost quit this show so many times, Mike. And then it's like Senator Al Franken was the one that was like, you can't. You can't stop. You're already halfway through. And I get to talk to cool people like you, dude, I've always known you. But it's like we have a sit down. This has been so much fun, man. It's really great having Portnoy on who. Who is a rock heavy metal drummer. And him doing Elton John. What was it? Elton John and the Brown Captain. Fantastic. What is it? I don't remember the album title, but it's got a. What's the song that's on there? That's really popular. Somebody Saved my life tonight. I think that's what it is. But it's just you would never expect Mike Portnoy to come on here. And we started going through our favorite records and I told him someones that were coming up and I said, well, Paul's Boutique's coming up. And he goes, oh my God. And I go, you know what? How about this? I'll send you the list of the records that we got coming up and if any of them are some of your favorites, write a little blurb for me. And so this is what he wrote about Paul's Boutique, one of my top 10 albums of all time. The Sergeant Pepper of hip hop. What MCA, Mike D and Adrock created here, along with the Dust Brothers, is an absolute sonic masterpiece. The depth and the layers of samples is mind blowing. And I still find a new hidden nugget in the production. 36 years and a thousand listens later, this was a total game changer. And I think that is a perfect, perfect sum up of this record is that it's just. It's really artists being artists and utilizing what is in been inside of them and realizing that, you know, if you continue down that same path, you're never gonna grow. So yeah, dude, it's. This is. I'm glad I got to do this today because this really made me feel good. Adam, is there anything that we've missed that we got to Talk about. I don't want to like up and be like, you forgot to say this, this, and this. All right.
Adam
You covered a good. You did it justice.
Mike D
There it is.
Mike E. Winfield
I got through it, dude. All right, this is the final wrap up promote away before we get into the final questions. Mike, what do you have going on? We're gonna do it at the beginning and too anyway, so. But what, you know, anything you want us to make sure we shout out?
Mike D
Yeah, yeah, I'm going to punchline Houston, June 26th the 28th. You know, new special coming out soon on Listen. It is on dry bar. I dropped some of those squeakies. You know you're gonna get like 10.
Mike E. Winfield
Million views on that. You know that, brother. So. I love you, dude. Yeah.
Mike D
Yeah, right. So between that and listen up, if you're looking for step fans and chill, that's my, my pod that I drop a few times a week. And yeah, man, it's something checking. All it is is rants. I'm just kind of ranting on. I just gotta speak sometimes and get stuff off my chest. So it just bottles up and builds up.
Mike E. Winfield
Trust me. It's. It's this, this podcast is something that I am, you know, when we're said and done, I'm gonna be very. I am very proud of this. I think the work that we put on with this podcast, man, some episodes like, like this and, and like they said the portnoy or whatever, we've just had so many great, like real conversations about life and music. So it's, it's, you know, it's the two most beautiful things in the world. So when you combine them, it takes.
Mike D
You back times, you know.
Mike E. Winfield
It does, dude. All right. I ask everybody these questions. I'm gonna, I'm gonna ask you the same ones. What's your favorite song on this record?
Mike D
Favorite song on this record is Car Thief. And it felt like. Yeah, it just felt like that part two to, you know, looking down the barrel and it, like it just, it connected and it hits. I feel like it still hit now if it was the drop in the night when I'm in a club or something.
Mike E. Winfield
It does. Is there anything on this album you skip over?
Mike D
What do I skip over? That last track. It's not even a song. It's just telling you the address.
Mike E. Winfield
Sure.
Mike D
How to get to the boutique.
Mike E. Winfield
Yeah, totally, totally. Can you fuck to this record?
Mike D
Can you? No, it's a little too distracting. I think it's the ones where you're like, oh man, I want to hear what he just said on that one, so that'll. Unless I'm trying not to, like, come quick. Then I'll tune into it so I can last longer.
Mike E. Winfield
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't know if I would to this record. The BC Boys are just. There's not, it's. There's not a sexiness to it.
Mike D
No, I mean, they might be too aggressive.
Mike E. Winfield
Yeah, yeah, I know, I know people have probably the Beastie Boys. I just don't think I can. What would be your way of. The way that Portnoy summed it up? How would you. If you would. How would you elevator pitch to get someone to listen to this record? What would you say to him?
Mike D
Oh, I would tell them that this is groundbreaking in a way where you're hearing some of the best sound collab with, you know, some guys, man, who are just like putting you in a moment of time. And I think right then and there is it.
Mike E. Winfield
I love it and I love that this wasn't a hit for them when it came out and it took years for it to get appreciated. That's the power. It's like, it's. Dude, it's the power of what our social media is like. We're posting clips every day, getting like 5, 000 views and then one goes. And then they all go, yeah, please, God, go for me. I wanna, I wanna add shows. I'm sick of cutting shows. Please, I just want to add a show.
