Actually, if there are any good documentaries or sites that have good reads then that would be cool too.

edit: I've done a little searching and the only book that sounds like it's really good is "Krautrock: Cosmic Rock and Its Legacy" which I think is the one I found out about here at ProgArchives a while back, although amazon says it was published in early 2010 and I could have sworn it was at least a year before that when I saw it here. I'm probably wrong though.

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1906155666/ref=pe_25911_25578481_pe_vfe_dt1" rel="nofollow - http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1906155666/ref=pe_25911_25578481_pe_vfe_dt1

 

Many people have said The Freeman brothers' Crack in A Cosmic Egg, published a good decade ago, was pretty good. The Freemans for their significantly extended second edition (I think published 2007 or 8) have published in the form of a CDROM

 

I just did a look for these and ... it is reaaly sad thing ... amazon.co.uk will not mail out from England/Europe and the American amazon does not list the same thing ... so much for a global economy and the desire to get these things around for others to read.

 

I'm so bummmmmmmmed.

 

In general, and this is just an old man speaking that spent a lot of time listening to these things, I am of the opinion that the music itself says a lot more than anything else ... and sometimes I find that what is written is more advertising, a lot more than it is reality.

 

The worst part? ... I can't even get material on Amon Duul 2 in English and it sux! But in many ways, my own translations, while sometimes way out in left field, sometimes seem to make a lot more sense than anything else ... like "sky bikes" ... makes sense for the Star Wars generation, but "sky bites" is a much more valid and expressionist term about this bands work, even with or without the drugs, or a complete change of lifestyle. People were leaving, and it didn't matter to where they went or why, and the Big Bear is as good as New York, or Tokyo. The literacy and imagery that AD2 always used is much more akin and closer to that "literary" license and view, than it is by so many "literal" explanations.

 

So far, the video on Krautrock on the net by the BBC is actually the best thing ever written about it all and the time and place and what "made the music" and Edgar Froese's words are magical and the single greatest and most sensitive comment about it all ... the rest just seems so petty and ... sometimes childish ... although some took that to another degree as is the case with Guru Guru and Faust.

 

But all of these books and articles, do not mention or discuss the sister arts that so many of these people were next to, and that is the part that makes the study of so much of this stuff partially empty and devoid of its 3rd and 4th dimention that would help explain it all a lot more. Like Werner Herzog creating a whole film simply around a piece of music or two from Popol Vuh ... and these books were never good enough to even go talk to Werner himself, who undoubtedly would have nice things to say about many of these ... they were the stuff that MADE HIM what he became! And in a way Klaus Kinski is to acting and film, what AD2 was to rock music ... off the wall, and out there, and no one knew what they were doing! But we all sat there and said ... wow ...

 

Need a better example?

 

The only other part that is sad, is that Klaus Schulze and his friend and webmaster Mueller, trash this early stuff silly and don't think that the Couriers, or the early formative days were valuable or important. And to me, that's like saying you and I were a bunch of idiots when we were kids and could not even appreciate good music, and you know that is plain screwed up and wrong ... I listened to this stuff then and now ... and appreciated music like most never will ... just read the variety of my posts in this board ... but considering one's past history and musical education a wasteland is bizarre, and abusive ... it's what brings you to who you are. And seeing Klaus talk like that about his younger days, is really sad ... and it is all because he could not get more money from it? ... in the end, that alterior motive is what hurt krautrock and killed the arts ... some became famous and the rest idiots?

 

Still no one to help get these things off the stupid London Amazon! ... might as well tell the global economy to get screwed and folks like Amazon lead the way!

Peter Michael Hamel's book "From the Music to the Self" is also right down abusive about most popular music and trashes the whole thing senseless ... so it's really hard for me to sit here and listen to a lot of his material and see another professor simply get free money for creating his own experiments that make him look better and no one else as good. It can get down right annoying and boring! If I remember correctly he does not even give any of the Germans some credit for the work they did, or for what it became.

 

So I'm not surprised. But then, even Dean does not think that the music is anything more than just pop music, so, I suppose that it could be said that it's meaningless and all it was, was simply just a little sex, drugs, rock'n'roll for most of us and nothing else.

