is there a name for that beat? you know, the one in "american girls" and "someday"

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and "lust for life" and "walking on sunshine" and "you can't hurry love."

du du duuuuhhh dudu dududu

furthermore: other than the bo diddly beat (and, from a previous thread, the dolly parton "here you come again" bounce), are there rhythm patterns in rock/pop that have names?

― Justin, Monday, 14 November 2005 05:59 (twenty years ago)

Also "Walkin' on Sunshine". Good question.

― Hurting (Hurting), Monday, 14 November 2005 06:00 (twenty years ago)

THE FUNKY DRUMMER BEAT

― stockholm cindy is in your extended network (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 14 November 2005 06:01 (twenty years ago)

(answer to the second q)

― stockholm cindy is in your extended network (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 14 November 2005 06:02 (twenty years ago)

I've seen it called a Motown beat. Not the Motown beat, because Motown used a lot of different beats, but I think that's its most obvious reference point.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Monday, 14 November 2005 06:05 (twenty years ago)

The "Be My Baby" beat is a pretty commonly-employed reference point, especially when it shows up as an intro. There's not much of a conversation about the Jesus & Mary Chain's "Just Like Honey" without it.

― Doctor Casino, Monday, 14 November 2005 06:10 (twenty years ago)

there was a thread about the "be my baby" beat

― stockholm cindy is in your extended network (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 14 November 2005 06:11 (twenty years ago)

How many songs can you name that use this beat?

― k/l (Ken L), Monday, 14 November 2005 06:14 (twenty years ago)

Barbara Ann (Beach Boys) also kind of has that beat (the Lust for Life beat) in the vocals - "BA BA BA - BA BABURANN"

― Hurting (Hurting), Monday, 14 November 2005 06:21 (twenty years ago)

Songs with the 'Be My Baby' drum intro

― k/l (Ken L), Monday, 14 November 2005 06:26 (twenty years ago)

I don't hear "Be My Baby" being the beat I am talking about. The one I mean is more driving, more straight-ahead, whereas "Be My Baby" (going from aural memory) is a little more swung. I may be wrong.

― Justin, Monday, 14 November 2005 06:27 (twenty years ago)

Justin, I think it was submitted as an answer to your "furthermore."

― k/l (Ken L), Monday, 14 November 2005 06:28 (twenty years ago)

HA! Sorry. Thanks.

― Justin, Monday, 14 November 2005 06:29 (twenty years ago)

This thread never went anywhere:

Songs That Feature The Intro Rhythm Hook From "Hitchhike"

I think "Hitsville, UK" is another example of the original drumbeat mentioned here.

― k/l (Ken L), Monday, 14 November 2005 06:31 (twenty years ago)

well, the MOST generic rock beat ever is "do ch do do ch" meaning, tap on the hat hat and go kick snare, kick kick snare, maybe add a crash every once and a while. if you play it fast you're in a hardcore band!

― LEarn!, Monday, 14 November 2005 06:31 (twenty years ago)

Except, Doctor Casino said "The "Be My Baby" beat is a pretty commonly-employed reference point..."

Which takes me to my original assertion: I don't see that comparison. Or hear it.

Unless, as always, I'm Missing Something.®

― Justin, Monday, 14 November 2005 06:32 (twenty years ago)

my little 1986 casio had that beat

xpost

― stockholm cindy is in your extended network (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 14 November 2005 06:34 (twenty years ago)

What are some examples of that beat that LEarn was talking about? (The one which is supposedly hardcore if you speed it up?)

― Rev. Hoodoo (Rev. Hoodoo), Monday, 14 November 2005 06:34 (twenty years ago)

I remember reading an old girlfriend's Intro to Music Theory textbook, wherein it defined Rock'n'Roll.

One of the trademarks, it said, was a rhythmic pattern in 4/4 time which stressed the 2 and 4 beats.

On that basis, for some reason, "The One I Love" by R.E.M. took its place in my mind as the example of "straight ahead rock beat" that I always think of.

This stuff fascinates me...the minutiae of music. Which is why I'm here. (Why are you here? :))

― Justin, Monday, 14 November 2005 06:36 (twenty years ago)

I recall reading that Hunt Sales' "Lust For Life" beats were inspired by those of Benny Goodman big-band legend Gene Krupa - most likely from "Sing Sing Sing", I'm guessing.

And as for another specific style of drumming, howbout Burundi beats (Adam & the Ants, Bow Wow Wow, etc.)?

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Monday, 14 November 2005 06:37 (twenty years ago)

(Why are you here? :))

the free pretzels

― stockholm cindy is in your extended network (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 14 November 2005 06:37 (twenty years ago)

bow wow wow used both the burundi beat and the bo diddley beat!

