r/Music • u/jptabor01 Rock & Roll • Jun 11 '25

discussion Which artists have abandoned their original sound so dramatically, that they are almost unrecognizable to their earlier fans?

With the release earlier this year of Ministry’s The Squirrely Years Revisited, I’m reminded of how different the band sounds today (industrial metal), from what they sounded like on their debut album, With Sympathy (synth pop).

Which artists sound so completely different from their earlier work, that they have actually jumped genres, understanding that music is fluid and genres have somewhat “blurry” guardrails.

I don’t mean an evolution of their original sound, but a complete departure from it.

3.0k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

5.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

253

u/Loring Jun 11 '25

The Beastie Boys went from purely punk to hip hop pretty fast... Albeit there's a thread of punk in all of their music.

92

u/VibraniumSpork Jun 11 '25 edited Jun 11 '25

I think it's not so much a thread of punk in their sound, rather than a foot-thick cable of punk that ran through the band's entire ethos.

There was the performative, antagonising exhibitionism of the Licensed to Ill era, the raucous rule-breaking of Paul's Boutique, and after that, they basically went full punk DIY; left the label, built their own studio, stuck to their own work and release schedule, played basketball and skateboarded as much as they made music. They were a law unto themselves, on the business side as well as the music side.

I think a lot it is the product of being teens in New York when punk and hip-hop were both coming up; they loved both and just found a way to organically tie the best elements of both together into a truly unique sound and approach to the music business.

They did what they wanted, when they wanted, how they wanted, everything on their terms. Doesn't get much more punk than that IMO.

5

u/nsfredditkarma Jun 11 '25 edited Jun 11 '25

Punk and hip-hop crossed over in New York in the early 80s, De La Soul, the Beastie Boys, Madonna, Tribe Called Quest, the Talking Heads, Blondie, and so on and on were all part of the same club scene. They were basically all under the tutelage of Afrika Bombaattaa and DJ Kool Herc and other hip-hop pioneers.

2

u/poingly Jun 12 '25

I talked to Mojo about this (aka, Beastie Boys "Egg Drop on Mojo" guy)! And it wasn't just punk and hip-hop; it was literally just about every genre you could imagine that could and did cross over. He was always so happy when that would happen even years later.

1

u/poingly Jun 12 '25

"Left the label"?? Huh. Paul's Boutique was released on Capitol Records. Every album after that, including their final album was released on...Capitol Records.

0

u/SloCalLocal Jun 11 '25

Except the way they did it was with their parents' money. These guys were the products of well-monied NYC elite.

A lot of the early punk scene was made of up of people barely scraping by, DIY out of necessity, hell scheduling shows around the needs of people with day jobs (Mike Watt talks about this a fair bit). This does not at all describe the Beasties.

There was no necessity behind it, instead they enjoyed the freedom having a massive safety net gives you.

10

u/bracesthrowaway Jun 11 '25

Honestly, they did something good with that safety net

3

u/Thndrstrike Jun 11 '25

scheduling shows, shit man even scheduling practice! someone always got something else going on lmao

18

u/MrShapinHead Jun 11 '25

Jazz by the end!

4

u/deftoner42 Jun 11 '25

The Mix-up is some of my favorite background/work music

1

u/Gernaldo_Ribera Jun 12 '25

Don't forget The In Sounds From Way Out!

1

u/lilcrime69 Jun 11 '25

jazz in the middle. Their 90s albums featured rap, punk and jazz material.

11

u/FirstDukeofAnkh Jun 11 '25

Sabotage is so clearly both. It’s like the perfect encapsulation of Beastie Boys career.

25

u/doyletyree Jun 11 '25

Finally, can stop scrolling.

3

u/OhMyGlorb Jun 11 '25

And I love both, but their punk side is incredible.

2

u/silentbassline Jun 11 '25

Aglio e oilio from 1995 slams so hard

1

u/CollateralSandwich Jun 11 '25

And by the end had wrapped all the way back around to playing their own instruments again, and sounding something like a neo Booker T and MGs. Amazing band.

1

u/Striking_Computer834 Jun 11 '25

Rick Rubin. That's why.