Yea, I know, I’m two days late. Fuck off.
You may not have heard of Kraftwerk, as they come from a different time. A time when you didnt have to look good to be a famous musician. A time when you could release an 8 minute song as a single. The 70′s. I know kids, its hard to imagine life thirty years ago without cell phones, and without all this crazy electronic music that you all are listening to these days.
But that crazy electronica started with Kraftwerk, and little does everyone know that they are the original Queen- the band that rap rips off without asking. Take Common’s new commercial for example, where he talks about his new song being influenced by Afrika Bambamtas “Planet Rock.” What Common’s uneducated ass doesn’t know is that Afrika Bambamta illegally stole “Planet Rock” from Kraftwerk’s “Trans-Europe Express.” Now, I’m all for sampling, despite it taking much less talent than writing, but I want the writers to get credit, or at least recognition, and with an article on 72pc.com, Kraftwerk now has that recognition.
Ok, maybe not.
Anymore, those faces would all be photoshopped to make the band more appealing, and they’d all be wearing eyeliner and girls jeans. Fuck our current culture.
Trans-Europe Express begins with synth. You’ll be getting used to synth throughout this album, as it is pretty much the only instrument they use. The melodies are repetitive, but you’ll find yourself humming them throughout the day. Kraftwerk does an amazing job at layering parts slowly, but effectively. Lyrics are mostly non-existent on tracks, but The Hall of Mirrors and Showroom Dummies SHOW us a ROOM full of crazy lyrics that are not DUMMIES? Damn it. Sometimes even I hate horrible puns.
While these men are close to geniouses for inventing electronica and becoming what would be the roots of techno, don’t expect compositional genious. Their songs lack a regular structure and it quickly becomes obvious that they didn’t write any of this to make money. Kraftwerk also uses a heavy vocoder that can make lil’ wayne sometimes look under-computerized.
Honestly, I’d love to see him try to use this machine, let alone rewire and configure it to create effects not possible with it’s standard controls.
All in all, Trans-Europe Express is a pretty solid album. What it lacks in complexity it makes up for in catchiness and inventiveness. Without Kraftwerk’s early werk, rock music might be different than it is today.
Also, check them out on tour with Radiohead if you’re lucky enough to be in Europe. Who knows, you might be one of the only ones that will know who they are, so you can impress all your hip indie friends that went to see Radiohead.
