Kraftwerk


 There are a plenty of Kraftwerk websites that have a lot of info about Kraftwerk so I'm not going to worry about posting discographies or info about the band members or anything like that here - instead, I will give links to some of my favorite Kraftwerk sites at the bottom of this page. This is my story of how I became a Kraftwerk fanatic and how I remained a Kraftwerk fanatic even after my taste in music changed to mostly death metal.

I first heard of Kraftwerk when I was about 13 years old. My cousin had heard their song "Pocket Calculator" on the Dr. Demento show and brought me a tape of the song to listen to. Back then I was really getting new wave music and was listening to a lot of Gary Numan and Ultravox. I instantly loved Pocket Calculator and began searching for more music from Kraftwerk. It wasn't long before I bought their album, "Computer World". Soon after than I got "Trans Europe Express" then "The Man Machine". At that point I was totally hooked on this incredible band from Germany. Soon, I had nearly all the albums that they had released up to that point (1981).

I anxioulsy awaited a new album from them and was a little disappointed when they only released the single "Tour De France" in 1983. Their next album, Electric Cafe, wasn't released until 1986. At the time, I didn't really like Electric Cafe and it is still not one of my favorite albums but I love Musique Non Stop.

Again, it was a long wait before they finally released "The Mix" which I didn't like at all when I first heard it. Although I did like the Mix version of Music Non Stop I didn't like the remixes of the other songs. I sold my copy of The Mix cd and didn't get another copy until several years later. The Mix is now one of my favorite Kraftwerk albums.

By 1992, my taste in music had changed completely. For over a year I gave up on all the bands that I had been listening to and listened exclusively to bands like Sepultura, Obituary, Napalm Death, Carcass, Cannibal Corpse ect. It wasn't until I joined one of those music clubs so I could get some new cds and that I got another copy of The Mix cd - - and this time I loved it!

But by then it had been several years since Kraftwerk had released an album so I was fairly certain that the band was no more. I often wondered what it would have been like to see them live but I never thought that I would get the chance .. after all, I hadn't heard any new music from them or any news about them.
Then one day my boyfriend came home from a trip to the music store with a flyer listing recent and upcoming concerts. He showed me the flyer and said, "That band you like did a concert a few days ago." I looked at the flyer and noticed that the date of the concert was June 8 (1998)- - that night!!! - - in less than two hours!!! I went nuts!!! I told him, "I HAVE TO GO SEE THEM!!!!" I had been waiting over 15 years to see them and now I finally had the chance. We got tickets for the concert and made it to the Hollywood Palladium (normally more than two hours drive from my house) in time for the concert. I couldn't believe that I was finally watching the band that I had loved so much for so long .. a band that I had thought I would never get to see. It was an amazing concert! The sound was incredible and I was totally blown away by the way the video was synced with the audio! My only regret is that I didn't get to go to the party after the concert because we had to get back home fairly early.

Again I waited hoping for a new album but there was nothing. I found a few Krafwerk websites but most were no longer updated. I joined one or two mailing lists and the Krafwerk newsgroup and found out that I wasn't the only one who had given up on the possibility of a new Krafwerk album. But one day the rumors about a new album started up again. Then the news that the new album would be released in just a few months. Of course I couldn't let myself believe it until I had the new cd in my hands - - especially since the released date kept changing. Finally, Tour De France Soundtracks was released and my Kraftwerk insanity has gone into overdrive again.

I finally got to see them live again at the Coachella Valley Music and arts festival (May 01, 2004). It was easily one of the best concerts I've ever been to --even though it was a short set because of the festival hours. This time I had a good digital camera with me (10x zoom) and I got some really good pictures and quicktime files from the show. Now I am even crazier over Kraftwerk (especially Ralf).

I am still mostly into death/grindcore but Kraftwerk will always be my favorite band.

Kraftwerk Links: