We again get on the time machine and find ourselves in early 80s. Today i did a small post about four german musicians' genious electroshock group Kraftwerk.
Computer World
It’s almost exactly three years since Kraftwerk released their last album, the coolly majestic
‘Man Machine’. In the interim their unique sound has been plagiarized and popularized by
a cast of thousands including the Cliff Richard of new electronics, Gary Numan, robotic bores like
Telex and new age funsters Buggles. How refreshing it is then to be reminded just how shallow these plastic imitators sound up against the genuine article. As the album’s title cut establishes, nobody has yet matched the rich tones and classic purity of this music. Their approach is so devious, so subtle. Superficially they purvey a frightening barren landscape as bleak as their song titles but their humanity finds expression in the controlled rhythms of each piece which is invariably blessed by a haunting melody. Consequently Kraftwerk can be cold but elegant, stark but poignant. Their medium is ruthlessly mechanical, their spirit is warm and glowing. They make the modern world seem empty yet beautiful no mean task. Unfortunately, what’s lacking on this long awaited work are songs of the same quality as those on ‘…Machine’.
In their place the group appear to have opted for a more one-dimensional style of European disco which, running the entire album, adds a new dance sensibility and a distinct continuity.
Ironically this new phase will no doubt open them to accusations of stealing ideas from their largely anaemic successors. So let’s remember how all this began. So what if the closing track ‘It’s More Fun To Compute’ is positively innocuous compared to some of their earlier material. You can dance to it and the new commerciality is itself a fresh direction within which they maintain credibility. This is Kraftwerk’s first pop album. Didn’t you guess that beneath those showroom dummy exteriors was a bunch of wacky Germans looking for a party? Well, it looks like they found one...Ian Pye
mp3: Kraftwerk - Pocket Calculator
Where are my little lego toys? Oh (Crying!), i was playing with my legos and my elder brother grabbed them and threw them to a place which is imposible to reach. The model reminds me my lego adventures because of its unmixed melodies. The song was popular enough as a U.K. single. The model is totally queer work of Kraftwerk, lyrics are as same as pop song formula-- long synth melody sections with a quite odd meloncholic moving...Bulut
mp3: Kraftwerk - The Model