Kraftwerk

LA shows have been going great in general by all accounts. Saw the one for Trans Europe Express last night and as I burbled on Facebook, it was a treat and a half; the 3D parts and some subtle changes in the arrangements gave it some variety from the show I last saw eight or so years back. (Including Fukushima in the list of sites in "Radioactivity" along with lyrics in Japanese was quietly horrific; kinda wish they'd swapped out "CIA" for "NSA" in "Computer World" though). And I got "Europe Endless," at last.

omg I have spent years and years scouring the universe for bootlegs w/ live performances of "Europe Endless"; I am so envious

It wasn't the album version as such -- started with "Franz Schubert," then shifted into it, and it was shortened by at least a couple of minutes -- but it was still "Europe Endless" and that was enough. The rest of the night was almost gravy.

>omg I have spent years and years scouring the universe for bootlegs w/ live performances of "Europe Endless"; I am so envious

very interesting pre-album version appears on Kraftwerk ‎– Live In Roundhouse 10.10.1976 - http://www.discogs.com/Kraftwerk-Live-In-Roundhouse-10101976/release/1667907

lo-fi, so fans only, but pretty interesting to hear the song slowly coming together: different sequencer part, and no triplet delay yet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEdRiBeWPm8&list=PL2D5962F68797BACE&index=5

TEE night from LA has just gone up on D1m3adozen.

Why thank you for the tip-off there...

Soundboard?

Nope, but still pretty good.

holy fuck Oakland was so good. Did LA get the 3d experience?

yeah. it was great.

Oakland show so great last night. Much better than the 2004 tour (it's a perverse joke after years of that incredible 91-03 configuration of greatest-hits shows, their first official live album & video was for the tour in support of TDF Soundtracks).

The new video guy is obviously live triggering the visuals in relative sync with the music. Pretty sure the music is no longer printed to the video feed, which gives it some room to breathe. Friends who saw the LA shows confirmed some of the songs were a bit shorter or longer, and sometimes you'd definitely hear a mis-trigger -- but I took this as intentional, and felt reminiscent of their 70's shows when they would occasionally get truly sloppy. Most of the liveness is still limited mostly to live filtering & delay/reverb send levels, but the little dub breakdowns they've worked into most of their numbers are taking over & becoming very prominent.

None of this matters if you haven't seen them yet, it's mainly just this incredible, unbeatable Disneyland ride. You can't stop the concept. I'll go again.

Great summary there and yeah, it definitely feels shaped and played in a way that finds a really nice sweet spot between structure and that variety you described. If the Chic/Moroder show in May is anywhere near as good I'll consider this one hell of a year on that front alone.

If the Chic/Moroder show

screeeeeeechbangcrash

and even if it's not anywhere near as good, it's the hollywood bowl, so it should be a fun time anyway.

yargho

http://dangerousminds.net/comments/newly_unearthed_footage_of_kraftwerk--with_long_hair_and_leather_jackets

that is interesting, 'Heavy Metal Kids' was actually a working song title projected on the screen in this broadcast! I thought that was just a title someone had made up for the K4 boot. although it's pretty clear here it's the same piece they ended up calling 'Stratovarius' for the debut. on K4, with Rother replacing Hutter, the piece is just a sidelong glance on 'Iron Man' for a few seconds before flooring it

top notch, thank you WDR (c) 2014

- Von Himmel Hoch
- Ruckzuck
- Heavy Metal Kids (Stratovarius)
- Improvisation 1 (Tongebirge-esque + extra Dinger)

not all that interesting sonically though is it, you can tell why Hütter is in no hurry to reissue the early albums

mmm, "Ralf and Florian" deserves its place among the rest. I like the first two as well,but.

personally, think it's strange they wouldn't just reissue all of them. I'm all for forging one's own identity, but trying to hide your early albums is futile these days, and it smacks of revisionism a la george lucas. Plus, I like all of those records! Come on guys, do it for me.

>not all that interesting sonically though is it, you can tell why Hütter is in no hurry to reissue the early albums

definitely not for everyone. I'm a pretty big fan of even the lower fidelity boots of this band from 1970-1981, and I definitely respect the people who only find this band interesting from 1970-1973.

wouldn't be surprised if Hutter never puts the first three out, they just don't fit the 'perfect' narrative of the evolving concept albums. my issue is that the ~20 minutes of music that Schneider / Dinger / Rother recorded for Kraftwerk 2 with Conny, then shelved when Hutter returned, has been discovered / archived but can't get green lighted. that's just no fair.

Wasn't there some rumor Ralf was up for finally doing something about it just because even he was sick of all the boots?

i'm surprised they haven't capitalized on it, they'd certainly make some money off them. but maybe that they haven't done that is respectable too. dunno. the boots of those three that are around sound fine to me so I'm not hankering for official releases.

that footage is so great, <3 frozen German teenagers

If nothing else, the official Kraftwerk YouTube channel has the three early albums represented in their entirety (as well as seemingly everything else in their discography)...

https://www.youtube.com/user/KraftwerktheOfficial

"Official" ?

Ralf shd just burn everything

Ralf's hair is just epic in that video. Also, what a fantastic HD rip. So cool seeing these vintage videos getting archived at a nice resolution.

loooooool KraftwerktheOfficial

That clip is abso-fucking-lutely amazing!

wtf is that thing Ralf is playing?!?!

i'm going to the show tonight and uhh is this like a 3d glasses type thing?

Yeah, it's a 3D thing, saw it at Latitude last year and the sight of an entire crowd dancing with 3D glasses on is... odd to say the least.

Some of the visuals work better than others but Tour De France and Trans Europe Express were genuinely awesome.

ahh cool

that Rockpalast footage is indeed awesome...

always looking for an excuse to repost this one... Dinger/Rother/Schneider doing some kinda blueprint for 'Hallogallo', date on the clip is different but looks like it might be from the same tv appearance as the 'Kakteen, Wuste, Sonne' clip posted above a long time ago...

http://youtu.be/RqGrXf8zo0k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdjEqP6mhV4#t=242

THASS WHASSUP

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-haWSy43Ks

wtf is that thing Ralf is playing?!?!

It's a Tubon. The original keytar.

Wow.

What the hell video are they dancing in that room in??

What the hell video are they dancing in that room in??

― funny and lolexander (Stevie D(eux))

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkuUuBt7nrE

Close-down of a studio for electronic music in Düsseldorf / Germany...

O_o

"Die Geräte sind gebraucht und teilweise längere Zeit nicht benutzt. Aufgrund der Menge der Geräte kann deren Funktion nicht im einzelnen geprüft werden. Daher Verkauf ohne Gewährleistung."

"The devices are used and sometimes not used for a long time. Due to the amount of equipment whose function can not be examined in detail. Therefore, sales without warranty."

'Ruckzuck' is all time for me!

So Douglas Wolk interviewed Ralf.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/04/29/kraftwerk-speak-the-german-electropop-act-discuss-autobahn-technology-and-hint-at-new-album.html

A bit of a cliffhanger that

as if

early concert from winter 1970 in soest with the original formation (ralf, florian & klaus) from the rockpalast archive.
tracklist:
- stratovarius (improvised, elemental, more an intro than a track)
- ruckzuck (where the flute meets the motorik beat)
- heavy metal kids (where stockhausen meets prog)
- improvisation 1 (kraut rock jam)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YF1B4smQL7s

I wanna be excited for it but "it's coming" has been their answer since like 2009

.. Like the first three albums' boxsets