August 2003 - Kraftwerk - mailman.xmission.com

Re: That movie
by kraftwerk＠fellhauer.de 20 Aug '03

20 Aug '03

See the attached file for details

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[Kraftwerk] VB: TDF Soundtracks: Never mind the lazy journalists, What do you think of it?
by johan.andersson＠allers.aller.se 20 Aug '03

20 Aug '03

As my last mail on this issue ( *snip* ...long carbon copy of my (Johan's) opinions about the new album... *snip* ) was easily misunderstood (I was not being sarcastic) I here try to make it a bit more clear... What I meant was that I didn't have to write my opinion to the list, because Ian had exactly the same opinions as me, NOT that I already had expressed these opinions on the list. To sum it up: I share Ian's point of view 100%, and I think we will be discussing this a lot more. Regards / Johan

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY RALF...
by music＠technopop.com.br 20 Aug '03

20 Aug '03

People, Ralf HÃŒtter completes 57 years today (20/08/2003). See special homage at home of our website. Best regards, Dante de Conti Marcelo Duarte http://kraftwerk.technopop.com.br http://www.robato.com.br Brasil PS: This special page will be always available at http://kraftwerk.technopop.com.br/index-ralf-birthday.php

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RE: [Kraftwerk] More Karl Bartos dates in the UK
by Enrique Correa 19 Aug '03

19 Aug '03

Can someone tell me if the House of Blues date I've seen (Sept 18th?) on the web is official? I'm planning to go, but don't want to buy tickets yet until I see something official in Karl's website. Hey, if any of you plan to attend that concert, e-mail me privately so we can meet for a few drinks before the show! Thanks, E > -----Original Message----- > From: Klaus Zaepke [SMTP:Klaus.Zaepke@gmx.net] > Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2003 11:41 AM > To: Music, non-stop. > Subject: Re: [Kraftwerk] More Karl Bartos dates in the UK > > > > Karl Bartos will play the following dates, tickets on sale now: > > Tues 21/10/03 Glasgow, King Tut's Wah Wah Hut > > Wed 22/10/03 London, University Of London Union > > I've been told there should be one in Manchester too. > > Yes, Mon 20/10/03 Manchester, University > See http://www.karsten-jahnke.de/tournee.php3?tour=bartos# > > Klaus Zaepke > > > _______________________________________________ > Kraftwerk mailing list > Kraftwerk(a)mailman.xmission.com > http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/kraftwerk

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More Karl Bartos dates in the UK
by Mark J Stagg 19 Aug '03

19 Aug '03

http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk Karl Bartos will play the following dates, tickets on sale now: Tues 21/10/03 Glasgow, King Tut's Wah Wah Hut Wed 22/10/03 London, University Of London Union I've been told there should be one in Manchester too. Staggboy

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RE: [Kraftwerk] KRAFTWERK NO.1 IN GERMANY !!!
by Enrique Correa 18 Aug '03

18 Aug '03

Eddy wrote: > The Album enter the Charts at No.1 !!! > For the first time they got an No.1 Position in his > Motherland !!! Yeah! I'm happy for them. At least they are cashing in before the rest of the world catches up to sampling the crap out of it. IMHO, Electro Kardiogramm has a lot of material that could be sampled. I got my TdFS copy last Saturday from amazon.co.uk and I can honestly say that is a brilliantly produced record. Might not be as groundbreaking as many of their previous efforts, but at this point in my life (and theirs) that's not relevant anymore. A peak has been reached, and everything after that, is like the cherry on a cake or a gift not expected. Ralf and Co., keep them coming, I (and those people who put you in the top of the charts) support you all the way. I hope the 17 yrs in the making was like waiting for a bus. None shows up and then, all of the sudden, two or three come to the stop at the same time. E

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My own private review
by Luca Dassi 18 Aug '03

18 Aug '03

Having listened a couple of dozen times to TDF03, Im ready to express my opinion: First of all, my overall impression on the album as a whole is, as Homer Simpson would put it Boring! theres a definite lack of melodies, themes are recycled once too often, most instrumental parts dont have the depth and sheer musical brilliance of the fugues that abounded in previous KW albums. The track layout doesnt help either, because the worst tracks are located at the beginning and at the end (excluding the original TDF, of course) resulting in an almost unbearably lengthy "Side A", and to a very poor album closure. I find particularly annoying the use of extremely inexpressive robot voices, as in most part of Tour de France or La Forme etc. BTW I always loved KWs robotic voices and found them very expressive and generally very fit to the sound of their tracks. In this album they seem to use a toneless robot voice (often accompanied by a second, echoing one) as a mean to avoid putting a melody to the lyrics. Nevertheless, some tracks are quite worthy and I will admit that some are real growers. Tour De France Etape 1-2-3 + Chrono : Basically, a single track diluted to its maximum extent and even further. Etape 2 is by far the most enjoyable, especially because it dumps that inexpressive robot voice in favour of an almost human vocoded singing. It could easily have been a very good 7 minute track I admit that when I hear that Radio Tour - Information for the 10th time of so I hit the skip button on my remote. Vitamin: Very good the backing is quite original, the melodies are nice and appropriate, the lyrics are very Kraftwerkian and have that little bit of irony we expect from our beloved four. Aero-Dynamik + Titanium: Good and funny very airy as a whole and with some exciting sounds. Elektro-Kardiogramm: Very good the sort of song you would expect from those who gave you man-machine and electric cafe. I love these human sounds mixed with modern ones (thats what KW always did best). La Forme + Regeneration: Almost embarrassing. These tracks start with an appalling theme played with a cheesy retro sound and evolve, so to speak, in a boring repetition of words (*these* robotic voices make their reappearance) without any musical subtlety whatsoever. These tracks have a role, however: they fill up ten minutes of CD space and make the final Tour De France seem even more enjoyable than it is... All in all, I suspect this will be an album that everyone will buy but that very few will listen many times to. My half euro, Luca

