Kalamazoo College also has the distinction of producing the largest number of Peace Corps volunteers per capita, as well as ranking in the top 1 percent for number of graduates who go on to earn a Ph.D2.
Kalamazoo College is a member of the Great Lakes Colleges Association. It is also listed in Loren Pope's Colleges That Change Lives.
History
Kalamazoo College was founded in 1833 by a group of Baptist ministers and was originally dubbed the "Michigan and Huron Institute." The Institute's charter was granted on April 22, 1833, making Kalamazoo College the first school to be chartered by the Legislative Council of the Territory of Michigan. Instruction at the Institute began in the fall of 1836. In 1837, the name of the fledgling college was changed to the "Kalamazoo Literary Institute" and the school underwent its first attempt to secure recognition as a college from the state of Michigan. In 1838, however, the University of Michigan opened the Kalamazoo Branch of the University of Michigan, providing a local competitor to the Literary Institute. In 1840, the two schools merged, and from 1840 to 1850 the College operated as the Kalamazoo Branch of the University of Michigan3. In 1850, the Kalamazoo Literary Institute name was restored and in 1855 the school finally received an educational charter from the State of Michigan, establishing explicit recognition of the school as a college. After receiving its educational charter, the school changed its name to Kalamazoo College.
James Stone, the first president of Kalamazoo College, led the school from 1842 through 1863 and was responsible for instituting the high academic standards that allowed the College to receive its charter. Shortly after becoming president, Stone proposed the addition of a theological seminary to increase the supply of ministers in the region. With the support of the Baptist church, classes at the Kalamazoo Theological Seminary began in 1848 with 11 students. At the same time, the Female Department continued to expand under the watchful eye of Lucinda Hinsdale Stone. In 1845-46, almost half of the 90 students enrolled in Kalamazoo were women.
The Stones also played a role in the creation of the Republican Party. A meeting of disgruntled Michigan Whigs, Democrats, and abolitionists at the Stones' Kalamazoo residence set the date for an anti-slavery convention in Jackson, Michigan, which resulted in the formal birth of the Republican Party.
In 1861, the graduating class of the Seminary includes ex-slave Rufus Lewis Perry, the first known student of African descent to attend. Kalamazoo College also served as a pioneer in coed education, granting its first degree to a woman in 1870.
In 1877, Kalamazoo College students published the first ion of The Index, a student-run newspaper that continues to publish today. In addition to the newspaper, the college also publishes "The Cauldron," an annual literary-arts journal; and "The Passage" -- an annual compilation of students' work from study abroad.
Kalamazoo College's reputation as an academic powerhouse and a leader in international education was built during the presidency of Weimer Hicks, who served from 1954 to 19713. Hicks conceived of the "K Plan" program under which most Kalamazoo students spend at least one term abroad and spend at least one term working in an academic internship. As part of the original "K Plan," Kalamazoo College students had the opportunity to attend school year-round. One typical pattern was:
- First year: Fall: On campus; Winter: On campus; Spring: On campus; Summer: Off
- Sophomore Year: Fall: On campus; Winter: On campus; Spring: Career Development Internship; Summer: On campus
- Junior year: Fall: Study Abroad; Winter: Study Abroad; Spring: On campus; Summer: On campus
- Senior year: Fall: Senior Individualized Project; Winter: On campus; Spring: On campus
Variations to this schedule -- such as spring-term study-abroad programs, full-year study-abroad programs, and winter SIPs -- were also common. However, the college scrapped its summer term in 1996 due to the difficulty of attracting students to a year-round college.
Academics
Kalamazoo College is among the 100 oldest colleges and universities in the United States. It offers 28 majors spread across the fields of Fine Arts, Humanities, Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Physical Education, and Social Sciences. There are 11 unique interdisciplinary majors as well.
Students at Kalamazoo College must fulfill specific degree requirements in order to graduate. During the first term, students must enroll in a First-Year Seminar. Upon graduation, students must demonstrate a proficiency in a second language at an intermediate level and satisfy a quantitative reasoning requirement. There is a physical education requirement as well.
To facilitate a liberal arts education, students must also fulfill general course requirements in four areas of study:
- Literature, Creative Expression, Fine Arts and History (3 units)
- Natural Science, Mathematics, and Computer Science (2 units)
- Philosophy and Religion (2 units)
- Social Science (3 units)
The student-to-faculty ratio is 12:1. Ninety-five percent of Kalamazoo College's faculty have doctorates or terminal degrees in their fields2.
Kalamazoo College opened the new Upjohn Library Commons on January 3, 2006. The new library includes the completely renovated skeleton of the older, and an extension which adds to its volume capacity.
Curriculum
| This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (March 2009) |
Kalamazoo College is an academic leader among national liberal arts colleges and emphasizes the importance of an experiential education. The academic plan -- known as the "K plan" -- consists of a rigorous liberal arts education supplemented by one or more terms abroad and internship opportunities during the summer. All students are required to complete a Senior Individualized Project (SIP), which may take the form of a thesis, an artistic performance, or any other work-intensive project of a student's choosing. Kalamazoo College is also unique in that it requires its students to take comprehensive exams in their major field of study before graduating. Kalamazoo College is the only undergraduate institution in the United States that requires both a senior project and a comprehensive examination.
Service-Learning
| This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references (ideally, using inline citations). Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2009) |
Kalamazoo College initiated the service-learning program in the 1997. In 2001, Trustee Ronda Stryker dedicated to her grandmother the Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Institute for Service Learning. This Institute was created to house several Service-Learning programs in the school. The current director of the Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Institute is Allison Geist. In 2008, Kalamazoo College had twenty-three on-going service-learning programs. There are several courses in the college that incorporate service-learning into their curricula. The programs in service-learning include Community Advocates for Parents and Students, Helping Youth through Personal Empowerment, Academic Mentorship In Giants On-going Success, the Woodward School, and Farms to K.
Study Abroad
US News & World Report America's Best Colleges 2003 ranked Kalamazoo College's study abroad program number one in the country.citation needed Nearly 85% of Kalamazoo College students spend at least one term abroad and the college maintains partnerships with over 50 foreign universities on six continents.citation needed
Academic Distinctions
A recent study by Higher Education Data Sharing lists Kalamazoo College in the top 1 percent of colleges and universities whose graduates go on to earn a Ph.D.citation needed According to this study, Kalamazoo College is ranked number eight among all small colleges and -- when compared with all academic institutions -- it ranks number one in Ph.Ds per capita2. Among all undergraduate institutions, Kalamazoo College was #1 per capita in 2005 for recruitment of Peace Corps volunteers4.
