The Sounds of Science: The use of sampling in The Beastie Boys' pivotal track from their landmark album, Paul's Boutique

       

Link to track: "The Sounds of Science"

           Throughout what is known today as the “Golden Age” of hip-hop (late 1980s to mid-1990s), the use of musical sampling and remixing was incredibly popular, becoming an art form in and of itself.  No other album exemplifies this art form more than the 1989 album, Paul’s Boutique, by The Beastie Boys.  Produced by prolific DJ’s the Dust Brothers, the wide array of samples from different genres of music, use of audio and sound bites from various forms of pop culture, and its effect on the musical form and genre of each track, makes this album one of the most important albums in hip-hop history.  Through the use of a wide variety of motifs and riffs from the entire pantheon of popular music, the Beastie Boys’ create a collage of sounds and melodies, playing with the conventional hip-hop forms that were popular at the time as well as the genre of hip-hop itself. The sixth track of the album, “The Sounds of Science”, exemplifies the use of a multitude of samples from several different genres, and by breaking down the track into three sections and dissecting each sample used, one can observe the relationship between the samples and how the synthesis of said samples create a rich and vibrant genre-bending hip-hop track.

            The origins of Paul’s Boutique started in 1988 after the group’s successful tour following their debut album Licensed to Ill.  After cutting ties with their original producer Rick Rubin, the Beastie Boys looked to create a new album with more musical depth and character than the playful “frat-rap” persona of their previous album. (Segal). The group decided to recruit the hip-hop production duo The Dust Brothers to collaborate on the creation of a more experimental hip-hop album, composed almost entirely out of song samples.  The Dust Brothers (composed of producers Michael Simpson and John King) had extensive experience with hip-hop production, and were innovators of their time, creating collages of beats and hooks from a wide spectrum of music genres.  The Brothers’ vast musical knowledge, as well as the Beastie Boy’s enthusiasm and knowledge of popular music and culture, created one of the most dense and intricate albums in the history of popular music, using songs from funk, rock, jazz, country, and everything in between.

            The album Paul’s Boutique consists of fifteen tracks, most of which transition between another.  The use of transitions were heavily influenced by The Beatles, who used transitions between and within songs in several of their albums, such as Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Abbey Road.  Many have compared Boutique to Sgt. Pepper, claiming it to be the Sgt. Pepper of hip-hop. (LeRoy & Relic 35). Each track on the album has its own style and personality, with the structure of each track revolving around samples of various genres and artists.  Many of the tracks, in fact, were originally created by The Dust Brothers as instrumental tracks to be used for an album by the Brothers. (Segal).  The sixth track on the album, “The Sounds of Science”, contains a collage of several songs by The Beatles, specifically songs from Sgt. Pepper and Abbey Road, as well as samples from several other sources.  The track transitions between the track, “High Plains Drifter”, and “3-Minute Rule”.  The lyrics by the Beastie Boys contain many abstract references to a variety of memes of popular culture, as well as important figures in scientific history, and making comparisons of their rhymes and flow as “dropping science”. “The Sounds of Science” consists of some of the most intricate and complex uses of sampling on the album, making it one of the more significant tracks on Paul’s Boutique.

            In “The Sounds of Science”, the track itself is composed of three main sections.  The first section of the track, what we’ll call the A section, consists mainly of the instrumental track from The Beatles’ “When I’m 64”, with a four-bar introduction using a sample of the plane-landing sound effect from “Back in the U.S.S.R.”, also by The Beatles.  The clarinet and bass guitar giving the section a half-time swing feel, giving this section a stiff, “nerdy” quality, reflecting the theme and lyrics of the track.  The tempo of the sample of “When I’m 64” is slowed down noticeably from the original recording, from a tempo of 138 beats per minute to 120.  There are also several other samples and sounds used during this section, most noticeable the “cow-in-a-can” sound effect that is repeated every two bars.  Although similar in sound to a “cow-in-a-can”, The Dust Brothers have stated that the effect does not come from this instrument, but in fact comes from an unspecified voice, distorted and edited to sound as such. (LeRoy).  Also in the background is a two-bar guitar and bass hook that comes in 16 bars into the track.  This is a sample from Isaac Hayes’s “Walk from Regio’s”, off of the soundtrack from the 1971 film Shaft. In order to fit within the “When I’m 64” sample, this sample is also slowed down in tempo significantly.  The overall form of this section is simple and strophic, with different verses being passed between each member of the Beastie Boys. At the end of the A section, the “chorus” is presented, with all three members reciting the title of the track.  Although it can be considered the chorus, it is important to note that this chorus is never repeated or reintroduced throughout the rest of the track.  This A section has a very unorthodox and “square” feel in comparison to the characteristics of conventional hip-hop, which reflects the Boys’ own personalities, as well as their willingness to constantly bend the genre throughout each track of Boutique.    After the chorus, the A section ends and then goes into the transition or “break” section.

            The transition section, or what we will call the “break” section, provides a stark contrast from the first section of the track, with an absence of tempo and sparsely used samples throughout.  This section is used to transition between the two halves of the track, from the geeky-sounding swing of the first half to the more straightforward hip-hop sound of the second half.  The transition starts when “science” chorus is repeated, and the crowd sound effect from The Beatles album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is added in the background of the track.  The chorus stops, then the lyrics “rope-a-dope” and “the newest in new” are recited, with DJ hits in between.  These DJ hits contain horn hits from the James Brown track “Get Up, Get Into it, Get Involved”. (Benjamin).  The phrase “right up to your face and dis you” is used, which is a sample of the song “My Philosophy” by Boogie Down Productions.  A few more DJ hits are heard, with the last verse of the transition, then going in to the B section, with all three members rapping the opening verse.

