Ad-Rock Drives A “Filthy Kia” | Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend
What's up? This is Mike Diamond, Mike D, and I feel. uh optimistically uncertain about being. Conan O'Brien's friend. I'm Adam Horovitz. Um oh, hi, my name is. Adam Horovitz. It's what it says on the. paper. Uh aka Ad-Rock of the Beastie Boys or. just Beastie Boys. And I feel. um. I don't know. I feel like I would be. I'd be kind of bullshitting if I I said.
I mean, uh we've met before, but I I. certainly would like to be, but I'm not. yet friends with Conan O'Brien. You're saying you're okay with the idea. of us being friends. No, I mean, yeah yeah, I have enough. friends. Is that bad? It's kind of like I'm trying to sell you. a Kia. I have a Kia. A used Kia that's not in great shape. used Kia that's not in great shape. You have a Okay, so but that would mean. you wouldn't want another one. No. See, that's the problem. I don't know why you had a Kia.
I just knew it. I just I just like dirty. Kia. When you say dirty, is there just a lot. of crud inside the car? So gross. It's just Can I Can I interject here? Sure, Mike. Please. You don't even have to ask. You. may interject. It's like literally disgusting. Like. old, you know, caked up like old cereal. and stuff inside. It's gross. in my car. I'm not an animal. is all that food crap in there? food, but I don't like. I don't let go to my car with a bowl of. cereal. Guys, I was just I was just back in just.
back in Boston, and my older brother. Neil, I went for a ride in his car. It's. the dirtiest car I've seen. It had just. crud caked on the inside, and at one. point, there's a little panel that if. you push it, opens up. It's not the. glove compartment, but it's just for I. don't know, just some Tic Tacs, whatever. you might want. I pushed on it, opened. up maybe 19 packets of ketchup. from a fast food restaurant. And I said, "What the fuck?" And he went, "It's. nice. If you need ketchup, it's right. there. And they're free when you go.
through a drive-thru.". So, is this the kind of animal you are? Can we like move on from this, please? Jeez, you guys. Okay, so you guys are How was your day. so far? It was pretty so good. Can't complain. Huh? Yeah, got some ketchup packets. have more important things to talk. about. We have met uh you guys uh. performed on my show in the past. You. did uh an interview. I remember bumping. into you a couple of times in New York.
Uh I was always super happy because uh I. was a big fan of the music, but I also always found you guys, Beastie Boys, really funny. And that was. in the music, it was in the videos. And. I always thought that that was kind of. integral to what you were doing. Am I Am. I correct about that? Yeah. We talk about it, and I feel like. actually it's the thing that I'll I. don't know. This is maybe dangerous territory here, but I think a lot like there's a lot of.
our audience that doesn't get that or. hasn't or different points at different. junctures over time. see how that's possible, cuz from the. very beginning, when you guys uh uh. first hit the scene, I remember. thinking, "They're funny." Like your early videos, and this is years before I got on my got. a late-night show, I remember thinking, "These are funny guys. They're New York. funny." They're There's a There's a. quickness to them, and also there's this. hysterical edge to them right away. And.
I love the music, and I know we're here. to talk about it's 30 years since Ill. Communication, which by the way, I've. list been listening to cuz in. anticipation of you guys coming up and. listening to it over and over again. Still holds up. Brilliant work. But even when I listen to that, I can. hear the sense of humor in there. And am. I wrong? It feels very New York. Well, yeah. We're we're from New York. New York. Yeah. And and. all the time we have. This is called where people are from.
WE HAVE ESTABLISHED THAT. ALL I DO IS geo-locate people, and then. we kind of wrap it up. But New York, we. have this. Play uh send this off to the. printer. Uh no problem. who doesn't know how the podcast works. Um. You know, I I you know, we we all we met. in high school. We were friends. Uh we've just been friends this whole. time. And what do you do with your. friends? You just have you know, you're. supposed to just have fun. Yeah. Yeah. And so we kind of when we were, you. know, in high school making music, uh it was.
fun. And so we figured we'd just go with. that. but could I could I add on? You don't need to ask permission. You. can just go. No, I do because. otherwise may I interject? You're you're. you don't understand like otherwise he's. going to be like Mike, I was speaking. here. So like my me I feel like I said it, but. permission. It's I'm I'm like you know, I'm taking that. Maybe I do need new friends. That's why I'm here. Cuz Mike is a pain in the ass. Oh my god. I asked to do this by myself.
No, but I think like we we grew up at a. certain time also in New York where it. was like hey, where we come you know, Adam and I anyway, Yauch was an only. child, but we come from families. So I. think like there's this necessity when. you're like at this. at a New York City. table read culturally Jewish. table where everybody's is speaking on. top of each other. Mhm. Like you you kind of have to figure out. how to be funny to survive. Otherwise, yeah. This is your way. That is your yeah. dealing with the world. And then I think. I don't know. I remember from like a.
really young age like we always when we. first became friends like we all had. Monty Python's Big Red Book, which was. blue. Uh the cover was blue. Yep. Um. and that was like as important to us as. like any punk rock record or something. You know what I mean? That was like a. very high that was like a just something. that was important it was important to. us to aspire to be funny like that. um started out getting into music, you. know, through the Beatles as a kid and.
but I always remembered and then became. crazily into their lore and learning. everything about them. The thing I always remember is whenever. you ask like George Martin or something. when he first met the Beatles what. grabbed you about them, he never said it. was the music. He said it was their. sense of humor. And I always thought. that's not possible. They were. it must have been the music and he was. no, the music was music was okay. It was their sense of humor and then of. course they were they were integrated. It's it's part of the same. I don't know. It's it's part of the. language of the music is the comedy to.
me anyway. No, I agree and the Beatles were huge. Peter Sellers they were like huge fans. of the Goon Show. You know, and that you could see once. you kind of like. you geek out enough and you you do the. nerd searches of the Goon Show and on. YouTube and stuff and you you realize. like a lot of their humor, you know, they were. students of that. Yeah. For sure or contemporaries.
