There's before-they-were-famous videos, and there's videos where a group that went on to be one of the best and most important artists of the post-punk era look like a bunch of dorky schlubs auditioning (unconvincingly) to play at your younger brother's Bar Mitzvah. That's the Beastie Boys here, still playing their own instruments, still with original drummer Kate Shellenbach on the skins, playing "White Shadow" on public access, sounding like a combination of all the worst elements of Public Image Limited and early Sonic Youth. Within a half-decade, three-fourths of these brats would be crafting Paul's Boutique, making this clip an endlessly fascinating teaching point on why you never judge anybody's potential until they're well out of their teens.
