I haven’t really been feelin’ the Beastie Boys since I was in high school - it just grates on my nerves, all that distorted hyperventilated rhyme style and what not.

But the one joint they flipped that I still bump was the album The In Sound From Way Out. If you don’t know already, ya best ask someone! (Or check the song that’s on their MySpace profile right now, which is from that album.) With The In Sound, they just shut the fuck up for a second, and focused on flippin’ some hot downtempo instrumentals.

And finally - just 12 years later - they gonna do it again. The Mix Up, scheduled to be released on June 26th, will be nothing but live instrumentals.

And now, for your listening pleasure: “Off The Grind.” (It veers off into a bit of a generic rock joint for a bit, but the melody is still hot, and overall it’s chill as hell.)

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They start young in Jersey.

Brian Betnacourt dropped this uplifting gameboy joint while studying at Columbia in 2004. (No, he wasn’t slacking, it was for school.)

“Quite Sticks” is structured around a downtempo rhythm, and runs through a series of loops ranging from a cute xylophone, to a rapid programmed drum, to some soaring electro goodness. Overall, it reminds me of Duo 505.

And, in case you were wondering, that is his Friendster photo.