To the 5 Boroughs
To the 5 Boroughs is the sixth studio album by the Beastie Boys. The album was released on June 14, 2004 internationally, and a day later in the United States. The album debuted #1 on the Billboard 200 with 360,000 copies sold in its first week and is certified Platinum by the RIAA for sales of over 1,000,000 in the U.S.
To the 5 Boroughs | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | June 15, 2004 | |||
Recorded | 2002–2004 | |||
Studio | Oscilloscope Laboratories, Tribeca, New York City | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 44:37 | |||
Label | Capitol | |||
Producer | Beastie Boys | |||
Beastie Boys chronology | ||||
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Singles from To the 5 Boroughs | ||||
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Release and promotion
The album's lead single "Ch-Check It Out" debuted on The O.C. in "The Strip" from Season 1, airing on April 28, 2004.[3] The album was the cause of some controversy with allegations that it installed spyware when inserted into the CD-ROM of a computer.[4] The band has denied this allegation saying there is no copy protection software on the albums sold in the U.S. and in the U.K. While there is Macrovision CDS-200 copy protection software installed on European copies of the album this is standard practice for all European releases on EMI/Capitol Records released in Europe and it does not install spyware or any form of permanent software.[5]
Singles
The album's first single "Ch-Check It Out" was released on April 28, 2004. The album's second single "Triple Trouble" was released in July 2004.[6] The album's third single "Right Right Now Now" was released in 2004.[7] The album's fourth single "An Open Letter to NYC" was released in November 2004.
Critical reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 71/100[8] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Entertainment Weekly | B+[9] |
The Guardian | |
Los Angeles Times | |
NME | 8/10[11] |
Pitchfork | 7.9/10[12] |
Q | |
Rolling Stone | |
Uncut | |
The Village Voice | A−[16] |
The album was met with positive reviews, with an aggregated score of 71 on Metacritic.[8] Playlouder said "To the 5 Boroughs is a triumph."[17] Rolling Stone said "To the 5 Boroughs is an exciting, astonishing balancing act: fast, funny and sobering."[14] Jason Thompson of PopMatters called To the 5 Boroughs "their best album since Paul's Boutique".[18] Tom Sinclair of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "The beats are[...] simple and effective, with a welcome lack of bells and whistles that made Hello Nasty so distracting."[9] AllMusic said: "It's rather impressive that they're maturing gracefully turning into expert craftsmen who can deliver a satisfying listen like this".[2] The NME said: "Like Missy Elliott, the Beasties are re-examining hip hop — what it was, what it is, what it can be".[11] The Onion AV Club said: "With To the 5 Boroughs, Beastie Boys' members discover a musical entryway to an earlier, more innocent era, affording listeners the exuberance of youth along with the hard-won wisdom that can only come with experience."[19] E! Online rated the album as a B- saying it was "fun but hardly fresh.[20]
Track listing
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Ch-Check It Out" | 3:12 |
2. | "Right Right Now Now" | 2:46 |
3. | "3 the Hard Way" | 2:48 |
4. | "It Takes Time to Build" | 3:11 |
5. | "Rhyme the Rhyme Well" | 2:47 |
6. | "Triple Trouble" | 2:43 |
7. | "Hey Fuck You" | 2:21 |
8. | "Oh Word?" | 2:59 |
9. | "That's It That's All" | 2:28 |
10. | "All Lifestyles" | 2:33 |
11. | "Shazam!" | 2:26 |
12. | "An Open Letter to NYC" | 4:18 |
13. | "Crawlspace" | 2:53 |
14. | "The Brouhaha" | 2:13 |
15. | "We Got The" | 2:27 |
16. | "Now Get Busy" (Japan bonus track) | 2:25 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "An Open Letter to NYC" | |
2. | "Rizzle Rizzle Nizzle Nizzle" (Remix for "Right Right Now Now") | |
3. | "MTL Reppin for the 514" (Remix for "Right Right Now Now") | |
4. | "Sabotage" (Live) | |
5. | "Brr Stick Em" |
B-sides
- "In a World Gone Mad" (2003 Internet single/12" single)
- "This Government Needs A Tune Up" (2004 Internet free track[21])
- "...And Then I" ("Ch-Check It Out" UK/Japan/Australia/Canada CD single[22])
- "Brr Stick Em" ("Right Right Now Now" Japan CD single[23])
- "Now Get Busy" (2004 Internet single/To The 5 Boroughs Japan bonus[24])
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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References
- Petridis, Alexis (June 11, 2004). "Beastie Boys, To the 5 Boroughs". The Guardian. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
- Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "To the 5 Boroughs – Beastie Boys". AllMusic. Retrieved September 24, 2009.
- "Yahoo Launch News Story". yahoo.com. Archived from the original on April 15, 2005. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
- Greene, Thomas C. (June 23, 2004). "Beastie Boys CD installs virus". The Register. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
- "Official Merchandise Store". Beastie Boys. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
- "Adam Yauch: The Videos of Nathaniel Hornblower Pictures - 'Triple Trouble' 2004". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
- "Right Right Now Now: Beastie Boys: Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
- "Reviews for To The 5 Boroughs by Beastie Boys". Metacritic. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
- Sinclair, Tom (June 18, 2004). "To the 5 Boroughs". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 18, 2017. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
- Kuipers, Dean (June 13, 2004). "Absent an anthem". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
- Fitzpatrick, Rob (July 7, 2004). "Beastie Boys : To The 5 Boroughs". NME. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
- DiCrescenzo, Brent (June 14, 2004). "Beastie Boys: To the 5 Boroughs". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 24, 2009.
- "Beastie Boys: To the 5 Boroughs". Q (216): 108. July 2004.
- Fricke, David (July 9, 2008). "To The 5 Boroughs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
- "Beastie Boys: To the 5 Boroughs". Uncut (86): 108. July 2004.
- Christgau, Robert (August 24, 2004). "Consumer Guide: Looking Past Differences". The Village Voice. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
- "Playlouder MSP Music Service". Playlouder.com. Archived from the original on February 13, 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
- Thompson, Jason. "Beastie Boys: To the 5 Boroughs". PopMatters. Retrieved September 27, 2009.
- "The Onion A.V. Club | Music To The 5 Boroughs". Archived from the original on August 20, 2004. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
- Pollicino, Raul. "BeastieMania.com - Song Spotlight". www.beastiemania.com. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
- Pollicino, Raul. "Beastiemania.com - Discography". www.beastiemania.com. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
- Pollicino, Raul. "Beastiemania.com - Discography". www.beastiemania.com. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
- Pollicino, Raul. "Beastiemania.com - Discography". www.beastiemania.com. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
- "Australiancharts.com – Beastie Boys – To the 5 Boroughs". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- "Austriancharts.at – Beastie Boys – To the 5 Boroughs" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- "Ultratop.be – Beastie Boys – To the 5 Boroughs" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- "Ultratop.be – Beastie Boys – To the 5 Boroughs" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- "Beastie Boys Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 4, 2013.
- "Danishcharts.dk – Beastie Boys – To the 5 Boroughs". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- "Dutchcharts.nl – Beastie Boys – To the 5 Boroughs" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- "Beastie Boys: To the 5 Boroughs" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- "Lescharts.com – Beastie Boys – To the 5 Boroughs". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- "Offiziellecharts.de – Beastie Boys – To the 5 Boroughs" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
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- "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- "Beastie Boys Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 4, 2013.
- "Beastie Boys Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 4, 2013.
- "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2004". hitparade.ch. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
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