Athletics
| This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references (ideally, using inline citations). Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2009) |
The school's sports teams are called the Hornets. They compete in the NCAA's Division III and the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA). As of 2006-2007, the Hornet tennis squad have won their conference's championship an astounding 69 consecutive years.citation needed Kalamazoo College competes in the following sports:
|
Fall Sports:
|
Winter Sports:
|
Spring Sports :
|
Men's Tennis
The Kalamazoo College men’s tennis team has won 70 consecutive Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association championships (1936 - 2007) with a record of 426-2 in the MIAA from 1935 - 20075. Kalamazoo has won seven NCAA Division III national championships and has made 25 consecutive NCAA III tournament appearances6.
National Runners-up - NCAA Division II:
- 1972 - Men's Tenniscitation needed
National Championships - NCAA Division III:
- 1976 - Men's Tennis
- 1978 - Men's Tennis
- 1986 - Men's Tennis
- 1987 - Men's Tennis
- 1991 - Men's Tennis
- 1992 - Men's Tennis
- 1993 - Men's Tennis
National Runners-up - NCAA Division III:
- 1982 - Men's Tennis
- 1985 - Men's Tennis
- 1997 - Men's Tennis
- 1999 - Men's Tennis
Men's Swimming and Diving
Men's swimming and diving at Kalamazoo College has an impressive history. The team is known for producing individual national champions in the pool and on the boards, and also for maintaining a national presence with regular appearances as a top-10 team at the NCAA Division III national championships. The swimming and diving team is the second most successful athletic program at Kalamazoo College, after the men's tennis team, and it is also one of the top-10 most-successful teams in the MIAA with 25 MIAA championships.
Academic Achievement
- Don Knoechel, NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship 1980
- Curt Crimmins, NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship 1984
- Markus Boos, GTE Academic All-American 2nd Team 2000
- Evan Whitbeck, NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship 2002
- Scott Whitbeck, NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship 2004
Athletic Achievement and Contributions
- Brad Shively, Head Coach of Men's and Women's Swimming & Diving at Washington University in St. Louis.7
- Jeff Gorton, competitor at the 2004 Olympic Trials in 3-meter diving.citation needed
- Mark Fino, Head Coach of Men's and Women's Swimming & Diving at Oberlin College.8
- Scott Whitbeck, assistant swim coach at The College of Wooster (2005-2007), University Massachusetts Amherst and State University of New York at New Paltz.9
- Derek Jansen, Founder of d3swimming.com10
Men's Basketball
Basketball Dispute
In 2001, the Kalamazoo College men's basketball team was at the center of a lengthy dispute regarding the outcome of a January 20 game with league rival Olivet College. With Olivet leading 70-69, Kalamazoo College center Kevin Baird made a shot at the buzzer that was initially waved off by referees. The referees reviewed videotape of the game and determined that Baird had, in fact, released his shot before the buzzer and then awarded Kalamazoo College a 71-70 victory. After the game, Olivet filed a protest with the conference commissioner, claiming that officials had misapplied the way in which videotape may be used. On January 23, the conference upheld the protest and awarded Olivet the victory. Kalamazoo then filed a protest with the NCAA, claiming that Olivet's protest was in violation of NCAA bylaws. On February 1, the NCAA upheld Kalamazoo's counter-protest and again awarded the game to the Hornets. The dispute between Olivet and Kalamazoo received national attention and Baird's shot was shown repeatedly on ESPN11.
Fight Song
The words to the college fight-song, "All Hail to Kazoo," were written by A.G. Walton ('11) with music by D.R. Belcher ('09), arranged by Burton Edward Fischer.
Student Life and Traditions
Student organizations are one of the main sources of entertainment for the student body. They routinely bring in speakers as well as stage performances, dances, and movie showings.citation needed
During the fall quarter, there are two main events: Fall Fest and Homecoming dance. In Fall Fest, student organizations provide activities for the students, such as pumpkin carving and bobbing for apples.citation needed
During the winter quarter, the college holds the annual Monte Carlo night, on which the student body raises money by gambling in a makeshift casino where the professors are the dealers. They play for scrip redeemable for prizes, and the money is changed from year to year to prevent counterfeits.
Day of Gracious Living
Since 1974, the college has upheld a springtime tradition of canceling all classes for an unscheduled “Day of Gracious Living” (DOGL). The day was initially instituted by the administration to give students and faculty a break from the rigors of campus life. Like today's students, many took this opportunity to spend a day at the beaches of Lake Michigan. In the years since, the authority to schedule and announce the DOGL has been transferred to the president of the College Student Commission.
Recycling Program
Kalamazoo College has become a leading institution in the area of recycling and environmental awareness. A crew of student workers operates one of the nation's most successful recycling programs and organizes the school's participation in the annual RecycleMania event, a competition among over 400 colleges and universities across the United States. In 2005, Kalamazoo College came to national prominence with a 3rd-place finish in the Grand Champion category. While annually placing in the top 5 in a variety of categories, in 2008 Kalamazoo College placed 1st in both the Grand Champion and Stephen K Gaski Per Capita Classic competitions12.
Presidents of Kalamazoo College
| This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (March 2009) |
In 2005 Dr. Eileen Wilson-Oyelaran became Kalamazoo College's 17th President and first female president, as well as the first African-American president of the school. She is the 22nd President overall, including interim and acting presidents. Her immediate predecessors are Bernard Palchick, who served as interim president and returned to the administration, and James F. Jones, who departed to become President of Trinity College, in Connecticut.