 

I keep dreaming that there is more to it all than just ... passing time and escaping boredom in one's life! And I believe that there are many folks my age that are no worse than anyone that we think are the masters in all arts in the 20th century, because rock music and jazz were the two most important arts in the 20th century that still are not getting the credit they deserve.

 

I guess I have to write my own book! No one in this board will read it ... and they were the greatest inspiration that helped formulate one of the most loving looks at the arts you will probably ever find!

 

Nice to be name checked out of context - it gives my words more power than they would have otherwise carried - indeed all Rock and Jazz is Popular Music, but that does not diminish its worth or make it any less Art. Something I have stressed time and time again but some people aren't able to get that - one day they will perhaps, who can tell?

 

Correcting myself publicly ... because what I wrote appears to suggest that Dean said something that he said, which is not quite right.

 

If anyone's interested, here's a link to a free .pdf download of Julian Cope's Krautrocksampler:

 

http://blog.swanfungus.com/2006/10/krautrocksampler.html" rel="nofollow - http://blog.swanfungus.com/2006/10/krautrocksampler.html

 

It's hard to read in places (looks like it was scanned in a hurry), and one page is actually  missing, but it's still a great read. I wish Head Heritage would reissue it already..!

 

Happy Holidays

 

Black Dog Publishing's 2009 book Krautrock: Cosmic Rock and its Legacy is one of the better resources out there at the moment. It's more of a coffee table book, a little shy on actual analysis or citicism, but it still covers a lot of ground...and the pictures are great.

 

Nikos Kotsopoulos " Krautrock: cosmic rock & its legacy " is NOT a discography of bands. If your after a listing of rare Kraut then forget this book. Its all about the history & the scene with many articles taken direct.

 

 Goes into some depth about where it all started: Zodiac Free Arts Lab '68 Cologne.

 

 

There is a review at nudebooks.co.uk

 

Personally, I find Julian's fake-psycho-stoned-image wording and reviews rather boring.

 

I do appreciate his liking some of this stuff, but when you hear what he does, by GOD, I want my NEU back and NOW!

 

I think of him as someone trying to be hip and gathering fans to sell his own material. I'm ok with that on his own work, but trying to come off like the spokes-person for "krautrock" is something that he is not, unless he was there during the time and was also getting stoned and partying and screwing the girls over there ... because it was all such a trip and NY was a downer by comparison! I mean you had Iggy and the Stooges -- really inspiration astuff for your balls --- or Lou Reed --- so inspiring that sometimes you want to get mad at him, or do some more Mary Jane! --- you know the drill ... !!! It was so romantic ... and you really wanted to have some .... fun ... he's very NY'ish if you ask me.

 

But yeah ... if there is one thing we could use right now is a nice mix of Neu and metal ... to help free up some of the over rated lyrics, and that overego thing that because it sells in NY, or London, the whole world has to eat it! It's a number thing ... becauase more read it makes it more important and the rest is stupid!

 

We need to get better than that! And so does Julian with his quasi-fake-plasticpeacesign-bullpuckypoop-idea of "krautrock".

Is Julian Cope a prog artist?

 

That would be easy ... "it's pretentious crap" ... I can hear it now!

 

And the reason for it, is simpler still ... Lou Reed was already the GOD in New York, plus a few bands that sold a few more disks than a million ... according to Patti Smith, you could not even say anything bad about God because it meant your career was over. New York, regardless of what the situation is, is still ruled by mafias and bosses ... and many of these odd bands are just oddities passing by.

 

My understanding has always been that the old lords to ever take NY by storm was Led Zeppelin, and then it was because they had the better looking (and more expensive) leather and whips to subjugate the NY fans and audiences! 

 

Paris and London, and even Tokyo have a lot more respect for the arts and the different things than NY does, or ever will have! In many ways, of all the major arts centers in the world, NY is not the number one. I would say London has been 1 for many years, with Paris close behind it. NY would probably rank behind, and under, SF and Los Angeles for that matter!

