I remember going nuts about this when I first heard it back in 1974. I've owned probably 10 copies of the album-On vinyl they had to split 'Autobahn' since 26 minutes wouldn't fit on one side. I worked for a progressive rock station in '78 on the overnight shift, and always dreaded getting a request for this; because you really had to pay attention to the segue-so as to make it sound continuous. Yes, we had two copies of the album. No way was I going to turn it over on the air :) I did a mixtape where when they sing about turning the radio on, I dubbed in the the Beach Boys 'Fun Fun Fun'.
Yeah, I remember feeling the compulsion to buy the CD during a stop in Butte MT, during the days of the "Montanabahn" (reasonable and prudent speed limit for autos in the daytime).
Later, a German-speaking colleague listening to the song in my car assured me that the German lyrics for "Autobahn" are just as insipid as the ones for the songs Kraftwerk does in English.
-- Oscar Voss - oscar.v...@comcast.net - Arlington VA
> Yeah, I remember feeling the compulsion to buy the CD during a stop in > Butte MT, during the days of the "Montanabahn" (reasonable and prudent > speed limit for autos in the daytime).
> Later, a German-speaking colleague listening to the song in my car > assured me that the German lyrics for "Autobahn" are just as insipid as > the ones for the songs Kraftwerk does in English.
> -- > Oscar Voss - oscar.v...@comcast.net - Arlington VA
"Schrödinger's Cat Surprise! Jazz Band" <raashan...@ndki.rk> wrote:
> Oscar Voss wrote:
> > Later, a German-speaking colleague listening to the song in my car > > assured me that the German lyrics for "Autobahn" are just as insipid as > > the ones for the songs Kraftwerk does in English.
> Well, it's not a song ya listen to for it's lyrical profundity, no :)
The idea was for the lyrics to have a 'mechanical' sound to them.
>> Yeah, I remember feeling the compulsion to buy the CD during a stop in >> Butte MT, during the days of the "Montanabahn" (reasonable and prudent >> speed limit for autos in the daytime).
>> Later, a German-speaking colleague listening to the song in my car >> assured me that the German lyrics for "Autobahn" are just as insipid >> as the ones for the songs Kraftwerk does in English.
>> -- >> Oscar Voss - oscar.v...@comcast.net - Arlington VA
> Well, it's not a song ya listen to for it's lyrical profundity, no :)
That may rank near the top of the list of the greatest understatements in history. 8^)
Take care, Rich
God bless the USA
-- Pat Paulsen (1927-1997) for President - 2008
Even though he's dead it makes about much sense to vote for him as it does for the choices that we have who are living. At least he's not going change his position on anything.
I was a 11 year old road geek when that sucker came out. Godammit, I loved that song. I specifically remember hearing an edited version of "Autobahn" on an AM Top 40/Progressive Rock hybrid known as KJOY (1280) from Stockton. They played a six minute version. It wasn't quite the same as the full-length version, but it did drive the point home. In December 1976. I finally immersed myself into the local Progressive Album Rock of "KSFM, Woodland....Earthradio for Northern California." 102.5 FM, can ya dig it?
I finally went out and bought this damn album on vinyl in the early 1980s after Progressive Rock went away in Northern California. This thread caused me to turn off my PC and put that damn piece of vinyl on. I may have to follow that song with some Chris Spedding ("Get Outta My Pagoda") or some 10cc ("Feel the Benefit-Medeley.").
Ahhhh...Listening to Progressive Rock Radio while driving on a freeway. Is there any better pleasure? Yes there is, but this is MTR !!!
Scott M. Kozel wrote: > "Schrödinger's Cat Surprise! Jazz Band" <raashan...@ndki.rk> wrote: >> Oscar Voss wrote:
>>> Later, a German-speaking colleague listening to the song in my car >>> assured me that the German lyrics for "Autobahn" are just as insipid as >>> the ones for the songs Kraftwerk does in English. >> Well, it's not a song ya listen to for it's lyrical profundity, no :)
> The idea was for the lyrics to have a 'mechanical' sound to them.
In '74 it was the cat's meow, and even now, Kraftwerk still sounds original, never mind that they were likely the grandfathers of a variety of music(Techno, Ambient, House-to an extent).
I still have the original cassette and the digitally enhanced version. I converted it to an Mp3 so that I can listen to it more often without wearing out my tapes. This is a classic. "Scott M. Kozel" <koze...@comcast.net> wrote in message news:482E5F23.FA3BF40C@comcast.net...
> Scott M. Kozel wrote: >> "Schrödinger's Cat Surprise! Jazz Band" <raashan...@ndki.rk> wrote: >>> Oscar Voss wrote:
>>>> Later, a German-speaking colleague listening to the song in my car >>>> assured me that the German lyrics for "Autobahn" are just as insipid as >>>> the ones for the songs Kraftwerk does in English. >>> Well, it's not a song ya listen to for it's lyrical profundity, no :)
>> The idea was for the lyrics to have a 'mechanical' sound to them.
> In '74 it was the cat's meow, and even now, Kraftwerk still sounds > original, never mind that they were likely the grandfathers of a variety > of music(Techno, Ambient, House-to an extent).
I used to have the LP and listened to it a lot. I don't have the Autobahn CD or an MP3. Amazon sells an MP3, but I dunno if it's iPod compatible or not.
To Oscar Voss, who made the comment that the lyrics are pretty banal in German: they were intended to be banal, stream of consciousness stuff that you might think about (like turning on the radio) as you fahren auf der Autobahn.
I have a childhood friend to thank for introducing me to "Autobahn." He gave me a copy on a cassette tape when we were in high school. This was in the mid-1980s. Always interested in electronic music, I started collecting Kraftwerk's stuff -- on LPs. (CDs were still too expensive for me at the time.) I spent many nights at the workbench in my garage in Fort Worth experimenting with electronic circuits, and I even built my own vocoder from scratch using the schematics from Paia Electronics. I wanted to duplicate that robotic harmonizing voice Kraftwerk used. It worked, too.
I still listen to a lot of Kraftwerk's music, particularly "Franz Schubert" from _Trans-Europe Express_. "Numbers" from _Computerworld_ can, IMHO, be called one of the ancestors of today's techno.
Another friend gave me an LP copy of _Rolf and Florian_, an album that two of the original members of Kraftwerk recorded in the early 1970s. It's not very good music, but it does have a good picture of the two of them taking a break in their recording "studio" -- which looks for all the world like a factory basement.
There have been several remixes and covers of Kraftwerk's songs over the years, and in some cases they're pretty good. I have a couple of CDs full of "tributes" to Kraftwerk, and the one of "Autobahn" (sorry I can't remember the name of the group that performed it) did it very, very well.
Even Kraftwerk's newest original recordings are still good. Great traveling music!