            The song then starts the B section, or what we will call the “hip-hop” section.  I have chosen to call it the “hip-hop” section because the section has a much more straightforward hip-hop feel than the beginning of the track, with straight eighths and a more conventional drum beat as opposed to the shuffle swing feel of the first half.  Dust Brother Mike Simpson states the more conventional sound of the second half of “Science”, saying “if you didn’t get all the other wacky stuff we were doing, you might get this one”.  (LeRoy 87).  The instrumental is composed mainly of the drum beat from the reprise of the title track on Sgt. Pepper, as well as the guitar hook from The Beatles’ track “The End”.  The crowd sound effect from the transition section continues in the background.  All three members rap the first verse of the section, then exchange verses between one another until MCA finishes the song with the last verse.  The lyrics of this section are much more abstract then the previous section, filled with numerous references to popular culture and straying away slightly from the science-themed lyrics.  It is important to note that this section also has no chorus, with the instrumental track almost acting as an ostinato to be used under the continuous recitation of verses.  After a solo verse from Beastie Boys member MCA, there is a two-measure DJ scratch solo, with the instrumental returning afterwards.  Towards the end of the track, other samples are added to the instrumental, with parts of the guitar drum solos being used from “The End”.  The phrase “I do not sniff the coke, I only smoke the sensamilla” is also heard towards the end of the track, which is a sample from Pato Banton’s reggae hit, “Don’t Sniff Coke”.  The lyrics of the last few verses return to the science theme, with the instrumental track going silent and MCA rapping the final verse.  The album then directly goes into the next track, “3-Minute Rule”.  

All in all, the track “The Sounds of Science” is one of the more intricate songs on Paul’s Boutique and is good representation of the use of sampling in hip-hop and its effects on conventional popular song forms. The use of samples from different genres, for example, create a palette of varying sounds and timbres that is unique to the hip-hop genre.  In “Science” we hear classic rock licks from The Beatles on Abbey Road, jazz influenced swing from Sgt. Pepper, R&B and funk grooves from the Shaft soundtrack, and lyrics sampled from reggae music.  Because of the wide array of sounds being presented, as well as the constant barrage of references and abstract wordplay in the Boys’ lyrics, the listener is constantly being given new and exciting material to experience.  Because of this, conventional song forms of popular music become unnecessary, as repeating material, such as choruses and refrains, prevent more material from being presented.  “The Sounds of Science” is the best example of this, where each section has its own style and very little if any lyrical or melodic content are repeated.  There are, of course, songs on Paul’s Boutique that do have repeating material, such as “Johnny Ryall” and “Egg Man”, with more conventional song forms and the use of verses and choruses, but even still, the repeats of choruses tend to be less frequent then most popular music, with the chorus usually only repeating once. 

“The Sounds of Science” is also unique in that it uses multiple movements to connect similar ideas, as well as provide variety in the ideas being presented in the lyrics.  The “square” feel of the first have is used to reflect the “nerdy” lyrics, then contrasts and even enforces ideas with the louder, more conventional hip-hop feel of the second half.  Although multi-movement works within tracks are not new to popular music, with artists such as Queen and Radiohead using multi-movement forms in their songs “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Paranoid Android” respectively, this track introduces this idea to the hip-hop genre. (Adams).

            The album Paul’s Boutique’s use of sampling creates a collage of American popular culture that is unique and stands out within the hip-hop genre, as well as the genre of popular music.  The Dust Brothers and their collaboration with members of the Beastie Boys created a slice of Americana, using sounds, noises, rhymes, and beats that are immensely complex and push the limits of what can be done with musical sampling.  By using over 100 samples from music across every genre, the Beastie Boys and The Dust Brothers created one of the most intricate and influential albums in the history of popular music.

Bibliography

Adams, Jacob. "Dropping Names, Cutting Tapes: Beastie Boys – B-Boy Bouillabaisse." PopMatters. March 26, 2012. Accessed October 14, 2015. http://www.popmatters.com/post/156211-dropping-names-cutting-tapes-beastie-boys-b-boy-bouillabaisse/.

Benjamin, Brad. "Paul's Boutique Samples and References List." Beastie Boys’ Paul’s Boutique Samples and References List. May 9, 2012. Accessed October 13, 2015. http://www.paulsboutique.info/.

LeRoy, Dan, and Peter Relic. For Whom the Cowbell Tolls: 25 Years of Paul's Boutique. London: 6623 Press, 2014.

LeRoy, Dan. Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2006.

Partridge, Kenneth. "Beastie Boys' 'Paul's Boutique' at 25: Classic Track-by-Track Album Review." Billboard. July 25, 2014. Accessed October 14, 2015. http://www.billboard.com/articles/review/album-review/6187764/beastie-boys-pauls-boutique-album-review-classic-track-by-track.

Segal, Corinne. "KEXP Breaks down Beastie Boys’ ‘Paul’s Boutique’ All Day Today." PBS. July 24, 2015. Accessed October 14, 2015. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/kexp-break-beastie-boys-pauls-boutique-day-today/.

Sewell, Amanda. 2014. "Paul's Boutique and Fear of a Black Planet: Digital Sampling and Musical Style in Hip Hop." Journal of the Society for American Music 8 (1): 28-48. http://search.proquest.com/docview/1666974086?accountid=6444.