I’ve been a huge music fan my whole life, everything from Simon and Garfunkel, to Dubstep and Grime, but one band always stood out to me.
I first heard of the Beastie Boys in 1987, saw them live in 1994, learned about the plight of the Tibetan people through them in 1996, watched in shock as Yauch announced his throat cancer to fellow band members and the rest of the world in 2009, and mourned at his tragic death with fans, only 3 years later, aged 47.
Since Yauch’s death, we’ve had the release of a New York Times bestselling book in 2018, and the Spike Jonze Apple documentary in 2020.
I wouldn’t say I’ve been listening to the Beastie Boys continuously that whole time, but I’ve still got the first LP I bought on vinyl 34 years ago, and if I had to pick one band to personify my life, they would be it.
That’s why I decided to make this printable poster for my office wall, based on the iconic 1987 photograph by ©Lynn Goldsmith, (please don’t sue me!).
If you want your own copy, you can download it here as a printable PDF:
https://www.neilhillman.com/downloads/BeastieBoysSpiritAnimal.pdf
