The Giant Panther

Kraftwerk. German for Power Station? I wonder if the 80's (barely) super group Power Station, who hung their initial thrust into the market on a cover of T-Rex's Bang a Gong (Get It On), knew this? I didn't until just now. I'm a huge T-Rex fan and I didn't even really mind Power Station's butchery of their most famous song, but was Kraftwerk part of that circus? I was 14 years of age when I first heard Autobahn on WPLJ-FM in New York City. Of course it was the edited version of the 22 minute plus opus Kraftwerk is probably most famous for, but it was enough to get the gist of it. I always wondered how the Japanese or the German folks could follow the lyrics of a U2 or Cheap Trick. Live at Budokan? How do these people understand the lyrics? Are records translated into different languages globally? These were questions I didn't bother with at 14, but I did understand that I could barely understand Techno pioneers Kraftwerk when they sang. 22 minutes to describe the feeling of not having a speed limit? OK, but can you at least give me something to go on here? I suppose not. It is kind of amazing to think that they actually sold records in the United States in the 70's when you think about it. We were a mere 30 years removed from the fall of Berlin when you think about it. Can you imagine the market for Iraqi rock (if such a thing exists) today? Me neither. You go Matisyahu...

Kraftwerk broke some SERIOUS ground and I didn't even realize it way back when. It's really pointless to say before Depeche Mode, before New Order, before name whatever band you want when it comes to the overall influence of Kraftwerk down through the years. It's kind of mind blowing actually. Dusseldorf is a town you only heard about on Hogan's Heroes for crying out loud. How did they span the globe and wind up on AOR radio in the early 70's? Go figure. I can't honestly say I was following their career with bated breath following Autobahn. I can say with authority that I just downloaded their entire catalogue the other day and have been soaking in the quirky repetitive rhythms and digging their whole ambiance. A friend of mine turned me onto Electric Cafe around 1987 and while I enjoyed the novelty of it all I didn't think all that much of it. This was strictly a European band after all. They were just a curiosity in the United States. Surely they had no real staying power. Wrong...

I'm not going to go long on Kraftwerk here. I will say that I really liked any number of their recordings and this one in particular. It's called Showroom Dummies from Trans-Europe Express. It might have four lyrics, but I don't care. I really love it. I hope you do too. I'm mixing up the medicine so look for me all over the map here soon. Best of luck to your bracket. I'm thinking UConn again, but I'm almost always wrong. Tried to fry an egg, broke the yolk no joke, Something's Gone Wrong Again...