Sabotage

Producers

This is track 6 on Beastie Boys’ fourth (full-length) studio album, Ill Communication, released 5/31/1994. As the first single, it was released well ahead of the album, on… Read More

Jan. 28, 19941 viewer262.1K views

Sabotage Lyrics

[Verse 1]
I can't stand it, I know you planned it
I'ma set it straight, this Watergate
I can't stand rocking when I'm in here
'Cause your crystal ball ain't so crystal clear
So while you sit back and wonder why
I got this fucking thorn in my side
Oh my god, it's a mirage
I'm telling y'all, it's sabotage

[Verse 2]
So, so, so, so listen up, 'cause you can't say nothing
You'll shut me down with a push of your button
But, yo, I'm out, and I'm gone
I'll tell you now, I keep it on and on

[Verse 3]
'Cause what you see, you might not get
And we can bet, so don't you get souped yet
Scheming on a thing, that's a mirage
I'm trying to tell you now, it's sabotage

[Interlude]
Why?
(Our backs are now against the wall)

[Bridge]
Listen, all y'all, it's a sabotage
Listen, all y'all, it's a sabotage
Listen, all y'all, it's a sabotage
Listen, all y'all, it's a sabotage

[Verse 4]
I can't stand it, I know you planned it
I'ma set it straight, this Watergate
But I can't stand rocking when I'm in this place
Because I feel disgrace because you're all in my face
But make no mistakes and switch up my channel
I'm Buddy Rich when I fly off the handle
What could it be? It's a mirage
You're scheming on a thing, that's sabotage

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About

Genius Annotation

This is track 6 on Beastie Boys’ fourth (full-length) studio album, Ill Communication, released 5/31/1994. As the first single, it was released well ahead of the album, on 01/28/1994. In terms of genre, the song is considered rapcore, with traditional rock instrumentation (Adrock on guitar, MCA on bass, and Mike D on drums), turntable scratching, and deeply distorted bass guitar riffs.

In the Beastie Boys Book, Ad-Rock explains that he jokingly wrote the lyrics about the group’s then-producer, Mario Caldato Jr. He writes, “I decided that it would be funny to write a song about how Mario was holding us all down. How he was trying to mess it all up. Sabotaging our great works of art” (p.365).

In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine placed “Sabotage” #480 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
In March 2005, Q magazine ranked it at #46 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks.
VH1’s 100 “Greatest Songs of the 90s” listed it at #19.
Pitchfork Media put the song at #39 on their Top 200 Tracks of the 90s list.

The music video played extensively on MTV. “Sabotage" unfolds as the opening credits of a fictional 1970s-style police show, an homage/parody of retro crime drama TV series, such as Hawaii Five-O, The Streets of San Francisco, S.W.A.T., Baretta, and Starsky and Hutch. The band members appear as the show’s characters…

Vic Colfari as Bobby, “The Rookie” (Adrock)
Alasondro Alegré as “The Chief” (Mike D)
Nathan Wind as Cochese (MCA)
Sir Stewart Wallace guest-starring as himself (also played by MCA)
Fred Kelly as Bunny (DJ Hurricane)

source: chadn

Directed by Spike Jonze, the video was nominated in five categories at the 1994 MTV Music Video Awards.
Here’s some outtakes, set to “Futterman’s Rule.”

“Sabotage” has been performed in 237 known Concerts…

And now from the mind of Derek Langille, give it up for Sabotage—uncut—in comic form…

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did Beastie Boys say about "Sabotage"?

Genius Answer

While the song’s meaning had been speculated for years, with some believing it to be an anti-religion anthem, and others still have claimed it contains an anti-paparazzi message, the Beastie Boys’ 2018 memoirs finally shed some light on its true meaning, revealing it was inspired by an annoying sound engineer.

The offending tech in question was Mario Caldato Jr. Horovitz writes (and Meadows reads) that during the making of Ill Communication, the group was often unsure about their sound, and their indecision tested Caldato’s patience. “We were totally indecisive about what, when, why and how to complete songs. Mario was getting frustrated,” Meadows says in the clip. “That’s a really calm way of saying that he would blow a fuse and get pissed off at us and scream that we just needed to finish something, anything, a song. He would push awful instrumental tracks we made just to have something moving toward completion.”
“Sabotage” was apparently the last song completed on the album and went through multiple iterations, including a more rap-centric take featuring a scratched Queen Latifah sample as the hook. Horovitz ultimately settled on his iconic screamed approach after deciding to roast their engineer on track: “I decided it would be funny to write a song about how Mario was holding us all down, how he was trying to mess it all up, sabotaging our great works of art.”

via Spin.com

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