...I've been listening to a lot of Kraftwerk lately while working at home and I'm loving every minute of it...formed in the late 60s, Florian Schneider and Ralf Hütter got together while attending music classes in Dusseldorf and formed their band which means "power station" in German...these cats started dropping electronic bombs way back in the 70s and had a tangential hand at forming the early hip-hop shite that Afrika Bambaataa & the Soul Sonic Force would start pumping out of the Boogie Down Bronx during the embryonic stages of hip hop on cuts like "Planet Rock"...if you listen to enough of Kraftwerk's early stuff you'll hear a grip of material that got lifted by industrious turntablists over here in the states which is why I call them the "Brothers from another Mother"-- it goes both ways on the "lets keep it real" tip, in my opinion, and credit should always be given when it's due, yo......if you can remember that track called "Egypt, Egypt" or "My Beat Goes Boom" or "Computer Love" ( !!! ) which were all hitting hard back in the 80s and cut by Greg "The Egyptian Lover" Broussard...take a listen to the beginning of Kraftwerk's "Tour De France" single (listen to the tag button above) which was originally released as a single back in 1983 in preparation for a full-length Kraftwerk album that never materialized; it was re-released two decades later on 2003's LP of the same name- once you check that syncopated loop of heavy breathing, you'll hear precisely what I'm getting at...if none of this rings a bell, check these videos, son...the first is called "Aéro Dynamik" from the "*Tour de France LP*":http://www.thestore24.com/Music/Album.aspx?p_id=P+++++4706&a_id=R+++655632&PersonID=P%20%20%20%20%204706&prodid=ASKE91708.2&si=rhino mentioned above......oh, and peep the video for the single "The Model", originally included on The Man Machine album but can also be found on the newer two-disc compilation called "*Minimum-Maximum*":http://www.thestore24.com/Music/Album.aspx?p_id=P+++++4706&a_id=R+++744547&PersonID=P%20%20%20%20%204706&prodid=ASKE60611.2&si=rhino (cover above) which is choc-a-bloc with Kraftwerk essentials and hella tight, son...
Adam B at Y-Rock on XPN says
No arguments here. I was hearing Paul Hardcastle's "19," Herbie Hancock's "Rockit," and Laid Back's "Ride the White Horse" mixed in with my Schoolly D, UTFO, and Doug E. Fresh back in the day on Sunday afternoons on Power 99 with Lady B. here in Philly. Rock, rock, the planet rock, don't stop.
CrashPryor says
...ah...Schoolly D...the godfather of Gangsta (before it got all chitty-chitty, bang-bang out here on the Coast)..."Saturday Night" and "PSK"...great cuts both...holy shite, he was from Philly too, no less...good stuff, son...
Birdbath says
Kraftwerk is die vater of a huge part of modern music. A sample of "The Model" can even be heard in Ladytron's "seventeen."
I mean check out my costume for halloween this year..
CrashPryor says
I’ve never felt that, Iren…I think Kraftwerk’s funkier than the Buggles, but that’s just me…*oh man,* isn’t that the cover from that band of “nihilists” from the Big Lebowski?...dude…
Cody B says
Kraftwerk were definately in on the ground floor of "modern" pop. F.. the ground floor, they laid the foundation. Ahead of their time at Last Poet type levels.
mickimicki says
I feel extremely privileged to have childhood memories of hearing Kraftwerk. Unforgettable, the way the music seemed to tickle and tingle my mind. Sounds like nothing too special today, but back then even a child could see (hear, feel, whatever) that this was something REALLY new!
