RE: (idm) Re: Kraftwerk

From artist
Sent Tue, Jun 9th 1998, 20:42

> The wet rags from Blighty wrote:

yeah, it does rain here a lot

> The opening tracks at the Tribal Gathering
> show were almost
> > an exact copy, down to the last note, of their 1991 tour.

> So fucking what.

so anyone expecting something new (or even something old done a bit
differently) would be disappointed.

> We're talking about some of the most timeless music ever created.
> Music that spawned entire sub-genres of music.

respect is due.

> > Makes you wonder
> > why they bother carting all that gear around when quite clearly they're
> > doing it off the same MIDI file every time.

> Yeah, I'm sure you know *everything* there is to know about how
> their stuff is done live ... I mean, all that 18-wheeler worth of gear was
just there
> for *show* obviously ...

i wasn't looking, i was listening.  midi files still require the original
equipment to play.

> > And the 'new' material they
> > played at Tribal Gathering was astoundingly shit.

> <sarcasm>
> Yeah, it was just *awful* to hear what Aphex remixed by Kraftwerk
> sounds like.
> </sarcasm>

my mp3 file sounds more like yello remixed by pete waterman!

> > They should just stop, now, because it's an embarrassment.

> Luckily, 1500 or so San Franciscans and myself couldn't disagree more.

and there are many thousands more who would gladly lick ralf and florian's
arses and pay for the privilege.  i don't find much appeal in going to some
dump filled with 'knowledgeable' ravers, to worship a couple of 70's dudes
while they crank out bland-ised 'raveolution' digital karaoke parodies of
their 'greatest hits'.  kind of reminds me of the circus rolling into town -
all good clean fun, but nothing new, and the faces are a little more
wrinkled than they were last decade.

> Look, let me spell it out for you lads: I saw them in '81.

when it was /worth/ seeing them <grin>

> haven't been in America in 17 FUCKING YEARS.  There's nothing wrong with
being
> a little old school when half of your audience this time around was
sitting in Nursery
> School reading "See Dick run.  See Jane scream." last time around.

well, great.  if it's so important to everybody to see these people in the
flesh, then by all means, go along, take your pews, bibles, and rare
t-shirts, and howl for all you're worth.

> > Dust off the guitars organs and flutes and re-create Ralf And Florian, I
> > reckon.

> Duh.

what yer mean, duh?  they could do something at least a /little/ surprising,
and not perpetuating, with the help of the adoring media, this myth about
being fathers of all that is electronic music - it's just a cover for being
completely out of touch in this day and age.  the idea of 'volksmusik' has
been rendered out of date by the macro/micro media revolution - nothing (and
everything) is timeless today.

the whole kraftwerk thing stinks now.  'retro' graphics on their web page
and record sleeves, swivelling robots, extolling the virtues of motorway
travel and so on..  all of this is pure nostalgia, an outdated vision.
'ralf and florian' is the most contemporary record in their catalogue, and
it probably always will be.  they probably haven't released anything new for
so long because they know that it would be so shit the whole illusion would
come crashing down around their ears.  the whole world would wake up and
realise they've been taken for suckers, that kraftwerk are no more
superhuman than john foxx or the human league or any of those other 70s and
80s heroes who are no-where today.  as it stands, if kraftwerk toured their
old hits for all eternity, it would be their wisest career path, and
everyone would always love them.  they may as well be dead, and even that
wouldn't stop them, they would just let the robots carry on in their place,
playing the same old midi files.

at least karl bartos had a crack at doing something new - even though it
turned out mostly dull, i respect him for that.  i may even check out his
new lp where he has apparently rejected electronics and 'rocks out'.  he
doesn't feel the need to play the part of returning messiah (every 5 or so
years) any more.

> Nothing like coming back from a near-religious, life-affirming
> event to see some Brits whinge about it.  I suggest you go on holiday ...
> someplace bright and sunny, preferably.  Attitude Adjustment Required.

sure.  but i've got my pocket calculator now, i don't need theirs any more.

<waves>