Inside the Beastie Boys’ Oscilloscope Studios

Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys had the place built so that the band could have a low pressure place to record their own material. In fact, the Beastie Boys recorded “To the 5 Boroughs,” “The Mix-Up,” and “Hot Sauce Committee Part 2” there. In addition, Jack White, M.I.A., James Murphy, and Phoenix have also recorded at Oscilloscope.

There was cool Beasties paraphernalia all over the place, and evidence of Adam Yauch’s sense of humor was everywhere too. The best example of this was when I opened the door marked with the word “Restroom,” I found myself walking into a storage closet. That joke is played on every single visitor of the studio on their first visit, and the idea was Yauch’s.