Kraftwerk fans, let's arm ourselves with a large dose of self-irony and listen to the work, the de-creation of this genius of the global music scene: Uwe Schmidt alias Señor Coconut alias Atom Heart alias Lassigue Bendthaus.
The album begins with a very amusing "Introduction" where a German tries to speak English, pretending to be Spanish. But two are the gems of the album: "Trans-Europe Express," where the main riff (which in the namesake album was performed by a synth) is played by marimbas, "Autobahn" where the voice filtered by the vocoder is replaced by a choir of Creoles, "Tour de France" which becomes a captivating Latin merengue.

Bewildering, entertaining, very funny, curious, hot, "El Baile Alemán" is a deconstruction of the serial music of Kraftwerk, ironic and bizarre, and should never be taken seriously, otherwise it would only lead to grim and inappropriate critiques for an album that should be celebrated as it is a novelty, an engaging divertissement. It is all performed in a synthetic Cuban salsa, plastic, pop (just like the album cover) where the beauty lies precisely in the lack of a boundary between the serious and the playful, in the importance of parody (if indeed there is any).

The year it was released, "El Baile Alemán," in the United States, sold a lot, reaching the top of the album sales charts and, remarkably, Señor Coconut became more famous than Kraftwerk themselves, who were very pleased with these renditions. Certainly, Señor Coconut was very bold and courageous in remaking classics, milestones, of world electronic music.
It's as if Nick Cave started singing Antonio Carlos Jobim's songs… truly improper!
Yet, Mr. Schmidt fully achieved this challenging goal, obtaining a moderate, appreciable result, confirming the talent of this whimsical German DJ. A peculiarity: did you listen carefully at the beginning of "Autobahn"? There's a car that won't start… could it be a Fiat?

Tracklist Lyrics and Videos

01   Radioactivity (05:27)

02   Showroom Dummies (05:31)

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

03   Trans Europe Express (05:58)

04   The Robots (05:10)

We're charging our battery
And now we're full of energy
We are the robots
We are the robots
We are the robots
We are the robots

We're functioning automatic
And we are dancing mechanic
We are the robots
We are the robots
We are the robots
We are the robots

Ja tvoi sluga, (I'm your slave)
ja tvoi Rabotnik (I'm your worker.)
*Reverse*
Nobody owns me.
Nobody sells me.

we are programmed just to do
anything you want us to
we are the robots
we are the robots
we are the robots
we are the robots

we're functioning automatic
and we are dancing mechanic
we are the robots
we are the robots
we are the robots
we are the robots

Ja tvoi sluga, (I'm your slave)
ja tvoi Rabotnik (I'm your worker.)

Ja tvoi sluga, (I'm your slave)
ja tvoi Rabotnik (I'm your worker.)
*Reverse*
Nobody owns me.
Nobody sells me.
Nobody owns me.
Nobody sells me.

[repeat to fade]
We are the robots

elgranjorge

05   Autobahn (06:34)

06   Neon Lights (04:57)

07   Homecomputer (03:48)

08   Tour de France (04:35)

09   The Man Machine (04:29)

10   Music Non Stop (04:49)

11   Expo 2000 (04:00)

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