The Cosmic Dreams by Asbjornsen is probably my favorite book.  I found it in a cool music shop, Ear Xstacy, in Louisville, KY.  I find his recommendations fairly spot on if you favor the symphonic or psychedelic sub genres.  This book is going to be tough to find at a reasonable price.  I wish this one would be put in CD-Rom version.

I will check out the Freeman CD-Rom, I have the book but sounds like a worthy addition to my library.

In Prog We Trust

It would be interesting so see what each person who has posted on this topic ranks as their top 5 favorite Krautrock groups.

My top 5

1. Tangerine Dream

2. Eloy

3. Gila

4. Wallenstein

5.  Novalis

 

If Archie includes his own story in LA selling imports and being a part of that whole area's thing, it would be one of the more massive, and important histories of progressive music in the West Coast ... I doubt that many folks would have as much information, stories and knowledge, than him. In those days, most of these were "imports" and Archie was a part of a record company bringing these in and distributing them, if I specified it correctly.

 

The other person is Guy Guden, but his star-shine is smelly and he is not interested in sharing it with anyone, because it doesn't fit/feed his star-ego. He is occasionally posting here as blubberfish or something like it, and his disguise is very thin ... but he won't talk about it, because it "lessens" his fame and story and work! Guy, however, did his greatest work in this area from Santa Barbara, though, and that was not quite the major areas, but some of the things that happened there, while Guy fought for a job, and not have to work in a liquor store to support the "import" addiction that we had.

 

Archie, however, always been quiet and ProgArchives is not capable of interviewing him about it ... though I really think that adding Archie's perspectives would be nice ... with one problem ... PA does not have a "historical" perspective area, despite my requests, to help define the word and its ideas and possibilities ... and that "historical" perspective is the problem with a "database" of something ... that is no longer possible to organize. Thus, Archie, like most anything I state and write here, will end up being ignored and not be valuable, when the content of it is much more important as a historical document -- than your or mine opinion ... with one difference ... the clarity of the perspective above it is non-existent.

 

I would like to see a "historical" perspective area, where we can discuss a lot of things in many places around the world ... but I think database folks are scared that it would deteriorate into a political mish-mash ... instead of a pizza and Doctor Pepper mish-mash!

 

Case closed ... I already knew your answer, but you, too, have some wonderful stories and experiences ... btw! You would make a better book than some of these gobos! At least your London would be thorough!

 

You know ... at 62 ... it is not getting any easier and I am still working 40 hours weekly in front of the computer with my eyes not getting any better!

 

I really would like to do more and finish the book on progressive stuff, but it is so frustrating ... not be able to concentrate enough to get a good flow going and in many ways, you just have no idea, how important Prog Archives is for me, in helping me stay focused and work the writing in there.

 

I've also decided to do a section called "peripherals", where some oddball individualists, can be mentioned. It's strange and weird for me, that we can consider Peter Hammill, the balladeer and introverted poet, progressive, and then I find the same thing in Neil Young, done the American way ... I kow that you might think that this is bizarre, stupid and silly, but the individualistic spirit, to them, is more important than anything else ... and the time the place, the song ... have its own life because they have a 3rd dimention to live with ... which most "pop" music does not have and tries to replace it with a "meaningful lyric" (or worse ... progressive lyric!) ... !!! You can not replace the "real" with an "ideal" in the arts ... people can see and "know" the real ... the "ideal" comes and goes, and women (and men) think of Michelangelo! As such, the parallel is actually very good, and his lack of fear playing with the scrungers, is gutsy and shows how creative and unafraid an artist he is! He is NOT, however, someone that I listen to regularly, every day kind of thing like I do so many others, mainly because his voice is all over the radio here ... but you have to admire someone that is not stuck in the past, playing the same old song, and not doing new things! Even PH is more repetitive these days, than Neil is!

 

But my book will have a list of theater writers, film makers, literature, that will go as far back as 1930's ... kinda starting out with the surrealists Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali ... the original "progressive folks, along with Stravinsky ... and that covers the most important of arts in the 20th century ... other than the wars, nothing stood out as strong as film, music and visual arts! What we call "progressive music" is the logical extension of the same thing in rock music, jazz music and pop music!