- James Stone (1843 - 1863)
- John Milton Gregory (1864 - 1867)
- Kendall Brooks (1868 - 1887)
- Monson A. Wilcox (1887 - 1891)
- Theodore Nelson (1891 - 1892)
- Arthur Gaylord Slocum (1892 - 1912)
- Herbert Lee Stetson (1912 - 1922)
- Allan Hoben (1922 - ;1935)
- Charles Trinh Goodsell (1935 - 1936) (interim)
- Stewart Grant Cole (1936 - 1938)
- Paul Lamont Thompson (1938 - 1948)
- Allen B. Stowe (1948 - 1949) (interim)
- John Scott Everton (1949 - 1953)
- Harold T. Smith (1953) (interim)
- Weimer K. Hicks {1953 - 1971)
- George M. Rainsford (1972 - 1983)
- David W. Breneman (1983 - 1989)
- Timothy Light (1989 - 1990) (acting)
- Lawrence D. Bryan (1990 - 1996)
- James F. Jones (1996 - 2004)
- Bernard Palchick (2004 - 2005) (interim)
- Eileen Wilson-Oyelaran (2005 - present)
Notable alumni
| This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references (ideally, using inline citations). Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2009) |
- Selma Blair, actress (graduated from the University of Michigan, but studied at Kalamazoo from 1990 to 1992)
- Garry Brown, politician
- Amy Courter, current National Commander of the Civil Air Patrol
- Holly Hughes, artist
- Gerald Ellis Rosen, United States District Court Judge
- Nagai Kafu, author
- Lisa Kron, Tony-Award-nominated actress and playwright
- Alexander Lipsey, Michigan politician
- Martin A. Larson, religion scholar
- Sean Mann, bioethicist, author, professor
- John E. Sarno, innovator in back-pain therapy
- Bradley A. Smith, Former Chairman, Federal Election Commission
- Mark Spitznagel, hedge fund manager
- Ty Warner, founder, Ty Inc. (Beanie Babies)
- Maynard Owen Williams, National Geographic correspondent
- Julie Mehretu, Artist, winner of MacArthur "Genius" Award
- Mike Vasas, singer/songwriter
- Michael Soenen, Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President of FTD Group, Inc13
- Norman B. VanSile, President of Trannon Corp. notable businessman for spin off various subsidiaries and philanthropic works
- Bruce Benton, manager of the Onchocersias Coordinating Unit 14 15
- Official site
- Kalamazoo College Bookstore
- The Index, student newspaper
- WJMD Radio, student-run radio station
- Kalamazoo College Democrats, student-run liberal/progressive political organization
- Kalamazoo College Republicans, student-run conservative/libertarian political organization
- K-Swimming.net, official website of the Kalamazoo College Mens and Womens Swimming and Diving Team
- Campus Energy Group, student and faculty-run environmental stewardship organization
- Student organizations recognized by Student Commission
Beastie Boys began as a hardcore punk group in 1979, and appeared on the compilation cassette New York Thrash with Riot Fight and Beastie. They switched to hip-hop with the release of their 12" single "Cooky Puss," which was followed by a string of successful 12" singles and their debut album Licensed to Ill (1986), which enjoyed international critical acclaim and commercial success. The group is well-known for its eclecticism, jocular and flippant attitude toward interviews and interviewers, obscure cultural references and kitschy lyrics, and for performing in outlandish matching suits.
They are one of the longest-lived hip-hop acts and continue to enjoy commercial and critical success in 2009, almost 30 years after the release of their debut album. On September 27, 2007, they were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.2 On February 3, 2009, the group released a digitally remastered version of their seminal album Paul's Boutique for its 20th anniversary.3
History
Early days: 1979?1983
Beastie Boys came together in 1979 as a punk band called The Young Aborigines.4 In 1981 Adam Yauch (MCA) joined the group, and from the suggestion of their guitarist John Berry, they changed the band's name to Beastie Boys. The name "Beastie" is sometimes thought originally to have stood for "Boys Entering Anarchistic States Towards Internal Excellence," and that the initials B.B. intended to mimic Washington DC hardcore punk band Bad Brains,5 but these were actually afterthoughts once the band's name was already Beastie Boys, according to Mike D and MCA.6 The band's original line-up consisted of Adam Yauch (MCA) on bass, Kate Schellenbach on drums, John Berry on guitar, and Michael Diamond (Mike D) on vocals. Their first gig was at Berry's house on Yauch's 17th birthday. The band quickly earned support slots for Bad Brains, the Dead Kennedys7, the Misfits8 and Reagan Youth at venues such as CBGB and Max's Kansas City, playing at the latter venue on its closing night. That same year, the Beastie Boys recorded the 7" EP Pollywog Stew at 171A studios, an early recorded example of New York hardcore.
John Berry left the group (later forming Thwig, Big Fat Love, and the San Francisco booze rock band Bourbon Deluxe) and was replaced by Adam Horovitz (Ad-rock)―who had previously played in the punk band, The Young and the Useless in 1983. The band also performed its first rap track, "Cooky Puss," based on a prank call by the group to Carvel Ice Cream. It became a hit in New York underground dance clubs upon its release.
Licensed to Ill: 1984?1987
It was during this period that Def Jam record producer Rick Rubin signed on and the Beastie Boys changed from a punk rock outfit to a three-man rap crew. The band released the 12" EP, Rock Hard, in 1984―the second record released by Def Jam that cred Rubin as producer. Soon after Rubin's arrival, Schellenbach developed creative differences with the band, citing her friction with Rubin. It was believed that Rubin objected to Schellenbach's place in the band as she did not fit the hip hop image to which the band aspired. Schellenbach went on to join Luscious Jackson in 1991.
In 1985, the band opened for John Lydon's post-Sex Pistols band Public Image Ltd. 9, as well as supporting Madonna on her North American Virgin tour. Later in the year, the group was on the Raising Hell tour with Run DMC, Whodini, LL Cool J, and the Timex Social Club. With their exposure on this tour, the track "Hold It Now, Hit It" made Billboard's national R&B and Dance charts. The track "She's on It" from the Krush Groove soundtrack continued in a rap/metal vein while a double A-side 12," "Paul Revere/The New Style," was released at the end of the year.
The band recorded Licensed to Ill in 1986 and released the album at the end of the year. It was a smash success, and was favorably reviewed by Rolling Stone magazine with the now-famous headline, "Three Idiots Create a Masterpiece." Licensed to Ill became the best selling rap album of the 1980s and the first rap album to go #1 on the Billboard album chart, where it stayed for five weeks. It also reached #2 on the Urban album charts. It was Def Jam's' fastest selling debut record to date and sold over five million copies. The first single from the album, "Fight for Your Right," ( sample (help・info)) reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the video (directed by Ric Menello) became an MTV staple.
The band took the Licensed to Ill tour around the world the following year. It was a tour clouded in controversy featuring female members of the crowd dancing in cages and a giant motorizedinflatablepenis similar to one used by The Rolling Stones in the 1970s. The tour was troubled by lawsuits and arrests, with the band accused of provoking the crowd. This culminated in their notorious gig at the Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool, England on May 30, 1987 that erupted into a riot approximately 10 minutes after the Beasties hit the stage and the arrest of Adam Horovitz by Merseyside Police on assault charges.
After the success of Licensed to Ill, the Beasties parted ways with Def Jam and ended their relationship with Rick Rubin to sign with Capitol Records.
A bootleg album entitled "Original Ill" features original demos of all the tracks from the final version of Licensed to Ill plus deleted tracks "I'm Down" (A Beatles Song) and "The Scenario" was released in 1998.
Paul's Boutique / Check Your Head: 1988?1992
The group matured with their second album, Paul's Boutique, produced by the Dust Brothers and Matt Dike. Recorded in 1988, this extremely sample-heavy opus is still consideredcitation needed one of the strongest works by the Beasties, and Rolling Stone ranked it #156 on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time 10. It is also considered a landmark in hip hop recordings due to its intricate use of multi-layering11 and large array of samples. The album was released in 1989 by Capitol Records, after the falling out between the Boys and Def Jam. It failed to match the sales of Licensed to Ill, reaching #14 on the Billboard 200 and #10 on the Billboard R&B charts. The lead single, "Hey Ladies", reached #36 on the Billboard 100 and #10 on the R&B charts. Rolling Stone would describe the album as "the Pet Sounds/The Dark Side of the Moon of hip hop." Paul's Boutique would eventually sell a million albums, despite the initially weak commercial reception. The band digitally remastered and released the album through their own website.
