Liner Notes · No. 014
"(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)" by Beastie Boys: the B-side
Quick hall pass: the party song that was a joke got a sequel, a Mötley Crüe cover and a whole street corner. Here's the B-side.
📰 FAST FACTS
- The song is in a Rocksmith 2014 Beastie Boys DLC pack, with "No Sleep till Brooklyn" and "Sabotage." (The Xbox Hub)
- Listings for Fight for Your Right Revisited also name Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci, David Cross and Orlando Bloom. (Erie Reader)
- Mike D's UK and Europe tour includes London's Shepherd's Bush Empire on October 28, 2026. (Far Out)
On this record
TRACK 1 · The cameo
The sequel and the guitar smash
MCA's guitar smash nods to Animal House, and Yauch's Sundance sequel cast Seth Rogen, Will Ferrell and Elijah Wood as the Beasties.
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The homage: Watch MCA smash that guitar in the 1986 video. It's a nod to the guitar-smashing scene in Animal House (1978). So a parody of dumb party songs borrowed its best move from the dumbest party movie ever made. Respect the commitment.
The sequel: In January 2011, Fight for Your Right Revisited premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. It's a short film written and directed by Adam Yauch, and it picks up right where the 1986 video ends. It went online in April 2011, alongside the single "Make Some Noise." Yes, a music video got a sequel at Sundance. Your favorite movie from 1986 got a straight-to-VHS part two with none of the original cast.
The cast: Seth Rogen, Danny McBride and Elijah Wood play the 1986 Beasties. Will Ferrell, Jack Black and John C. Reilly play their time-traveling future selves. And then the two crews face off. A hobbit and Ron Burgundy at the same party. Your parents would not have let you go.
Now, about the band that turned this joke into a cover. Quiz time.
Which band later covered "Fight for Your Right," even though it was written to spoof songs like theirs?
No Googling. We'll know.
That's Side A. Flip the tape.
Side B is where it gets weird:
- Joan Rivers, a run with Run-DMC, and the day American Bandstand asked them to lip-sync. They wrecked the mics.
- Covers from Public Enemy, two guys from Supergrass, and Mötley Crüe.
- Beastie Boys Square, and Mike D's first solo album.
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▶ SIDE B
TRACK 2 · The live one
Joan Rivers, Bandstand and the road
They crowded Joan Rivers, trashed the mics on Bandstand rather than lip-sync, and closed shows on the Run-DMC tour.
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1987, Joan Rivers: Promoting Licensed to Ill on The Late Show with Joan Rivers, they played "Fight for Your Right" and then crowded around the host. Late-night TV in 1987: a talk show host, three guys in backwards caps, and zero personal space.
1987, American Bandstand: The producers told them to lip-sync to the record. Ad-Rock said they couldn't play it live, so they threw the mics on the ground, wrecked them, and missed their cues on purpose. One retrospective calls them the first act Bandstand censored. Asking the Beastie Boys to behave on camera: bold strategy.
1987, on tour with Run-DMC: After Run-DMC's last song, the Beasties came back out and closed the show with "Fight for Your Right."
2012, the Hall of Fame: On April 14, 2012, the Beastie Boys were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. MCA was too ill to attend, and Mike D and Ad-Rock said they would not perform without him. The Roots, Kid Rock and Travie McCoy played a Beastie Boys medley in their place.
TRACK 3 · Cover watch
Everyone fought for the right
Public Enemy flipped the title, the Hotrats tucked its shirt in, and Mötley Crüe, the band it spoofed, finally covered it. Vote below.
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- 1988 · Public Enemy, "Party for Your Right to Fight." The closing track of It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back flips the title so "party" means the Black Panther Party, which Chuck D said the song is about.
- 2010 · The Hotrats. Gaz Coombes and Danny Goffey of Supergrass made it acoustic and falsetto-led on Turn Ons, their album of 12 covers. NPR said it kept the energy and dropped the brashness. A frat anthem with its shirt tucked in.
- 2024 · Mötley Crüe. Out in August 2024 on the Cancelled EP, produced by Bob Rock. The song was written to spoof hair-metal party anthems like "Smokin' in the Boys Room," a 1985 Mötley Crüe hit. Thirty-eight years later, the target recorded the parody. With a full production budget.
▶ WATCH THE CONTENDERS
Battle of the versions: which "Fight for Your Right" wins?
Cast your vote. Results in the next issue. Choose carefully: we're judging you.
TRACK 4 · Where are they now
Where the Beastie Boys are now
MCA died in 2012, and his will keeps his music out of ads. Mike D just made a solo album with his sons; Ad-Rock covered Bieber for charity.
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MCA: Adam "MCA" Yauch was diagnosed with cancer in 2009 and died on May 4, 2012, at 47. His will bars his music, name and image from being used in advertising.
The square: On September 9, 2023, the corner of Ludlow and Rivington Streets in Manhattan, where the Paul's Boutique cover photo was taken, was dedicated as Beastie Boys Square. Mike D and Ad-Rock were there.
Mike D: In May 2026 he released "Switch Up," the first new music from a Beastie Boy since 2011's Hot Sauce Committee Part Two. On August 28, 2026, he put out his debut solo album, Thank You (Capitol in the US, Fontana in the UK), credited to Mike D 5D, with a band that includes his sons Skyler and Davis. One review calls it a tribute to MCA. His UK and Europe tour is booked for October 24 to November 5, 2026. A Beastie Boy touring with his own kids in the band. The parents in the video would like a word.
Ad-Rock: He recently recorded a Justin Bieber cover with Kathleen Hanna for a Build Art Make Change benefit compilation. You read that right. The guy who sang about sneaking out to party is now covering Bieber for charity. Growth.
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