Why did you create Krautrockgroup.com?
I decided to create this NON-PROFIT companion website, partly out of my own necessity and partly for you, my fellow cosmic voyager as we work our way through this vast genre known as Krautrock. I have been collecting Krautrock CD's for the past few years. One thing I have always had trouble with is figuring out what bands sound like (what subgenre they belong to ie. folk/electronic/progressive etc.) and whether or not I would be interested in parting with nearly $20 to acquire their CD. There is precious little information about most of these bands and even less information about their recordings. My hope is that this companion website will help my fellow journeymen and I to improve our collections as we journey endlessly in our pursuit of musical zen. I have decided to include a cover scan and a few MP3 samples from each album which I have entered into the database. These audio samples have been encoded at 8kbps and are :25 seconds in length (ie. the quality is not the best). I am doing this on a 'fair use' basis. If you are an artist or musician who is featured in this database and you object to this database showcasing the MP3 samples which you have taken part in, please notify me via email and I will gladly take them down.
What is an overview?
I hate critics and I believe that a website like this should not be about telling people what to like and why to like it. I prefer to give an overview of the album and describe more or less what the tracks are composed of and how they sound. That is also why I chose to make mp3's for most of the tracks. This way you can read what a song is composed of and also hear how it sounds. Sometimes I do advise folks to check stuff out, but I do so as a fan, not as a godly critic.
Why do you rate the albums?
I generally give the albums a rating from 1 to 5 with 1 being the worst and 5 being the best. This rating simply relates my general feelings about the album; ie. whether I like it or not. From time to time, I change the rating if my opinion of the album changes. I realize that these ratings are based on my tastes, but I feel that it is important to let you know what I do and don't like.
My love affair with Pink Floyd (aka why so many Floyd references)
As you could probably tell from reading the reviews, I have an extensive background in Pink Floyd. I have been listening to them since 1986 when I was a wee lad of 8. Thus far I have collected every Floyd (and solo member) studio album on CD and Tape, and every LP except for 'More' as well as a bunch of original 45's including my beloved mint copy of 'See Emily Play'. I even have 'Ummagumma', 'Wish You Were Here', 'Animals', and 'A Collection Of Great Dance Songs' on 8-track! In addition to this I have nearly 50 vinyl LP bootlegs including a lot of rarities! Obviously, Pink Floyd were my first musical love and that is why I find it easy to reference them when I hear something which sounds like or reminds me of them.
So what other music do you listen to?
I will admit, that my tastes are a bit miopic. I am generally turned off by stuff that I find fashionably mainstream. Obviously, I am into musical substance rather than image. Different periods in my life have dictated different styles of music, but the constant has been Floyd. Back in high school it was heavy metal, then death metal, then punk. In college it was all proto-punk and avant weirdness. Here are some bands that I still like: Magazine, Wire, Black Sabbath, Brian Eno, King Crimson, The Stooges, David Bowie, Various Cleveland Proto Punk bands (The Electric Eels, Styrenes, Mirrors, Pere Ubu, Peter Laughner, Dead Boys), Various New York Proto Punk bands (Ramones, Television, Richard Hell, Johny Thunders, The Heartbreakers, Cramps, New York Dolls, The Dictators, Suicide), R.L. Crutchfield's Dark Day (NY No Wave), Circle Jerks, Buzzcocks, Descendents, Devo, Danzig, The Misfits, The Jam, Bauhaus, The Vapors, Suicide Commandos, The Vibrators, The Undertones.
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