It’s Aries season, y’all! And the month or so of the astrological sign is busy and auspicious for music history:
- DJ Premier‘s birthday was on the 21st
- Edward James “Son” House‘s birthday was on the 21st
- Damon Albarn‘s birthday was on the 23rd
- Chaka Khan‘s birthday was on the 23rd
- Aretha Franklin‘s birthday was on the 25th
- Sir Elton John‘s birthday was on the 25th
- Diana Ross‘s birthday was on the 26th
- Teddy Pendergrass‘s birthday was on the 26th
- Mariah Carey‘s birthday was on the 27th
- My birthday was on the 28th
- Tracy Chapman‘s birthday was on the 30th
- AC/DC‘s Angus Young‘s birthday was on the 31st
- Gil Scott-Heron‘s birthday was on the 1st
- Marvin Gaye‘s birthday was on the 2nd
- Muddy Waters birthday was on the 4th
I’m a huge Kraftwerk fan. If you listen to them in their proper context, the German electronic outfit created the sound of the future. Without their mind-blowing adoption of the synthesizer as a melodic instrument and sound processor in 1974 — 1974 y’all! — the things we love wouldn’t be possible now.
And on a personal note, it shouldn’t be surprising that during my trips to Germany and The Netherlands that I played a lot of Kraftwerk. So listening to Kraftwerk immediately brings back very fond memories of riding the S-bahn 3 into Frankfurt’s Haupwatche section or of riding the Dutch railways back and forth between Dordrecht and Amsterdam.
But since we’re focusing on birthdays . . 75 years ago today, Kraftwerk’s co-founder Florian Schneider was born today. And the best way to celebrate is to play his influential work.
Happy birthday, Florian! Happy birthday, wherever you are!
