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Production Credits:

A Year and a Day Click for Lyrics

First Appearance: Paul's Boutique LP, July 1989
Written by: Beastie Boys
Performed by: Adam Yauch
Production Notes: Produced by Beastie Boys & Dust Brothers. Recorded at Mario G's, mixed at Record Plant. Engineered by Mario Caldato, assisted by Allen Abrahamson. Originally released on Capitol Records.

Behind the Beats and Lyrics...

Samples

  • "Ebony Jam" by Tower of Power from the album In the Slot (1976)
  • "Who's That Lady?" by Isley Brothers from the single "Who's That Lady?" (1964)
  • "When the Levee Breaks" by Led Zeppelin from the album Led Zeppelin IV (1971)
  • "High Power Rap" by Disco Dave And The Force Of The 5 MCs (aka Crash Crew) from the single "High Power Rap" (1980)

References

  • Bass ale and Guiness Stout - mixed together, an alcoholic drink known as a Black & Tan

Sample & Reference Breakdown

  • Beginning sample is from "Ebony Jam" by Tower of Power
  • Main sample is "Who's That Lady?" by Isley Brothers
  • Sped-up beat sample is from "When the Levee Breaks" by Led Zeppelin

Commentary:

Beastie Boys

"I dropped acid skiiing one time and lost my wallet" - Adam Yauch in 1989, possibly citing the origin of the lyric "I drop the L when I'm skiing"

"[It's] a song where I am starting to say what I'm feeling spiritually. The lyrics to that song aren't on the lyric sheet and I'm using a real distorted mic, so it's not really clear; but I got a lot of positive feedback from people. I was kind of taking a big risk for myself doing that, just in terms of my own confidence, but I got a lot of positivity on that." - Adam Yauch, 1995

Press

"...a selection of snippets of New York life loosely bound together by their shared brevity; it forms a sort of final summary of what Paul's Boutique is all about" - paraphrased from Rhyming & Stealing: A History of the Beastie Boys by Angus Batey, 1998

 

Released Versions:

A Year and a Day
A Year and a Day (Instrumental)
A Year And A Day (Live)

Live:

Performed in 6 known Concerts.

First known Performance:
17-May-1992 : Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States

Last known Performance:
05-Jun-1995 : San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, CA, United States

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