The 2004 presidential election and the prospect of twin George W. Bush terms mobilized not only the expected musician activists, bands like Pearl Jam and the Dixie Chicks, but also a new crop of recruits, performers that had never before immersed themselves in politics so deeply. Apolitical bands like No Doubt contributed to anti-Bush albums; for the first time in his career, Bruce Springsteen made an explicit endorsement, and even Eminem shelved his flippant shtick for a dire song rallying youth to vote Bush out of office.
Few performers, however, seemed to make the election as personal a crusade as the Beastie Boys. Though the pioneering rap trio had matured from youthful insolence to become powerful if unlikely voices for Tibetan freedom, they'd kept their political leanings separate from their music until the war in Iraq impelled their 2003 protest song, "In a World Gone Mad." The Beastie Boys further committed themselves to the cause the following year with their first album in six years, To the 5 Boroughs, a persistently political affair divided between tributes to their wounded New York and austere critiques of Bush's legacy.
The Beastie Boys committed themselves to the cause, outlining their case against Bush and reminding fans to vote at concerts throughout the fall. Like so many of their peers, they could all but taste victory heading into November. After ambiguous election-night returns, though, Ohio declared itself for Bush the following day, certifying his re-election.
That night the Beastie Boys performed a concert for a visibly dejected audience in Madison, Wis. They put on their game faces, mentioning their nemesis only once-with the understatedly cathartic proclamation, "President Bush is not invited to this party"-but inside they were every bit as distraught as the crowd they sought to cheer.
"It was pretty devastating," admits Adam Yauch-better known as MCA, the raspiest and most staid of the trio. "The fact that George Bush got elected the first time seemed amazing enough to me, but the idea that people could elect somebody who is so under-qualified and has such a completely insane attitude about the world a second time? It was just depressing."
After four years of licking their wounds, the Beastie Boys return to the campaign trail this month for a short tour of swing states, joined on varying dates by acts like Sheryl Crow, Norah Jones and Jack Johnson. Ben Harper, Crosby & Nash and Tenacious D lend support for their Nov. 2 concert in Milwaukee.
"In some of the places that we're going, the elections are very close," Yauch explains. "Traditionally statistics show that people in their 20s and 30s, even when they're registered to vote, often don't go out and actually vote, so if this tour can influence some people who wouldn't have gone out to vote and actually vote, then it can definitely make a difference."
Though cautious, Yauch is optimistic that the 2008 returns will be more agreeable than 2004's. He's more excited about the prospect of a President Barack Obama than a President John Kerry, and is buoyed by recent promising polls and reports of Obama's impressive ground organization.
If Obama does claim the presidency, it could mark the end of a distinct chapter in the Beastie Boys' career, a dark eight-year period where the band released little aside from the sullen 5 Boroughs and last year's The Mix-Up, a mostly forgotten instrumental album.
As if in preparation for brighter days, the group has been at work on an album unfettered by politics.
"We're pretty far along with the new record," Yauch says. "Most of the lyrics on it are pretty silly … It's a bizarre record, to be completely honest. I don't know how to describe it, but it's pretty layered. There's a lot of stuff going on."
Though the long delays between albums have earned the band something of a reputation as slackers, Yauch assures fans that the group treats music as a full-time job.
"We come in the studio five days a week and then take the weekend off," he says of their unhurried process. "We usually just come in every day and have fun with what we're doing and play with stuff. Eventually, after chipping away at it for however long, then it becomes a record."
The Beastie Boys' Get Out & Vote '08 tour, with Ben Harper, Crosby & Nash and Tenacious D, stops at the U.S. Cellular Arena on Sunday, Nov. 2, at 7 p.m.
