Two and half new releases today. The first is a bootleg 7" - now this is something we want to see more of, tracks pressed up on seven inch. It's bit more interesting than the piles and piles of bootleg 12"s out there. How about some 10"s as well? Anyway, this is a single sided 7" with a track titled "Intergalactic Rockers" which features a slowed down version of Intergalactic over an 80s reggae track by "Laurel And Hardy" (no not the comedy duo). It comes in a plain die-cut sleeve and is supposedly limited to 200 copies.

The next two releases (or should it be 1.5 releases) are collections of Beastie remixes and mash-ups by Cheap Cologne. The first version is limited to 100 copies, and then a second run of 200 was made which contain a hidden track at the end (a remix of 'Right Right Now Now' which combines it with 'Right Here Right Now' by Jesus Jones).

Slowly but steadily...here is the next lot of Solid Gold Hits releases. The American vinyl pressing, an English CDR Promo Acetate, and two clean versions of the American release (these have the offending sections scratched and mixed into the songs).

Still to come are the European versions.

Who would have thought when I booked my holiday earlier in the year that there would be a "new" album released at the same time I was to be away? Certainly not me. So sorry about that, I will try and have future trips when it's a slow release period. Now onto the backlog of releases; Beastienut and I have been busy getting all of these ready for you, so here is the first batch.

We have the usual suspects here, 2 versions for both Australia and Japan (like the US), and a Taiwanese version of the CD+DVD release. The Japanese copies come with an extra track which hasn't surfaced before - "Right Right Now Now (Straight Outta Shibuya)" which features Kan Takagi throwing in some of his own lyrics over the top.

And finally something which I picked up while in Cambodia - a bootleg version of the new album with 9 (yes 9!) extra tracks. It seems like what they have done is grabbed the first 5 tracks from the Japanese Right Right Now Now single, and then simply taken a few tracks in a row from To The 5 Boroughs. They even listed 'Triple Trouble' in this bunch despite the fact that it doesn't appear at the end of the CD (it is already track 13). What is interesting about this release though is that the back sleeve is totally different from all the other versions. The artwork used is the same as the current incarnation of the official website. By the way, Laos and Thailand didn't have any local pressings of the new album - but one country out of three ain't bad.

In one of the next updates we will fill in the gaps with the "clean" versions, the european versions and vinyl versions of the new album.

"Hasn't Solid Gold Hits been released yet?"

And it only took a week for AstroBBoy to interrupt his idyllic vacation in the land of the avian flu to remind us to update the website with information about Solid Gold Hits. Sure we're a few days more than a week late, but really, who's counting?

It makes sense that the following Promo came out earlier this year, but the only copies we have seen have popped up recently.

Anyway, this is a 60 minute mix titled the "Spin Psykal Guest Mix" (yes, spelt "Psykal"), which was created by Mix Master Mike for the XFM Radio show 'The Rinse' and was broadcast on the 19th of February 2005. The tracks featured come from his Spin Psycle release as well as other tracks he has been playing in his live shows. It comes in a plastic sleeve and the only information is found on a front insert and disc which both simply say "Mix Master Mike Mix".

Another 12" bootleg for 'An Open Letter To NYC' is out which features 2x remixes by Cut Chemist. We are not sure at this stage if the remixes were actually done by Cut Chemist, but that is what the vinyl labels are claiming. This is a single sided 12" and has a remix and an instrumental version of the remix.

As we mentioned a few days ago, Def Jam has just reissued both Licensed To Ill and Fight For Your Right on vinyl, as part of the "Def Jam Classics" collection (which also includes Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Method Man, Ja Rule ...)

Like the recent bootleg version, Licensed To Ill is on two 12"s and has the same design as the original except for a spray paint ink splatter on the bottom corner which features on all of the new album reissues. Fight For Your Right comes in a 'Classics' maroon sleeve like the early Def Jam 12"s with an information sticker on the front.

A vinyl bootleg for 'An Open Letter To NYC' has also been released (not sure exactly when) with 2x remixes on it: "Rub N Tug's Macho Mix" and another titled "Open Letter To Kashmir" which mixes in 'Kashmir' by Led Zeppelin.

Do you want the good news or the bad news?

