That Motorik Beat

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it's been a while since i listened to it, so it might the song wrong, but i think tommy james and the shondells "i think we're alone now" has the motorik beat

― Tito JaXoN (JasonD), Monday, 14 February 2005 08:38 (twenty-one years ago)

Shoot Speed/Kill Light by Primal Scream, The First Cut by Embrace.

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Monday, 14 February 2005 09:51 (twenty-one years ago)

The Doors - La Woman
Kraftwerk - Autobahn
Primal Scream - Autobahn 66

― M Carty (mj_c), Monday, 14 February 2005 10:13 (twenty-one years ago)

"Spiders (Kidsmoke)" off the last Wilco album.

Another Velvets one would be "Foggy Notion".

― haitch (haitch), Monday, 14 February 2005 10:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Kasabian - "Reason is Treason"

― mark grout (mark grout), Monday, 14 February 2005 10:27 (twenty-one years ago)

QOTSA - Regular John

― DJ Mencap0))), Monday, 14 February 2005 10:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Universal Panzies - Krautrock Love Song/Hallowedundgallowed

― NickB (NickB), Monday, 14 February 2005 10:49 (twenty-one years ago)

So how would people characterise the motorik beat? Is it anything more than just a 4/4 signature - in which case, aren't there millions of songs with it?

― Jonathan Z. (Joanthan Z.), Monday, 14 February 2005 11:06 (twenty-one years ago)

All of La Dusseldorf
Most of Michael Rother but especially "Zyklodrom"
Parts of Harmonia but especially "Monza"

Lots of Glitter Band/ Gary Glitter
Lots of Stooges
Lots of Velvets

Bowie - Red Sails (et al, ad infinitum etc)
Iggy - Funtime
Cabaret Voltaire - Nag Nag Nag (et al)

― Dadaismus (Dada), Monday, 14 February 2005 11:10 (twenty-one years ago)

Palomino - John Sims
Theme from Ming Mang Mong - Ming Mang Mong

― Hungry Horace, Monday, 14 February 2005 11:11 (twenty-one years ago)

The Delgados - Girls Of Valour
Gay Dad - Dimstar/Joy!/Black Ghost/To Earth With Love
most of the new Fischerspooner (hurrah!)
Orbital - Spare Parts Express (maybe)

― Alex in Doncaster (Alex in Doncaster), Monday, 14 February 2005 11:20 (twenty-one years ago)

'live wire' - ac/dc

― cb, Monday, 14 February 2005 11:32 (twenty-one years ago)

It seems we all have slightly different ideas of what that motorik beat is.

― Mark (MarkR), Monday, 14 February 2005 12:57 (twenty-one years ago)

Someone will say Bjork in a minute...

― mark grout (mark grout), Monday, 14 February 2005 13:15 (twenty-one years ago)

the human beinz - "nobody but me"

― peter smith (plsmith), Monday, 14 February 2005 14:02 (twenty-one years ago)

lilys - zero population growth ep
levitation - against nature

― mzui (mzui), Monday, 14 February 2005 14:12 (twenty-one years ago)

That motorik beat is always accompanied by a spectral gauzey fade-in. YES.

(my examples do not all bear this out)

― Alex in Doncaster (Alex in Doncaster), Monday, 14 February 2005 14:21 (twenty-one years ago)

"Full Moon in My Pocket" - Swell Maps (and probably other of their songs, too)

Also several Unrest songs, like the Hyrdofoil/Hydroplane ones.

― arch Ibog (arch Ibog), Monday, 14 February 2005 14:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Boredoms - 7 (Boriginal)

― Dominique (dleone), Monday, 14 February 2005 14:46 (twenty-one years ago)

David Bowie - Station To Station

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 14 February 2005 14:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Iggy Pop - Sister Midnight

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 14 February 2005 14:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Donna Summer - I Feel Love

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 14 February 2005 14:56 (twenty-one years ago)

Anything by Thomas Koner
Similarly anything by Lull
Brian Eno's On Land

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 14 February 2005 15:08 (twenty-one years ago)

???

― Mark (MarkR), Monday, 14 February 2005 15:16 (twenty-one years ago)

my rough guide

― willem (willem), Monday, 14 February 2005 15:21 (twenty-one years ago)

Secret Machines--"Nowhere Again" and "Now Here Is Nowhere." Live though they don't do it--Bonham circa Zep IV song one through the encore.

― kaiser motorik, Monday, 14 February 2005 15:24 (twenty-one years ago)

Tortoise - Djed (Don't know why that one didn't occur to me sooner!)

― M Carty (mj_c), Monday, 14 February 2005 15:46 (twenty-one years ago)

That motorik beat is always accompanied by a spectral gauzey fade-in. YES.
(my examples do not all bear this out)
-- Alex in Doncaster (alex_fac...) (webmail), February 14th, 2005 2:21 PM. (link)

Like, for instance, "Silver Machine" Hawkwind?

― mark grout (mark grout), Monday, 14 February 2005 16:45 (twenty-one years ago)

most things Hamish Kilgour drums on. The Clean's 'Vehicle' is the same beat at varying speeds for the whole record. pretty much, anyway.