The follow-up album, Check Your Head, was recorded in the band's own "G-Son" studio in Atwater Village, California and released on its Grand Royal record label. The band was influenced to play instruments on this album by Dutch group Urban Dance Squad; with Mike D on drums, Yauch on bass, Horovitz on guitar and Mark Ramos Nishita ("Keyboard Money Mark") on keyboards. Mario Caldato Jr. ("Mario C") engineered the record and would become a longtime collaborator. Check Your Head was released in 1992 and went double platinum in the U.S., reaching a peak of #10 on the Billboard 200. The single "So What'cha Want" reached #93 on the Billboard 100 and made both the urban and modern rock charts while the album's first single "Pass the Mic" became a hit in dance clubs. The album also introduced a more experimental direction, with funk and jazz inspired songs including "Lighten Up" and "Something's Got To Give." Hardcore punk even made its reappearance with "Time For Livin'."
Beastie Boys signed an eclectic roster of artists to the Grand Royal label including Luscious Jackson, Sean Lennon and promising Australian artist Ben Lee. Beastie Boys owned Grand Royal Records until 2001 when it was then sold for financial reasons. Grand Royal's first independent release was Luscious Jackson's album In Search of Manny in 1993. The Beastie Boys also published Grand Royal Magazine, with the first ion in 1993 featuring a cover story on Bruce Lee, artwork by George Clinton, and interviews with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and A Tribe Called Quest MC Q-Tip. The 1995 issue of the magazine contained a memorable piece on the "mullet." The Oxford English Dictionary cites this as the first published use of the term, along with the lyrics from the Beasties' 1994 song "Mullet Head." The OED says that the term was "apparently coined, and certainly popularized, by U.S. hip-hop group the Beastie Boys."12 Grand Royal Magazine is also responsible for giving British band Sneaker Pimps their name.
Ill Communication: 1993?1996
Ill Communication, released in 1994, saw the Beastie Boys' return to the top of the charts when the album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 & peaked at #2 on the R&B/ hip hop album chart. The single "Sabotage" ( sample (help・info)) became a hit on the modern rock charts and the music video, directed by Spike Jonze, received extensive play on MTV. "Get It Together" reached Top 10 of the Billboard dance charts and also became an urban hit while "Sure Shot" was a dance hit. Some Old Bullshit, featuring the band's early independent material, made #50 on the Billboard independent charts.
Beastie Boys headlined at Lollapalooza―an American travelling music festival―in 1994, together with The Smashing Pumpkins. In addition, the band performed three concerts (in Los Angeles, New York City, and Washington D.C.) to raise money for the Milarepa Fund and dedicated the royalties from "Shambala" and "Bodhisattva Vow" from the Ill Communication album to the cause. The Milarepa Fund aims to raise awareness of Tibetan human rights issues and the exile of the Dalai Lama. In 1996, Yauch organized the Tibetan Freedom Concert, a two-day festival at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco that attracted 100,000 people.
In 1995, the popularity of Beastie Boys was underlined when tickets for an arena tour went on sale in the U.S. and sold out within a few minutes. One dollar from each ticket sold went to local charities. The Beastie Boys toured South America and Southeast Asia for the first time. The band also released Aglio e Olio, a collection of eight songs lasting for just eleven minutes harking back to their punk roots, in 1995. The In Sound From Way Out!, a collection of previously released jazz/funk instrumentals, was released on Grand Royal in 1996 with the title and artwork a homage to an album by electronic pop music pioneers Perrey and Kingsley.
Hello Nasty: 1998?2001
| This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources (ideally, using inline citations). Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2007) |
Beastie Boys returned to New York City in 1997 to produce and record the album Hello Nasty. The album displayed a substantial shift in musical feel, with the addition of Mix Master Mike, who added to the Beasties' sound with his kinetic DJ style. Released July 14, 1998, Hello Nasty earned first week sales of 698,527 in the U.S. and went straight to #1 in the U.S., the UK, Germany, Australia, The Netherlands, New Zealand, and Sweden. The album achieved #2 rank in the charts in Canada and Japan, and reached Top Ten chart positions in Austria, Switzerland, Ireland, Belgium, Finland, France and Israel.
During 1998, rumors, seemingly generated by comments from the band, pointed to a possibility that they were to release a country album. Both Michael Diamond and Adam Yauch are cred with interview comments that piqued interest in whether or not an album would be released. Since they had long been notorious for pranking the media, it was difficult for anyone to take these comments seriously until tracks became available, most notably on The Sounds of Science anthology album. Adam Yauch published the following in the liner notes: "At some point after Ill Communication came out, Mike got hit in the head by a large foreign object and lost all of his memory. As it started coming back he believed he was a country singer named Country Mike. The psychologists told us that if we didn't play along with Mike's fantasy, he would be in grave danger. Finally he came back to his senses. These songs are just a few of many we made during that tragic period of time." How much is fact or fiction is difficult to determine, but when the album surfaced on eBay fans scrambled to get their hands on what had proven to be a rare album.
Beastie Boys won two Grammy Awards in 1999, receiving the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album for Hello Nasty as well as the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance "Intergalactic" This was the first and, as of 2008, only time that a band had won awards in both rap and alternative categories.
Also at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards they won the highly coveted Video Vanguard Award for their contribution to music videos. The following year at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards they also won the award for Best Hip Hop Video for their hit song "Intergalactic." Beastie Boys used both appearances at the Video Music Awards to make politically-charged speeches of considerable length to the sizable MTV audiences. At the 1998 ceremony, Yauch addressed the issue of Muslim people being stereotyped as terrorists and that most people of the Muslim faith are not terrorists13. These comments were made in the wake of the U.S. Embassy bombings that had occurred in both Kenya and Tanzania only a month earlier. At the 1999 ceremony in the wake of the horror stories that were coming out of Woodstock 99, Adam Horovitz addressed the need for bands and festivals to pay much more attention to the security detail at their concerts.
Beastie Boys started an arena tour in 1998. Through Ian C. Rogers, the band made live downloads of their performances available for their fans but were temporarily thwarted when Capitol Records removed them from its website. The Beastie Boys was one of the first bands who made mp3 downloads available on their website; they got a high level of response and public awareness as a result including a published article in The Wall Street Journal on the band's efforts.
The 1999 Tibetan Freedom Concerts featured shows in East Troy, Wisconsin, Sydney, Tokyo, and Amsterdam. On September 28, 1999, Beastie Boys joined Elvis Costello to play "Radio Radio" on the 25th anniversary of Saturday Night Live.