Mike D
We're adding shows.
Mike E. Winfield
We're adding shows.
Mike D
20, 26.
Mike E. Winfield
We're adding 2026. 2025 is. I gotta, I gotta build a solid foundation.
Mike D
No, it could happen tonight.
Mike E. Winfield
Well, tonight I'm going back. I'm gonna go take a after this because my stomach still hurt. Dude, I went crazy on UberEats last night, guys. I've been eating for like five days. Dude, dude, dude, this is like, I'm telling you, man, like this Kratom, the fact that this is legal, there's a new kind out there that's legal. Oxy, 80s and it's sold completely just like as like a supplement. And it was just once. You're an addict, dude, you're always an addict. And that's me. And that's the one beautiful thing that I'm at least smart enough to be to realize. And if it wasn't for the support system of people that I have in my life, I mean, you know, it wasn't going to kill me. It just. Just draining money, you know what I mean? And you know what's the most valuable thing? And I know, you know this because you know, you're a father, right?
Mike D
Yes.
Mike E. Winfield
You have a wife. Time, time. Having your own time is the most valuable thing ever. And not having to do a job you don't want to have to do. Yeah, you'll do the gig out there for the paycheck. But if you can just. If you can just enjoy your life, that's the most important thing. So.
Mike D
It really is.
Mike E. Winfield
It really is. Dude, Mike, this has been such a pleasure. Dude, I'm really happy that you came on today, man. Please come back.
Mike D
No, no, absolutely. It's been a pleasure. I appreciate it. Thanks for having me on.
Mike E. Winfield
What I tell you? What I tell you.
Adam
The one and only Mike E. Winfield. Follow him on his website mikeewinfield.com Instagram, NYT, Mike E. Winfield, Facebook Desirable Mike. Go to his website to check out all upcoming tour dates. Vegas, Houston, Sacramento. And listen to his podcast Step fans and chill. I like that too. All right, what do we got for new music?
Mike E. Winfield
Distro Kid.
Adam
Our proud sponsor since we've been listening to Paul's Boutique by the Beastie Boys is Whammy O by the Go Team. And you can find links to the music music on our website, the500podcast.com. If you have new music, send it to us. Send your songs to 500podcastgmail.com. Tell us the album and artist that influenced you in the subject line. Next week it's the Pretenders self titled debut record from 1980. I don't know if that's on there because I've only listened to it once when I was at the gym. I gotta get back into the gym, get my endorphins back. I mean this. If you've stuck around this far, man, I love this show. I love each and every one of you guys. You know, send us those messages, man. Just let us know that you're a part of the journey. Okay? Because we're gonna finish this. All right, we'll see you next week.
DJ Morty Coyle
Own advice Hit the missus on your wish list It's a different grind of a different kind I never met a man if that changes mine Read between the times and decide the crime I'm a real bitch bitch $3 6 dimes it's better not to know but to know it ain't so no go not the G O well there me in the O O O they so no go not the G O O M E and the O While you left the water running we was reading poetry the lions and Pecoming what's the good word imma say it back Neighborhood of jungle travel in a pack and I think I'm having premonitions Threat level hot pink seeing triple vision burn is on they know I run hot fire ring put some breeze to a sunspot Tighten up your circle Call me when you miss this Take your own advice hit the misses on your wish list Tighten.
Mike D
Up your circle Call me when you.
DJ Morty Coyle
Get this Take your own advice hit the misses on your wish list It's a different grind with a different kind.
Mike E. Winfield
Another.
DJ Morty Coyle
I'm a real rich witch3006 dimes it's better not to know it ain't so no go not the G O no it ain't so no go not the G O Sam not the G O and Randy and the O It's a different grind of a different kind I never met a nephew that changes mine we receive the times and decide to cry I'm a real rich witch 3 double 6 yarn is better not to know but to know it ain't so no go Like a G O I in the O O O It ain't so no bro not the G O I gave me in the O Better not to know it ain't so no bro not the G O I hear me in the O oh no go not the G O B in.
Mike E. Winfield
The ocean for the Fleece nation on the 500.
DJ Morty Coyle
The 500.
Mike E. Winfield
Hey folks. So here at the 500, we want to create the best overall listening experience. And even though we've been at this for almost seven years now, now we know there's still some things we could be doing better. That's why we would appreciate your feedback about the show so we can learn more about you guys, my beloved fleece army, and what you're into. That way we can provide the best experience for our audience and sponsors who support the show. So please go to theshowsurvey.com 500 to take a very short anonymous survey. It would really help the podcast and as our way of saying thanks, survey participants will be entered into a drawing to win $100Amazon gift certificate. Again, that's theshowsurvey.com 500 for the quick survey to help the show each week, we'll select a winner for participating. As always, thank you for listening and stay fleecy. Next chapter Podcasts.