― andrew m. (andrewmorgan), Monday, 14 February 2005 17:19 (twenty-one years ago)

Jagz Kooner productions and remixes.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Monday, 14 February 2005 17:53 (twenty-one years ago)

mark otm about hawkwind - their studio stuff esp has some crisp clean motorik, while the space ritual stuff is some hairier/messier kraut-esque drumming. god i fucking love hawkwind.

― peter smith (plsmith), Monday, 14 February 2005 17:56 (twenty-one years ago)

There's a track near the end of Dusk at Cubist Castle (I think it's the title track) that fits the bill.

― sleep (sleep), Monday, 14 February 2005 20:32 (twenty-one years ago)

hawkwind - opa loka. the most motorik non kraut record ever.

whitey - two face.

spencer otm about jagz kooner.

― stirmonster, Monday, 14 February 2005 20:49 (twenty-one years ago)

Wait! This is getting too scattered! Related but scattered! Definition time!

― don, Monday, 14 February 2005 21:25 (twenty-one years ago)

I have a pretty rigid idea of motorik, so here goes:

4/4 time, basic rock bet, with snare on 2 & 4, HOWEVER, bass drum is playing exactly what the hi-hat does (ie, on each eighth note), except on the beats where the snare hits. It looks like this

1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
h h h h h h h h
. . s . . . s .
b b . b b b . b

This is the beat of many Neu songs, including "Hallogallo". I think the bass drum playing on all those eigth notes is what separates motorik from a lot of other regular old 4/4 rock beats (fast, driving or otherwise).

― Dominique (dleone), Monday, 14 February 2005 21:46 (twenty-one years ago)

whoa, that looked a lot better pre-post.

basically, the b's are supposed to line up w/the h's, and the s's are on 2 and 4. I hate the internet!

― Dominique (dleone), Monday, 14 February 2005 21:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Pumpkins "1979" does not fit, right?

― Aaron A., Monday, 14 February 2005 21:50 (twenty-one years ago)

not according to the definition I'm using above. It almost does, but in the drum figure of "1979", there's a syncopation pattern that de-motorikizes it (and also makes two bars have to pass before completing the figure). One of the things about motorik that makes it "motorik" (or robotic) is that each measure is identical, it doesn't take more than one measure to complete the whole pattern.

― Dominique (dleone), Monday, 14 February 2005 21:57 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.thebigcity.co.nz/images/motorik.gif

― chris andrews (fraew), Monday, 14 February 2005 22:15 (twenty-one years ago)

hows that dleone

― chris andrews (fraew), Monday, 14 February 2005 22:15 (twenty-one years ago)

nice. i wasn't sure at first, but that fits my mental definition.

― sleep (sleep), Monday, 14 February 2005 22:38 (twenty-one years ago)

from what i can hear the kick falls on every 8th note, including the 2 and 4. just straight ahead pounding. with various snare fills and a crash or two every 4 or 8 measures off that.

― andrew m. (andrewmorgan), Monday, 14 February 2005 22:41 (twenty-one years ago)

"Drums On Fire" - Broadcast

― losingsoul, Monday, 14 February 2005 22:54 (twenty-one years ago)

Jefferson Starship, "Find Your Way Back" (the end of the song)

― Joe (Joe), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 00:13 (twenty-one years ago)

"For Kate I Wait" - Ariel Pink (done with mouth)

― The Argunaut (sexyDancer), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 00:14 (twenty-one years ago)

Telstar Ponies - Lugengeschichte or whatever the heck it was called has this beat but with added flourishes. Basically any non-Deutsche indie song circa 1994-95 with a German title.

― NickB (NickB), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 09:11 (twenty-one years ago)

'Sleep The Clock Around' - Belle & Sebastian

― Alba (Alba), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 09:17 (twenty-one years ago)

one year passes...

"Mongoloid" by DEVO. ?

― Helltime Product Oh, Tuesday, 16 May 2006 14:07 (twenty years ago)

one month passes...

post more!

― kingfish du lac (kingfish 2.0), Friday, 7 July 2006 14:54 (nineteen years ago)

The Glitter Band is the closest I've ever heard, so much so that I'm pretty sure La Dusseldorf ripped them off

― ¡Vamos a matar, Dadaismus! (Dada), Friday, 7 July 2006 15:00 (nineteen years ago)

Skipping 172 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

The vid's rip doesn't really do it justice. On my copy the drums are so big. Caveman style.

