By pressing down a special key ...

According to persistent rumors, klingklang.com and the EMI site, it seems that Krafterk's most elaborate package ever will be released within a few weeks. It's the Minimum-Maximum box set, containing a double dvd, a double cd and an 88 page book, all packed in a box resembling a laptop computer. "Notebook" is the name of the beast.

While looking at the preview pictures, i noted that the keyboard on this cardboard laptop is equipped with an extra key, just left of the space key, with an eight note on it. One might guess that this is the modern version of that "special key" you press down to "create a little melody", according to the "Pocket Calculator" lyrics.

You might also ask yourself if the "qwertz" keyboard on the picture belongs to the german edition only, and if the english language edition will be equipped with a "qwerty" keyboard instead. But on the other hand, maybe you shouldn't.

Building/sines

The video "Building/sines" depicts the premiere performance of Joan Chia's interpretation of the Kraftwerk song “The Model”, played on the church bells of the National Carillon in Canberra. It is briliant, in part because of the beautiful wind and birds sounds outside the church. All music should be played on huge instruments.

See for yourself here.

Die Mensch Maschine

The best song in later year Kraftwerk concerts has without a doubt been "Man-Machine". It is not th ebest song they've ever made, it is'nt even from their best album (which is Trans-Europe Express most of the time, or Autobahn, or one of the two traffic cone adorned albums), but the combination of the “The Man Machine, Machine, Machine, Machine, Machine, Machine, Machine, Machine…” chorus, the dauntingly efficient sound quality, and the larger than large graphics building those exact words, is just unbeatable.



Another good thing with the same name is “Die Mensch Maschine“, a tv program from 1981 that among other things contain a side-view Ralf Hütter talking about being "musik-arbeiter" and bilding their own instruments, and a funny Florian Schneider forming his mouth to "a" and "o" shapes while playing those same vowels from his Texas Instruments calculator while playing “Pocket Calculator”.



Towards the end of the show, Hütter bends his hand into a small cone that he holds up in front of his mouth while singing. A strange fenomenon also discussed (in swedish) in 2002 and, in more detail, in 2004.

Zirp fiep fiep

Florian Schneider, the baldest and weirdest of the Kraftwerk members, drew this pretty little picture in 1974.

Minimum Maximum

I have listened to Kraftwerks new live album “Minimum Maximum” a couple of times now. It iis really good, or at least OK, but they shouldn't have:

1. used organ sounds (But still, an improvement. Someone seems to have selected the recordings where Ralf has kept a lid on it. The organ, that is. The Kraftwerk concerts in recents years has been massively organ heavy).
2. joked around with the singing computer voice in "Numbers". In fact, they sohuld have refrained from fiddling around with any filters and effects whatsoever.
3. Questioned themselves by playing "Planet of Visions", since this basically is the DJ Rolando/Underground Resistance version of "Expo 2000" and thereby sadly a better song than Kraftwerk themselves has managed to create during the last 20 years.

El bueno de Cuttlas

Spanish cartoonist Calpurnio lets his old stick figure Cuttlas meet Kraftwerk in a four part comic strip series. It might be hard to understand what it is abour for some, but still... It looks rather interesting, doesn't it?



The other three parts can be found here, here and here.