Beastie Boys released The Sounds of Science, a two-CD anthology of their works in 1999. This album reached #19 on the Billboard 200, #18 in Canada, #6 on the Internet sales charts, and #14 on the R&B/Hip Hop charts. The one new song, the single "Alive", reached #11 on the Billboard's Modern Rock chart.
In the years following the release of Hello Nasty the group launched their official website which underwent several transformations eventually culminating in one of the most popular recording artist related websites on the internet.
In 2000, Beastie Boys had planned to co-headline the "Rhyme and Reason Tour" with Rage Against the Machine and Busta Rhymes, but the tour was canceled when drummer Mike D suffered a serious injury due to a bicycle accident. The official diagnosis was fifth-degree acromioclavicular joint dislocation; he needed surgery and extensive rehabilitation. By the time he recovered, Rage Against the Machine had disbanded.
Under the name "Country Mike," Mike D recorded an album, Country Mike's Greatest Hits, and gave it to friends and family for Christmas in 2000. Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz's side project BS 2000 released Simply Mortified in 2001.
To the 5 Boroughs: 2002?2006
The band increased its level of political activism after the September 11th terrorist attacks in 2001, organizing and headlining the New Yorkers Against Violence Concert in October 2001. Funds from the concert went towards the New York Women's Foundation Disaster Relief Fund and the New York Association for New Americans (NYANA).
In 2002, Beastie Boys started building a new studio facility, Oscilloscope, in downtown Manhattan, New York and started work on a new album. The band released a protest song, "In A World Gone Mad", against the 2003 Iraq war as a free download on several websites, including the Milarepa website, the MTV website, MoveOn.org, and Win Without War. It became the most downloaded track during April 2003. The 19th and 20th Tibetan Freedom Concerts were held in Tokyo and Taipei, Beastie Boys' first Taiwan appearance. Beastie Boys also headlined the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
Their single, "Ch-Check It Out," debuted on The O.C. in "The Vegas" episode from Season 1 which aired April 28, 2004.
To the 5 Boroughs was released worldwide on June 15, 2004. It was the first album the Beastie Boys produced themselves and reached #1 on the Billboard album charts, #2 in the UK and Australia, and #3 in Germany. The first single from the album, "Ch-Check It Out", reached #1 in Canada and the US Modern Rock Tracks, #2 on the world internet download charts, and #3 on a composite world modern rock chart.
The album was the cause of some controversy with allegations that it installed spyware when inserted into the CD drive of a computer.14 The band has denied this allegation, defending that there is no copy protection software on the albums sold in the U.S. and UK. While there is Macrovision CDS-200 copy protection software installed on European copies of the album, this is standard practice for all European releases on EMI/Capitol Records released in Europe, and it does not install spyware or any form of permanent software.
The band stated in mid-2006 that they were writing material for their next album and would be producing it themselves.1516
The Mix-Up: 2007?2008
Speaking to British music weekly NME (April 26, 2007),17 Diamond revealed that a new album was to be called The Mix-Up. Despite initial confusion regarding whether the album would have lyrics as opposed to being purely instrumental, the Mic-To-Mic blog reported that Capitol Records had confirmed it would be strictly instrumental and erroneously reported a release date scheduled for July 10, 200718 (The album was eventually released June 26, as originally reported). On May 1, 2007, this was further cemented by an e-mail19 sent to those on the Beastie Boys' mailing list - explicitly stating that the album would be all instrumental:
| “ | "OK, here's our blurb about our new album -- it spits hot fire! -- hot shit! it's official... it's named The Mix-Up. g'wan. all instrumental record. "see i knew they were gonna do that!" that's a quote from you. check the track listing and cover below. you love us. don't you?" | ” |
The band subsequently confirmed this in public, playing several tracks from the album at the 2007 Virgin Festival at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland.
To support the release, a string of live dates was announced20 that focused on festivals as opposed to a traditional tour, including the likes of Sónar21 (Spain), Roskilde (Denmark), Hurricane22/Southside23 (Germany), Bestival24 (Isle Of Wight), Electric Picnic25 (Ireland) and Open'er Festival26 (Poland). Beastie Boys performed at the UK leg of Live Earth July 7, 2007 at Wembley Stadium, London with Sabotage, So What'cha Want, Intergalactic, and Sure Shot.27
They worked with Reverb, a non-profit environmental organization, on their 2007 summer tour.28
Beastie Boys were featured on the cover of Beyond Race magazine for the publication's summer 2007 issue.
They won a Grammy for The Mix-Up in the "Best Pop Instrumental Album" category at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards in 2008.
Tadlock's Glasses: 2009present
Bassist Adam "MCA" Yauch has revealed their forthcoming new album has taken the rap collective in a "bizarre" new direction.29
| “ | It's a combination of playing and sampling stuff as we're playing, and also sampling pretty obscure records. | ” |
They have tentatively named the record Tadlock's Glasses, after a former tour bus driver, who was once presented with a pair of glasses by Elvis Presley.
The band are set to tour in the summer.
Speaking to BBC Five Live at the Independent Spirit Awards in Los Angeles, Yauch said the collective are currently putting the finishing touches to their new album.
| “ | We're tweaking some mixes and we're going to master it in the next couple of weeks. | ” |
The record comes nearly two years after their Grammy Award-winning instrumental LP The Mix-Up.
| “ | There are a lot of songs on the record and there are a lot of short songs and they kind of all run into each other. | ” |
Of the title he explained: "We had a bus driver years ago who used to drive Elvis' back up singers. His name was Tadlock and Elvis gave him a pair of glasses which he was very proud of. So for some reason that title - Tadlock's Glasses - has just been bouncing around."
No firm release date has been set for the record. The group will tour the UK later this year in support of the new record.29
Influence
Their fusion of hip hop and punk rock genres could be seen as a precursor to the rapcore and nu metal genres of the late 1990s which included bands such as Limp Bizkit, Korn & Rage Against the Machine. However, in their 1999 single Alive (taken from The Sounds of Science) Ad Rock distances the group from this genre through the line; "Created a monster with these rhymes I write, goatee metal rap please say goodnight."
The band, along with co-producers The Dust Brothers were leaders in the use of sampling techniques, with Paul's Boutique being notable for its effective use of samples. The Dust Brothers in turn sampled So What'cha Want on the song E-Pro from Beck's 2005 Guero album.
