Tuesday, October 27, 2009
History / Television Faust Among Equals: BBC's Krautrock Doc
Posted by Dave Segal on Tue, Oct 27, 2009 at 3:39 PM
BBC just aired a documentary titled Krautrock: The Rebirth of Germany. If it isn't yet, it should be floating around somewhere on the net. You're more savvy than I am in these matters, so I'm confident you can locate it with a little fingerwork. Oh, it looks like you can view (most of) it here.
Below is a segment on Kraftwerk, who are probably the best-known German group that flourished during krautrock's peak era (roughly 1969-1977); other artists featured in the film include Faust, Can, Harmonia, Popol Vuh, and Amon Düül II. If you're like me (or Julian Cope), watching this clip will give you a mentasm.
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1
I've never heard them be so honest in interviews before, really cool to see. When I was real young I used to listen to Radio-Activity when going to bed too, so funny to hear Iggy say that.
2
This is awesome, hopefully the full documentary will be available in the US someday.
Also, now I see why Kraftwerk don't dance often. And they shouldn't.
Also, now I see why Kraftwerk don't dance often. And they shouldn't.
3
Dammit! Kraftwerk, while perhaps the most famous "krautrock" band, are in my opinion by far the least interesting. Not totally irrelevant, obviously, but influence != greatness, and their music just doesn't stand the test of time for me the way Faust or Can do, and I find their machine-centric philosophy superficially interesting, but in the final analysis, just plain superficial. So I wish the rest of the documentary were available so we could see others. As noted in the video, after NEU! branched off Kraftwerk weren't really "krautrock" anymore anyways, and it's sad that Kraftwerk continue to be for many people the most emblematic "krautrock" band.
5
@3/4
Pre-Autobahn Kraftwerk are a-fucking-mazing psych/prog/musique-concrete geniuses, totally different from the precision-loving, mensch-maschine 'bots they became. I love both incarnations, but sadly, Ralf & Florian don't want anyone to hear those first 3 LPs (nor the pre-Kraftwerk group Organisation's Tone Float). They're out there and findable, though, if you're resourceful enough.
Pre-Autobahn Kraftwerk are a-fucking-mazing psych/prog/musique-concrete geniuses, totally different from the precision-loving, mensch-maschine 'bots they became. I love both incarnations, but sadly, Ralf & Florian don't want anyone to hear those first 3 LPs (nor the pre-Kraftwerk group Organisation's Tone Float). They're out there and findable, though, if you're resourceful enough.
6
@5 - I think I might have a contact who can hook me up. I feel the same way about early Tangerine Dream. BTW, I managed to find a bootleg of the whole documentary. Hint: http://www.getmiro.com/ gives you a player that can search for and download videos - you'll find it there until it's gone.
9
Well - it was a great programme, if only to highlight the significance of Krautrock. But they seemed to get some things terribly wrong. They acknowledged no distinction between Amon Duul and Amon Duul II, for exampleThey discussed AD, but played music credited to AD II - AD (I) were the political commune thing (never recorded), whereas Amon Duul II were the formalised rock group that emerged from it. But to go as far as to call Kraftwerk the 'greatest' was rather short-sighted. If you really want ground-breaking work, massive influence, world-wide acceptance and success, and extraordinary longevity look no further than Tangerine Dream. So- go research "Tangerine Tree" - now!
10
@9
That's too bad about the doc not distinguishing between the Amon Düüls. However, AD I were recorded. They—or somebody associated with them—released 5 CDs under the Amon Düül I name.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amon_Düül
That's too bad about the doc not distinguishing between the Amon Düüls. However, AD I were recorded. They—or somebody associated with them—released 5 CDs under the Amon Düül I name.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amon_Düül
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