Help me find that shakedown beat!
August 20, 2013 2:46 PM   Subscribe

Looking for songs that sound like I Need You Tonight (INXS), Another One Bites the Dust (Queen), and Shakedown Street (Grateful Dead).

Bonus points for songs that have the same basic beat, but I'll accept anything that would sound good on a playlist with these three songs.
posted by evil otto to Society & Culture (19 answers total) 15 users marked this as a favorite
 
In my head, Relax (don't do it) by Frankie Goes to Hollywood has the same beat.
posted by OrangeDisk at 2:50 PM on August 20, 2013 [1 favorite]


Don't You Want Me - The Human League
posted by Knappster at 2:53 PM on August 20, 2013


I think what you are looking for is what is commonly called the "Bo Diddley beat", which is similar to a 3:2 clave in Latin music. This pattern can be modified in various ways, as you hear in a song like "Not Fade Away".
posted by thelonius at 3:07 PM on August 20, 2013 [1 favorite]


Best answer: The Rolling Stones - Miss You (12" version)
posted by hydrophonic at 3:09 PM on August 20, 2013 [1 favorite]


I don't know jack about music, but as far as my thoughts, the immediate shared opening of the first two make me think also of the camera clicking in Duran Duran's "Girls on Film".

Then I played them both on top of each other and had a few more come to mind.

"Red Skies" - The Fixx
"Michael" - Franz Ferdinand
"Only a Lad" - Oingo Boingo
"52 Girls" - The B-52's
posted by MCMikeNamara at 3:09 PM on August 20, 2013


Best answer: "Kalimba Story" — Earth, Wind & Fire

"Electric Feel" — MGMT

"I Turn My Camera On" — Spoon

(It's not a "Bo Diddley beat," it's a disco beat.)
posted by John Cohen at 3:38 PM on August 20, 2013 [3 favorites]


Best answer: Panic Station by Muse
posted by prototype_octavius at 3:43 PM on August 20, 2013 [1 favorite]


Best answer: "John Deacon's bass line was inspired by the song "Good Times" by the disco group Chic.[9][10] In an interview with New Musical Express, Chic co-founder Bernard Edwards stated, "...that Queen record came about because that Queen bass player... spent some time hanging out with us at our studio".[11]"
posted by iviken at 4:01 PM on August 20, 2013 [1 favorite]


Best answer: "Another Brick in the Wall" by Pink Floyd

In fact, Shakedown > Another Brick > Shakedown, or vice versa, has been done by more than a few jam bands.
posted by mosk at 4:18 PM on August 20, 2013 [1 favorite]


Yeah, that's your bog standard "four on the floor" disco beat, unless I'm missing something...
posted by stenseng at 4:55 PM on August 20, 2013


Response by poster: You have a point, but I feel like the three songs I named have more in common than just that...
posted by evil otto at 4:58 PM on August 20, 2013


Best answer: Leftfield, but NIN's "Closer" has the same simple kick/snare percussion and bassline.

Also Stevie Wonders "Superstition", kinda.
posted by softlord at 5:35 PM on August 20, 2013 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Prince - Kiss
posted by hydrophonic at 6:05 PM on August 20, 2013 [1 favorite]




This is what Pandora is based on, finding similar music. Create a station with "I Need You Tonight" then while it's playing click on the "add variety" and put in "Another One Bites the Dust", and repeat for "Shakedown Street".
Use the thumbs up/down to refine what plays.
posted by Sophont at 7:41 PM on August 20, 2013


Best answer: T. Rex - Mambo Sun
Steeley Dan - Peg
posted by hydrophonic at 7:50 PM on August 20, 2013 [1 favorite]


I guess I got carried away by the Shakedown Street - the Dead did like the Bo Diddley beat now and then.
posted by thelonius at 8:01 PM on August 20, 2013


The OP's three songs all have a disco feel (which includes the drums being regularly struck on beats 1, 2, 3, and 4) and a bassline that starts with three accented notes on beats 1, 2, and 3 — following the steady drum beat. (Think of the opening "duh, duh, duh" in the bassline of "Another One Bites the Dust.") The standard Bo Diddley riff does start with three evenly spaced, accented guitar chords — but the second and third strums of the guitar are syncopated, going against the beat. At the end of the riff, the guitar player gets back in line with the beat. So the disco style we're talking about is kind of the opposite of Bo Diddley.
posted by John Cohen at 3:59 AM on August 21, 2013 [2 favorites]


Response by poster: Wow. You all are awesome. I now have a completely kickass playlist, all because of you.

This is what Pandora is based on

Pandora is an indispensable tool in a music lover's arsenal, but for some things, you absolutely cannot beat the hive mind.
posted by evil otto at 9:54 PM on August 21, 2013 [1 favorite]


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