Furthermore, although rarely cred, Beastie Boys were one of the first groups to identify themselves as "gangsters", and one of the first popular rap groups to talk about violence, drug and alcohol use, possibly an influence from their time as a hardcore punk group. According to "Rolling Stone" magazine,citation needed their 1986 album Licensed to Ill is filled with enough references to guns, drugs, and empty sex (including the pornographic deployment of a Wiffle-ball bat in "Paul Revere") to qualify as a gangsta-rap cornerstone." In their early underground days, the seminal gangsta rap group N.W.A rapped over Beastie Boys tracks for songs such as "My Posse" and "Ill-Legal," and Beastie Boys' influence can be seen significantly in all of N.W.A's early albums. Their 1989 album Paul's Boutique included the similarly-themed tracks "Car Thief," "Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun" and "High Plains Drifter."
Beastie Boys have had four albums reach the top of the Billboard album charts (Licensed to Ill, Ill Communication, Hello Nasty and To The 5 Boroughs) since 1986. In the November 2004 issue, Rolling Stone Magazine named "Sabotage" the 475th song on their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list.30 In their April 2005 Rolling Stone Magazine ranked them #77 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.31 On September 27, 2007, it was announced that Beastie Boys were one of the nine nominees for the 2008 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductions.32
A controversial concert in Columbus, Georgia in 1987 led to the passage of a lewdness ordinance in that city.33
Sal Governale, a comedian on the staff of the Howard Stern Show, indicated on air on July 25, 2007, that he was the president of the Beastie Boys fan club in the 1980s on the Prodigy computer network.34
Sampling lawsuit
In 2003, Beastie Boys were involved in the landmark sampling decision, Newton v. Diamond. In that case, a federal judge ruled that the band was not liable for sampling James Newton's "Choir" in their track, "Pass the Mic." The sample used is the six-second flute stab. In short, the Beasties cleared the sample but only obtained the rights to use the sound recording and not the composition rights to the song "Choir." In the decision, the judge found that "when viewed in relation to Newton's composition as a whole, the sampled portion is neither quantitatively nor qualitatively significant... Because Beastie Boys' use of the sound recording was authorized, the sole basis of Newton's infringement action is his remaining copyright interest in the 'Choir' composition. We hold today that Beastie Boys' use of a brief segment of that composition, consisting of three notes separated by a half-step over a background C note, is not sufficient to sustain a claim for copyright infringement."35
Members
Regular members (as of 2005)
- Michael Diamond, a.k.a. Mike D - vocals, drums
- Adam Yauch, a.k.a. MCA - vocals, bass guitar
- Adam Horovitz, a.k.a. Ad-Rock - vocals, guitar
- Michael Schwartz, a.k.a. Mix Master Mike - turntables, samples
Other contributing members
- Wendell Fite, aka DJ Hurricane (DJ)
- Mario Caldato Junior, aka Mario C (producer/engineer)
- Mark Ramos-Nishita, aka Money Mark (keyboards, vocals, carpentry)
- Eric Bobo (percussion)
- John King and Mike Simpson (DJ EZ-Mike) a.k.a. The Dust Brothers (producers)
- Pat Keane a.k.a BIG red
- Rick Rubin (producer and original DJ)
- Amery Smith, a.k.a. AWOL (drums)
- Alfredo Ortiz (percussion)
- Doctor Dré (DJ in early years) (not to be confused with the Los Angeles rapper and producer Dr. Dre)
- Marcell Hall, a.k.a. Biz Markie, (vocals, 1992?1999)
Discography
- Albums
- Licensed to Ill (1986)
- Paul's Boutique (1989)
- Check Your Head (1992)
- Ill Communication (1994)
- Hello Nasty (1998)
- To the 5 Boroughs (2004)
- The Mix-Up (2007)
- Tadlock's Glasses (Unreleased)
Jund al-Sham
Lebanese Armed Forces
Tripoli
Nahr al-Bared
Ain al-Hilweh
Bikfaya bombings
Timeline
May 20: Start of the fighting in Tripoli and Nahr al-Bared
Fighting began early on Sunday after a police raid on a house in Tripoli which was apparently being used by militants from Fatah al-Islam. The militant group subsequently began shooting at the Lebanese security forces who returned fire, triggering clashes in the vicinity of the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli. The men reportedly resisted arrest and the violence spread to neighbouring streets. The police and the army had conducted the raid after allegations that Fatah al-Islam members tried to rob a bank on Sunday and "take control of several security strongholds in the North" according to Ahmad Fatfat, Lebanese Minister of Youth and Sports in Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's cabinet.1 Militants then attacked a Lebanese military post at the gate of the camp, seizing several vehicles. The Lebanese military sent reinforcements, including tanks, which returned fire at Fatah al-Islam positions. At least 27 Lebanese soldiers were killed in the fighting, along with an undetermined number of civilians and militants.
May 21: Nahr al-Bared under siege
Fighting renewed after a short-lived truce earlier in the day was declared in order to transport the dead and injured out of the camp in ambulances. According to the Lebanese news channel NewTV, allegations arose that Fatah al-Islam militiamen shot at ambulances entering and exiting the camp. The Lebanese Army began shelling Nahr al-Bared at what it believed were Fatah al-Islam positions; many civilians were killed.23
May 22: The fighting continues at Nahr al-Bared, ceasefire
Despite talks of a cease-fire, Fatah al-Islam militants continued battling the Lebanese army at the outskirts of the refugee camp for a third day. Fighting resumed when Lebanese tanks and artillery began shelling the members of the radical Fatah al-Islam group taking refuge in the camp. By mid-morning the battle intensified with heavy exchanges of small arms and machine-gun fire.4 Conditions inside the overcrowded Nahr al-Bared camp became increasingly unbearable as the army continued pounding militant positions there. Doctors in the camp have pleaded for a ceasefire because of the dead and wounded lying on the streets. Electricity has been cut and there is a limited supply of water. Brig. Gen. Bilal Aslam said that "the Lebanese Army prevented supplies and aid from entering the camp." He also claimed militant fighters were stationed on the outskirts of the camp, but not in it.5
The militant group said it would end confrontations with the Lebanese army starting 14.30 local time.6 A fragile truce let 10 people flee Nahr al-Bared.7 In Tripoli, one Fatah al-Islam militant blew himself up, after being surrounded by Lebanese soldiers in the same house that security forces had raided on May 21, 2007.8
May 23: Thousands flee Nahr al-Bared
During a nighttime truce announced Tuesday, about 2,000 inhabitants of the Nahr al-Bared camp had been able to flee. Some refugees left on foot while others were in cars and vans. The Red Crescent helped the refugees relocate to the nearby Beddawi camp, where they spent the night at schools. Other refugees left for the nearby city of Tripoli. Reports suggest that snipers fired at the fleeing crowd of refugees as they left their homes.5 The truce seemed to have ended when a UN aid convoy was attacked later that night.910 "The humanitarian situation is very, very bad," said a spokeswoman for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, "and deteriorating every minute. Inside the camp, there are no hospitals and only one health center," which was unable to stay open during the fighting.