― stockholm cindy is in your extended network (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 14 November 2005 06:37 (twenty years ago)

Bow Wow Wow - meaning, for example, "I Want Candy"? Isn't that the "Bo Diddly Beat"?

― Justin, Monday, 14 November 2005 06:38 (twenty years ago)

yeah

― stockholm cindy is in your extended network (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 14 November 2005 06:39 (twenty years ago)

Ha...I guess that was an "x post."

Only took me three years to figure that one out.

― Justin, Monday, 14 November 2005 06:39 (twenty years ago)

y'all talkin' 'bout the "Town Called Malice" beat?

― ken taylrr never her (ken taylrr), Monday, 14 November 2005 06:40 (twenty years ago)

isn't that the "you can't hurry love" beat too?

― stockholm cindy is in your extended network (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 14 November 2005 06:40 (twenty years ago)

I mentioned can't hurry love in my original post. GOSH!

― Justin, Monday, 14 November 2005 06:42 (twenty years ago)

Yup. I think we should call it the (It's Fun To Dance To The) YCHL beat from on.

You've gotta be careful when somebody describes something as a Motown beat. I'm never sure I know what they're talking about or even if they know what they are talking about. For example, I just previewed the twenty "Motown Drummer" loops in Garageband and most of them sounded like either the "Funky Drummer" beat or the drums from "Shaft." One sounded to me like a jazzy Kenny Clarke intro to "A Night In Tunisia" and the last few like Trio's "Da Da Da"!

― k/l (Ken L), Monday, 14 November 2005 06:43 (twenty years ago)

That Motorik Beat

― k/l (Ken L), Monday, 14 November 2005 06:44 (twenty years ago)

I mentioned can't hurry love in my original post. GOSH!

whoops, sorry. too much beer --> can't read.

― stockholm cindy is in your extended network (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 14 November 2005 06:47 (twenty years ago)

I think we can all agree on one thing: the beat in queston is fun to dance to, though the ONLY way to dance to it is like Molly Ringwald in the library scene from "The Breakfast Club."

I think this dance style (80's, arms flailing, kisking one's heels out in an alternating pattern) is also represented in "Footloose" and any movie where a teenager is wearing a Walkman.

― Justin, Monday, 14 November 2005 06:48 (twenty years ago)

True Ken, but I really think the beat being talked about here is identifiably Motown. That's why "Town Called Malice" is the Jam's Motown song, "Hitsville U.K." is the Clash's Motown song, etc. It's one of the two or three most identifiable Motown rhythms (another one being the snare-on-the-downbeat of "Uptight," "Nowhere to Run," etc.).

What are some examples of that beat that LEarn was talking about? (The one which is supposedly hardcore if you speed it up?)

If you do it real slow, it's "We Will Rock You."

But a lot of hardcore beats are just snare on the downbeat and kick on the off-beat.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Monday, 14 November 2005 06:49 (twenty years ago)

What are some examples of that beat that LEarn was talking about? (The one which is supposedly hardcore if you speed it up?)

"blitzkrieg bop" too? i haven't heard that in a while, mind you, so i could be wrong.

― stockholm cindy is in your extended network (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 14 November 2005 07:05 (twenty years ago)

that "uptight"/"nowhere to run" drum thing is one of my favorite sounds ever.

― stockholm cindy is in your extended network (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 14 November 2005 07:06 (twenty years ago)

You are right, Jesse, when you want to pick a beat to signify Motown that is the beat. But, based on the anecdotal statistics, it seems to me that a lot of Motown songs have as drums some kind of pickup followed by a pretty straight backbeat, albeit with the signature Motown snare sound, which sounds to me like somebody hitting a cookie pan covered with aluminum foil. See "Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing" or "If I Could Build My World Around You." And when people claim they are going to play a Motown beat, if they don't play the YCHL beat, they usually end up playing some brand of funky 60s drum beat which probably has more to do with, eh, Stax.

Another example: "This Charming Man", although The Smiths aren't as obvious about it as The Jam or The Clash.

― k/l (Ken L), Monday, 14 November 2005 07:12 (twenty years ago)

ts: YCHL beat vs. slower generic samba beat

― stockholm cindy is in your extended network (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 14 November 2005 07:15 (twenty years ago)

You mean like on that Nouvelle Vague record? I love the genuine version of that beat, but the generic clone and its replications eventually makes me feel like I should have taken dramamine before listening.

― k/l (Ken L), Monday, 14 November 2005 07:18 (twenty years ago)

it seems to me that a lot of Motown songs have as drums some kind of pickup followed by a pretty straight backbeat

Yeah. And a lot of Motown did have to do with the sound too, whatever the beat was. Bright and loose, with that cookie-pan splash. As opposed to Stax, which was grittier and groovier.

