I love Adam Yauch! But the winds of impermanence blow cold this July day.

Adam “MCA” Yauch, leader of the Beastie Boys and practicing Tibetan buddhist, has cancer — a salivary gland tumor, apparently not life-threatening — and the Beasties are cancelling all their summer dates.

The “Adam Yauch Has Cancer” news and details are well summarized, with video of the announcement, of the always awesome Brooklyn Vegan music site. (No, you will not be subject to vegan propaganda if you go there, just lots and lots of indie/alternative music news.)

And WHAT on earth does this have to do with buddhism? Well, as the Shambhala Sun interview with Adam starts: 

“Beastie
Boy Adam Yauch brought Tibetan music and Buddhist philosophy to their
latest album, Ill Communication. He talks to The Shambhala Sun about
hip-hop, hardcore, helping people, and ‘gettin’ stupid.’ “

And cancer put a full stop to his plans today.
Impermanence of all conditioned phenomena – doesn’t get much more Noble Truthy than that. 

And that’s my photo of Adam, above. I’ve been a fan for (gulp) decades
— he’s my generation. I still remember them playing in Washington
Square Park, in New York, and I have that early ROIR cassette of them
doing some kind of speed punk hardcore thing, tho’ I haven’t played it
in years. And I always, always adored the Beasties’ irreverent take as
well as their reverence for excellence. Their aesthetic always struck
me as buddhist.

Tho’ it looks like Adam’s parotid gland tumor isn’t life-threatening,
it does close down the Beastie concert plans this summer. Just this morning
I was talking to my brother about his plans to go to Montreal to see
them, perhaps. NOT.

Here are the Beasties in motion, at Hiro Ballroom, 6 October 2006, at the Rational Animal benefit that night.

In motion, as are we all.