Joe. My. God.

Beastie Boys Square?

Public opposition to the renaming of landmarks and streets for dead famous people became rather strong after the controversial renaming of the Queensborough Bridge for late NYC Mayor Ed Koch. So it will be interesting to see how the City Council handles this one, especially since two of the Beastie Boys are living.

This Tuesday evening, a community board in lower Manhattan will vote on whether or not the corner of Rivington and Ludlow Street in the Lower East Side will be renamed "Beastie Boys Square." The location would pay homage to the iconic rap trio's second album Paul's Boutique. (Rivington and Ludlow is the intersection shown on the Paul's Boutique album cover.) The move comes as a result of Beastie's superfan LeRoy McCarthy, who last fall set up an online petition and Facebook page to get the street's name changed. The first step is to get the measure passed by the Community Board, followed by the City Council.

RELATED: Not far from the proposed Beastie Boys Square is Joey Ramone Place, which was the most stolen street sign in town until the city finally put it 20 feet above the curb.

Labels: Beastie Boys, Manhattan, pop music

Beastie Boy Adam Yauch Dead At 47

Multiple Grammy Award winning Beastie Boys member and social activist Adam Yauch has died of cancer at the age of 47. Yauch, also known as MCA, had been in treatment for cancer since 2009.

The rapper was diagnosed in 2009 after discovering a tumor in his salivary gland. Yauch sat out the Beastie Boys' induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April, and his treatments delayed the release of the group's most recent album, Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 2. The Beastie Boys had not performed live since the summer of 2009, and Yauch's illness prevented the group from appearing in music videos for Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 2. Yauch co-founded the Beastie Boys with Mike "Mike D" Diamond and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horowitz in 1979. The band started off as a hardcore punk group, but soon began experimenting with hip-hop. The band broke big with their first proper album, Licensed to Ill, in 1986, and further albums Paul's Boutique, Check Your Head and Ill Communication cemented the band as a true superstar act.