Kraftwerk More Influential Than the Beatles

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by jamo spingal, Jun 16, 2017.

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  1. BadJack

    BadJack doorman who always high-fives children of divorce

    Location:
    Boston, MA
    The Hulk has inspired precisely ZERO Three Doors Down hits.
     
  2. Synthfreek

    Synthfreek I’m a ray of sunshine & bastion of positivity

    Or another hunch, a lot of people here listen to classic rock and only classic rock...and they are proud of that for some reason.
     
    D.H., Uther, reapers and 6 others like this.
  3. Thievius

    Thievius Blue Oyster Cult-ist

    Location:
    Syracuse, NY
    Not in my case. I can't speak for anyone else but I also listen to classical, folk, blues, alternative, a bit of jazz, orchestral, and some Johnny Cash-like country. I even have a little electronic music if you include Nine Inch Nails into the mix. I'm still not familiar with Kraftwerk. Sorry.
     
  4. vince

    vince Stan Ricker's son-in-law

    Listening to the redundency of today's music....
    I'll buy this!
     
    EdogawaRampo likes this.
  5. strummer101

    strummer101 The insane on occasion aren't without their charms

    Location:
    Lakewood OH
    Kraftwerk is awesome. Beatles? meh.
    Influence? Beatles win because of the boomer doctrine, "fabulosa quattuor sola scriptura".
     
    Blank Frank and drasil like this.
  6. AFOS

    AFOS Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brisbane,Australia
    Yes
     
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  7. andrewskyDE

    andrewskyDE Island Owner

    Location:
    Europe
    No, not Sex Pistols (yet)!
     
    Baidur likes this.
  8. AFOS

    AFOS Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brisbane,Australia
    Fan of both bands and electronic music. Overall the Beatles comfortably but in the area of electronic music it's Kraftwerk. Although "Tomorrow Never Knows" was a big influence on 90's electronic bands such as the Chemical Brothers.
     
    theMess likes this.
  9. beccabear67

    beccabear67 Musical omnivore.

    Location:
    Victoria, Canada
    You just rulez! This post. I can listen to either, or everything if I want to.
     
  10. DRM

    DRM Forum Resident

    I'm actually not sure. "I Feel Love" sounded VERY new and different.

    Entrancing to say the least.

    Yet, I only first heard it in 1979, I believe.

    Even as it apparently came out in 1977.

    It was less cold/mechanical/robotic/alien than Kraftwerk.

    Although Kraftwerk was more tongue in cheek/comical/self consciously and deliberately narrow in its focus.
     
  11. Merrick

    Merrick The return of the Thin White Duke

    Location:
    Portland
    Knowing a band and being influenced by a band are two different things. The Beatles were and remain one of the biggest bands in the world, so of course people are going to have memories associated with their songs. But that doesn't mean that they're musically influenced by those songs.

    I'm not going to pick a dog in this fight, I just think that your example is a weak indicator of influence.

    Let's take a totally different example to remove it from music, E.T. and Blade Runner both came out in the same year. E.T. was a far more successful and popular film, yet the look and style and ideas of Blade Runner have influenced a lot more filmmakers than E.T. has.
     
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  12. DRM

    DRM Forum Resident

    Almost my all time favorite.

    Helped get me through my Junior year of high school in 1973.

    A mix of genres and excellence.

    More soulful than Kraftwerk yet very experimental via keyboards and mechanical sounds.

    Sounded great with headphones at the beginning of the album, when the synthesizer sounds come together at a certain point, buzzing into my ears.

    More psychedelic than Kraftwerk, clearly.
     
    Morton LaBongo and audiotom like this.
  13. beccabear67

    beccabear67 Musical omnivore.

    Location:
    Victoria, Canada
    A lot of people started bands because they heard the Rolling Stones and later The Ramones, and thought... 'I could do that!' But maybe they started from hearing The Beatles like The Byrds did and thinking, 'I want to do that?' Also they say the Velvet Underground provoked a high percentage of people who heard them to start bands. But then maybe Lonnie Donegan the king of skiffle should be king because look how many kids in England in the late '50s started skiffle groups!
     
    ianuaditis likes this.
  14. EdogawaRampo

    EdogawaRampo Senior Member

    I can see a huge skiffle influence on Kraftwerk.
     
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  15. beccabear67

    beccabear67 Musical omnivore.

    Location:
    Victoria, Canada
    The Giorgio Moroder song I remember which was impressive was Son Of My Father (also covered by Chicory Tip). Possibly before that, Popcorn by Hot Butter was quite a sensation and Joy by Apollo 100.

    Giorgio, 1972...
     
    Last edited: Jun 17, 2017
  16. negative1

    negative1 80s retro fan

    Location:
    USA
    There are many good books on kraftwerk, and also they bring up this topic of influential bands.

    Here's a good interview from 2003:
    ============================

    The Beach Boys of Dusseldorf

    The Beach Boys of Dusseldorf

    Most books about kraftwerk always get around autobahn, and what really started off with their rise, and the influential hit it was.
    Ralf Hütter has said that The Beach Boys were an influence on the band, and seemed more open to the interpretation of the chorus as a homage to their song.

    QED : Therefore the Beach Boys are more influential than the Beatles, and Kraftwerk.


    later
    -1
     
  17. DRM

    DRM Forum Resident

    I'd say Superman.

    He came first. Before The Hulk.

    Superman was "a regular guy" and yet, amazingly, could fly and fight bad guys.
     
  18. beccabear67

    beccabear67 Musical omnivore.

    Location:
    Victoria, Canada
    The really early Kraftwerk perhaps. I know Lonnie Donegan's Rock Island Line was a hit in America, no idea about Deutschland.
     
  19. beccabear67

    beccabear67 Musical omnivore.

    Location:
    Victoria, Canada
    But in a way the Hulk was an older archetype. Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde was first published in the late 1800s. No Mr. Hyde, I doubt there'd have been a Hulk. :D
     
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  20. DRM

    DRM Forum Resident

    Barbara Ann by the Beach Boys DOES sound like it influenced Autobahn.

    And the Beach Boys had plenty of car sounds/mechanical engine sounds in some of their earlier songs.

    Even some of their early instrumental surf songs were somewhat mechanical in nature.
     
  21. beccabear67

    beccabear67 Musical omnivore.

    Location:
    Victoria, Canada
    Hot Butter, also 1972...
     
    DRM likes this.
  22. ZenArcher

    ZenArcher Senior Member

    Location:
    Durham, NC
    Though I love both, the question at first made me feel kind of defensive for the Beatles. But, objectively, I'd say it's almost indisputable that today's popular music is much more influenced by Kraftwerk than the Beatles. Who's "better" is a totally different question.
     
    Guy E, reapers and dadonred like this.
  23. Willowman

    Willowman Senior Member

    Location:
    London, UK
    I think this may be the article which prompted the last thread on this topic

    Why Kraftwerk are still the world's most influential band

    Personally, I would urge anyone who hasn't listened to Kraftwerk before to spend 45 minutes of their life checking out Computer World. It's one of the greatest records ever released.
     
  24. DRM

    DRM Forum Resident

    Where does the Clash fit in all of this?
     
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  25. DRM

    DRM Forum Resident

    If this came before Kraftwerk, then all bets are off.

    Speaking of influential:

    The Byrds- Eight Miles High (HQ)

    Particularly the instrumental parts.

    Cold and crunchy at times.

    While still being "sharp" sounding. Almost digital.

    Alien and Mechanical?

    Shades of Kraftwerk?

    Or Apples and Oranges?
     
    Last edited: Jun 17, 2017
    footlooseman likes this.
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