"Tomorrow Never Knows": did the Beatles invent "beats"?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Disraeli Gears, May 13, 2016.

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  1. nosticker

    nosticker Forum Guy

    Location:
    Ringwood, NJ
    I have yet to hear an example of another song with an unwavering pattern through the whole thing, which I believe was the OP's claim(I could be wrong). I don't really have a dog in this race; I'm just curious.
    And yes, I am a Beatles fan, but realize that they did not innovate as much as pop culture would have one believe.


    Dan
     
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  2. nosticker

    nosticker Forum Guy

    Location:
    Ringwood, NJ
    Correct. I believe this is THE first track built around a loop....but it's after TMK.

    Sure, I'm happy. :)


    Dan
     
  3. eddiel

    eddiel Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    That's hardly surprising though. There's so many of these that I can see people getting rather exhausted at some of the very loose associations people can make (not specific to this thread but in general). I find them quite entertaining at times.
     
  4. davenav

    davenav High Plains Grifter

    Location:
    Louisville, KY USA
    I've been under the impression that the beat is looped.

    I'll listen for evidence that it isn't, but damn! It's hugely consistent.
     
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  5. He does that in Love Me Do too. But there are tons of examples where other drummers do that, prior to The Beatles. Peggy Sue, for example.
     
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  6. Danby Delight

    Danby Delight Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston
    Seems odd that a song that invented beats has barely ever been sampled...

    Tomorrow Never Knows by The Beatles on WhoSampled »

    Compare that to, say, "When the Levee Breaks"

    When the Levee Breaks by Led Zeppelin on WhoSampled »

    Or, just for kicks, "Funky Drummer"

    Funky Drummer by James Brown on WhoSampled »
     
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  7. Lownote30

    Lownote30 Bass Clef Addict

    Location:
    Nashville, TN, USA
    Kraftwerk weren't quite the chart toppers that the disco Bee Gees were, though. I meant within popular culture, and I would argue the "much better" part. Just my opinion, though.
     
  8. Rojo

    Rojo Forum Resident

    "Love Me Do" has a break, made all the more obvious by Ringo's (or Mr White's) cymbal crash, so it's not the same case, although it has a quite repetitive drum pattern.
     
  9. nosticker

    nosticker Forum Guy

    Location:
    Ringwood, NJ
    Love Me Do changes up quite a bit, and(not trying to be a doosh) there is a stop and a crash in the middle.

    Peggy Sue......now we're talking! Single paradiddle on the tom throughout.


    Dan
     
  10. gregorya

    gregorya I approve of this message

    ...and the beat goes on... :)
     
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  11. Fullbug

    Fullbug Forum Resident

    Location:
    Seattle
    The invention of beats has been traced by historians to 654 B.C., when Angus of Woodhendge, inspired by a quarter barrel of grog, performed a four hour club on stretched goatskin solo at the Spring Solstice Festival near present day Knightsbridge.
     
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  12. Danby Delight

    Danby Delight Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston
    Right, but...help me out here.

    "He's Gonna Step On You Again" uses a drum loop.

    "Tomorrow Never Knows" doesn't use a drum loop.

    So...what's the point?
     
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  13. Sean

    Sean Senior Member

    Location:
    Ottawa
    Best troll thread of the day! :righton:
     
  14. dewey02

    dewey02 Forum Resident

    Location:
    The mid-South.
    Well, you certainly can't say that for Pete Best's version of Love Me Do on Anthology 1! :)
     
  15. nosticker

    nosticker Forum Guy

    Location:
    Ringwood, NJ
    Not trying to hijack from the OP, but it is the movement toward the use of repetitive beats. How that is achieved is IMO immaterial. Maybe the next step was "Staying Alive"? I dunno. There are so many overdubs that it's almost besides the point.


    Dan
     
  16. Fastnbulbous

    Fastnbulbous Doubleplus Ungood

    Location:
    Washington DC USA
    The issue wasn't who was more popular but when "disco beat and looping drum beats was born". The first Kraftwerk album came out in 1971.
     
  17. vamborules

    vamborules Forum Resident

    Location:
    CT
    So obvious, and yet so successful. :laugh:
     
  18. This Heat

    This Heat Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago, IL
    Is anybody familiar with soul music or jazz? Things did exist prior to The Beatles.
     
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  19. theMess

    theMess Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kent, UK
    It depends very much on what you mean by 'electronic music', because it is a very catch-all term. There can be no denying the huge influence that 'Tomorrow Never Knows' had on certain subsections of electronic music.

    The Chemical Brothers and other big beat acts were definitely strongly influenced by the song, with the Chemical Brothers actually calling it 'their musical manifesto'.
    As DJ Spooky said about the song: "Tomorrow Never Knows" is one of those songs that's in the DNA of so much going on these days that it's hard to know where to start. Its tape collage alone makes it one of the first tracks to use sampling really successfully. I also think that Brian Eno's idea of the studio-as-instrument comes from this kind of recording.'' He may be right, considering that Eno loved the song, and covered it in the 70's:



    Just listen to these songs to hear the influence of 'Tomorrow Never Knows':

    Beck - The New Pollution »

    The Chemical Brothers - Let Forever Be »

    The Chemical Brothers - Setting Sun »

    The Chemical Brothers - 11 - The Private Psychedelic Reel »

    Public Enemy even sampled it:

    PUBLIC ENEMY-psycho of greed »
     
    Last edited: May 13, 2016
  20. jimod99

    jimod99 Daddy or chips?

    Location:
    Ottawa, ON
    The Model got to No 1
     
  21. Culpa

    Culpa Forum Resident

    Location:
    Philadelphia, PA
    But didn't the Man on the Flaming Pie tell them they were "beets" with an "a"?
     
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  22. malcolm reynolds

    malcolm reynolds Handsome, Humble, Genius

    Location:
    Oklahoma
    Little known fact: The Beatles created country music with "Act Naturally".
     
  23. lamf1983

    lamf1983 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Glen Ridge, NJ
    And cinema verite
     
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  24. Rose River Bear

    Rose River Bear Senior Member

    However, IMO many are considered loose associations unjustly.
    For instance, the riff to Ticket to Ride. I don't think it is a loose association saying it is one of the first heavy metal type riffs and influenced those that followed. Many laugh at that claim but it has some basis. I would think most folks that play guitar will agree and yet it gets a chuckle from most here when the claim is discussed.

    The thing that bugs me as I said, are the types of posts like you get above my post.
     
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  25. Lownote30

    Lownote30 Bass Clef Addict

    Location:
    Nashville, TN, USA
    My original post mentions "popular culture" which I was referring to. I was quoted with Kraftwerk being cited, and I was just replying to that. I know Kraftwerk looped things first. So did Pink Floyd with On The Run from Dark Side Of The Moon.
     
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