For whatever reason, Beastie Boys' To the 5 Boroughs was calling to me the other day, so I popped it into the car CD player. You may remember the album. It came out in 2004, and was a conscious attempt on the trio's part to both attack the Bush administration and pay tribute to New York in the wake of 9/11. That tribute, in part, was reflected in the record's old-school hip-hop sound. (The album may have been released in 2004, but it was meant to sound like it was still 1985.) To the 5 Boroughs got some of the worst reviews for a Beasties' album, but it's still solid.
