"No Sleep till Brooklyn"
Single by Beastie Boys
from the album Licensed to Ill
B-side"Posse in Effect"
ReleasedMarch 1, 1987
RecordedSpring 1986
Genre
Length4:09
Label
Songwriter(s)Rick Rubin, Michael Diamond, Adam Horovitz, Adam Yauch
Producer(s)Rick Rubin
Beastie Boys singles chronology
"(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)"
(1987)		 "No Sleep till Brooklyn"
(1987)		 "Girls"
(1987)
Music video
"No Sleep till Brooklyn" on YouTube

"No Sleep till Brooklyn" is a song by the New York hip hop group the Beastie Boys, and the sixth single from their debut studio album, Licensed to Ill. One of their signature songs,[3] it describes an exhaustive tour and all the events that make it tiresome, but also emphasizes their determination not to rest until they reach their home base of Brooklyn.[4] "No Sleep till Brooklyn" was a popular concert favorite for the Beastie Boys and traditionally used as their closing song. Among other references to heavy metal, the title is a play on the Motörhead album No Sleep 'til Hammersmith.[5] The song has been subject to several covers and parodies including "Stutter Rap (No Sleep til Bedtime)" by Morris Minor and the Majors.

Cash Box called it "a raucous, rambunctious blend of rap, smart-ass and heavy metal."[6]

Production and play

Kerry King, guitarist for Slayer, played the guitar riffs and solo; Slayer had released an album produced by Rick Rubin in 1986 (Reign in Blood). In a different tuning, the song interprets "TNT" by AC/DC.[7] More metal commentary and adaptation is added by the video, directed by Ric Menello,[8] as a parody of glam metal.[9]

Later in their career, the Beastie Boys continued to perform the song live, although with altered lyrics to downplay their early party-boy reputation. "M.C.A.'s in the back because he's skeezin' with a whore," was changed to "M.C.A.'s in the back with the mahjong board",[10] and "Autographed pictures and classy hoes" was changed to "Autographed pictures to nobody knows."[10]

The song features one of many homages to New York City's boroughs, and has been described as "joyful ranting".[11]

Bob Dylan played the song on the "New York" episode of Season 1 of his Theme Time Radio Hour show in 2007, noting the Beastie Boys were not merely a "flash in the pan" in his introduction.[12]

Music video

The music video for "No Sleep till Brooklyn" was co-directed by Ric Menello and Adam Dubin.[13][14] Menello and Dubin also directed the video for the Beastie Boys' preceding single, "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)".[13][14] Kerry King, who plays guitar on this track, also appears in the video. Ruth Collins, an actress best known for '80s B-movie horrors, is the lead dancer,[15] and actor Vic Noto is an outlaw biker.

Synopsis

The Beastie Boys arrive at a club to perform. A member from the band hands the club owner an LP record but he smashes the phonograph record on them, saying "What the..? We only play rock music here." The Beastie Boys knock again, seconds later, except they are disguised as rockers with big hair and guitars. They take the stage playing the song, but the crowd of women quickly mobs them and tears off their clothes. They rap another verse in their underwear before changing into their regular outfits. The performance is a series of jabs at and parody of glam metal performance videos, with headbanging fans, a backup dancer, and much destruction. Eventually the club owner and his crew try to get them off the stage, but the Beastie Boys are fighting with them. Kerry King makes an appearance during the guitar solo, body-checking the gorilla who was originally performing the guitar solo. The band is later seen trying to steal money from the club's safe, which they succeed in doing by MCA bashing it with his head. They dance around with bags of money from the safe, while the backup dancer is seen walking away with the gorilla.

