Kraftwerk More Influential Than the Beatles

They are moptops and they're looking good.

 

Having done some research online to find any connection between the two groups, all I could find is this:

Wolfgang Flur remembers meeting the fledgling Orchestral Manoeuvres (still The Id) after Kraftwerk’s first show in Liverpool. ‘The concert wasn’t very well-attended,’ he recalls. ‘Paul McCartney was playing in the city that same night on the Wings Over Britain tour so most people went to see him instead. Still, I was very pleased. To be playing in Liverpool at the same time as Paul McCartney was something very special for me because I was such a fan of The Beatles.''

Flur had previously played in a group which covered early Beatles singles, so his comments are not surprising.

Unfortunately, I couldn't really find much else, but I will continue to look.

 

I'm sorry but I have to disagree with you here; I don't think that you can credit all of that to 'Tomorrow Never Knows'.

 

The Quietus | Features | A Quietus Interview | Check His Machine: Paul McCartney Interviewed On McCartney II

"electronica were the new pop future, which explains why McCartney sounds on this album like he has been refreshed and revitalised by Talking Heads, Kraftwerk and Giorgio Moroder"

Swim Deep air Paul McCartney and Kraftwerk-inspired single “Grand Affection”

Do rock's old heroes have anything to offer the young?

 

All 1 song that the subset of people I know that have actually heard of them know by them.

 

Play this:

 

Over this:

 

Sounds exactly like...?





Loop endlessly.



Repeat.

 

I think that's absurd. You could state that they are more influential for a given them period or movement but, honestly, they didn't reach nearly the same audience or musicians. Heck, I'd say The Cars were more influential than Kraftwerk.

 

You forget how many folks on this forum have deliberately constricted their musical tastes, to the point that anything that did not appear in the upper reaches of the Billboard singles and album charts between 1966 and 1974 is not worthy of consideration, and in most cases is not even music. It's a sad (albeit amusing) state of affairs, and yet here they are.

 

Sounds like someone never heard "Das Model," a song with a brilliantly melodic chorus filled with a palpable ache and longing, which is particularly remarkable considering that it's entirely instrumental.

But that's cool: it's not for you anyway.

 

Do-it-yourself techno-trance.

 

I guess it's fair to say that Kraftwerk has remained an underground affair in most parts of the U.S. while they are very well known elsewhere. I had thought that by the Man-Machine album in English on Capitol they were widely known, like Devo was by the time they did Whip It, but I now realize I was wrong to assume.

 

George Harrison's Electronic Sound set to a drum machine. Not sure what it has to do with anything.

This is written as if you know literally nothing about Kraftwerk.

 

PM? I've wasted enough time on you already.

 

Till recently I'd never heard of Kraftwerk. To think that an obscure group like Kraftwerk could be more influential than the Beatles is ludicrous . I'm not even a fan of the Beatles and can see how ridiculous that thought is.

 

From the source article: "Kraftwerk's beats laid the foundation....for Hip-Hop..." hilarious... I would consider that an insult if I were a member of Kraftwerk

 

Nobody tell this guy about "Planet Rock."

 

Or, apparently, this guy.

 

Has anyone from, or in, Europe not heard of Kraftwerk? I'm seeing that all the people who say they haven't heard/heard of them are in the U.S.

 

It is safe to say that Kraftwerk has remained a relatively underground act, but nevertheless they were very influential on the folks who actually made music. I would be fairly surprised if most of the major 80s producers weren't well versed on Kraftwerk. That's not to mention Kraftwerk's direct influence on hip hop, club music, disco, house, techno, etc, etc, etc. There are punk bands like Wire who were influenced by Kraftwerk. Moroder was influenced by Kraftwerk. Brian Eno was influenced by Kraftwerk. Bowie was influenced by Kraftwerk. Heck, you can take Bowie's late 70s persona/aesthetic and pair it with Kraftwerk's synth work and account for a sizable chunk of 80s pop, period. Aphex Twin was influenced by Kraftwerk. The reason Kraftwerk is regarded as so influential is because like say James Brown before them they infused the dance/pop landscape with an aesthetic that's still around to this day. And while Katy Perry or Lady Gaga might not actively be spinning Man Machine, their producers probably are and that has more to do with their sound than they do.

 

The thing is: Kraftwerk's influence has more to do with aesthetic and production than it does songwriting. More than their own influences and more than their peers, they crafted an electronic sound that you can still hear in the landscape. That sound itself looms large even when it's being employed by artists who aren't aware of its source. In other words, just because general audiences aren't familiar with their work, I'm not sure that really has much bearing on how influential they were. Someone else mentioned VU, which is likewise a similar example. Massively influential band that a lot of general modern listeners aren't well versed on.

 

I think in the New York City area they would be very well known from the 1970s onward. Nile Rodgers obviously, he was very into Roxy Music as well.

 

Among music makers, definitely. I really couldn't tell you about general audiences one way or the other. I know an edited version of Autobahn saw some strong rotation on the airwaves when it came out.

 

Why would I care what anyone has to say if they think Kraftwerk are obscure or haven't even heard of them? It's obvious you will not have a clue as to their influence so why even contribute just because YOU don't know who they are?