Good: There are 2x new vinyl releases out, and they aren't bootlegs.

Bad/Boring: Def Jam has re-issued Licensed To Ill on LP and Fight For Your Right on 12".

We'll have pictures and information for you next week.

There was already a bootleg 12" for Cookie Puss released a few years, so why would another come out now? We have no idea, but this time it's a copy of the US Promo version.

Although they look similar, there are some differences that you should be aware of if you want to make sure you are picking up an original.

Some Japanese releases to be on the look out for - firstly is another 12" Bootleg sampler style release from Hot Shot Records, with a very Japanese title of "License For Party". Just like their previous 12"s, this contains mashup style remixes, so you have the Beastie Boys vs Herbie Hancock, De La Soul, Led Zepplin, etc - you get the picture. Like the others it comes in a stickered die-cut sleeve and is supposedly limited to 100 copies. The vinyl label states this was released in 2004 - but we think it could have actually been a lot more recent.

Also, coming out in November in Japan is a singles collection, "Solid Gold Hits" CD. Apparently this will also be available as a Limited Edition version with a DVD. At this stage we don't know what will be included on either disc.

Last year a 12" bootleg was released with a remix of 'Ch Check It Out' titled "Check Ch Check The Boot". Well for those of you that prefer CDs to vinyl, this has also been released as a CDR bootleg. It comes in a clear plastic sleeve and has an information sticker placed on the disc itself - it played fine in my CD player, but I can't say how well it will do in all systems due to the fact that the sticker doesn't exactly help in keeping the disc balanced.

For the completists amongst us, I hope you have been saving up because Japan has just re-released the major albums and EPs starting at Paul's Boutique and going up to Hello Nasty. They have the same track listings as the previous japanese versions (ie most have extra tracks not included on the US/UK/etc releases).

We have that previously mentioned new bootleg for The In Sound From Way Out on double 12" vinyl. They have done an excellent job on this, great reproduction of the sleeve in full color, decent vinyl labels, a nice package all round. The front cover states that it "Includes 2 Bonus Unreleased Tracks" (Namaste & Lighten Up), which granted are two tracks that were not included on the original vinyl release from 1995, but were included on the subsequent CD version, and even featured on 'Check Your Head' from 1992!?

Speaking of great packaging - the new Money Mark album with Kubrick figure exceeded out expectations. The set comes in a plastic box like other toys you would find with indentations for the figure and it's accessaries. Mark comes with a seperate guitar and harmonica, and it is such a cool collectors item, we highly recommend grabbing one if you get the opportunity.

Money Mark's new album is out in Japan, and as we mentioned midway through last month, the title is "Father Demo Square". It has 12x new tracks, and at this stage it still looks like this will only be released in Japan.

As an added bonus, if you buy the album in Japan from HMV, you can get a Money Mark Kubrick figure (as pictured to the right). These little guys are limited to 1000 and as you can only get them from Japan, are sure to be highly collectable.

Today's release should make the remixers happy - it contains 14x Beastie Boys A Capellas. Titled "Accapellas Vol One" (spelling mistake and all), this does features more tracks than a previous A Cappella 12" which had 8x tracks but is still missing "Hey Ladies" and "So What'Cha Want" which were on the previous release. This new one comes in a plain picture sleeve with blank vinyl labels.

On other news, be on the lookout for a new bootleg version of "The In Sound From Way Out" which has been pressed onto double 12" vinyl - we should have this in very soon to tell you all about it.

It's been a while since we had a new 'Grand Royal Sleeve' bootleg 12", but here is the latest offering. This one is titled "Rootdown" and comes in the red version of the supposed Grand Royal sleeve. The track choices are more interesting than in some of the past 12"s, but you still feel like the people behind these releases are scraping the barrel trying to find new stuff.

It starts out with the Prince Paul Remix of Root Down (otherwise known as the PP Balloon Mix), which can be found on most existing Root Down single releases. The next track is titled "Smoke The Pipe" which technically is not a Beastie Boys track but rather a fan mix of various tracks including 'Race Against Time' by Public Enemy and a few Beastie Boys numbers like 'Eggman' and 'Sounds Of Science'. The 3rd track is an Adrock remix of "Countdown" which was released back when Ralph Nader was running for presidency of the United States. The track features snippets of speeches by Nader over some beats. It's a nice inclusion for the completists as this track was never officially released except on MP3. The second side of the record plays a drum & bass remix of Intergalactic and also a "Scratching Battle".