"No Sleep till Brooklyn" appears in the 1991 film Out For Justice, 2008 video game Guitar Hero: World Tour,[16] the 2016 film The Secret Life of Pets[17] and the 2023 films The Super Mario Bros. Movie[18] and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,[19] and is included on the latter's soundtrack album.[20]

Charts

Chart (1987) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[21] 28
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[22] 22
Netherlands (GfK Dutch Chart)[23] 23
Germany (Media Control Charts)[24] 46
Ireland Irish Singles Chart[25] 17
UK (Official Charts Company)[26] 14

References

  1. ↑ Tim Grierson. "Beastie Boys' Adam Yauch Has Died". About.com. Retrieved July 2, 2013. "As a member of Beastie Boys, Yauch (who recorded under the name MCA) helped pioneer rap-rock with (...) classic tracks like "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party)" and "No Sleep Till Brooklyn,""
  2. 1 2 Tucker, Ken. "Rough-rapping Beastie Boys Cut A Path From Cult To Chart". Philly.com. Retrieved July 2, 2013. "The Beastie Boys also pepper their music with bits of heavy metal and hard rock - the squalling guitar solo on "No Sleep Till Brooklyn," for example, is provided by Kerry King"
  3. ↑ "Readers' Poll: The Best Beastie Boys Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. May 9, 2012.
  4. ↑ Ehrlich, Brenna. "'No Sleep Till Brooklyn': The Story Behind The Anthem". MTV News.
  5. ↑ Craig Rosen (March 3, 1988). "Motorhead Between Rock 'N' Hard Place". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. May 23, 1987. p. 11. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  7. ↑ "BeastieMania.com - Song Spotlight". www.beastiemania.com.
  8. ↑ Ehrlich, Brenna (August 23, 2013). "'No Sleep Till Brooklyn': The Story Behind The Anthem". MTV. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  9. ↑ "No Sleep Till Brooklyn by Beastie Boys". Songfacts. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  10. 1 2 Beastie Boys - No Sleep Til Brooklyn (8-9-07 - Brooklyn, NY) on YouTube
  11. ↑ Forman, Murray (2002). "No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn". American Quarterly. 54 (1): 101–127. doi:10.1353/aq.2002.0002. JSTOR 30042217. S2CID 144027910. Project MUSE 2521.
  12. ↑ "Episode 48: New York". Theme Time Radio Hour Archive. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  13. 1 2 Kaufman, Gil (March 4, 2013). "Beastie Boys Video Director Ric Menello Dead at 60". MTV.com. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
  14. 1 2 Hogan, Marc (March 5, 2013). "Ric Menello, Beastie Boys Video Director, Dies at 60". Spin Magazine. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Ruth Collins". IMDb. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Full Guitar Hero: World Tour set-list". Eurogamer.net. September 12, 2008. Retrieved July 13, 2023.
  17. ↑ Starkey, Adam (July 1, 2016). "Here's every song on 'The Secret Life of Pets' Soundtrack". Tune Find. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  18. ↑ Starkey, Adam (April 6, 2023). "Here's every song on 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' soundtrack". NME. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  19. ↑ Paige, Rachel (May 19, 2023). "'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3': Creating the 'No Sleep Till Brooklyn' Fight Scene". Marvel.com. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  20. ↑ Hood, Cooper (April 19, 2023). "Super Mario Bros. Began A Surprise 2023 Movie Trend For Chris Pratt". Screen Rant. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  21. ↑ "No sleep till Brooklyn in Belgian Chart". Ultratop and Hung Medien. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
  22. ↑ "No sleep till Brooklyn Dutch Top 40 Chart". Ultratop and Hung Medien. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
  23. ↑ "No sleep till Brooklyn in GfK Dutch Chart". Ultratop and Hung Medien. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
  24. ↑ "Chartverfolgung / Beastie Boys / Single". Archived from the original on February 25, 2012. Retrieved May 10, 2011.
  25. ↑ "No sleep till Brooklyn in Irish Chart". IRMA. Archived from the original on June 2, 2009. Retrieved June 2, 2013. Only one result when searching "No sleep till Brooklyn"
  26. ↑ "1987 Top 40 Official UK Singles Archive - 13th June 1987". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
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