In 1994, The Beastie Boys’ released the first single off their fourth studio album, Ill Communication. “Sabotage” as a track unto itself is already well-known, with the opening riffs recognizable to near everyone and the number having made Rolling Stones list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. However, its music video, which was directed by Spike Jonze, has been similarly influential in pop culture.
The Album That Changed My Life: Beastie Boys’ ‘Ill Communication’
The music video for “Sabotage” invokes the cop dramas of the 1970’s, with each of the Beastie Boys introduced as fictional actors playing archetypal roles from the throwback police show genre — the late MCA plays a fictionalized guest star playing himself as well as “Nathan Wind” as a character named “Cochese,” Ad-Rock plays “Vic Colfari” playing “Bobby, The Rookie,” Mike D plays “Alasondro Alegré” playing “The Chief,” and DJ Hurricane plays “Fred Kelly” as “Bunny.” The now campy video received a bunch of airtime on MTV when it came out, eventually sweeping the MTV Music Video Awards for its groundbreaking narrative style and overall badassery (for example, the video that aired on television had a knife fight, a man falling off a bridge, and a man being thrown from a car edited out).
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Yesterday, a new take on this classic Beastie Boy music video was released, and it’s immediately one of our new favorite things. Created by Mylo the Cat, the mash-up music video combines some of our favorite Muppets from Sesame Street with the drama, music, and intrigue of the now-legendary “Sabotage” music video. Dubbed “Sesametage,” the new video sees Big Bird flying the coop and on the run, as The Count playing “Cochese,” Super Grover as “The Chief,” and Oscar the Grouch as “The Rookie” chase him down. The parallels between the original and the Sesame Street rendition are hilarious, so you can check out both the original 1994 Beastie Boys “Sabotage” music video and the new Muppet-heavy mash-up below.
“Sesametage”
“Sabotage”
[H/T NPR]