"Broad musical interest" is a mild statement at best for myself. Music is something that's really transcendent to me, flowing seamlessly from genre to genre sometimes only listening to the production value or trying to single out how many layers of guitar are squished into a song. I guess that's why I feel compelled to opine for a bit on an electronic glitch record from almost 30 years ago.
I was flipping through some vinyl in a local record store and came upon
Kraftwerk's 'Computer World', originally released in 1981. In a lump with some other goodies (Judas Priest's 'Sin After Sin', Scorpions debut before they sucked 'Blackout') I grabbed it.
On New Year's Eve we had some friends in from NYC, and had a eency-weency throwdown at our place. At one point, I grabbed 'Computer World' and threw it on the record player. It must've been the perfect storm of the right vibes and kooky things in the brain: instant hit.
Dancing and laughing to 'Pocket Calculator' and figuring out how to count to four in Japanese ate up just about the rest of the evening. From there we were looking up live performances on my iPhone and listening to side A on repeat (side B had some warp to it, but still makes for an interesting listening experience if you have patience and want to feel like you're walking sideways).
My only previous exposure to Kraftwerk was from a friend while I was living in Florida: their live album
'Minimum Maximum'. Quirky electronic soundscapes worthy of a great seat of headphones and your full attention. But there was something about the environment that 'Computer World' was unleashed in. Plus, listening to it on vinyl stands as its own experience, and the fact that it was 1981 when it was released puts it way ahead of its time.
The pure inventiveness of it and the realization that the
nihilist band Autobahn from The Big Lebowski are either bowing to Kraftwerk's awesomeness or completely making fun of it (I bet on the latter) only fueled everyone's interest, and soon the record was being spun every time we have friends over. It should also be noted that I had no idea how integral 'Computer World' was on the world of electronic music when it was released until I was informed by a buddy of mine that did some post-hangout research.
I've heard friends referring to the
band's site, where you can screw around with the Pocket Calculator containing the actual samples, and I know for a fact someone bought it on iTunes for a weekend drive to Jersey. Kraftwerk & New Jersey. Who would've thunk it?
I guess I dwell on this because I can't remember the last time I had so much fun listening to a record that resonated with people with so many different musical tastes and caused a bit of a wave of interest.
Vinyl rules.
