Kraftwerk again....

After watching a BBC4 doc on Krautrock (again) last night and realising that:
1. Trans Europe Express is one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever.

2. I could listen to a loop of Autobahn pretty much forever without getting tired of it.

3. I'm so very pleased I got to see them live, because I'm not sure they'll ever play live again.

It was fitting to read this from Tim O'Neil:

"Because I love pointing out the obvious, let's run down all the people who haven't been inducted into the Hall of Fame yet despite their eligibility.

Kraftwerk
Estimated Years Eligible: 16
Chances of Eventually Being Inducted: Even

The same crowd who complained when Madonna and ABBA were inducted (and Grand Funk once again overlooked!) would probably weep tears of blood to see Kraftwerk inducted.

And yet: without a doubt one of the five most influential bands ever. I mean, they're German! But without Kraftwerk the shape of modern music would be so different as to be recognizable. Every group either goes through a Kraftwerk phase or they go through a phase where they emulate the no-/new-wave bands who were influenced by Kraftwerk, or the 70s Bowie albums that were made under the direct influence of Kraftwerk and cocaine, in that order. Even U2 went through a Kraftwerk phase, for Chrissakes. If you're a rapper, you've got Kraftwerk so far back in your RNA that even if you don't know who Florian Schneider is, you know all the guys who built hip-hop out of sampling "Trans-Europe Express." If you sing pop music in 2011, you're basically standing on Kraftwerk's shoulders.

They'll get in eventually, I'll wager, but probably not before half the band is dead."

Kraftwerk, Kraftwerk, Kraftwerk......

Since doing it for the first time in 2009 - The Stupid I-Pod A-Z Idea has stuck with me as something very worthwhile indeed.

Essentially it's a way to free me from the dread feeling of "what the hell do I feel like listening to tonight" if there's nothing on the radio to listen to. Simply start at A and work through.

It's also a good way to keep the i-pod under control. And seeing as I have a 30GB i-pod with 2 GB of space free, I really do need to look at cutting some of the chaff away from the wheat.

Anyway, right now we're up to K. And everyone in Bruton mansions knows what that means.

Oh yes:

Oh yes, it's Kraftwerk time in Bruton mansions. But this time it's Kraftwerk with a difference. Except it's a difference only I can hear. Last time I visited them it was to download and love every album in it's German form as well as the English forms I already owned.

But now it's remasters time. And even better, it's remasters in 320kbps.

I'm not an audio snob, far from it. In fact I maintain that some of my stuff sounds better in it's original hissy, poppy, taped off the radio state. But this is Kraftwerk. Going from 192kbps to 320kbps is just beautiful. Everything's clearer, and the remasters are gorgeous to listen to.

Kraftwerk. Music perfected.

Kraftwerk in Manchester - and it's sold out. Noooooo.

How I managed to miss this I don't know. Kraftwerk playing at Manchester in July.
And it's sold out.
Life can be so unfair sometimes.

To make it worse; special guest is Steve Reich.

So far I can get £250 tickets. Wonder if Louise will mind?

School work - introducing the Year 3 children to music..... Kraftwerk and Jean Michel Jarre

Today was a fun lesson for me. And who knows, it may have even been enjoyable for Year 3. It was the first lesson in the ICT Music module.
Lesson plan provided by HLTA who usually plans these things said:

"Recognise sound of an assortment of instruments"
"Use electronic keyboard to discuss function of electronic instruments to produce sounds of different instruments".

Which, although it doesn't specifically mention Kraftwerk or Jean Michel Jarre, is absolutely crying out for use of the German and French electronic music innovators as perfect examples. Or at least I thought it was. Louise thought it was a bloody stupid idea when I suggested it.
Pah, what does she know? It was fantastic. Both of them featured in video on the Smartboard.

Kraftwerk: Music Non Stop:


Jean Michel Jarre: Oxygene 2:


Thought the Kraftwerk got over the synthetic feel of the music well and the Jarre footage was instrumental in describing the instruments. Or, as one of the Year 3 boys perfectly put it: the computery boxes which play the music.
I thought that covered it nicely.

Of course, after that I used my extensive keyboard skills to show the class lots of different sounds that they could make. And as a special ending I turned all the keyboard features on and gave them two minutes of music. And amazingly, since I'd only switched it on for the first time on Friday and have all the musical ability of a goldfish, it worked really well. Managed to get loads of features in, changes in tempo, drum patterns, tone patterns and instrument styles.

A really great lesson. And definitely the first time we've used Kraftwerk and Jean Michel Jarre as teaching aids. But not the last.