I was utterly gutted to hear about the passing of Adam Yauch (MCA from the Beastie Boys) last week. Although I didn’t care for the band’s early stuff like ‘Fight For Your Right To Party’ and ‘No Sleep ’til Brooklyn’, their second album ‘Paul’s Boutique’ is one of my favorite records ever, and I have been a fan ever since. So in honor of such a glorious life (from hoodrat to humanitarian), here are some Beastie Boys classics which loop their way back to Commodityland™.

Intergalactic (inv-en-tor-ies!) – US stockpiles have gone intergalactic for both crude and natural gas, with oil inventories at a 22-year high, while natural gas storage levels are 44% above last year’s level.

Ch-Check It Out – For Q1 2012, natural gas accounted for 28.7% of total power generation, a ridiculously rapid increase from 20.7% in the corresponding quarter of last year.

Light My Fire – (…just not with coal…) Not only did coal’s share of total power generation fall from 44.6% to 36% for Q1 2012 versus Q1 of last year, it is also set to decline significantly further in 2012. (Why? Ch-check it Out).

Sabotage – Nigeria is the obvious choice here, as the country where sabotage seems part of everyday life. Not only is the country consistently at threat from oil infrastructure sabotage by the militant group MEND, but it is also currently contending with the sabotage of its electricity supply, having widespread blackouts.

A.W.O.L. – Shoulder-month conditions are in full swing, meaning weather-driven demand for natural gas is going AWOL; it is set to reach its low ebb for the season over the coming weeks.

Triple Trouble – Another track that is applicable to either oil or gas. Triple trouble in the oil complex is coming from the combo of deteriorating economic data out of the US, escalation in the Euro debt crisis (again), and fears of slowing in the engine-room of the global economy (= China). As for natural gas, the fear of falling production, the increase in power generation demand (see opening track, Intergalactic), while an (admittedly super-high) storage surplus is being whittled down – rallying natural gas prices over 30% from the 10-yr low achieved last month.

A Year And A Day – Well, actually, a year and 5 days is when retail gasoline prices peaked in 2011. The good news? Prices in 2012 look like they have peaked a full month earlier this year, reaching $3.94 on April 4^th. They are now at $3.74.

The Sounds Of Science – Technological development in shale oil and gas extraction in the US is spurring on production growth for both sources. The EIA expects growth in marketed production of natural gas  in 2012 (reaching a further record level) despite lowly pricing, while US oil production is expected to increase by 0.5 mbpd to 6.2 mbpd – its highest level since 1998.

R.I.P., MCA.