Why is Kraftwerk’s The Man-Machine on my best 1,000 albums ever list?
These dudes out of Germany ain’t messing around with normal sounds. Oh no.
What does Kraftwerk’s The Man-Machine mean to me? What does it make me feel? Why is it exciting or compelling?
One of the things that I love about Kraftwerk is when you throw them on, you know you’re getting served up something unique. These dudes out of Germany ain’t messing around with normal sounds. Oh no.
“The Robots” puts a grin on my face, imagining what people must have thought about Kraftwerk in 1978, listening to the Germanic intonations of WE ARE THE ROBOTS, with crazy electronic pulses and pops going about. But the song, and The Man-Machine overall, is not a novelty act in the slightest.
Kraftwerk’s music is innately super interesting and compelling, but what’s even more fascinating to me is that this is music devoid of irony (or at least that’s how I’m taking it!). And that’s a good thing: Kraftwerk is getting its electronica game on and jamming out to the tune of WE ARE THE ROBOTS. We, the audience, dig it.
I couldn’t help but think about the fantastic TV show, Halt and Catch Fire (also see: “The Best 100 TV Shows Ever“), while listening to much of The Man-Machine, but especially with “Metropolis.” I love the dark synth mapped against the very computer-y bleeps and bloops.
Here’s the (also great) Halt and Catch Fire theme song, which according to the good people of Google is performed by Trentemøller.
“The Model” stands out because of the way it maps darkly snyth organ against an almost German cabaret vocal melody.
Pop culture stuff that’s somehow related to Kraftwerk’s The Man-Machine
Okay, I’m sure I’ve dug into the Flight of the Conchords well already, and I’m sure this won’t be the last time. I refer, of course, to the greatness, the majesty, the hilarity of “Robots.”
Some stats & info about Kraftwerk – The Man-Machine
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Electronic Music, Pop Music, Dance Music, Synth Music
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 4.5 out of 5 stars
- When was The Man-Machine released? 1978
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #805 out of 1,000
Kraftwerk’s The Man-Machine on Spotify
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective take on what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.