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just wondering really, as the fab 4 are rightly credited with creating pop music as we know it , what would have happened if the beatles had never formed/been discovered? would pop have evolved anyway? along with all the other genres it lead to? who might have been the leaders if the beatles never made it?
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Yeah. Just because they were the first to do it doesn't mean it wouldn't have happened. They didn't write the rules of music. Classical music had harmonies and counterpoint and other devices already developed hundreds of years before. Pop music existed before. There was a pop element to some rock and roll.

 

 

I think you'd still have had The Stones, The Who, The Kinks tbh.... So, obviously one of those would have been the leaders, The Stones more than likely.... And, I wouldn't have said The Stones were far off being a Beatles-sized phenomenon anyway, they were immensely popular, and still are....
yeah I agree with the top 2 posts, if it wasnt The Beatles it would of been someone else, but however I think the music scene would still be somewhat rather different without them.
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Yeah. Just because they were the first to do it doesn't mean it wouldn't have happened. They didn't write the rules of music. Classical music had harmonies and counterpoint and other devices already developed hundreds of years before. Pop music existed before. There was a pop element to some rock and roll.

 

... what the beatles did was form the template for the basic pop group... 3 guitars (one being bass) and drums. theirs was the model adopted by everyone who followed. yes there was pop elements in rock n roll, but the beatles were the first pop group....

 

i too think that the coming of pop groups would have been inevitable. id suggest that another of liverpools acts would have been the first, its liverpool where 'beat' took off. gerry and the pacemakers maybe...

 

im not so sure about the stones etc, because they were a good 18 months after the beat boom took off.

 

 

More importantly - would pop sound the way it does without Kraftwerk?
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More importantly - would pop sound the way it does without Kraftwerk?

 

more importantly?... id argue that no beatles could have equaled no kraftwerk. the beatles cut the template for all guitar groups... they vastly outnumber electro..

 

tes. kraftwerk were certainly a ground breaking group, but were not alone in experimenting with electro sounds. gorgio moroder and brian eno were both experimenting with it. i see early 80's synth pop in todays music, and many of those artistes cite bowie and roxy music as their inspirations.

I think the question there should be would electronic music sound the same today without Kraftwerk?
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I think the question there should be would electronic music sound the same today without Kraftwerk?

 

yes....

 

because they were not alone.

yes....

 

because they were not alone.

 

I'd argue with that tbh on one level.. Kraftwerk were the real pioneers of Electronica in so many ways, moreso than Eno.. Eno was more Ambient soundscapes and a bit more unstructured, Kraftwerk were crafting a whole new delivery system for Pop music...

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I'd argue with that tbh on one level.. Kraftwerk were the real pioneers of Electronica in so many ways, moreso than Eno.. Eno was more Ambient soundscapes and a bit more unstructured, Kraftwerk were crafting a whole new delivery system for Pop music...

 

maybe, but then theres gorgio moroder whos the daddy of disco and is ultimately responsible for dance, and todays electro-pop all have dance influence. early british pioneers such as tony hadly (yeah he was pop but spandau initially courted electro pop) and phil oakey...both were on record as claiming to produce either 'dance' or 'funk'. funk influences were certainly their in spanduas earlier hits ... however, im not exactly knocking kraftwerk... by a mile... i simply dont agree that they were anywhere near as importent to music (influencially) as the beatles were overall.

 

electro pop is fashionable atm, but its only the latest incarnation of this style which in itself isnt as big as guitar based music.

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oh... and on digital spy a similar thread has had a referance posted confirming that kraftwerk were influenced by the beatles... :)
I think the question there should be would electronic music sound the same today without Kraftwerk?

 

 

why have you reworked my question?

 

Yours is a valid one but you made some sort of judgement on mine that implies that Kraftwerk have not influenced pop music.

 

 

 

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why have you reworked my question?

 

Yours is a valid one but you made some sort of judgement on mine that implies that Kraftwerk have not influenced pop music.

 

only an idiot would not know that kraftwerk has certainly influenced music.

why have you reworked my question?