Release Date: June 11, 2025
Host: Josh Adam Meyers
Guest: Mike E. Winfield
Podcast Description: The 500 with Josh Adam Meyers counts down Rolling Stone Magazine’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time with comedians, actors, and musicians.
In Episode 156 of The 500 with Josh Adam Meyers, host Josh Adam Meyers delves into the iconic Beastie Boys album, Paul’s Boutique, with special guest Mike E. Winfield. This episode stands out as the podcast continues its ambitious journey through Rolling Stone’s esteemed list of the greatest albums, now reaching the 156th spot.
Josh opens the episode by expressing his gratitude to listeners and acknowledges the journey ahead, noting that they are three years away from completing the entire 500-album countdown. He shares personal anecdotes, including his recent battle with addiction and his decision to quit Kratom, highlighting the support he has received from friends like Morty and his guest, Mike E. Winfield.
Notable Quote:
“Doing this episode really, really helped me.” – Josh Adam Meyers [04:27]
Josh also promotes the podcast’s Patreon, highlighting exclusive content, merchandise, and upcoming projects like the Master Fleece Theater.
Mike E. Winfield joins the conversation, bringing his unique perspective as a comedian and musician. They reminisce about previous episodes, mutual acquaintances, and Mike’s involvement in the Beastie Boys fan community. Josh shares how watching the Pee Wee documentary and the Beastie Boys’ documentary deeply impacted him, fostering a stronger connection with Mike E. Winfield.
Notable Quote:
“The Dust Brothers are two of the most important people to this record.” – Mike E. Winfield [37:38]
The core of the episode revolves around an in-depth discussion of Paul’s Boutique. Josh and Mike explore the album’s creative process, emphasizing its experimental nature and the extensive use of sampling. They highlight how the Beastie Boys transitioned from the party-centric vibes of Licensed to Ill to the more complex and layered sounds of Paul’s Boutique.
Key Points:
Notable Quotes:
“This is the Sergeant Pepper of hip hop.” – Mike Portnoy (quoted by Josh Adam Meyers) [46:43]
“Having to follow yourself is the curse.” – Mike D [30:34]
Josh and Mike delve into specific tracks from Paul’s Boutique. They discuss songs like “Shake Your Rump” and “Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun,” analyzing their lyrical depth, sampling intricacies, and the emotional weight they carry. “Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun” is particularly highlighted for its serious tone and instrumental prowess, showcasing the album’s departure from purely party anthems.
Notable Quote:
“This was a total game changer.” – Mike Portnoy on Paul’s Boutique [89:25]
The conversation shifts to personal stories, including experiences with addiction, the influence of music on their lives, and the challenges of balancing creativity with personal well-being. Josh shares his struggles with Kratom and the importance of a support system, while Mike E. Winfield discusses his journey through comedy and music, emphasizing the need for artists to evolve and stay true to themselves.
Notable Quote:
“Failure is scarier than death.” – Mike D [82:07]
As the episode nears its conclusion, Josh and Mike reflect on the enduring legacy of Paul’s Boutique. They discuss how the album’s innovative sampling influenced future artists and genres, cementing its status as a seminal work in hip hop and music at large. The conversation underscores the album’s eventual recognition and its pivotal role in shaping the Beastie Boys’ career trajectory.
Notable Quote:
“36 years and a thousand listens later, this was a total game changer.” – Mike Portnoy [89:25]
Josh and Mike wrap up the episode by reinforcing the significance of Paul’s Boutique and its place on the 500 Greatest Albums list. They encourage listeners to appreciate the album’s depth and innovation, sharing their personal connections to the music. The episode concludes with promotions for Mike E. Winfield’s upcoming shows and podcasts, as well as a preview of next week’s focus on The Pretenders’ debut album.
Notable Quote:
“Funny always first. Make it.” – Mike E. Winfield [77:35]
Episode 156 of The 500 with Josh Adam Meyers offers a heartfelt and comprehensive exploration of the Beastie Boys’ Paul’s Boutique. Through engaging dialogue, personal anecdotes, and expert insights from Mike E. Winfield, listeners gain a deeper appreciation for the album’s artistry and enduring legacy. Whether you’re a long-time fan or new to the Beastie Boys, this episode provides valuable perspectives on one of hip hop’s most influential records.
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This summary captures the essence of Episode 156, providing a structured and insightful overview for those who haven't listened to the podcast.