Credit: Archive Photos
It's Friday, Friday, gotta flash back on Friday... Sorry. OK, it's time once again for Flashback Friday, wherein I dig through MTV.com's video vaults to bring you still-awesome videos from the past. In honor of the impending long weekend of fireworks, barbecues, patriotism and indigestion, I bring you a video by a great American rap group with fireworks galore... of the linguistic and cinematic variety. Yes, the Beastie Boys' epic video for their epic 1994 single, "Sabotage."
The first single off their fourth studio album, Ill Communication, "Sabotage" was immediately loved by critics and fans alike for its appealing blend of rock instrumentation, turntable scratches, and totally, maniacally unhinged screamo rapping. A big song called for a big video, and legendary director Spike Jonze was up to the task. In an homage to 1970s crime shows, the Boys each played a character on a mock TV show called "Sabotage," and they utilized all the chutzpah, intrigue, and hairpieces one could hope for from the fun-loving Brooklyn B-boys.
The video was a huge hit, garnering five nominations at the 1994 MTV VMAs, but due to a freaky preponderance of awesome videos that year, it didn't win in any of the categories. We rectified that injustice at the 2009 VMAs, when it won a special award for "Best Video (That Should Have Won A Moonman)." Anyway, the group didn't seem to mind that much, as the song peaked at No. 18 on Billboard's modern rock charts.
Watch the Beastie Boys' epic "Sabotage" video below and marvel at its timeless retro-coolness.