the Seahawk/January 1 1, 2DD1
An
Original
Music preview/ review section of of t^e fp^
^ -WiIminc,ton cP
Kraftwerk
“Trans-Europe Express
WHERE
WHO
TIME
COVER
Charley Brownz
TM.C.
10:30 p.m.
No cover
^ Diamond’s Grille
Stretch
9:30 p.m.
No cover
1 rp ] Firebelly Lounge
Catching Red
10 p.m.
$2-$4
-L H J Katy’s Great Eats
Winter/Dpen Mike 9:30 p.m.
No cover
Rusty Nail
Mojo Collins
9:30 p.m.
$5
Captain Bill’s
Kelly & Woody
7:30 p.m.
No cover
Cat’s Cradle
Fighting Gravity
9:30 p.m.
$5
I ■p j Circa 1922
Nic’s Orchette
8 p.m.
No cover
-L J Firebelly Lounge
Humchuck Fire
10 p.m.
$2-$4
Rusty Nail
Cape Fear Blues
9 p.m.
$3
The night scene
All covers and starting times are subject to change at the door.
JANUARY 11-JANUARY 17
©
Charley Bnownz Nature Kids 10:30 p.m. $5
Circa 1922 Nic’s Orciiette 8 p.m. No cover
Diamond's Grille Mojo Collins 9:30 p.m. No cover
Firebelly Lounge Polar Bear Band 11 p.m. $2-$4
Todd Thomas
A Charley Brownz
J Reel Cafe
Stable Roots
DJ Craft-e
10:30 p.m.
9:30 p.m.
$5
No cover
A Charley Brownz
J Reel Cafe
Todd & Bret •
Stnstch
10:30 p.m.
9:30 p.m.
$5
No cover
©
i Diamond’s Grille
J Katy’s Great Eats
J Reel Cafe
Open Mike
Karaoke
Stretch
9:30 p.m.
9:30 p.m.
9:30 p.m..
No cover
No cover
No cover
©
\ Charley Brownz
1 Reel Cafe
Rusty Nail
Brenda Norris 10:30 p.m.
Eddie Deaver Duo 9:30 p.m.
2-Blue 9 p.m.
No cover
No cover
No cover
Staff Writer
Any local brainiac with a wall cal
endar and a telescope can tell you that
it is January 2001 that marks the be
ginning of a new century, not 2000. So,
finally, as we clumsily cross the thresh
old into the precarious future of mod
em music, it is important to reflect back
on how the hell we got where we are.
There seems to be no album more sig
nificant to the direction of contempo
rary music than Kraftwerk’s 1977 semi
nal opus “Trans-Europe Express.” If
Radiohead’s heralded 2000 release
“Kid A” was any kind of crystal ball
for the course of music, then “Trans-
Europe Express” deserves more than a
mere head-nod of recognition.
In the early 70’s, a young German
band, eventually settling on the name
Kraftwerk, which is German for “power
station,” set out on an obscure musical
path. With short haircuts, ties and busi
ness suits, the four visionaries experi
mented with various sound effects/
noises, early synthesizers, drum ma
chines, and even built some of their own
electronic instruments. On stage, the
band was rigid and robotic, appearing
to be concerned only with propagating
their propulsive rhythms, reiterating
their musical themes of modern
technology’s influence on humans. By
the mid-70’s, the band was playing mu
sic that was strictly electronic based,
something scathed and unheard of in
the decade ruled by big rock guitar riffs
from the likes of Boston and the Eagles.
Far before the technological typhoon of
the 1990’s, Kraftwerk was writing
songs about the perils of “Computer
Love” and the joys of operating a
“Pocket Calculator,” both appearing on
1981’s Computer World.
With few influences apart from a
vague association with the heavily ex
perimental group Can, Kraftwerk set up
the framework for what would become
modern electronic music. More impor
tantly, their electronic surge powered
the roots of dance, hip-hop. techno,
most anything beat oriented and what
would become called ambient music.
Artists like Aphex Twin, Tortoise, Oval,
New Order, Depeche Mode, Devo,
Radiohead and even Bjork would find
it much more difficult to reach the mu
sical stratosphere without the fuel of
early star-gazers like Kraftwerk.
Almost a quarter century in age,
“Trans-Europe Express” could easily
paSs itself off as a contemporary re
lease. “Metal on Metal” dabbles in the
use of industrial noises that synchro
nize themselves creating a mechanical
symphony, including accelerated per
cussive techniques that were years
ahead of their time. Combining con
stant deep beats, hypnotic repetition,
short melodic synth phrases and the
occasional mechanical voice-over,
“Trans-Europe Express” is a minimalist
masterpiece of continuous thumping
and chirping that keeps heads bobbing
without lulling neurons to sleep. The
stark and mesmerizing title-track,
“Trans-Europe Express,” was one of the
first to be recognized for its use of the
vocoder, a device that mechanizes the
human voice, causing it to sound
strangely robotic. The dark and spacey
“Hall of Mirrors,” with its zombie-like
German accented vocals, is a slow and
chilling epic that spawned countless
imitators. The flow of songs and seam
less continuity of “Trans-Europe Ex
press” only makes it easier to pay hom
age to musical genius that is actually
listenable.
Whether it's the sounds of a DJ on
the club dance floor or the infectious
thump of hip-hop at a local party, there
are few artists today who are not in
debted to those four German geeks
from the 70 s who initially described
their own music as “robot pop.” Is it
any wonder that Radiohead’s Jonny
Greenwood, an admitted Kraftwerk
lover, so often primps himself to ap
pear like a mannequin? Despite their
stoic poses and occasionally inhuman
appearance, the legacy of Kraftwerk
proves they will always be much more
than “Showroom Dummies.”