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"Copy Controlled" album ?
by henrik.olsson＠equant.com 18 Aug '03

18 Aug '03

The "Tour De France Soundtracks" album sold in Sweden is "Copy Controlled" with a sticker on the front, and "Copy Controlled printing" on the back. Also, the CD has the "Copy Controlled logo" printed on it. (CD made by "EMI UDEN") Does this apply to the CD´s sold elsewhere, or is the album available without "Copy Controlled" ? //Henrik

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LP Problems?
by John Shilcock 18 Aug '03

18 Aug '03

Hello, I've just got hold of the new CD (I will be listening to it for the first time tonight), but I have had problems getting a copy of the Vinyl edition. The Major stores in Oxford Street London did not have a delivery and are uncertain when they will get them. Sister Ray (a smaller store) said it could be a couple of weeks before they get copies. Come to think of it, I've not seen any promo copies around either. Has anyone seen a vinyl copy in any format? Keep Werking John www.keepwerking.co.uk

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[Kraftwerk] TDF Soundtracks: Never mind the lazy journalists, What do you think of it?
by ian tyson 18 Aug '03

18 Aug '03

I received my Soundtracks CD from Amazon.co.uk last Saturday (not copy protected) and I got the CD single in Italy a few days before (copy protected). Now I have had the chance to listen to it a few times this is what I think .. My PERSONAL opinion. I am certainly not disappointed with the album. Whatever the KW sound is, I would say that this album most definitely sounds like KW. Obviously technology has moved on and now KW move with it rather than create it. To me the fact that KW were once the innovative geniuses of creating new sound was fascinating but not the main attraction. The music itself and how it was presented was the main attraction. It has been suggested that KW are now following rather than leading. Having heard TDF Soundtracks I would say that is not the case. They may not be leading, but they are certainly not following. They are quite simply KW being KW. When KW were part of the Kraut Rock scene (in there own way) many fans would have been disappointed when Autobahn appeared. Many loyal KW fans would have thought commercial success (especially in the singles charts) would have meant that they lacked credibility, and the melodies would have been seen to be a watering down of the formerly abstract music. At this point there would have been many KW fans that would have lost interest, but also a whole new breed of enthusiasts. The image presented with the Man Machine would have been a turn off to many former KW fans, but it certainly attracted the attention and recognition of many more potential followers. To those who loved the New Romantic Era of eighties pop and saw KW as icons of that time, they may have found Computer World rather too minimalist and felt KW had past their best. To many dance enthusiasts and hip hop fans Computer World and Electric Café were the ultimate sound, but to others, not pop enough. The Mix, (in my mind) an exciting conceptual album, but to many others with a more puritanical or nostalgic viewpoint, the album disappointed because it had no new compositions. Many saw it as simply old songs in a new cover. Well now we have new songs in an old cover! It has been discussed many times on this list over the past 12 years that no mater what KW did, it will always be seen to be less than before. When someone is held in high esteem and has created ground-breaking material in the past, they will inevitably release new material that will be disappointing to other peoples expectations. This no doubt has been a major factor in KWs long silence. I think it is also likely to be the reason that they continue to understate their recent work. The Mix was a very modest title for an album that was a complete rerecording and reinterpretation of many of their previous works. TDF 2003 the single could have been presented as a completely new song by simply not using the cover art of their previous single and changing the title to something else (Vuelta Espania perhaps). The new album has almost been presented as though it contained nothing new. We were all guessing till the last minute if this was simply one long remix of the single. The new songs that were heard at recent shows did not feature, nor did the single Expo 2000. KW have released a brand new KW album without compromise. Karl Bartos Esperanto ( I havent heard his other albums) is music written to appeal to KW fans, and Wolgangs Time Pie is fine, but neither are a substitute for the true KW sound (and that is not something that remains constant). I am delighted that KW chose not to release albums for the sake of it, but rather waited until they had something as good and original as their previous albums (not groundbreaking, but that as I said before is not the most important thing). So like Autobahn and TEE, the album has a concept of machine in motion, the peleton crossing through landscapes; like Radioactivity it has ambiguity and ambiance; like Man Machine it depersonalises the human and celebrates the machine; Like Computer World it has harsh minimalism and humour (Pocket Calculator and Elektro Kardiogramm) ; like Electric Café and The Mix it has contemporary sounding beats. My favourite is Aero Dynamik, the bass reminds me of some of the live recordings of Musik non Stop. I always hoped KW would release an album about cycling. Im now a very happy man and Im enjoying this quality Kling Klang Produkt. To those who have doubts about it I say, stop living in the past, KW are here and now and no, they are not groundbreaking! That was in the past. They are still innovative and uncompromising in their music, and that is a very rare quality. When KW released Autobahn, TEE and Man Machine it truly was a new sound that identified an era. If TDF Soundtracks disappoints ask yourself this; have you been longing for a new KW album or longing for the way things were in the past? I wonder if releasing this album has finally broken the silence created by unrealistic expectations. Bartos and Flur were not required (and there is no problem with crediting Bartos on the original TDF track) to produce yet another brilliant KW album. Maybe it wont be so long for the next album. Wonder what the track listing for the next tour will be like? Surely it has to feature much of the new album; will it feature any songs not yet recorded? What about reworking of old songs that were not on The Mix (Man Machine, Airwaves)? The set list for the live gigs has barely changed in 20 years, what now? ian t _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail messages direct to your mobile phone http://www.msn.co.uk/msnmobile

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