The other two releases for today are ones we mentioned last month - a Japanese Licensed To Ill CD which comes in a great 12" sleeve. This is limited and very cool. And a new single sided 12" bootleg titled "Heavyweight Vs. The Kid" that has a remix of 'Triple Trouble' called 'Ch-Ch-Chicken Out' by Klaus 'Heavyweight' Hill and Kid Kenobi. Despite the remix title, this is 'Triple Trouble' and not 'Ch-Check It Out'.

We have just caught up with 2x items that snuck past us on their initial release.

The first is a US CD Promo for the last Mix Master Mike album (Bangzilla). This comes in an Immortal Records company card sleeve with an information sticker on the front.

The second is a 12" Test Pressing for the 'New York State Of Mind Remixes' 12" Bootleg that was released last year. As you would remember, this contained remixes found on the DJ Green Lantern mixtape. This 12" comes in a black die-cut sleeve with Europadisk vinyl labels and no other information.

Still no new releases to show you, but there has been some mention of a few new bootlegs to keep your eyes open for:

- A Rootdown Remixes 12" which is listed as containing "Prince Paul's remix of Rootdown, plus 'Smoke The Pipe', Ad-Rock remix of 'Countdown', a drum & bass remix of Intergalactic, plus the sef-explanatory 'Scratching Battle'".

- An Italian House Remix 12" of Fight For Your Right by Mricky And Danieli.

- A 12" titled 'Ch-Ch-Chicken Out' which supposedly features the Kid Kenobi remix that we heard about back in April.

- The Beastie Collection 2LP contains 34x "original soul, funk, disco hip-hop, pop and rock that were used on the classic 'Pauls Boutique' album. Some are full length, others are short reprise".

More information on these releases when we get them in.

This is simply a heads up to watch for some new releases coming from Japan soon.

The exciting news is that Universal Japan is releasing re-issue albums on CD in 12" sleeves, and in this lot is 'Licensed To Ill'. This should be coming out near the end of this month.

Early next month, Japan is also set to re-issue the following albums in limited pressings: Licensed To Ill, Paul's Boutique, Check Your Head, Ill Communication, Hello Nasty, The In Sound From Way Out and Root Down. And finally, next month also sees the release of a new Money Mark album titled "Father Demo Square". At this stage we have only seen mention of this being released in Japan, but who knows?

Another unofficial release from Japan at the moment is the Paul's Boutique Demos CD. Though these tracks have been floating around as downloadable songs on various sites on the Internet for years, we now have seen them compiled on one CD. If you haven't heard these versions, we at beastiemania highly recommend you pick this cd up. It's cool to hear these songs in their "raw" form.

It's been very quiet on the release scene recently, and although this record only came into our hands this week, we assume it actually came out last year.

Coming from Japan, this is like the other bootleg 12" Samplers released full of mashups. This time the Beasties versus David Bowie, The Ramones, Run DMC, The Prodigy, The Steve Miller Band, and even Britney Spears.

This update is to warn everyone about some dubious CDs spotted on ebay of late. They claim to be "Radio 1 Germany" Promo CD5s, but we are 90% sure they are simply fakes. We have seen a few of these for different bands other than the Beastie Boys including Unkle and The Avalanches. There have been a number of different ebay profiles selling these and claim to be located in the UK and the USA but when we received one of these parcels it originated in Minsk (Belarus). The sellers we have seen all seem to have low feedback ratings and a few of them are already no longer registered users. The discs themselves are generic in that they have no band details on them and only "Promo Only" and "Radio 1 Germany" style information. They come in a slimline jewel case with a round sticker on the front detailing the track listing.

We would love to be proven wrong on this, but unfortunately the evidence suggests we're not. EBayers beware.

Also, a quick note for the Money Mark fans out there, he is featured on the soundtrack to the new surfing movie "Sprout". He is part of the 'Sprout House Band' along with Tommy Guerrero, Jack Johnson and Adam Topol.

