THESE BOYS GET BEASTY

A monthly survey of what I’d buy if I had only $25 to spend on records. Discounts are widely available, but the assumption here is that an album costs $8, an EP $6, a 12-inch single $4 and a seven-inch single $2.

December albums:

Beastie Boys’ “Licensed to Ill” (Def Jam). This is the teen outrage record of the year--maybe even of the ‘80s. It’s an assault that mixes every contemporary musical style that parents love to hate: rap, punk and heavy metal.

Thematically, this trio of white Manhattan rappers combines the bratty street swagger of the Bowery Boys with the lunacy and mayhem of the Three Stooges. Musically, the album’s best moments touch on the aggression of Aerosmith’s “Rocks” album, the rap ‘n’ metal synthesis of Run-D.M.C.’s “Walk This Way” and a punk sensibility that falls short of the Sex Pistols’ anarchy, but offers far more wallop than most of the Ramones’ caricatures.

The Beastie Boys are definitely creatures of the times. Their songs are filled with the classic rock themes of sex and drugs, and they are peppered with mass-culture images (references to fast-food restaurants, violent movies and TV sitcoms).

Though the language is disturbing in places, the songs are generally good-natured tough-guy fantasies rather than battle cries for action. The Beasties’ material just sounds subversive because of the harshness of the musical mix and the trio’s unrepentant self-assurance. CD available Jan. 4.

Lone Justice’s “Shelter” (Geffen)--The tone is sometimes anonymous, but Maria McKee is the most gripping young female singer in rock. CD available Jan. 12.

Swan Silvertones’ “Get Right With the Swan Silvertones” (Late ‘50s and early ‘60s recordings by the influential gospel group. (See Replay, Page 71). CD: no.