― andrew m., Monday, 27 January 2014 17:47 (twelve years ago)

two years pass...

more more more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

― sexy dander (Stevie D(eux)), Friday, 15 April 2016 01:45 (ten years ago)

15-60-75 - Animal Speaks (????? might only be motorik in my memory)

― lute bro (brimstead), Friday, 15 April 2016 02:54 (ten years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q4aM61Lcnk

― stirmonster, Friday, 15 April 2016 10:16 (ten years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDHUtZ4WoE4

― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 15 April 2016 14:49 (ten years ago)

thank you for posting that! it led me to read this, and the special note to drummer is so awesome, esp "anyway, you get the idea, you'll do great"
http://www.rhyschatham.net/g3english/GuitarTrioScore.pdf

― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Friday, 15 April 2016 15:57 (ten years ago)

four months pass...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRUkLnsRWBc

― andrew m., Thursday, 18 August 2016 15:02 (nine years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4PGlThRRMQ

― afriendlypioneer, Thursday, 18 August 2016 15:04 (nine years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgcSWqlWoD8

― andrew m., Thursday, 18 August 2016 15:55 (nine years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhlSvVxLYjw

― Non-Stop Erotic Calculus (bmus), Thursday, 18 August 2016 16:53 (nine years ago)

six months pass...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOiqWLyGgnI

― everything, Wednesday, 8 March 2017 21:27 (nine years ago)

one year passes...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJBQlesGPXk

― MaresNest, Sunday, 30 September 2018 12:43 (seven years ago)

so good

― the word dog doesn't bark (anagram), Sunday, 30 September 2018 13:43 (seven years ago)

oh ok wow

― vision joanna newsom (Stevie D(eux)), Monday, 1 October 2018 04:41 (seven years ago)

six months pass...

songs with a "motorik" beat that aren't by either Neu! or Stereolab

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ym8JTVNXNCQ
Not entirely Stereolab-free tbh.

― oder doch?, Friday, 5 April 2019 10:56 (seven years ago)

That is a really excellent band and this song is amazing!

― flamboyant goon tie included, Friday, 5 April 2019 16:08 (seven years ago)

nine months pass...

Tried it (on) here:

https://constantlight.bandcamp.com/track/nothings-left

― S-, Tuesday, 7 January 2020 03:39 (six years ago)

That Motorik Beat

Glad this image is still up here. I think about it a lot.

― ☮️ (peace, man), Tuesday, 7 January 2020 17:44 (six years ago)

Me too! Sadly I moved out of that flat and even though we've done up the bathroom in the new place I wasn't allowed to make it motorik ;_;

― Paperbag raita (ledge), Wednesday, 8 January 2020 09:08 (six years ago)

k-x-p with the muscular biz

http://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=291&v=0kEI21-Yy3E&feature=emb_logo

― andrew m., Wednesday, 8 January 2020 20:29 (six years ago)

three weeks pass...

Chrisma, "C Rock". Not sure this has a motorik beat as such but is nonetheless a Neu! ripoff blatant enough to make Stereolab blush.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0detsfxKN3Q

― (includes digression on farting) (Tom D.), Thursday, 30 January 2020 22:38 (six years ago)

four months pass...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xu7xWwMZBFM

― reggie (qualmsley), Friday, 5 June 2020 13:09 (six years ago)

https://youtu.be/vK31yVrXz84

― The little engine that choogled (hardcore dilettante), Sunday, 14 June 2020 20:45 (six years ago)

one month passes...

clean-related, here's one of my absolute favorite david kilgour jams with the heavy eights, "waveboarder," a total surf motorik cruiser.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gov24YPRDYM

and to reiterate something i posted years ago, the clean's vehicle is, with the exception of the 2 side-ending acoustic tracks, straight motorik joy.

― andrew m., Wednesday, 29 July 2020 17:05 (five years ago)

replacing a dead link from a few years ago:

blizzard, "keep a knockin'/get back/etc."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRUkLnsRWBc

― andrew m., Wednesday, 29 July 2020 17:39 (five years ago)

Great call on that David Kilgour album, my absolute favorite from him precisely because of that motorik groove!

― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Wednesday, 29 July 2020 17:41 (five years ago)

Pulls on to the autobahn nearly three minutes in but then you get those Rother wakka wakkas so you know it's proper, and when the alternating Battlestar Galactica riffs hit you must salute.

https://howlinbananarecords.bandcamp.com/track/trapezohedron

― Basil Ker-ching (Noel Emits), Tuesday, 4 August 2020 21:25 (five years ago)

three years pass...

help me find a thread for this but debut album Fugue State (2022) by Swedish "ambient blues" outfit Weils is simply fantastic, album opener "To Apeiron" 23 minutes of slow-motorik bliss:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8x7m9D80To

― corrs unplugged, Friday, 9 February 2024 10:28 (two years ago)

excellent, extremely my kind of thing

― ( X '____' )/ (zappi), Friday, 9 February 2024 10:40 (two years ago)

Lewsberg are a band from Rotterdam whose sound alternates between early VU and spaced-out motorik jams and somehow never sound like "What Goes On":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef9j4AxEhe8

― henry s, Friday, 9 February 2024 13:16 (two years ago)

Heh, mebbe that yin is a wee bit reminiscent of “The Gift.”

― Al Green Explores Your Mind Gardens (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 9 February 2024 14:30 (two years ago)

Corrs - thanks for that Weils heads-up. Extremely my thing!

― I would prefer not to. (Chinaski), Tuesday, 13 February 2024 09:54 (two years ago)

Metabolist 'Alien on Sunday' - beautifully minimalist take on the beat, no fills, no flourishes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOwm-HYfVwA

― atonar, Tuesday, 13 February 2024 13:25 (two years ago)

one year passes...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dm1JGNsAQ0I

― oder doch?, Tuesday, 27 January 2026 20:57 (four months ago)

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