May 24: Sporadic fighting resumes at the camp
The Lebanese Prime Minister, Fouad Siniora, vowed to "uproot" terrorism from his country in his address to the nation, blaming the Fatah al-Islam militants for using the Palestinian refugees as hostages in their goal of destabilizing Lebanon. The Prime Minister said that the government would not "surrender to terrorism" and would work to eradicate it. Siniora also stressed that the target of military operations are the militants and not the Palestinian refugees in the camp.11 Following the speech, renewed fighting erupted between the militants and the Lebanese army at the entrance of the Nahr al-Bared camp. The Lebanese military shot and sank twoinflatable boatscarrying militants from the camp. But, the BBC reported that Thursday's gunfire exchanges were sporadic and that there was no sign of the heavy shelling seen before. But government threats of harsh action against the militants has raised fears that the Lebanese army could begin an all-out assault on the camp at any time, raising further concerns for the humanitarian situation of those civilians still inside. 12
May 25-26: Military aid shipments to Lebanon
Five military transport planes carrying military aid for the Lebanese army from the United States and its Arab allies arrived at Beirut airport. One plane was from the U.S. Air Force, two from the United Arab Emirates Air Force and two from the Royal Jordanian Air Force. 13 The planes, which came mainly from US bases in the region, arrived following an appeal for such aid by the Lebanese government. On Saturday May 26, two additional U.S. transport planes also carrying military aid landed in Beirut. 14 The military supplies are believed to include ammunition for automatic rifles and heavy weapons, spare parts for military helicopters and night-vision equipment. American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reaffirmed Washington's support for the Siniora government and added that Fatah al-Islam was trying to destabilise the democratically elected Lebanese government. But, Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said he doubted the sudden rise in US sincerity in Lebanese internal affairs. 15 Sporadic exchanges of gunfire were also reported between Lebanese troops and Fatah al-Islam fighters as the army continued to build up its presence around the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp. According to the BBC, the militants still holed up inside the camp were determined not to surrender. Aid workers struggled to deliver food and medicine to the thousands of Palestinian refugees who had not left the area.
May 26 was a largely peaceful day.
May 27-28: Fighting erupts, negotiations continue
Lebanese army posts were shelled and gunfire was heard late on May 27, despite a cease-fire deal at Nahr al-Bared. The head of Fatah al-Islam, the militant Palestinian group, said his men would not surrender. The latest spat of violence came as negotiations were reportedly taking place with the Islamists. The conflict had entered its first week and left dozens dead, including many civilians. A UN staffer declared that about 25,000 had fled the camp by now but thousands still remain. The Lebanese army was helped by new reinforcements being sent up. Lebanese government officials have told AFP that they had given Palestinian factions until the middle of the week to negotiate a peaceful solution to end the fighting. According to the BBC, Fatah al-Islam leaders now seem to have endorsed the same rhetoric as al-Qaeda. The group previously stated that it was defending Muslims and Palestinians in Lebanon but rival factions have distanced themselves from the group. 16
May 29-31: Fighting and charges
Sporadic fighting erupted on May 29 between the Lebanese army and militants, with no sign of progress in efforts to mediate an end to the 10-day standoff. One Lebanese soldier was killed in the clashes. 17 On May 30, Lebanon charged 20 members of Fatah al-Islam with terrorism. Judiciary sources said Wednesday's charges against the 19 Lebanese and one Syrian, all in custody, carried the death penalty. 18 May 31 was largely peaceful.
June 1: Heavy fighting
Heavy fighting has resumed on the morning of June 1 between the Lebanese army and Islamic militants entrenched in Nahr el-Bared. Artillery shelling and machine-gun fire have been heard as tanks massed outside the Nahr al-Bared camp in what may be the start of a final ground offensive. The fighting was reported to be concentrated by the southern and northern entrances of the camp. 19 At least 19 people were killed, including three army soldiers. 20
June 2: The offensive continues
On Saturday morning the Lebanese Army resumed the attack on the terrorists in the camp, using artillery shelling and an attack helicopter for the first time since the beginning of the fights.21 Fatah al-Islam confirms that one of its senior leaders, Abu Riyadh, had been killed by a Lebanese army sniper.22
June 3-4: Ain al-Hilweh violence
Fighting broke out between soldiers and Islamist militants at a second Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. The violence in the Ain al-Hilweh camp, near the southern city of Sidon, was said to involve Jund al-Sham militants. Two people - a soldier and a civilian - were injured when suspected militants fired a grenade at an army checkpoint. Army troops responded to the rocket propelled grenade attack with gunfire. 23 In subsequent fighting, two soldiers and two militants were killed 24
June 5: Lebanese troops continue to pound refugee camp
While the Lebanese army intensified its offensive on the refugee camp in Nahr al-Bared, seven Fatah al-Islam members surrendered to mainstream Fatah Palestinian faction. Fatah is the first Palestinian faction present in the numerous refugee camps in Lebanon to take action against the allegedly al-Qaeda linked group since the fighting began.25 Khaled Aref, a representative of the mainstream Fatah group in the Ein al-Hilweh camp, said Palestinian factions there had decided to "isolate Jund al-Sham and not give way to any attempt to import any of what's happening in Nahr al-Bared." 26
June 6-7: Calm days
Only sporadic gunfire and some mortar rounds and artillery shells were heard these days. A Lebanese soldier was killed by Islamic sniper fire in the Nahr el-Bared refugee camp. 27
June 8: Heavy fighting erupts once again
After mediators failed to convince the Islamists to surrender, the Lebanese army attacked Nahr el-Bared once again. Witnesses inside the camp said over the weeks, the army has conquered more and more positions from Fatah al-Islam inside the camp. Fatah al-Islam has threatened to spread fighting to other parts of the country.28
June 9-10: Heavy casualties for the army
As Lebanese troops attacks the Islamists inside, they meet stiff resistance from Islamic militiamen from their positions. 9 soldiers died on Saturday alone. Casualties on the Fatah al Islam side remain unknown. The army said they were on the winning hand, but the Islamists said they are holding their ground. A spokesman for FaI said they had seized Lebanese Army weapons in an attack12 3 A huge rally with tens of thousands of demonstrators was walked in Tripoli to thank and support the Lebanese Army.
June 11: Red Cross incident
Two Lebanese Red Cross workers have been killed outside Nahr al-Bared. The pair were evacuating civilians when they were hit by either machine gun or shell fire. A Palestinian cleric, who had been trying to broker a truce, was wounded in the leg in a separate incident. 29
June 12: The Lebanese Army advances
Troops continued the advance coming up to 80 meters from the main Fatah al-Islam stronghold in the center of the camp. Heavy shelling continued especially at the northern entrance of the Nahr al-Bared camp, while fires raged and smoke billowed from the camp's cinderblock buildings. The militants retaliated by firing rockets at army posts on a nearby hill. The army managed to take control of a key position of Fatah al-Islam on the camp's coastal side.30
June 13-14: Relative calm
Two days of relative calm followed heavy fighting.