A very rare Canadian Radio Show CD has come in released by the Corus Radio Network. It has nine tracks from the last album along with small interview segments recorded prior to the release. It comes with a two page cue-sheet.

Another interesting release available is a bootleg by No Identity Records who were responsible for the 'Beastie Boys vs Peggy Lee' remix of 'Ch-Check It Out' on the one sided 12" by Gringo Starr. This one is called "We Love The Beastie Boys" and has 3x remixes on it. There are 10 Test Pressings in existance and 1000 standard copies.

A variety of releases today. Firstly we have a 12" Bootleg of Intergalactic remixes by Lap Productions, which is hard to recognise as there is no information on the record or sleeve.

There is also a nice Money Mark Promo CD for his last EP (Demo? Or Demolition?) which would have come out prior to the CD, but we only just got in. It contains all the same tracks as the standard release but comes in an oversized hard card sleeve with a unique design.

Finally we have the new single for Mix Master Mike titled 'Tranzmission'. This is being released as a download through KarmaDownload.com and so this new CDR Promo looks like it could be the only way to get this release on a physical format. The CDR includes the standard album version as well as a Remix version.

It's been 11 years since Sure Shot was released, so it's cool to see the track resurface as a recent remix bootleg. The 'Funk-O-Bots' have made a Vocal & Instrumental version and released it on a new 12". It comes in a plain white paper sleeve with a sticker on the side-a vinyl label listing the remixer, track title and catalogue number.

On other remix news, Australian breaks DJ, Kid Kenobi was interviewed recently where he discussed an as yet unreleased Beastie Boys remix. The actual track was not mentioned, but due to the timing - could it be "An Open Letter To NYC"? He did say that the remix was submitted to the record company while the BBoys were on tour, so they were unable to really give it a good listen. The BBoys record company owns the rights to the remix, and they are looking at putting it on various compilation disks.

Things have been a bit quiet in recent weeks with releases, but we have found a new bootleg 12". It comes with two remixes of 'Ch-Check It Out' by Charlie Murphy.

It comes in a plain die-cut sleeve, information on the Side-A vinyl label and a stretched version of the New York cityscape from the album cover on the other side.

One of the most exciting finds in recent time has been a bunch of records found in the rubbish.

The Australian Big Day Out festivals were some of the last dates played on the recent world tour, and after two of these concerts, people going through the bins have uncovered Mix Master Mike's used show vinyl. In total there were 9x different records found with 8x in Perth and 6x in Sydney. The Sydney versions were all smashed and therefore there is one record (with the Paul's Boutique tracks) which no-one outside of the band owns yet (that we know of) due to the only version seen being broken. The Perth versions have had drinks spilt on them, but are at least still in one piece.

A new one-sided 12" Bootleg for Triple Trouble has been released which features two tracks titled the "Mix Master Mike Remix" and also an Instrumental version.

It comes in a plain die-cut sleeve and the vinyl-label for Side-A looks quite professional in it's design (with the use of the new Beastie Boys logo) but the colour scheme makes it look photocopied. The vinyl-label for Side-B is left blank.

If you were going to go to the trouble of pressing a record, you think you would get the track listing correct?

A Sure Shot 12" Bootleg has surfaced with the Grand Royal sleeve design, and on both sides the tracks are out of order compared to the vinyl-label listing. It features the usual tracks from the various Sure Shot promo and standard singles including the b-sides ("The Vibes" and "Son Of Neckbone") as well as the Sure Shot Green Mix which was released on the DJ Green Lantern : New York State Of Mind mixtape. The record claims to have an 'Unreleased Mix' on Side-B, but this is actually the "Mario Mix" which appeared on the English 7" and Promo 12".

Note that this record also has the same catalogue number as the original US 12".

Late last year the official site advertised the re-release of the Anthology: Sounds Of Science hardcover book, but instead of coming with 4x 12"s, this comes with 2x CD5s. The book is essentially the same, except slightly smaller in dimensions and includes the cover from the original Boxset and not the discography releases style cover. For anyone who hasn't purchased the original boxset, this book is definately worth picking up, although this one is not numbered like the original.

