On October 30th, the surviving members of Beastie Boys will release a massive memoir. At 600 pages, the comprehensive, long-in-the-works Beastie Boys Book chronicles the history of the iconic hip-hop group. Now, as reported by Pitchfork, the memoir will be turned into an audiobook featuring an incredible list of celebrity guest readers.
Musicians such as Elvis Costello, Jarvis Cocker, Kim Gordon, Nas, Jeff Tweedy, and Bette Midler are set to contribute. Rev Run of Run-DMC, Dave 1 of Chromeo, Talib Kweli, Snoop Dogg, Chuck D, and, of course, Beastie Boys’ own Ad-Rock and Mike D will also have credits.
The world of film and TV, especially Saturday Night Live, is also well-represented. Steve Buscemi, Rosie Perez, Amy Poehler, Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Maya Rudolph, Chloë Sevigny, and Jon Stewart will provide their voices to the project. There are also cameos from Ben Stiller, NY1’s famed Pat Kiernan, Wanda Sykes, and MSNBC’s own Rachel Maddow. Spike Jonze, renowned director of “Sabotage” and a bevy of other classic music videos, will appear on the audiobook, too.
Find the full list below. You can pre-order the audiobook now on Amazon.
Steve Buscemi
Tim Meadows
Ada Calhoun
Bette Midler
Bobby Cannavale
Mix Master Mike
Exene Cervenka
Nas
Roy Choi
Yoshimi O
Jarvis Cocker
Rosie Perez
Elvis Costello
Amy Poehler
Chuck D
Kelly Reichardt
Nadia Dajani
John C. Reilly
Snoop Dogg
Ian Rogers
Will Ferrell
Maya Rudolph
Crosby Fitzgerald
Rev Run
Randy Gardner
Luc Sante
Kim Gordon
Kate Schellenbach
Josh Hamilton
MC Serch
LL Cool J
Chloë Sevigny
Spike Jonze
Jon Stewart
Pat Kiernan
Ben Stiller
Talib Kweli
Wanda Sykes
Dave Macklovitch
Jeff Tweedy
Rachel Maddow
Philippe Zdar
Michael Diamond
Adam Horovitz
Recently, an excerpt from the book revealed some embarrassing lowlights of the band’s career, including their decision to fire their first drummer Kate Schellenbach for being a girl; the truly awful original title to Licensed to Ill; and why they’re still spending money to store a giant hydraulic penis.
Beginning October 29th, Ad-Rock and Mike D will head out on a short book tour featuring Q&A segments, a Beastie Boys-centric exhibit, readings, and more.
