Chugging, bouncing, percolating, bubbling NEU!
Guten Morgen. Or should I say, unhealthy Hallogallo…
No visual conveys the wide-eyed, wondering delight of NEU! quite as joyfully as this video.
The music of this seminal Krautrock duo lives up to the name. How these songs have retained their aura of newness over the years is a mystery. For the briefest window in time, elements of glimmering psychedelic prog, robotic disco and thumping space rock coalesced and one of the most understated yet influential sounds in 20th century music was born.
NEU! formed in Düsseldorf, Germany, in 1971 after wunderkinds Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger split from a more well-known outfit called Kraftwerk. Their self-titled debut was recorded in four days (with Can producer Conrad Plank). An eye-blink later, NEU! had disbanded. Yet their influence on music spans multiple decades and genres. Everyone from Julian Cope to David Bowie to Sonic Youth to Negativland to Stereolab has cited the duo as an inspiration. As the above video attests, the love fest will undoubtedly continue well into this century.
December 19th, 2007 at 7:41 am
NEU! and Magma have been in constant rotation for some years now. Thanks for this post to remind me to push these two to the top of the playlist.
-m
December 19th, 2007 at 9:59 am
I thought I was looking into a mirror when I pressed the Youtube link, jumpin around as the song went on, and then I realized, I totally don’t have that shirt, thats so not me… Yeah, I gotta bring this in to work, with all the Can, Amon Duul, and Television, my work music set is gettin awesome!
December 19th, 2007 at 12:21 pm
There are so much great krautrock. I love Neu! but I think my favorites are Can and Faust.
December 19th, 2007 at 3:33 pm
That’s a sweet video. That’s my favorite NEU! song. Great for grown-ups on long scenic drives as well as for babies in their sit n’ spins.
I was always a big fan of that Tortoise track “Djed”…then I heard this song and it was like, “Ohhh, that’s where they got that idea!”
December 19th, 2007 at 3:44 pm
I babysit for that kid! His name is Sterling and he’s a rad little guy :)
December 19th, 2007 at 6:46 pm
Erika, Sterling and his folks are definitely at the top of my rad list.
Skerror, I once saw Tortoise on a double-bill with Stereolab and it was awesome, but I definitely felt like NEU! should have been headlining the evening.
Ben, ya, there ARE so much great Krautrock. ;) “Rainy Day Sunshine Girl” will definitely be making an appearance in some CH wakey wakey posts at some point. Can is a favorite of mine, too. Someone played Tago Mago for me in college… I was never the same again. A few years later, Damo Suzuki gave me one of the most bonecrushing hugs of my entire life. I needed no other form of sustenance for several days afterwards.
December 19th, 2007 at 9:54 pm
Apparently awesome germans on youtube cause me to lose whatever abilities in grammar and/or proofreading I may have once had.
December 20th, 2007 at 1:31 am
Aww! This baby is so cute! The video reminds me of how easy it was to be happy when you are little…
December 24th, 2007 at 10:47 pm
By the way, their sound is amazing. I downloaded a bunch of their songs and I totally love them. I can totally see how they influenced so many musicians that I love.