Kraftwerk @ Coachella 2008 impressions
Photo by optionthis.
I should begin this post by saying that this isn’t the account of my impressions as a member of the audience. I wasn’t in Coachella, I didn’t see Kraftwerk perform live. I did, however, obtain a recording of the concert thanks to the series of tubes we call the Internet and this is what I think of it:
Kraftwerk played their fourth US show for 2008 on April the 26th at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Florian Schneider was absent, just like he had been for the rest of the tour, and the set list was a variation of that used in the tours before and after the release of Minimum-Maximum.
Set list: (Intro) / 1. The Man-Machine / 2. Planet Of Visions / 3. Numbers / 4. Computer World / 5. Tour De France / 6. Vitamin / 7. Autobahn / 8. Computer Love / 9. Showroom Dummies / 10. Radioactivity / 11. Trans Europe Express / 12. Metal On Metal / 13. The Robots / 14. Boing Boom Tschak + Music Non Stop
This time around, there is much less material from Tour De France Soundtracks (only the eponymous track and Vitamin), which is a shame, while the rest of the list is pretty similar to that of the previous tour. The usual thematic duos were there (tracks 1/2, 3/4, 5/6, 11/12, 14) and also present were Showroom Dummies and Computer Love, which have made a welcome return since 2006.
What struck me the most when I first listened to this concert was how quickly it was over. Everything somehow seems more concise, or, as I realised after listening more closely, abbreviated. It could be due to time restrictions, or the slightly faster tempo that is apparent on some of the tracks, or even Florian’s absence; most of the songs have also been rearranged, which results in different song structure. For example, Computer Love sounds very much like a rearranged version of the rendition found in The Mix. On average, each track is around one minute shorter than the Minimum-Maximum version. The sound is the standard sound of the recent tours with a few variations, so no major changes have been made there.
The Man-Machine sounds cold, without much enthusiasm or spirit, even for a quartet of robots. Defragmentation is probably in order. The KW sound and feel does come through to the ears of an avid listener, but I doubt anyone who approaches this music for the first time will find much interest in this particular performance. That is not to say of course that the concert is entirely without its merits; the alterations in sound and structure are interesting to any fan and, hey, this is another KW live. Unremarkable when compared to the dozens of amazing KW lives, but worth a listen or two.
Photo by yamchild.
Eugene Renfield, a friend and Kraftwerk listener, has kindly provided a second opinion:
On first listen, Coachella was disappointing; aurally vague (irrespective of the bootleg), hesitantly performed. But repeat listening revealed much nuance to appreciate in that diffuse soundscape: the Kraftwerk frisson somehow still crept in. And although little of it sounded special in any way, their unique musical qualities were still there to admire – with or without Florian Schneider in the lineup.
Trust another KW fan to smash your review with his minimalistic, three-sentence-long assessment of the concert.
Pop open the champagne!
My ongoing quest for spiritual elevation has finally born fruit. A new hi-score. Yay.
Also, seeing as how I’ve recently acquired an addiction to Team Fortress 2, I feel obliged to point out this amazing piece of work. Truly inspirational.
Also also, you should all know that my current most listened to Beatles album is the White one. That’s right.
Doom 3: a late review (Part 3)
This is the third and last part of my Doom 3 review, where I cover the Gameplay and even manage to reach a conclusion. Part 1 was an intro and part 2 was about the story, graphics and sound.
Gameplay
I wonder if you can dragon punch that turkey.
D3 is very much your regular corridor crawler from the mid 90s. You run around in corridors carrying different weapons and shoot monsters that often ambush you in the dark, leaving your human underwear stained for the rest of your adventure. Gone are the distractions – some call them innovations – introduced by other FPS games since the original DOOM, such as alternate fire modes for your weapons, zooming in with a scope and leaning left or right. Who needs to peek around corners anyway? The enemies mostly attack you from behind.
Everything about D3 is good, clean, straightforward fun. The things that would prove a distraction to running and gunning have been discarded. When I pressed the right mouse button for the first time, expecting an amazing alternate attack from my shotgun, all I managed to do was make the marine jump. Lack of special attacks would have been a deal-breaker for most FPS games in 200X, but not for this one. Don’t worry, though; you can crouch and jump all you want.
I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass
And I’m all out of bubblegum.
Edit: They Live somehow seems much better than I remembered. The recently released footage of Duke Nukem Forever prompted a research into the origins of Duke one-liners. So, naturally, I had to watch this movie again. I guess Evil Dead and its sequels are next.
On news related to this blog, the long-awaited third part of my Doom 3 review is probably coming tomorrow, which will only make it a month and a half late. This review turned into a long-winded celebration of the things I like about the game, which is pretty much the intention I had since the beginning. Any future reviews or articles on games will probably be more concise and hopefully less harrowing to read through. I might return to this 3-part beast in the future for editing, corrections, etc.
On news kind of related to this blog, I will not be posting much during June and until mid-July. My final exams are to blame for this. Oh well. Just in case you start wondering why posts don’t show up as frequently as they used to.
Daddy’s on a rocket
The internet is a wonderful place. So wonderful, that it is in fact the only place where watching a viral video with weird Japanese dudes doing disgusting things can lead to an amazing discovery. It took me a while, but I eventually managed to find the source of the dreamy song that served as the soundtrack to the previously mentioned video.
i love you baby! is a “Swedish eclectic audio / electroclash project” and they’ve made some of their music available for download from their site. I won’t pretend to know anything about this music other than the fact that I like it. Go give it a try, you might like it too.
Some song picks: Daddy’s on a rocket (beautiful, haunting, melancholic melody; listen to this one), Mon Tou Tou (lighthearted, part French, extremely aggressive use of the drum machine, more addictive than sugar), Grand Pop 1977 (Kraftwerk sound-alike), B5A627, Dorian.
PS: Delicious lead singer.
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