And yeah, "Blitzkrieg Bop" is that exact beat, the dun-chck-dun-dun-chck. That may have been the only beat Tommy knew.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Monday, 14 November 2005 07:19 (twenty years ago)

Another example: "This Charming Man", although The Smiths aren't as obvious about it as The Jam or The Clash.

May I say, OTM.

― Justin, Monday, 14 November 2005 07:25 (twenty years ago)

this just came up on shuffle play -- bonny st. clar's "tame me tiger." it's got that very motown-derived beat, but really heavy, like if shocking blue were being produced by holland/dozier/holland. (i know nothing about this track other than it's from a compilation of '60s dutch beat girls.)

http://s51.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=32B4DA8EKOXM81M4CXUB16B3JI

― stockholm cindy is in your extended network (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 14 November 2005 07:38 (twenty years ago)

it's slightly more militaristic than yr average motown drum sound though.

― stockholm cindy is in your extended network (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 14 November 2005 07:40 (twenty years ago)

and i would be remiss in not mentioning the flirtations' "nothing but a heartache" (the favorite of ilxors everywhere, and rightly so):

http://s48.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1ZUASVT9H4GHF21P78SQV0N1VM

― stockholm cindy is in your extended network (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 14 November 2005 07:48 (twenty years ago)

are you refering to "the strokes beat" that bands use nowadays? that only the exploding hearts managed to use without sounding like the strokes?

― corey c (shock of daylight), Monday, 14 November 2005 09:29 (twenty years ago)

i love the shocking blue, so i must hear bonny st. clar. what is the compilation called ?

― m bott, Monday, 14 November 2005 19:34 (twenty years ago)

Boots and Socks

― detoxyDancer (sexyDancer), Monday, 14 November 2005 19:44 (twenty years ago)

the comp is called Beatmeisjes. it's a companion CD to a book. and a quick google tells me the singer is bonny st. claire, meaning whoever initially tagged the mp3 is a lousy speller.

― stockholm cindy is in your extended network (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 14 November 2005 20:11 (twenty years ago)

http://www.popsike.com/pics/mrfairytale/20040709/4024018784.jpg

― stockholm cindy is in your extended network (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 14 November 2005 20:12 (twenty years ago)

One of the trademarks, it said, was a rhythmic pattern in 4/4 time which stressed the 2 and 4 beats

well there's certainly a name for that one. that's a backbeat.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Monday, 14 November 2005 20:59 (twenty years ago)

you can't lose it any old time you choose it

― detoxyDancer (sexyDancer), Monday, 14 November 2005 21:05 (twenty years ago)

Well, I'm going to keep calling it the "Sing Sing Sing" beat myself!

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Monday, 14 November 2005 21:11 (twenty years ago)

I remember reading an old girlfriend's Intro to Music Theory textbook, wherein it defined Rock'n'Roll.

One of the trademarks, it said, was a rhythmic pattern in 4/4 time which stressed the 2 and 4 beats.

You mean swing?

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Monday, 14 November 2005 21:36 (twenty years ago)

Where was that thread from this morning about the old Scottish geezer complaining about rock and roll, in today's Glasgow Herald.

― k/l (Ken L), Monday, 14 November 2005 21:43 (twenty years ago)

I think it's totally fair to call it the Motown beat (recognizing that there isn't ONE Motown Beat).

But if you were to play me Town Called Malice, American Girl or Lust For Life, I would immediately identify the groove as Motown-derived.

― Brooker Buckingham (Brooker B), Monday, 14 November 2005 21:52 (twenty years ago)

When I say Motown beat, I mean (rightly or wrongly) playing the snare on all four downbeats and the kick on 1, the & of 3 and the & of 4.

Uh, I can't think of many classic Motown tunes that use it offhand, but it shows up in a lot of early Stevie Wonder and all the early Sly Stone stuff.

― Jordan (Jordan), Monday, 14 November 2005 22:01 (twenty years ago)

Dance to the Music
also
"I Am the Resurrection" by Stone Roses

― detoxyDancer (sexyDancer), Monday, 14 November 2005 22:08 (twenty years ago)

That's the same beat that was mentioned on the How many songs can you name that use this beat? thread linked above.

(xpost)

― k/l (Ken L), Monday, 14 November 2005 22:11 (twenty years ago)

that beat that Jordan describes = "Purple Haze" (and some other Hendrix tune, I'm pretty sure)

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Monday, 14 November 2005 22:13 (twenty years ago)

I really think you should follow the link, Curtis.

― k/l (Ken L), Monday, 14 November 2005 22:16 (twenty years ago)

I don't do things the Ken way, Ken. I do things the Curtis way.

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Monday, 14 November 2005 22:19 (twenty years ago)

Thank you k/l and sucks to your assmar, Justin, I was talking about the "furthermore." Jeez.

― Doctor Casino, Monday, 14 November 2005 23:55 (twenty years ago)

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