10 Songs That Ruined Otherwise Perfect Albums
2. Licensed To Ill - "Girls"
The Beastie Boys’ debut album sounds like it’s made by a bunch of goofy teenagers, and that’s because it is. While they’d later rap about gun control, the Tibetan freedom movement, and the rebuilding of post-9/11 New York City, in 1986 they were more focused on typical adolescent concerns and braggadocio, and for the most part, it’s harmless fun, even endearing.
The exception to this is “Girls”, a glockenspiel-driven singalong about Ad Rock’s desire for, well, girls. The album is, in the Rick Rubin style, sparse, boom bap rap, making this playfully twee number stand out for all the wrong reasons.
Worse is the sexism - while equally playful, the song ends with Ad Rock begging for female company to do the dishes, and tidy his room, while Mike D and MCA provide a tuneless a capella harmony. It’s meant as a joke - the Beasties literally crack up laughing midway through - but it’s not a funny one.
It’s harsh to judge the Beasties on their first album, especially given their later efforts and apologies for their youthful ignorance. “Girls”, though, is the one early track that goes from youthful silliness to something more unpleasant.