Beastie Boys Reveal Story Behind “Sabotage” in New Memoir Audio Book as Told by Tim Meadows

Beastie Boys‘ new memoir, Beastie Boys Book, reveals many behind the scene secrets via a star-studded cast of celebrity guests. Among them, Saturday Night Live alum Tim Meadows tells the story behind the band’s smash hit “Sabotage.”

The book is comprised of first-person stories from members Adam Horovitz and Michael Diamond. It also features many of their famous friends, such as Wes Anderson, Amy Poehler, Spike Jonze and more.

“We wanted to have it be different, with little chapters about different things,” Horovitz said in an interview with Rolling Stone. “Like guest rappers or samples.”

“They’re here to talk about the Beastie Boys Book, the highly unorthodox memoir they spent the last four years writing together,” Simon Vozick-Levinson wrote in Rolling Stone. “Inside its 571 pages you’ll find dozens of first-person episodes from their lives, mixed in with vintage photos, cartoons, recipes and guest testimonials from friends like Amy Poehler, Colson Whitehead and Luc Sante. The book often evokes the Beasties at their surreal, hilarious peak – see the time they ran into Bob Dylan at a birthday party for Dolly Parton in the winter of ’88. (Horovitz claims that Dylan tried to enlist them in a “pro-smoking concert.”) At the same time, it doubles as a tribute to their best friend and bandmate, Adam Yauch, who died of cancer in 2012, bringing the group’s story to a tragic, early end. If it resembles a Beastie Boys LP in its wild variety of styles, there’s a crucial voice missing from the mix. “It’s different,” Diamond says simply. “Yauch’s not here.”

The audiobook edition is no different, featuring a wide array of celebrity guest readers. Snoop Dogg, Rachel Maddow, Elvis Costello, Bette Midler and more lend their voices.

In an exclusive clip obtained by Rolling Stone, Meadows tells the story of “Sabotage.” He reads from the perspective of both Horovitz and Diamond, revealing that engineer Mario Caldato Jr. inspired the hit song.

Beastie Boys announced last month that they will be hitting the road for their The Beastie Boys Book: Live & Direct tour. It kicked off in New York on Oct. 29, and will end in London on Nov. 30. Tickets can be purchased here.