oh boy, where do i begin with kraftwerk? formed in dusseldorf, germany in 1970, in many ways, they’re the very reason synth-pop and electronic music became popular in the first place for their innovative use of synths, drum machines, and weird electronic sounds. but instead of being guided by specific musical rules-like minimalism, robotic vocals, or repetition, though these would come to characterize their style, kraftwerk was guided by a strange fascination with modern technology and the future.
kraftwerk are best known for their string of successful albums in the 70s: autobahn (1974), trans-europe express (1977), the man-machine (1978), and computer world (1981). out of these, the most famous album is trans-europe express. and out of the songs on trans-europe express, the most famous song is “Trans-Europe Express”. how convenient.
in terms of popularity, this song is probably their most influential out of all of them and is apparently popular in new york dance clubs. the latter is really surprising to me, considering that this song is alienating, repetitive, and even creepy. the synths rise up eerily and collapse like trains coming and passing by in the middle of the night. the naive vocals are incredibly detached, like the lyrics are being read by those robotic announcers in airports. nothing is catchy or immediately accessible about this song, but it still leaves its mark-it’s quite memorable and it makes you question the apathetic, almost inhuman nature of the things we consider a necessity today. it’s weird, it’s creepy, maybe it’s corny, it’s an innovative masterpiece on par with “When You Sleep” and “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (yes, as overplayed as it is, it was very important), because it finds a way to invent an entire genre while being something meaningful. songs that can do that… are just not easy to find.
