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Versione 1
Rating:
Kraftwerk ergo “How To Build Your Own Automaton”.
Cap. VI: An eternal mechanism.
Linear motion is a movement that longs for what it does not yet possess, and therefore it is imperfect.
Circular motion, on the other hand, returns only to itself, and thus is a living image of eternity.
It is an immobile movement, etched beyond time, as its boundary.
To the eternity of the synthetic, the perishability of the human is opposed.
Like a closed system, Europe.
A train eternally crosses it.
The path is designed so that the two extremes — beginning and end — align.
Between the extremes, some stops of this Uroboro on rails.
Some grim forays into a twilight world, into a world of masks, of mirrors, and of mannequins.
Some moments, also etched beyond time.
Then, a relentless repetition makes its way again, rising from the inoxidability of steel (“Metal on Metal”) to the intangibility of melody (“Franz Schubert”).
Repeated sequences, nothing else.
(Potentially repeated to infinity.)
Through them, the impossible happens.
A finite time (about 40 minutes) is capable of becoming a concrete image of infinite time.
The product of man, with that, surpasses the temporal limits imposed on man by his transience.
The product of human industry, finally emancipated from human perishability, becomes eternal.
The product of imperfect man reaches perfection.
CAP.7: https://www.debaser.it/kraftwerk/the-man-machine/recensione-123asterisco
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 The Hall of Mirrors (07:54)
The young man stepped into the hall of mirrors
Where he discovered a reflection of himself
Even the greatest stars discover themselves in the looking glass
Even the greatest stars discover themselves in the looking glass
Sometimes he saw his real face
And sometimes a stranger at his place
Even the greatest stars find their face in the looking glass
Even the greatest stars find their face in the looking glass
He fell in love with the image of himself
and suddenly the picture was distorted
Even the greatest stars dislike themselves in the looking glass
Even the greatest stars dislike themselves in the looking glass
He made up the person he wanted to be
And changed into a new personality
Even the greatest stars change themselves in the looking glass
Even the greatest stars change themselves in the looking glass
The artist is living in the mirror
With the echoes of himself
Even the greatest stars live their lives in the looking glass
Even the greatest stars live their lives in the looking glass
Even the greatest stars fix their face in the looking glass
Even the greatest stars fix their face in the looking glass
Even the greatest stars live their lives in the looking glass
Even the greatest stars live their lives in the looking glass
03 Showroom Dummies (06:13)
1 2 3 4 [in German]
We are standing here
Exposing ourselves
We are showroom dummies
We are showroom dummies
We're being watched
and we feel our pulse
We are showroom dummies
We are showroom dummies
We look around
and change our pose
We are showroom dummies
We are showroom dummies
We start to move
And we break the glass
We are showroom dummies
We are showroom dummies
We step out
And take a walk through the city
We are showroom dummies
We are showroom dummies
We go into a club
And there we start to dance
We are showroom dummies
We are showroom dummies
[repeat to fade]
We are showroom dummies
Europe endless
Endless endless endless endless
Europe endless
Endless endless endless endless
Parks, hotels and palaces
Europe endless
Parks, hotels and palaces
Europe endless
Promenades and avenues
Europe endless
Real life and postcard views
Europe endless
Europe endless
Endless endless endless endless
Europe endless
Endless endless endless endless
Elegance and decadence
Europe endless
Elegance and decadence
Europe endless
04 Trans-Europe Express (06:52)
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Rendezvous on Champs-Elysees
Leave Paris in the morning on T.E.E.
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
In Vienna we sit in a late-night cafe
Straight connection, T.E.E.
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
From station to station
back to Dusseldorf City
Meet Iggy Pop and David Bowie
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
Trans-Europe Express
07 Endless Endless (00:55)
Endless
Endless
Endless
Endless
Endless
Endless
Endless
Endless
Endless
Endless
Endless
Endless
Endless
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Other reviews
By Qzerty
An album a masterpiece of inspiration, composition, production, and content.
Trans-Europe Express deserves to be listened to at least once in a lifetime by anyone who calls themselves a music enthusiast.
By Breus
"The album's title-track...offering a vivid sensation of cultural and emotional journey projected both towards the past and the years to come."
"The formula...no one before them had consolidated so evidently in black and white."
By Rocky Marciano
"The music creates the same union between modern technology and homage to old Europe."
"The four German robots, at the peak of their inspiration, aimed for the formal perfection of their music."
By R13569920
It’s as if the train had been sampled, we are indeed in the carriage observing Europe flowing from Berlin to Paris up to the predictable, shrill final brake at the station.
Trans Europe Express remains the album to be prioritized to get to know this unique and fascinating band, which had the merit of imposing a musical and cultural aesthetic through its albums.