Dale says
Nice! I remember first seeing the video for "The Model" at age 12, and not being able to process it, given it followed a video by Rick James. My young brain freaked out on their robotic image, the pure clinicality of the sound. Now, Rick James makes me giggle and Kraftwerk rocks my world. Thank goodness for growing up.
mickimicki says
@Dale: Maybe 12 yrs is too old to feel it, teenagers tend to lose that childish open-mindedness, don't they? I know I knew early Kraftwerk tunes while still in primary school, so I was no more than 10, and music videos were unheard of - like video _tapes_, or CDs, for that matter. (Or is it just some innate teutonic techie-ness that made me like it?)
superaygun says
props for this post. thanks to my big brother and a local (i'm from Detroit) DJ by the name of The Electrifying Mojo i have been a Kraftwerk fan since first grade. Mojo used to rock the shit out of "Tour de France" and "Numbers" and mix it with the B-52's "Mesopotamia" and, naturally, "Planet Rock," defying all radio standards. he has a huge hand in the music fan i am today...what i wish was available is the mix of "Tour de France" that was featured in Breakin', with the breathing soloed at the beginning...Turbo and his floating broom...
ever check out Giorgio Moroder's late seventies stuff? "Chase" from the Midnight Express soundtrack and his ultra-rare Battlestar Galactica soundtrack are must-haves for any Kraftwerk buff. the latter is definitely worth dropping fifty bucks on eBay for (vinyl only though)...
CrashPryor says
@superaygun: holy shite, I forgot all about that scene in Breakin'...good stuff, that...will search out the Midnight Express OST too...I liked the film when I saw it and do recall that the tunage on there was "out there" (in the good way)...Battlestar Galactica...I knew he was cool but DAMN!!! Thanks for pulling my coat...
superaygun says
you will NOT be sorry if you pick up that Battlestar Galactica LP. it is seriously the electro-funk-space-disco SHIT!!! the second side is a single track about a half-hour long--"Evolution," it's called--but it is a truly mesmerizing centerpiece. me and my brother keep fighting over who gets to keep the old raggedy played-to-death copy we've had since i was a kid. that thing has survived many moves...i should get a new one...
superaygun says
y'know, i know a lot of people are dismissive of Coldplay, but i really do like what they did with "Computer Love" when they put out that "Talk" song. Kraftwerk's music translates very well to a guitar in that instance. it's a pretty song, as is "Computer Love." that's what i love about Kraftwerk. they sing about "cold" things like technology and robots and the like, yet the music always emotes. the warmth is there behind the words.
...I've been listening to a lot of Kraftwerk lately while working at home and I'm loving every minute of it...formed in the late 60s, Florian Schneider and Ralf Hütter got together while attending music classes in Dusseldorf and formed their band which means "power station" in German...these cats started dropping electronic bombs way back in the 70s and had a tangential hand at forming the early hip-hop shite that Afrika Bambaataa & the Soul Sonic Force would start pumping out of the Boogie Down Bronx during the embryonic stages of hip hop on cuts like "Planet Rock"...if you listen to enough of Kraftwerk's early stuff you'll hear a grip of material that got lifted by industrious turntablists over here in the states which is why I call them the "Brothers from another Mother"-- it goes both ways on the "lets keep it real" tip, in my opinion, and credit should always be given when it's due, yo...
...if you can remember that track called "Egypt, Egypt" or "My Beat Goes Boom" or "Computer Love" ( !!! ) which were all hitting hard back in the 80s and cut by Greg "The Egyptian Lover" Broussard...take a listen to the beginning of Kraftwerk's "Tour De France" single (listen to the tag button above) which was originally released as a single back in 1983 in preparation for a full-length Kraftwerk album that never materialized; it was re-released two decades later on 2003's LP of the same name- once you check that syncopated loop of heavy breathing, you'll hear precisely what I'm getting at...if none of this rings a bell, check these videos, son...the first is called "Aéro Dynamik" from the "*Tour de France LP*":http://www.thestore24.com/Music/Album.aspx?p_id=P+++++4706&a_id=R+++655632&PersonID=P%20%20%20%20%204706&prodid=ASKE91708.2&si=rhino mentioned above......oh, and peep the video for the single "The Model", originally included on The Man Machine album but can also be found on the newer two-disc compilation called "*Minimum-Maximum*":http://www.thestore24.com/Music/Album.aspx?p_id=P+++++4706&a_id=R+++744547&PersonID=P%20%20%20%20%204706&prodid=ASKE60611.2&si=rhino (cover above) which is choc-a-bloc with Kraftwerk essentials and hella tight, son...
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