It's More Fun To Compute

Kraftwerk redefined the dancefloors yet again with Computerworld (Kling Klang, 1981). Like many other Krautrock bands, Kraftwerk was heavily influenced by the pioneering compositions of Karlheinz Stockhausen; the minimalism and non-R&B rhythms of the Velvet Underground, as well as other radicals, such as Frank Zappa, Jimi Hendrix, and the hyper-adrenalized Stooges. Replacing drums and guitars with synthesized pulses and programmed beats, Kraftwerk expertly diverted the Velvets' speed rush into the metronomic rhythm for which it is so well known. Ralf Hütter has also listed The Beach Boys as a major influence, which is apparent in Kraftwerk's 1975 chart smash, "Autobahn." Hütter stated that the Beach Boys made music that sounded like California, and that Kraftwerk wanted to make music that sounded like Germany. Many of Kraftwerk's songs express the paradoxical nature of modern urban life—a strong sense of alienation existing side-by-side with a celebration of the joys
of modern technology.