Another one-sided 12" Bootleg has also come out with a 'Black Beast' remix of 'Ch-Check It Out'. This comes in a plain die-cut sleeve with printed information on one of the vinyl-labels.

And finally we have the Japanese release of the latest Money Mark EP. This has a bonus track ('Dream Without Guilt') which was included as the b-side to the recent 'Burn Away' 7". It comes in a cool gatefold card sleeve with a lyrics insert.

Two European CDs for 'An Open Letter To NYC' to report on today, the promo and commercially available versions.

The track listing for both are the same as their UK equivalents, with the only real difference being that the standard CD5 comes in a card sleeve unlike the UK version which came in a thinline jewel case.

Today we have some Money Mark releases to jive around to after seeing him with the Beasties on the recent tour.

The first is the English version of the EP we reported on last year called "Demo? Or Demolition?'. This has been released by Different Records in the UK and Chocolate Industries in the US.

The second is a 7" limited to 1000 copies for 'Burn Away'. It comes in a picture sleeve similar to the 'Demo? Or Demolition?' sleeve, and is backed with the b-side 'Dream Without Guilt'.

Remember the UK Promo CD5 for 'An Open Letter To NYC' that supposedly had the "Andy Wallace Mix Radio Edit" on it but actually contained the normal "Radio Edit"? Well there is also a UK CDR Acetate with the same error. It comes in a plastic wallet with a paper insert printed with the date of the single.

Another CDR Acetate that has been spotted is an Australian one with the Graham Coxon remix of Triple Trouble. More info on that when we get it.

Tomorrow the Beasties play Australia for the first time since May 1999, so it's only fair that we get a "Special Tour Edition Pack" of the latest album :)

The ironic thing is that the album is actually the European Limited Edition version packaged with a bonus CD. The tracks are similar to the recent Japanese 'Right Right Now Now' CD5 featuring the album version of 'An Open Letter To NYC', 'Rizzle Rizzle Nizzle Nizzle', 'MTL Reppin For The 514', 'Saboatge (Live)' and 'Brrr Stick Em'.

Australia was also the first country to get the Hello Nasty Tour Edition 2CD set, but as this is the end of the world tour, it's unlikely this set will be available elsewhere later.

As we reported last year, Mix Master Mike's new album has been released, and we finally have the vinyl edition in now. It comes on double 12"s and one rumour we heard is that it is limited to 200 copies worldwide - though we assume they got their wires crossed and it was 200 copies imported into the UK.

Three commercial singles in today with mostly the same tracks spread across them all. The UK as usual has two CD5 versions of "An Open Letter To NYC", one in a full jewel case and the second in a slimline case. Grabbing both of these will get you the video clip along with the album version, the "Rizzle Rizzle Nizzle Nizzle" and "MTL Reppin' For The 514" versions of "Right Right Now Now", as well as a live version of Sabotage recorded in San Francisco last September.

Now if you get the new Japanese single for "Right Right Now Now", you will miss out on the video clip, but you will get all of the other tracks along with the album version of "Right Right Now Now", the Just Blaze remix of "Ch-Ch Check It Out" and a great new track titled "Brrr Stick Em".

Another Grand Royal Bootleg Sleeve 12" is also here titled "Stop The War". The tracks featured are "In A World Gone Mad", "Super Disco Breakin', and 3 remixes of Intergalactic. The mix that hasn't featured on an exclusive Beastie Boys release before is the Soulwax Mix, so that is a nice addition, but the other two, despite the misleading titles of a Fatboy Slim Mix and a Daft Punk Mix have come out before.

Welcome to a new year of releases. We don't actually expect to have any real 2005 releases for a while, so here are some late 2004 items:

Another Bootleg 12" in the fake Grand Royal sleeve is out. Seen in the Silver variation of the sleeve, the track listing is quite boring and features the exact same tracks as featured on the 'Three MCs And One DJ + Remote Control' 2nd CD5 from the UK back in 1999. We were a bit disapointed that the bootlegers didn't continue the numbering as they did with most of the other GR sleeve releases (eg GR87163, GR87164, etc) but instead used "72438 87106 1 6" which cutely enough is one number different from the CD mentioned.

Also out is a documentary DVD titled 'Horseplay' (which actually mentions Beastiemania.com). For more details, check out our latest competition.