Yeah, that’s right, I’m the Egg Man, driving around
King of the town (yeah)
Always got my windows rolled down
Ready to throw
You know, I’m the Egg Man
Once upon a time
Egg Man -song “Egg Man” by Beastie Boys
I’m not sure why, but often when you think you’ve done your best work, the initial response to it is…crickets.
It’s a reminder to stay present. Focus on what you can control, which is doing your best work and then shipping the work. That’s it. That’s all you can do.
In the documentary “Beastie Boys Story” Mike D and Ad-Rock talk about how they thought Paul’s Boutique–their second album and my personal favorite by far–was infinitely better than their debut and massive hit, License To Ill. They worked much harder and longer, they experimented (working with Matt Dike and The Dust Brothers), they pushed boundaries, they spent a fortune and when it was finally done, they were really proud of it. They felt it truly represented who they were as artists. When Paul’s Boutique was released, they were excited and ready for it to be a giant hit. It was gonna slay.
Instead, it was a flop.
Who knows why? Perhaps it was because it was way ahead of its time. Or because it was a radically different sound than License To Ill. But to their credit, the Beastie Boys didn’t let it daunt them. They kept making kickass and genre-defying albums like Ill Communication and Hello Nasty among others.
Oh…and many years later, fans did come around. Paul’s Boutique went multi-platinum. Critics hail it as a “masterpiece…the Sgt. Pepper of hi-hop.” I would agree.
P.S. – This video. R.I.P MCA.
The Vs. Studio Blog 