The final cut on “B-Boy Bouillabaisse”, and Track #23 on the 20th Anniversary Edition of Paul’s Boutique.

Mike D (in Beastie Boys Book) on “B-Boy Bouillabaisse” and “AWOL”:

We wanted to make our own psychedelic rap manifesto inspired by listening to the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper, the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, and Hendrix super loud in various automobiles and Yauch’s bedroom. We had nine song ideas left over. We could have spent time working on them and developing them more fully, but instead we decided to shove them all together into one medley and call it a bouillabaisse. […] Coming from hardcore, we always loved the economy of super-short songs. So what if we tried some rap songs like that? Then throw in for good measure a completely crazy (said with a thick French accent) 808 beat that Yauch recorded onto an 8-track in his kitchen (“AWOL”), backward loops, fuzz bass, b-boy routines, and a hundred NYC shout-outs, then chop up and mix and cut it all together with a Ginsu II.

AWOL is the nickname given to Suicidal Tendencies drummer Amery Smith. He explained:

It’s a nickname that the DJ Hurricane of the Beastie Boys gave me in the early ‘90s. I was never where I was supposed to go. So 'Cane just said I was AWOL.

Samples include:

• “Good Times” is a 1979 song by the group, Chic, from their 1979 album, Risqué.

• “Good to Go“ by Trouble Funk from the album, Drop the Bomb (1982)

Beastiemania found that “AWOL” has been performed in 1 known concert.
- 1.24.1996, Kawasaki, Japan