 

Yours is a valid one but you made some sort of judgement on mine that implies that Kraftwerk have not influenced pop music.

 

they ahve influenced pop music, but not universially, you cant really compare their influence on pop music to The Beatles who revolutised it. Kraftwerk have done far more for electronic music.

The Beatles were great but not as influential as one may think. Their early work were largely covers or tracks heavily influenced by rock 'n' roll standards and, although they were perceived by the majority as trendsetters, they were largely influenced by those they met e.g. George Harrison's friendship with Ravi Shankar and by the general style of their producer George Martin.

I think the Beatles have influenced indie a lot more that they have pop.

 

When we say pop do we mean current pop - as in Lady Gaga and Girls Aloud or are we talking ABBA, Pet Shop Boys, Madonna?

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I think the Beatles have influenced indie a lot more that they have pop.

 

When we say pop do we mean current pop - as in Lady Gaga and Girls Aloud or are we talking ABBA, Pet Shop Boys, Madonna?

 

the beatles created pop as we know it... pop groups were always guitar based. pop has evolved and guitar pop is now called 'indie' but in fact it ISNT indie just because they have guitars. pop = popular music, so it isnt restricted to one sound, it covers any popularist music.

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The Beatles were great but not as influential as one may think. Their early work were largely covers or tracks heavily influenced by rock 'n' roll standards and, although they were perceived by the majority as trendsetters, they were largely influenced by those they met e.g. George Harrison's friendship with Ravi Shankar and by the general style of their producer George Martin.

 

i disagree, id suggest they influenced music far more then is generally accepted.

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The Beatles were great but not as influential as one may think. Their early work were largely covers or tracks heavily influenced by rock 'n' roll standards and, although they were perceived by the majority as trendsetters, they were largely influenced by those they met e.g. George Harrison's friendship with Ravi Shankar and by the general style of their producer George Martin.

 

ive lifted this off digital spy.... think its pretty supportive! :lol:

 

Have you heard of "Tomorrow Never Knows" some of have argued that this is the first drums n bass song.

 

Are you kidding me - from a pop music song structure to recording engineering standpoint - you're hard pressed to NOT hear the Beatles influence everywhere in modern pop recordings. Let's see:

 

Use of heavy limiting on drums and guitar (pioneered on Revolver, rarely if ever used before by anyone) - everywhere these days

High use of trebel and equilization of guitars and vocals (rare before Beatles Rubber Soul) - everwhere afterwards

Key changes in middle 8/bridges of songs - everywhere

Time changes in middle eight bridges- progressive rock

Use of weird/experimental guitar chords in pop songs (non-existant before the Beatles) - now everywhere

Artifical Double Tracking - invented by Beatles Engineer Ken Townsend, now used in one form or another on almost every song by anyone

Guitar fuzz box/distortion pedal on bass used by the Beatles during Rubber Soul sessions. You mignt hear these nowadays too

Pioneering use of vocal effects like phasing/revolving Leslie/etc. - pioneered by the Beatles on Revolver, used extensively on Sgt Peppers - used everywhere you hear any slightly psychedlic sounding song

Direct Injection (DI) bass and guitar recording on rock records - used by Beatles engineers on Revolver and later. Prominent on distgorted guitar on Revolution - used by virtually everyone nowadays

Use of editing - Used by the Beatles first to combine multiple takes of songs into one - nowadays this is done on vitually every modern pop recording using computer technology like Pro-tools

Varispeed recording (speeding up or slowing down recordings to alter the characterisitcs of instruments or voice) - used extensively by the Beatles first on Revolver and afterwards - now used commonly

Mixing in backward guitars and vocals on rock songs or on the fade-out

Starting songs with guitar feedback I guess that went well

 

The list could go on an on... Are the Beatles the greatest band well that is opinion Anyway, saying the Beatles didn't influence pop is like saying Puccini didn't influence pop. Most current tracks don't sound like La Boheme or Turandot in terms of rhythm or production, but most current tracks have pop sensibilities from Che Gelida or Nessun Dorman in them for 100% sure!

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