June 15: Explosion in the camp
Six Lebanese soldiers have been killed by an explosion in a building booby trapped by Fatah al-Islam fighters at the refugee camp. Security sources said four more soldiers were wounded by the blast, which destroyed the building at the Nahr al-Bared camp. 31
June 18: Shelling resumed
The Lebanese army resumed shelling a besieged Palestinian refugee camp, a day after it said important militant positions were destroyed. Troops targeted suspected hideouts of the Fatah al-Islam group, as fighting entered a fifth week in Nahr al-Bared. 32
Three soldiers were killed and seven wounded in the latest battles, security sources said. 33
June 19: Northern part of the camp taken
On June 19, the Army finally managed to take all of the main positions of the Islamists. All of the buildings in the new (northern) part of the camp where the Fatah al-Islam fighters were dug in had been taken. After that the fighting had stopped in this area. Another seven soldiers were killed during this new round of fighting. Now the army offensive will be pushing the remaining militants back into the south of the camp.citation needed
June 21-22: The camp falls
On June 21, the Lebanese defence minister reported that all of the Fatah al-Islam positions on the outlaying areas of the camp, from which the militants were attacking soldiers, have been taken or destroyed. The only positions left are those in the center of the camp from where the militants pose no threat and thus the Army has no intention of attacking the center of the camp. With this it was declared that the Lebanese military operation to destroy Fatah al-Islam was over. But heavy fighting still continued until late in the afternoon on June 22.
June 23
Lebanese troops shelled the camp after fighters shot dead a soldier and wounded three others. Security sources said Fatah al-Islam snipers hit the four soldiers at Nahr al-Bared camp. The death was the first military fatality since the Lebanese army declared an end to major combat. 34
Three Lebanese soldiers have been killed after a booby-trap set by Fatah al-Islam fighters exploded, according to an army spokesman. 35
June 24: Clashes in Tripoli, attack on UNIFIL
At least 10 people have been killed in fighting between Lebanese troops and suspected Islamic militants in the northern city of Tripoli. Two civilians, one soldier, a policeman and at least six Islamist gunmen are said to have been killed in the fight.
It came after the army raided an apartment of a suspected militant in the Abu Samra district. 36
Three Spanish and three Colombian peacekeepers have been killed in a blast in south Lebanon, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) confirmed. Jose Antonio Alonso, the Spanish defence minister, said those killed were from the Spanish army and that officials were treating the blast as "a terrorist attack". A police source said a car bomb, "most likely" driven by a suicide bomber, caused the blast which hit two Unifil vehicles near the southern town of Khiam, bordering Israel. 37
June 25: Continued advancements
Heavy fighting continued between the Lebanese army and Fatah al-Islam. Reports from army sources stated that 3 army soldiers and 15 militants were killed. About 40 bodies of killed militants were cleared from the camp and 40 Fatah al-Islam militants were arrested. In a report by Lebanon's Defense Minister Elias Murr to al Arabiyeh TV recounted that the attack on UNIFIL was not a suicide bomb but it was a remotely activated car bomb.38
June 28: Fighting in the mountains
On June 28, the military found and engaged a group of Fatah al-Islam militants, in a cave in the mountains south of Tripoli, in fighting that killed 5 Islamists. 39
July 4:
Three Islamist militants were killed as the Lebanese army repulsed an attack inside a Palestinian camp in northern Lebanon, security sources said. Fatah al-Islam militants according to the army have lost all their positions and for this reason they are now trying to infiltrate into the army positions.
Renewed exchanges of gunfire between the army and Fatah al-Islam fighters around Nahr al-Bared refugee camp were reported, amid bursts of shells fired by the military. 40
July 12: Army attacks again
The Lebanese army launched a massive barrage of bombs in what appeared to be the start of a final showdown with the Fatah al-Islam militants, in the Nahr al-Bared camp. "Today's bombardment is a first step in the final battle against the terrorist group whose fighters have refused to surrender to the army," an army officer at the scene said. But the military command denied reports that the shelling was part of a final assault on Fatah al-Islam terrorists. The heavy artillery barrage, which started at dawn, came hours after some 200 residents were evacuated from Nahr al-Bared.
Witnesses said the army was bombarding the camp from all sides, often at a rate of 7 to 10 artillery shells per minute. Black smoke billowed from the camp's bombed-out, smoldering buildings, most of which have been reduced to rubble.
Four Lebanese soldiers were killed and nine wounded. 41
July 14: Katyusha attacks
In an unexpected escalation in fighting at Nahr al-Bared refugee camp, Fatah al-Islam militants fired on at least 15 107mm Katyusha rockets at towns surrounding the camp. A Lebanese Army statement said random rockets fired from inside the camp left one civilian dead and several others wounded.
Clashes on July 14 centered around the Safouri and Saasaa neighborhoods inside the camp. The army surrounded a group of militants in a shelter in Safouri, cutting them off, as soldiers continued to advance on all fronts, supported by artillery which pounded militants in the southwestern sector of the camp.
The army statement said soldiers have taken control of several buildings inside the camp that had been used by Fatah al-Islam snipers. Army engineers are working to clear the buildings of mines and booby-traps, and clear blocked roads in the camp, the statement said. The army source said booby-traps have slowed progress: "They have booby trapped everything, dynamite is everywhere." The army confirmed that two Lebanese Army soldiers had died. 42
July 15: Katyusha attacks
Security officials said at least five Katyusha rockets landed in farm fields in the northern Akkar region, a few miles north of the Nahr el-Bared camp. 43
Unknown gunmen shot dead Dharrar Rifai at Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp in south Lebanon. Rifai was a member of the now defunct Jund al-Sham group. 44
August 1: 3 killed on Lebanese Army anniversary
Fatah al-Islam fighters have killed three Lebanese soldiers during continuing clashes at a Palestinian refugee camp as the Lebanese army celebrates its 62nd anniversary. 4
August 2: killing of Abu Hureira
On August 2, Abu Hureira, the deputy commander of Fatah al-Islam, was killed in Abu Samra during a shootout with Lebanese police when he tried to flee them whilst shooting at a checkpoint set up by the police.45
August 21: truce
Fatah al-Islam fighters asked for a ceasefire to allow their families and remaining civilians to be evacuated. Military officials said that they would stop firing artillery shells into Nahr al-Bared in order to allow people to leave but it would not agree to a formal truce. 46
September 2: camp taken
Lebanese troops took control of the Palestinian refugee camp, killing at least 31 fighters who tried to flee 47
September 7: victory declared
The Lebanese Army officially declares victory in Naher al-Bared.
